To buy this Bay Area home, you’ll need Anthropic equity

Recapping this week in startups

View this email online in your browser  May 01, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 To buy this Bay Area home, you’ll need Anthropic equity: Someone’s offering an unusual deal for a 13-acre property in Mill Valley, just north of San Francisco. Read More Founder of Shark Tank-backed startup Scholly sues his acquirer Sallie Mae: Chris Gray is suing his startup’s acquirer, Sallie Mae, for wrongful termination and alleging it's selling student data through a subsidiary. Sallie Mae denies the allegations and vows to fight. Read More India's Snabbit seeks fresh funding at a $400M valuation, sources say: Snabbit has scaled rapidly, crossing 1 million jobs in March, amid growing investor interest. Read More A message from Cannes Lions A new direction for creative tech. Specifically, eastward.  From Silicon Valley to the sunny French Riviera – for one week this summer, innovation has a new home. The Cannes Lions Classic Challenger Pass gives independent creative tech companies the chance to gain recognition on the global stage, and push the entire industry forward. Join us 22–26 June 2026 in Cannes, France.  Learn more Must-Reads FDA approval, fundraising, and the reality of building in healthcare according to BioticsAI founder: BioticsAI CEO Robhy Bustami joined Isabelle Johannessen on Build Mode to discuss how the company has navigated a highly regulated space and kept the team motivated while cutting through all the red tape. Read More Legal AI startup Legora hits $5.6B valuation and its battle with Harvey just got hotter: The two wildly fast-growing rivals have raised massive sums, pushed into each other's home turf, and now have dueling ad campaigns. Read More Y Combinator alum Skio sells for $105M cash, only raised $8M, founder says: Subscription billing fintech Skio sold to its competitor Recharge in what was a healthy exit, according to its founder and former CEO. Read More Two college kids raise a $5.1 million pre-seed to build an AI social network in iMessage: Series, a social networking app that's grown popular on college campuses, announced a $5.1 million pre-seed round from some big names in tech. Read More SpaceX backer 137 Ventures raises $700M for two growth-stage funds: VC firm 137 Ventures has raised over $700 million to back growth-stage startups. Its portfolio includes SpaceX, Anduril, Hadrian. Read More Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Register Now! Last but Not Least Parallel Web Systems hits $2B valuation five months after its last big raise: The AI agent-tool startup founded by former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has raised $100 million, led by Sequoia, months after raising a previous $100 million. 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

Sources: Cursor in talks to raise $2B+ at $50B valuation as enterprise growth surges

Recapping this week in startups

View this email online in your browser  April 24, 2026 TechCrunch Top 3 Sources: Cursor in talks to raise $2B+ at $50B valuation as enterprise growth surges: Returning backers a16z and Thrive are expected to lead the round. Read More Cathie Wood’s ARK makes its first lead investment in startup Lucra — and it isn’t AI : Lucra offers corporate loyalty programs reimagined as interactive esports. But winning ARK as a lead wasn't easy. Read More Esther and Anne Wojcicki back new healthcare accelerator, fund: Mary Minno launches early-stage startup accelerator program, Treehub, and an early-stage firm, AI Health Fund, aimed at backing startups working at the intersection of healthcare and AI. Read More A message from Cannes Lions This June, be in the room where progress happens. The Classic Start-Up Pass at Cannes Lions 2026 will put your new business in front of the global creative industry. Specifically designed for companies started within the last five years – this is your entry point to the Festival, and your moment to build a powerful growth-focused network. Join us 22–26 June 2026 in Cannes, France.  Learn more Must-Reads SusHi Tech Tokyo isn't a conference — it's a deal room with 60,000 people: When 60,000 attendees descend on Tokyo Big Sight April 27–29, the headline numbers are hard to ignore: 750 startup exhibitors, 151 sessions, city leaders from 49 countries. But the stat that tells you what kind of event this actually is? It's 10,000 facilitated business meetings — brokered, booked, and tracked before most attendees even land. Read More How SpaceX preempted a $2B fundraise with a $60B buyout offer: Cursor was on track to close a $2 billion funding round this week but chose to halt discussions after SpaceX offered a $10 billion "collaboration fee" and a path to a $60 billion acquisition. Read More Grab a ticket today: The first StrictlyVC of 2026 kicks off in just a week in San Francisco: StrictlyVC San Francisco is in just a week. Now’s the time to grab yourself a ticket. Join VCs and founders at Sentro Filipino Cultural Center on April 30. Read More Another customer of troubled startup Delve suffered a big security incident: TechCrunch has confirmed that Delve was the compliance company that performed the security certifications for Context AI, the AI agent training startup that last week disclosed a security incident. Read More Bret Taylor's Sierra buys YC-backed AI startup Fragment: Sierra, the AI customer service agent startup founded by technologist Bret Taylor, announced today that it has acquired the YC-backed French startup Fragment. Read More A message from TechCrunch Events StrictlyVC San Francisco takes off on April 30 StrictlyVC kicks off the event series in SF in less than a week. Join unfiltered fireside chats on fundraising, what it takes to build a physical AI breakthrough, and more with industry leaders like Eclipse Ventures co-founder Lior Susan, Replit co-founder Amjad Masad, and more. Make high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. Register Now Disrupt 2026: Where deals and ideas ignite Oct 13–15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, 10,000 founders, investors, and operators gather for high-signal insights, curated connections, and real momentum. Register Now! Last but Not Least Meet Noscroll, an AI bot that does your doomscrolling for you: Noscroll wants to cure doomscrolling with an AI bot that reads the internet for you. 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