<p>TechCrunch All Stage is returning to Boston, Massachusetts, on July 15 for a jam-packed day where founders — no matter what stage they&#8217;re in — will gain practical insights to fuel their startup growth. With a lineup of expert-led sessions, founders will leave with actionable strategies they can implement right away. Investors will also be [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Venture capital investment in European startups passed $52 billion last year, reflecting the market&#8217;s long-term growth trajectory and gradual stabilization after the out-sized peaks of 2021-2022 (driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic), and the comparative slump of 2023, according to a new report. Although 2024 has seen political and regulatory turmoil, Europe&#8217;s talent pool of [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Sequoia will shutter its Washington, D.C., office and part ways with the policy team there at the end of March, TechCrunch has confirmed. The news comes — and is somewhat in contrast — with the other prominent VC firms in Silicon Valley strengthening their ties with Capitol Hill and the new Trump administration. Andreessen Horowitz, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Ribbit Capital is raising $500 million for a new fund, an SEC filing seen by TechCrunch has revealed.</p>

<p>Critical Venture Partners is betting that young founders plucked fresh from universities can solve some of the world’s most intractable problems.</p>

<p>The new fund aims to restore nature to reverse biodiversity loss and emissions from land use.</p>

<p>TechCrunch All Stage (formerly Early Stage) returns to Boston on July 15, and the agenda for our tentpole East Coast founder event is almost complete. We’re excited to share this sneak peek at some of the fantastic speakers and sessions we have on tap.&nbsp; For builders who are just starting on their founder journey, our [&hellip;]</p>

<p>In this week&#8217;s episode of the StrictlyVC Download podcast, veteran VC Aileen Lee was direct about a major consequence of the recent boom-and-bust cycle: Many companies stuck in limbo aren’t just struggling to regain their footing after raising too much money at unsustainable valuations; they’ve also lost the champions who once backed them. Lee was [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Flock Safety and one of its long-time VCs, Bedrock Capital, announced Thursday that the startup raised a fresh $275 million at a $7.5 billion valuation. Flock makes computer vision-enabled video surveillance technology used by law enforcement as well as businesses, property management companies, and so on. It&#8217;s best known for its automatic license plate recognition [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Y Combinator, one of the world&#8217;s most prolific startup accelerators, sent a letter on Wednesday urging the Trump administration to openly support Europe&#8217;s Digital Markets Act (DMA), a wide-ranging piece of legislation that aims to crack open Big Tech&#8217;s market power. The DMA designates six tech companies as &#8220;gatekeepers&#8221; to the internet — Alphabet, Amazon, [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Amid geopolitical tensions and volatile markets, the question of Europe&#8217;s ability to weather the storms ahead, especially as President Trump seems intent on having his pound of tariffs from the continent, is looming large. But an extensive new report claims deep tech is poised to become a key pillar of Europe&#8217;s security, defense, and future [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Over the last 15 years or so, as European venture capital shifted into a higher gear, one way to help a nation&#8217;s ecosystem flourish was to invest in founders from that country, regardless of where they were based. This would help re-patriate the entrepreneurial mindset back home. In Europe, the approach was pioneered in part [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Otherwise Fund&#8217;s Terrance Rohan, investing in Y Combinator since 2010, says he noticed a &#8220;vibe shift&#8221; with this batch thanks to AI.</p>

<p>The intersection of robotics and AI continues to attract attention from investors and Big Tech alike. The latest indicator? Dexterity, a startup specializing in industrial robots with &#8220;human-like&#8221; finesse, has raised $95 million at a post-money valuation of $1.65 billion, per Bloomberg. The investment, which includes backing from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Sumitomo Corp., highlights [&hellip;]</p>

<p>A new venture firm called Leitmotif has been on a quiet blitz for the last 16 months, funding around 20 startups broadly focused on decarbonization. Its portfolio includes EV companies, space and battery plays, and four nuclear fusion startups. But the firm has only said its funding is from “European industrial interests.” Now, Leitmotif has [&hellip;]</p>

<p>It’s no secret that AI has eaten the lion’s share of funding over the past couple of years, with investments into the sector surging 62% to $110 billion in 2024 alone, while startup funding overall declined 12%.&nbsp; Startups may think that just adding “AI” to their company’s name might help them secure that funding. But [&hellip;]</p>

<p>African VC firm Equator has raised $55M for its first fund, which will back early-stage climate tech startups on the continent.</p>

<p>Unlike AI competitors, DeepSeek’s founder Liang Wenfeng is in no hurry to get investment from outsiders.</p>

<p>Given how much money VCs are pouring into AI startups these days, it may seem like VCs have decided: If it’s not AI, they won’t write a big check. But that’s not exactly what’s happening. Dealmaking at the moment is more nuanced, said VC Insight Partners Managing Director Ryan Hinkle during a recent Equity podcast. [&hellip;]</p>

<p>Europe is waking up to the need to invest in defense, and so are European VCs. But with a painful history of Soviet occupations, Lithuania didn’t wait for the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to reach its third anniversary to commit 5% to 6% of its GDP to military spending — and fund [&hellip;]</p>