We heard your requests, and this season of Build Mode we’re diving deep into all things fundraising! Join us as we sit down with founders and investors to talk about seed rounds, crowdfunding, bootstrapping, IPOs, and more starting July 9. 🎙️ Subscribe here: spr.ly/6008BEBVc6

For thousands of years, hair braiding has been a manual task, taking up to 12 hours at a stretch. And a robotics startup launched this week to drastically cut down on that time. Meet HaloBraid, whose first device acts as a braiding assistant for professional stylists.

As Flutterwave's ambitions to connect the African continent through cross-border payments expand, Ripple is now putting an equity investment into the mix to bring their valuation past $3.2B.

On one hand, US-based, Black-founded startups have already raised $643M, 70% of what was raised in the entirety of last year. But dig a little deeper, and you'll find "...a persistent decline in funding to Black-founded companies that outpaces the overall decline in startup funding."

No matter how viable it may be in the long term, AI has already reshaped the economy in expected,and unexpected, ways. The latest Equity podcast dives right in as we enter the OpenAI and Anthropic IPO frenzy this summer: spr.ly/63328B87LLQ

Applications for this year's Startup Battlefield competition close TONIGHT at midnight PT. If you're still procrastinating, or need to learn more, everything you need to act, apply, and potentially win startup stardom is available right here: spr.ly/63325B8LahJ

Get a more detailed walkthrough of Siri AI's new capabilities from #WWDC26, and while an update will be available today, the full Siri AI revamp will be available in beta later this year.

If you're still using a Vision Pro, Apple's big Siri AI update for you is...a floating bubble you can talk to 🤔

Want to change how the new Siri AI sounds? You can tweak its voice, before you try out what Apple claims at #WWDC26 are improved dictation capabilities.

Meet the revamped Siri…Apple’s new effort to catch up with the AI competition and bring its longstanding assistant into a new era at #WWDC26

Founders, you have one more shot! Startup Battlefield deadline is TODAY. Don't wait, send in your application asap right here: spr.ly/63321B8iiAX

There’s just one day left to apply for Startup Battlefield! Applications don’t get stronger sitting around as a draft, and victory at the grand stage of Disrupt 2026 could be yours: spr.ly/63324B8iiZq

Inverting one of 2026's trends, Impulse Space just closed a $500M Series D...and it's using it not to build out AI infrastructure, nor automation. It's hiring up to 200 engineers. And we dive into why they're going against the grain in the latest Equity podcast: spr.ly/63328B8tgEa

Was ChatGPT's initial pricing based on a model...or a vibe and a guess? With costs rising, the pricing reality is crashing into the expectations set by that $20/month fee. The Equity podcast team dives right into the new AI economics: spr.ly/63329B8twG7

The influx of funding in defense tech could leave many startups left in the "valley of death" between initial funding and high expectations. We talked to Anduril's first investor on the harsh realities that set in between prototyping and deployment: spr.ly/6009B8tecZ

Uber went from "we blew our AI budget" to "we need usage caps" in about six weeks. If that's happening at a company that size, what does Anthropic's S1 risk section look like? 🤔 We explore that and more in the latest episode of Equity: spr.ly/6006B8tXlY

For companies like Discord, Dropbox, Cloudflare, and more, Startup Battlefield was a major landmark on their journey to success. And the first step to joining them is simple: apply to compete and be showcased at Disrupt 2026 by our June 8 deadline! spr.ly/63329B8imjZ

🚨 Startup Battlefield’s deadline has been extended to June 8 🚨 The competition that helped launch Dropbox, Discord, Fitbit, and more awaits. Apply here: spr.ly/63322B8i9zM

Founders, you have one more shot! This year’s Startup Battlefield deadline is now June 8. Our 1,700-strong alumni network has raised $32B, with 250+ exits. And your startup could be next: spr.ly/6189B8iimh

Build something that could change an entire industry? You have a chance to show the world what you're capable of. This could be you taking a victory lap at Disrupt 2026, and that journey starts by applying to Startup Battlefield by June 8: spr.ly/63327B8ilxc

🚨 Startup Battlefield’s deadline has been extended to June 8 🚨 The competition that helped launch Dropbox, Discord, Fitbit, and more awaits. Apply here: spr.ly/63325B8igIU

⏰ TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 Early Bird pricing ends TONIGHT at 11:59 PM PT. Save up to $410 for the fall's biggest event for the startup community, Oct 13–15 in San Francisco. Lock your registration in right now: spr.ly/63325B8b2Ix

Did you leave your application half-finished? Or are you just learning about Startup Battlefield for the first time? There's still an opportunity to get your startup the visibility it deserves, applications will be open for a few more hours! spr.ly/63323B8VY0S

Some companies become history. This cohort becomes a community. Today's the deadline for Startup Battlefield, and if you were procrastinating on applying, now's the time to get your submission completed! spr.ly/63320B8VYdw

There’s just one day left! This is your reminder that Startup Battlefield applications don’t get stronger sitting in drafts. We want promising imperfection, send them in before it’s too late: spr.ly/63323B8Vccz

Two weeks left! If you’re serious about applying to Startup Battlefield, this is the time to tighten your video, sharpen your differentiation, and apply: spr.ly/63321BBeV1W

Two weeks left! If you’re serious about applying to Startup Battlefield, this is the time to tighten your video, sharpen your differentiation, and apply: spr.ly/63322BBepIE

If you’re on the fence about Startup Battlefield, you have nothing to lose but a couple of minutes, and the upside is a global launchpad for your startup. Apply now: spr.ly/63321BB1uRP

Act now before our Disrupt 2026 flash sale ends! Whether you're a founder, VC or member of the startup community, you can save for our big event October 13-15 in San Francisco. You have until midnight PT, so don't wait! spr.ly/63329B6LSyV

⏱️ 4 days to lock in Disrupt discounts! Super Early Bird pricing ends soon — don’t miss up to $680 in savings: spr.ly/6017hiDoR Join 10,000+ founders, VCs, and builders for curated insights, tomorrow's innovation, and powerful networking — all in San Francisco, October 13-15 🚀