Praveen chintu

Silicon Valley Bank’s nosedive has soured many on venture debt, and for early-stage companies, it bears being cautious. As an option for growth-stage companies with more predictable cash flow, however, things may be a little different. TechCrunch+ spoke with David Spreng, founder and CEO of Runway Growth Capital and author of “ All Money Is Not Created Equal ” to help to clear up some of the misconceptions that surround debt. Even though the interest on venture debt is usually astronomical, venture debt’s main advantage is that it doesn’t require startups to give up any equity. Not diluting shares in order to raise money can have a huge impact on the economic outcomes, and raising money through a bank loan is usually much easier than raising a round of venture capital. Silicon Valley Bank: Here’s a timeline of the bank’s failure Though taking on debt isn’t always the best option, there are some circumstances you may find yourself in where it makes the most sense. Venture debt ...

Thomson Reuters is a venerable news and information organization, with its historical roots stretching all the way back to the 19th century. The two companies merged in 2008 and provide a combination of news and specialized information in areas like law, trade and accounting. The organization processes a ton of information every year, relying on a staff of 27,000 subject experts and journalists around the world to generate a variety of content. As generative AI has emerged in recent months, it would surely be tempting to use it in the newsroom, as other news organizations have done, and see this capability as an opportunity to reduce staff, cut costs and automate, automate, automate. While the company sees the benefits of AI for both its employees and customers, it is not in the worker replacement camp, at least not yet. Instead, it sees AI as a way to help customers find information faster, and help its employees operate more efficiently, removing the mundane parts of the job so pe...

It was an eventful week in fintech startup land, and we did our best to capture the highlights. We covered some raises, new product lines, at least one M&A deal and more. Oh, and if you want to receive this in your inbox in the future, sign up here . Lula tightens its belt and raises $35.5M at a 5x valuation One of the coolest things about covering startups is covering them in their earlier stages and then watching them grow and raise more money over time. During the 2021 funding boom, it was very common for companies that I had previously covered to raise another round at a higher valuation. During this quieter funding season in 2023, it’s far less so. But last week, I did get to report on Lula , a startup that aims to be the “Stripe for insurance.” Twin brothers Michael and Matthew Vega-Sanz started the company at the age of 24 in early 2020 and went on to raise an $18 million Series A (which I covered here ) in 2021. This past week, they announced a $35.5 million Series B co...

Dr. Adam Sanitt Contributor Dr. Adam Sanitt is a knowledge director specializing in financial disputes, technology and innovation at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. Laws and regulations for digital assets tend to arrive either too early or too late. Too early when they include details that turn out to be awkward or irrelevant when technology moves in a different direction. Too late when they wait for certainty and meanwhile leave important areas unregulated and vulnerable to fraud. The English Law Commission, in its final report on digital assets, proposes to solve this riddle with a new approach that might make the U.K. a jurisdiction of choice for DeFi and other digital asset structures. A lack of clarity in how they are treated by the courts prevents DeFi and the digital asset economy from developing more widely. As a holder of NFTs or a participant in DeFi, you might think that legal uncertainty does not affect you — cryptoassets exist independently of any leg...

Craig Corbett Contributor Share on Twitter Craig Corbett is a partner at Publicize , a PR agency helping tech leaders and investors push their brands to the front and center of a rapidly evolving media landscape. The advent of generative AI will lead to a tectonic shift in how startups do PR over the next few years. In July , the Associated Press became the first major news company to sign a deal with OpenAI, while media job cuts have reached record highs . Gutted newsrooms could stymie one of the greatest engines of startup growth. While generative AI will enhance the capabilities of many publications, they’re also creeping onto news sites in ways we can’t foresee while journalists are laid off. Inevitably, some startups will choose to use AI to churn out thought leadership and PR content. The problem with that is, if anyone and everyone can do something, then it becomes devoid of value. If any founder can ask ChatGPT to create a listicle on “5 reasons e-commerce will...

Hey, folks, and welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s newsletter that highlights key developments in the tech industry over the past few days. If you missed the news this week, no biggie. That’s what WiR is for. We’ll fill you in. In this edition, we cover Reed Jobs, the son of Steve Jobs, who is launching a new venture fund to back cancer treatments; China’s cutthroat e-commerce tactics; and fan-fiction writers rallying against a proposed U.S. law that could lead to greater surveillance online. Elsewhere, we pull back the curtains on Google Assistant reportedly pivoting to generative AI; NASA launching its own streaming service, called NASA+; and Walmart buying VC firm Tiger Global’s remaining Flipkart stake. If you haven’t already, sign up here to get WiR in your inbox every Saturday. Now, on with the recap. Most read Jobs fights cancer: Reed Jobs, the 31-year-old son of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, is stepping into the spotlight w...

The pandemic disrupted the office in a fundamental way. Remote work turned from a nice perk to a way of life for many. It’s an abrupt change for a tech industry that has a long history of rolling out perks to keep employees in the office for as long as conceivably possible. Google is among those corporations that has been pulling out all the stops to get Googler butts back into their Herman Miller Aerons. But a new perk is rubbing some employees the wrong way. The company is internally advertising a $99 “Summer Special” for its campus hotel. Granted, as someone who frequently books lodging in the South Bay, that’s quite a deal, but the whole bit about effectively sleeping at the office leaves a bit to be desired. “Just imagine no commute to the office in the morning and instead, you could have an extra hour of sleep and less friction,” the company writes. “Next, you could walk out of your room and quickly grab a delicious breakfast or get a workout in before work starts.” The “deal...