Equity

Recent Episodes

1. Automattic's 33-Hour coup, and can AI labs police themselves?

   Sep 18, 2026

   TechCrunch's Equity podcast panel discusses Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's proposal to "pace the frontier" of AI development through independent safety evaluators and coordination between labs, examining whether industry self-regulation can work and who benefits from the status quo. The hosts also cover Automattic's chaotic 33-hour boardroom coup that returned CEO Matt Mullenweg to power with increased control, May Mobility's SPAC merger to go public as the first autonomous ride-hailing company, and DoorDash's $425 million investment in Wonder, a ghost kitchen delivery platform.

2. Why Thrive, Founders Fund, and Antonio Gracias are betting on hearing aids

   Sep 16, 2026

   Matthew de Jonge, CEO and co-founder of Fortell, discusses how AI and custom chip design are disrupting the hearing aid industry. Fortell recently raised $163 million from Founders Fund, Thrive Capital, and Valor Equity Partners to build AI-powered hearing aids that intelligently filter sounds in real time rather than indiscriminately amplifying all audio. De Jonge explains the technical approach, the market opportunity, and Fortell's scaling strategy through both brick-and-mortar audiology clinics and remote fitting services.

3. An ex-Anthropic researcher’s doomsday warning comes at a very interesting time

   Sep 11, 2026

   Jacob Coxon, an Anthropic researcher, publicly resigned this week citing concerns that the company is "racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives." Anthropic's own alignment lead co-signed his warning rather than walking it back, amplifying the message ahead of the company's reported IPO filing. The episode explores the timing and implications of this AI safety warning alongside coverage of Apple's new AI-focused hardware event, Stoke Space's $1 billion rocket funding, Cognition's $2 billion AI coding raise, and Blue Core Energy's nuclear power barge startup.

4. ControlAI's Connor Leahy on why superintelligence is ‘not a weapon, it's an adversary’

   Sep 9, 2026

   Connor Leahy, U.S. Executive Director of nonprofit ControlAI, discusses the existential risks of superintelligent AI and advocates for regulatory bans on its development. He explains why technical alignment solutions are insufficient, references recent AI safety incidents including the Hugging Face breach, and details proposed legislation like the Sanders-Casar 'Ban Superintelligence Act' and parallel UK measures designed to prevent the creation of artificial superintelligence.

5. Apple's Ternus era begins as Nvidia bets on the whole AI stack

   Sep 4, 2026

   This episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast features hosts Kirsten Korosec and Sean O'Kane discussing major tech developments: Apple's transition to new CEO John Ternus and what his tenure means for the company's AI strategy and relationship with the White House; Nvidia's aggressive expansion across the AI stack through acquisitions like Hugging Face and strategic investments; and the rapidly evolving robotaxi landscape with Tesla's Cybercab event, Waymo's expansion into new cities, and Zoox's first paid rides. The hosts also cover Andreessen Horowitz's new $1.1 billion Machine Age fund for AI hardware and GoPro's acquisition by Starman Optical for $285 million.

6. We're ‘dangerously close’ to dead internet theory according to Pangram's CEO

   Sep 2, 2026

   Max Spero, co-founder and CEO of Pangram, discusses the startup's AI detection technology designed to combat AI-generated content flooding the internet. Pangram recently raised $9 million and partnered with Substack to flag AI-assisted and AI-generated writing in newsletters. The conversation covers how Pangram's detection works beyond binary classification to measure degrees of AI assistance, emerging use cases in fraud prevention and content verification, and the company's vision to become core infrastructure for maintaining human authenticity online.

7. Will TikTok and YouTube follow Meta’s new rules for teens?

   Aug 28, 2026

   The Equity team discusses Meta's $18 billion settlement with 29 states over teen safety, including its open letter to TikTok and YouTube proposing industry-wide standards. The episode also covers a wave of robotics startups raising billions in pursuit of foundation models for physical tasks, OSHA safety data on autonomous vehicle test drivers, Gatik's $200 million raise for self-driving box trucks, and Hugging Face's reported $13 billion acquisition by Nvidia.

8. From the Spotify Mafia to the Lovable Mafia: inside Stockholm's founder network

   Aug 26, 2026

   Sophia Bendz, a partner at Cherry Ventures and former Spotify global marketing director, discusses Stockholm's explosive startup ecosystem growth, examining why Swedish AI companies like Lovable, Legora, and Neko Health are achieving billion-dollar valuations. The conversation explores how the "Spotify Mafia" mentors younger founders, the role of Sweden's social safety net in enabling risk-taking, the influx of US capital into the region, and the emerging "Lovable Mafia" following in the footsteps of earlier generations.

9. The DOJ is investigating a16z. What does this mean for venture capital?

   Aug 21, 2026

   This episode of Equity examines the DOJ's ongoing investigation into Andreessen Horowitz for holding board seats at competing portfolio companies Databricks and Fivetran, exploring what this means for venture capital governance and antitrust enforcement. The hosts also discuss the consolidation wave in mid-tier AI companies following Stripe's $7.5 billion acquisition of OpenRouter, the pivot of Rivian spinout Also toward autonomous vehicle technology, Uber's expansion of drone delivery through Zipline, and whether AI dictation apps have reached peak valuation with Whisper's $2 billion round.

10. AI has a GPU pricing problem. Silicon Data wants to fix it.

    Aug 19, 2026

    Steve Hou, head of research at Silicon Data, discusses the startup's mission to create a reference price index for GPU rental and establish compute futures contracts on the CME, launching October 5th pending regulatory approval. The conversation explores how futures markets can help AI infrastructure companies hedge compute price risk, and Hou presents data suggesting older GPU chips like the A100 remain in high demand due to strong agentic AI adoption, contradicting narratives of rapid chip depreciation and data center slowdown.