Equity

AI companies are clustering around healthcare and fast.  In just the past week, OpenAI bought health startup Torch, Anthropic launched Claude for Health, and Sam Altman-backed MergeLabs closed a $250 million seed round at an $850 million valuation. The money and products are pouring into health and voice AI, but so are concerns about hallucination risks, inaccurate medical information, and massive security vulnerabilities in systems handling sensitive patient data.  Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into why the AI world is suddenly obsessed with health care, what other products can expect an AI-makeover, and more.  Listen to the full episode to hear:   How Anthropic's co-work tool could threaten Salesforce and other enterprise software giants  Bandcamp’s move against AI, banning AI-generated music from its platform  Why fusion energy is heating up, with startups like Type One Energy suddenly raising hundreds of millions  The latest on Luminar's bankruptcy and a potential bidding war overits LIDAR assets  Chapters:  00:00 - Introduction   00:29 - Waymo testing in New York City?  02:13 - Bandcamp bans AI-generated music   04:57 - Luminar's bankruptcy and LIDAR fire sale   10:28 - Type One Energy's fusion funding frenzy   16:10 - AI's healthcare land grab   23:28 - Voice AI deals heat up   25:26 - Anthropic's co-work tool threatens enterprise software  Subscribe to Equity on ⁠YouTube⁠,⁠ Apple Podcasts⁠,⁠ Overcast⁠,⁠ Spotify⁠ and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on⁠ X⁠ and⁠ Threads⁠, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI agents are supposed to make work easier. Instead, they're creating a whole new category of security nightmares.    As companies deploy AI-powered chatbots, agents, and copilots across their operations, they're facing a new risk: how do you let employees and AI agents use powerful AI tools without accidentally leaking sensitive data, violating compliance rules, or opening the door to prompt-based injections? Witness AI just raised $58 million to find a solution, building what they call "the confidence layer for enterprise AI."    Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan was joined by Barmak Meftah, co-founder and partner at Ballistic Ventures, and Rick Caccia, CEO of Witness AI, to discuss what enterprises are actually worried about, why AI security become an $800 billion to $1.2 trillion market by 2031, and what happens when AI agents start talking to other AI agents without human oversight.    Listen to the full episode to hear:   How enterprises accidentally leak sensitive data through "shadow AI" usage.  What CISOs are actually worried about right now, how the problem has evolved rapidly over 18 months, and what it will look like over the next year.  Why traditional cybersecurity approaches don't work for AI agents.  Real examples of AI agents going rogue, including one that threatened to blackmail an employee.  Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After years of chatbots and image generators, AI is finally leaving the screen. At CES 2026, that shift became impossible to ignore.    The annual tech showcase in Las Vegas was dominated by "physical AI" and robotics, from Boston Dynamic's newly redesigned Atlas humanoid robot to AI-powered ice makers (yes, really). The companies in attendance clearly want consumers to know: AI isn't just capable of answering questions anymore. It's ready to movecar parts in factories, catchcatching drones with net guns, and dance in automaker booths.    Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane break down everything we saw at CES 2026 and more deals from the week that caught our eye.    Listen to the full episode to hear about:   Discord’s rumored IPO, years after shutting down a Microsoft acquisition  xAI's massive $20 billion raise and the dark side of Grok's content moderation failures  How Mobileye is getting into the humanoid robotics game with its acquisition of Mentee Robotics  OpenAI's potential shift toward audio-first, screenless AI experiences  Chapters: 00:00 - Intro 00:38 - Discord's surprise IPO filing 03:24 - xAI's $20B raise amid CSAM controversy 11:06 - Mobileye's pivot to humanoid robotics 14:41 - Physical AI takes over CES 18:31 - Why humanoid robots still don't make sense 24:26 - OpenAI's war on screens and ambient computing 29:56 - Wrap-up Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vanessa Larco, partner at Premise and former partner at NEA, thinks 2026 will finally be the year of consumer AI.  Larco, who's been investing in consumer and prosumer for years, thinks we're about to see a shift in how consumers spend time online, with AI powering “concierge-like” services. The question is, will legacy consumer products like WebMD and TripAdvisor continue to exist as standalone apps, or will they just get absorbed into ChatGPT or Meta AI? And where can startups carve out an AI-powered niche for themselves?  Today on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sat down with Larco to talk about why consumer is back, what OpenAI won't kill, and where the real opportunities are hiding.  Listen to the full episode to hear about:  Why Larco thinks OpenAI won't build marketplace businesses that require managing real humans.  Larco’s take on "disposable software" and why AI apps “should be treated like Word docs.”  How Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses turned Larco into a believer in voice interfaces (and why she thinks screens are optional for most tasks).  More predictions for 2026, including another huge year for M&A.  What new business models stablecoins could unlock.   00:00 - Introduction   00:53 - Why founders are excited about consumer again   04:40 - The moat against OpenAI: Managing real humans   09:22 - Apps as disposable as Word docs   12:48 - Social media in the AI era  18:48 - Meta Ray-Bans and why wearables are actually good   23:35 - Stablecoins and consumer fintech opportunities   26:54 - M&A predictions for 2026  Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices