Factory CEO just accused his VC board adviser of spying for Cognition

Recapping this week in startups

View this email online in your browser  October 02, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Factory CEO just accused his VC board adviser of spying for Cognition: VC Chris Degnan and former board adviser to Factory AI has taken a job as chief revenue officer for competitor Cognition -- and everyone is arguing on X about it. Read More Maritime intelligence startup Quartermaster raises another $140M: The tech enables real-time awareness for what Quartermaster calls the “largest blind spot on Earth.” Read More MAVI bets on the AI boom creating demand for a new kind of accountant: Accounting staffing company MAVI emerges from stealth with $4 million in funding. Read More A message from Altum Sequencing Altum Sequencing transforms cancer treatment monitoring Cancer treatment is becoming increasingly personalized. Monitoring should be too. Altum combines liquid biopsy, ultra-sensitive NGS and AI to monitor treatment response, detect molecular relapse earlier and identify emerging resistance. This company is part of Santander X, the global community of Santander X. Discover our technology Must-Reads AI voice startup ElevenLabs doubles valuation to $22B: The $300 million employee tender was co-led by Wellington and T. Rowe Price. Read More a16z-backed EliseAI raises $350M, doubles valuation to $4B: EliseAI raises $350M, doubles valuation in a year. Read More Kevin Mandia's new 'agent swarm' security startup Armadin raises $255.5M at $2.5B valuation: Kevin Mandia, best known as the founder of Mandiant, has a new startup that is using agent swarms to test and protect enterprises. Read More TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Blackstone’s Jas Khaira on building the next generation of AI giants: Blackstone's Jas Khaira will take the Builders Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 on building next-gen AI. Register for your pass and get 50% off a second. Read More Photon held a funeral for mobile apps. Now it has $4.5M to help replace them with agents.: The startup helps developers build AI agents that work over iMessage, SMS/RCS, email, and other messaging platforms. It's a bet that consumers will increasingly use agents instead of downloading apps. Read More A message from Invest Hong Kong Asia’s #1 Fintech Center Welcomes U.S. Fintechs to HONG KONG Hong Kong – Asia’s Fintech capital, Innovation Hub to the Greater Bay Area and gateway to the Chinese Mainland – invites U.S. Fintechs to join a U.S. delegation for Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026, November 2–6. Access a curated program, meet key players in Hong Kong’s fintech ecosystem and discover how YOU can grow YOUR Fintech in Asia’s World City! More Information Here Last but Not Least TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Clay’s Kareem Amin on the rise of the GTM engineer: Clay Co-founder and CEO Kareem Amin joins the AI Stage to discuss the rise of GTM engineer at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register for your ticket and get a second pass at 50% off. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107

A small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline

Recapping this week in startups

View this email online in your browser  September 25, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 A small but growing number of founders are betting on bringing people together offline: On the surface, a game console and a leathercraft school don't appear to have much in common. But both founders think there's money in fostering the kind of connection that technology has eroded over the last couple of decades. Read More Modal Motors is trying to cut China out of electric motors entirely: The startup is working on small, light motors with no rare-earth magnets that are suited for drones, fans, and robots. Read More Morphotonics raises €40M to expand its display tech into data centers: Deep tech company Morphotonics raises €40M from investors including 3M Ventures, Innovation Industries, BOM, and Invest-NL. Read More A message from Altum Sequencing Altum Sequencing is raising €5M to scale globally Altum Sequencing is raising €5M to scale its personalized cancer monitoring platform, combining liquid biopsy, ultra-sensitive NGS, longitudinal molecular data and AI. The round will accelerate regulatory development, Altum Atlas and international expansion. This company is part of Santander X, the global community of Santander X. Explore the opportunity Must-Reads Databricks buys Row Zero and is scouting for more startups to acquire: Databricks has bought cloud spreadsheet startup Row Zero, adding yet another acquisition to its 2026 shopping spree. Read More PitPro's first tire-changing robot goes live in Canada: The startup says its automated system can change four tires in under 15 minutes. Read More Nexterity wants to automate the hard, dangerous part of pipefitting: The startup's robot can tighten or loosen four bolts at a time, and it fits in a Pelican case. Read More A new kind of AI model from a ChatGPT inventor is thrilling developers: Jev, a new kind of AI model, is showing developers a cheaper and faster path to software intelligence. Read More Meet the next wave of VCs judging Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026: Meet the next wave of VCs judging the Startup Battlefield 200 contenders on the main stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Register by September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT, to save up to $200 and to get a front-row seat to one of the most intense startup pitch competitions. Read More A message from Invest Hong Kong Asia’s #1 Fintech Center Welcomes U.S. Fintechs to HONG KONG Hong Kong – Asia’s Fintech capital, Innovation Hub to the Greater Bay Area and gateway to the Chinese Mainland – invites U.S. Fintechs to join a U.S. delegation for Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026, November 2–6. Access a curated program, meet key players in Hong Kong’s fintech ecosystem and discover how YOU can grow YOUR Fintech in Asia’s World City! More Information Here Last but Not Least Meet Feather, the startup building the 'Android of robotics' for developers: Feather is betting on a customizable, $30,000 platform built for software developers. Read More Check out some of our other newsletters: StrictlyVC TechCrunch Events TechCrunch Mobility Got a tip? Get in touch securely. Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Unsubscribe Member Center Privacy Policy Copyright © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC 501 2nd Street, Suite 650, San Francisco, CA 94107