Ingrid Lunden
Managing Editor, Global
The Latest from Ingrid Lunden
Hopin, the struggling virtual conference unicorn, sells events and engagement units to RingCentral
Hopin, the virtual events startup that saw its star (and valuation) rise quickly during the Covid-19 pandemic, is most definitely coming down to earth. Today the company announced that it has sold its
Tradeshift raises $70M, launches financing JV with HSBC focused on B2B trade
Global trade has been in a slump, in part due to ongoing economic pressures in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with some glimmers of recovery on the horizon, a startup that’s built busin
NATO announces $1B fund to back startups supporting ‘safety, freedom and human empowerment’
After announcing plans nearly two years ago, defense alliance NATO has officially closed its first fund to back startups that are building technology strategic to NATO’s own goals in defense and
Rapyd acquires a piece of PayU from Prosus for $610M to scale its fintech-as-a-service platform
Rapyd, the fintech-as-a-service startup that provides APIs to enable payments, card issuing, digital wallet and other financial services to companies like Uber and Ikea, is taking a significant step f
Airalo locks in $60M to expand its eSIM-based global roaming ‘marketplace’
Travel is back on the agenda after a COVID-19 hiatus, and today a mobile startup is announcing a healthy round of funding to capitalize on that. Airalo — which uses software-based eSIM connectiv
Cash-strapped instant delivery giant Getir, trying to close funding, pulls out of Spain, Italy and Portugal
More tough times for the instant-delivery startups that once flooded the markets of Europe. Getir, the company backed by Sequoia and other big investors and once valued at upwards of $12 billion, toda
AutogenAI, a generative AI tool for writing bids and pitches, secures $22.3M
Business is regularly won and lost on the strength of a proposal. Now, a startup out of London called AutogenAI has built a tool based on generative AI that it claims can help businesses write stronge
Source: CrowdStrike is close to acquiring Bionic.AI for between $200M and $300M
It sounds like another M&A deal is about to go down in the world of cybersecurity. Sources tell TechCrunch that CrowdStrike is in advanced negotiations to acquire Bionic.AI — a security post
Bunq, the Dutch neobank, has raised $111M at a flat $1.8B valuation to break into the US
Remote working and digital nomads became two very prominent aspects of the world of work during the pandemic, shedding light on the millions of people who live in one country but earn money in another
OpenAI’s head of trust and safety Dave Willner steps down
A significant personnel change is afoot at OpenAI, the artificial intelligence juggernaut that has nearly single-handedly inserted the concept of generative AI into global public discourse with the la
Preply, the language app known for its live tutors, closes out Series C at $120M and doubles down on AI
Language learning platform Preply made a name for itself for connecting students with a selection of some 35,000 tutors and group classes across some 50 languages. Now it’s looking to the future
Neura Robotics picks up $55M to ramp up in cognitive robotics
Neura Robotics, a German startup that since 2019 has been building cognitive robots — machines that possess memory, the ability to operate across a complex and changing mix of variables, and can
Cognaize raises $18M to build a better LLM for the finance sector, one that keeps humans in the loop
Artificial intelligence has had a major impact over the years in the finance sector, helping neobanks personalize services for customers, lenders evaluate loan applications, digital providers detect f
Hammerspace ingests $56M for a new approach to work with vast amounts of unstructured data
Data may be “the new oil,” but only when it can be extracted and put to use. Today, a five-year-old startup called Hammerspace that is giving any kind of data that lease of life is announc
Tractable snaps up $65M led by SoftBank for car and property damage appraisals using AI
When it comes to transforming business operations, artificial intelligence holds a lot of promise across many industries. Today, a startup that has been an early mover in the area of applying AI, and
VanMoof, the e-bike startup, officially declared bankrupt in The Netherlands
Another grim stage for VanMoof, the e-bike startup backed by venture capitalists to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. After making a last-hour effort to stave off bankruptcy last week, the
Isometric taps $25M to build a registry and science platform focused on carbon removal
Carbon removal — technology that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it in geological, terrestrial or ocean reservoirs—or in durable products — saw a big splash of atte
Thunes pockets $72M at a $900M+ valuation to expand its cross-border, B2B payment platform
Thunes, a Singapore and London-based fintech that has built a payments platform for businesses to send money to each other internationally by tapping into the growing network of mobile wallets and oth
Gamified e-learning platform Kahoot gets $1.7B acquisition offer from Goldman Sachs, Lego and more
Big moves ahead for Kahoot, the Oslo startup that’s built a popular platform for users to create, share and play education-focused “games”, played by billions of students and adults
Causaly, an AI platform for drug discovery and biomedical research, raises $60M
Artificial intelligence has been a big theme in the world of health and medical research, and specifically in the area of drug discovery. Today, another hopeful in the space is announcing a funding ro