OpenAI Is Shooting For AGI But Landing In Studio Ghibli Equity podcast

25:21

Generative AI is reshaping the way people work, from full-time employees to freelancers. As coding copilots, design assistants, and AI-powered writing tools become more capable and accessible, creative and technical roles are starting to shift – if not become eliminated entirely. The pressure to adapt is growing across the board. Micha Kaufman, CEO of Fiverr, isn’t sugarcoating it. In a recent open letter to staff , he warned that AI is coming for everyone’s jobs, and the only way to stay relevant is to embrace AI tools and automation. Get better, get faster, or get left behind. Kaufman joined Rebecca Bellan on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast to help unpack what all of this means for the future of work – be it freelance or employed – and what you can do to survive. Listen to the full episode to hear about: How Fiverr plans to stay relevant as a human-powered marketplace in an AI-driven world Why Kaufman believes AI will raise the bar for everyone, but top talent can still stand out and earn more What new grads and early-career professionals are up against in today’s tough job market Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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Inside Anthropic's AI Ambitions with Jared Kaplan 28:39

6 days ago28:39

28:39

Instead of our usual Friday news rundown, we’re bringing you a conversation from this week’s TC Sessions: AI event out in San Francisco. Our friend and co-host Max Zeff sat down with Jared Kaplan, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer at Anthropic. If you’ve been following Anthropic, you’ll know it’s been a busy year for the AI startup. Back in March, the company announced it raised $3.5 billion at a $61.5 billion valuation in a round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Since then, it’s launched a blog for its Claude models and, according to Bloomberg reporting, partnered with Apple to power a new “vibe-coding” software platform. Listen to the full conversation to hear more about: ⁠Who has direct access to Claude’s AI models⁠ , Windsurf’s response, and how it all ties into Anthropic’s broader goals around openness, safety, and sustainability. The company’s pivot away from chatbots and toward agentic AI systems that can perform real tasks. How internal tools like Claude Code are shaping the future of AI-powered development. What it means to build AI that enterprises can actually trust, and how that affects the way humans interact with software, work, and each other. Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on ⁠ Apple Podcasts ⁠ , ⁠ Overcast ⁠ , ⁠ Spotify ⁠ and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on ⁠ X ⁠ and ⁠ Threads ⁠ , at @EquityPod. Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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CrowdStrike’s former CTO on cyber rivalries and how automation can undermine security for early-stage startups 29:24

8 days ago29:24

29:24

Today on Equity, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Crowdstrike co-founder and former CTO, Dmitri Alperovitch, to talk about the evolving cybersecurity landscape, the role of startups, and why he says we’re living in a World on the Brink . Listen to the full episode to hear about: What early-stage secure-by-design startup founders are missing when it comes to maintaining security while building quickly and crisis management. How AI export controls and global rivalries are reshaping innovation. What investors are really looking for when backing cybersecurity startups today. Equity will be back Friday with a behind-the-scenes look at TC Sessions: AI , so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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Elon dips from DOGE, and Silicon Valley enters the 'find out' stage 30:22

13 days ago30:22

30:22

Elon Musk has officially announced he’s stepping down as a U.S. special government employee and the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE. The move follows Musk’s cooling relationship with the Trump administration and slumping Tesla sales tied to his political advocacy. Today on Equity , Kirsten, Max and Anthony unpack who else is departing DOGE, and why Silicon Valley’s relationship with politics is entering, as Kirsten put it, the “find out” stage. Listen to the full episode for more of the week’s tech headlines including: GameStop bought $500 million of bitcoin , and the move is giving us 2021 déjà vu Neuralink’s $600 million raise , valuing Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface startup at $9 billion The New York Times and Amazon’s landmark AI licensing deal and what it signals for how editorial content powers generative AI Nvidia’s tale of two earnings , and why the forecast is not as bleak as CEO Jensen Huang makes it seem Equity will be back next week, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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What founders need to know about tech’s growing influence in D.C. 24:51

15 days ago24:51

24:51

Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan caught up with Daniel Weiner , director of the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program, to break down what this means for startups, innovation, and democracy. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril leveraged insider networks to win major defense deals. Changing ethics safeguards, and why that matters for founders entering government spaces. What this all means for fair competition and startups trying to break in. Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news round-up. Don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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OpenAI goes all in with Jony Ive as Google plays AI catchup 33:08

20 days ago33:08

33:08

OpenAI just made its biggest acquisition yet , scooping up Jony Ive and Sam Altman’s secretive device startup, io, in a $6.5 billion all-equity deal. Ive, the legendary designer behind the iPhone and other iconic Apple products, will now lead creative and design work at OpenAI through his firm LoveFrom. The goal? To take AI “beyond the screen” and build a new generation of AI-powered consumer devices. Beyond the tech, there’s a clear narrative play here. OpenAI is framing Altman as the Jobs-esque visionary and Ive as the design genius who makes it all real. Social media had a field day with the staged buddy shots of the duo, but the messaging is hard to miss: Take the iPhone launch, and make it AI. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha unpack the deal, dive into AI wearables, and discuss more of this week’s tech headlines. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Max’s inside scoop from Google I/O : the return of Google Glass and developers’ reactions to Google’s AI-powered search upgrades Luminar drama from layoffs to CEO step downs and the lidar startup’s potential $200 million fundraising effort 23andMe ’s second life, and what the company’s new buyer plans to do with users’ DNA data Equity will be back next week, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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Serve is betting that food delivery and access to public markets are the keys to scaling robotics 30:43

22 days ago30:43

30:43

Today on Equity , Rebecca Bellan caught up with Ali Kashani , co-founder and CEO of Serve Robotics , to unpack how Serve is navigating public markets, scaling real-world robotics, and building what it hopes is the future of last-mile delivery. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How Serve went from a lidar-focused startup to a publicly traded company via reverse merger in 2023 What it takes to scale a delivery fleet across cities like L.A., Miami, and Dallas Why Kashani says Serve’s sidewalk bots collect four times more visual data per day than GPT-4’s vision model How ground robots and drones might work together to finally crack last-mile logistics Equity will be back Friday with our weekly news round-up, and special Google I/O coverage from Max. Don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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$1 Billion a lot of money these days? 23:53

27 days ago23:53

23:53

Databricks just snatched up another AI company . This week, data analytics giant announced a $1 billion acquisition of Neon, a startup building an open-source alternative to AWS Aurora Postgres. It’s the latest in a spree of high-profile buys, joining MosaicML and Tabular , as Databricks positions itself as the place to build, deploy, and scale AI-native applications. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff, and Anthony Ha unpack the Databricks–Neon deal, where Neon’s serverless Postgres tech fits into the larger vision, and whether $1 billion still counts as “a lot of money” these days (spoiler: Kirsten and Anthony are on the fence). Listen to the full episode to hear about: Chime’s long-awaited IPO plans and what the neobank’s S-1 did (and didn’t) reveal. AWS entering a ‘strategic partnership’ that could shake up cloud infrastructure, especially as the Middle East ramps up its AI ambitions The return of the web series . Yes, really. Short-form scripted content is back, and investors are placing big bets on nostalgic trend Equity will be back next week, so don’t miss it! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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Unpacking Rippling vs Deel: corporate espionage and a $16B plot twist 22:37

29 days ago22:37

22:37

Despite courtroom chaos, Rippling is still going full steam ahead. The HR tech startup at the center of an increasingly dramatic legal battle with rival Deel just raised a fresh $450 million in funding at a $16.8 billion valuation, and launched a new “Startup Stack” to woo early-stage companies—winning over Y Combinator as both an investor and a client. The funding lands amid the company’s high-profile legal fight with Deel , which Rippling accuses of movie-worthy corporate espionage, complete with secret crypto payments and decoy Slack channels. Deel has denied the claims and fired back with its own lawsuit, calling Rippling’s accusations a “distraction.” Today on Equity , Mary Ann Azevedo and Charles Rollet are digging into the HR tech showdown from legal drama to IPO implications and global intrigue. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: The alleged spy, Rippling’s evidence, and Deel’s denials YC’s involvement in Rippling’s latest project, and why the move is raising eyebrows The potential impact on IPOs for both companies Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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Meta's speeding up the "Mad Men to Math Men" pipeline 31:08

5 weeks ago31:08

31:08

At Stripe’s Sessions conference this week, Mark Zuckerberg pitched what he calls the “ ultimate business machine ”: a fully automated, end-to-end AI ad engine promising to replace agencies, creatives, and media buyers. You just need to connect your bank account first. Zuckerberg claims this could be one of the most valuable AI systems ever built, generating thousands of image ads and testing them in real time, but it raises a bigger question: is this the future of advertising, or just another wave of AI slop flooding your feed? Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are unpacking why Zuckerberg’s vision could be a marketer’s dream or creative agency’s worst nightmare, and what else caught our eye in tech this week. Listen to the full episode to hear about: How Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro managed to beat Pokémon Blue . Max was unimpressed, but the Equity crew thinks gamifying AI benchmarks might be the way to go. The countertop robot that handles some parts of cooking for you, with emphasis on some Uber’s continued push into autonomous vehicles and what Waymo’s doing in the mix A new venture from Brian Armstrong that just raised $130 million to develop cutting-edge age-reversing treatments, and who else is using AI to help us live forever Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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StrictlyVC Download: Why Eric Slesinger, a former CIA officer, is now funding European defense tech 30:10

5 weeks ago30:10

30:10

Today, we're bringing you an episode of our sister podcast, StrictlyVC Download . StrictlyVC's Alex Gove caught up with Eric Slesinger from 201 Ventures , a venture capital firm focused on seed-stage defense tech startups in Europe. They discuss Eric's journey from CIA to investor and how he recognized the untapped potential in European defense tech while others were dismissive, and how he's working to overcome the cultural taboo that once made defense investments "bad manners" in European VC circles. Equity will be back on Friday with our weekly news roundup, so stay tuned! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

1
Damn, the Cluely ragebait got us 29:08

6 weeks ago29:08

29:08

What if cheating was just…the future of work? That’s the pitch behind Cluely , the viral AI startup that claims its stealthy browser overlay is “undetectable” and can help users bluff their way through everything from job interviews to exams. The company has raised $5.3 million and sparked a wave of backlash from startups building tools to catch cheaters . Cluely’s response? They’ll just build smart glasses or brain chips. Today, on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Max Zeff and Anthony Ha are getting into the week’s headlines, including whether Cluely’s viral strategy is genius, gross, or both, and what it says about the future of work in the AI age. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Sam Altman’s latest World event in San Francisco where eyeball scans met privacy concerns Why Shein’s IPO is under threat from new tariffs, and how companies like Amazon are bracing for 100%+ duty increases on Chinese goods Waymo and Toyota’s agreement to explore autonomous tech integration The messy world of AI benchmarks and which major companies are allegedly gaming the system with LM Arena Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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The rise of retail investors in secondaries, and why delayed IPOs will become the norm 25:03

6 weeks ago25:03

25:03

Retail investors are increasingly shaping the secondary market. In Q4 2024, platforms like EquityZen reported that 86% of total transaction volume came from retail participants—an eye-catching shift as tools like Forge and EquityZen promise broader access to private shares. But does more access mean more opportunity, or more risk? Today on Equity , Rebecca Bellan is joined by Jared Carmel of Manhattan Venture Partners to dig into what he calls a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” in secondaries, and why he sees this market as a “pressure relief valve” that could keep startups private well past their startup years. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: Why a sluggish IPO market is pushing more action into secondaries How this creates a flywheel for venture capital And why Jared thinks robust secondary markets will delay (or eliminate) the need for IPOs altogether Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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Big Tech’s antitrust cases are starting to feel like Groundhog Day 32:25

7 weeks ago32:25

32:25

Today on Equity , we're digging into the week’s headlines, from browsers and search to AI and social, and why Google and Meta's antitrust cases have us wondering if they’re really breaking up monopolies or just passing the baton to the next dominant player. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Tesla’s massive 71% profit drop and how Elon Musk is doubling down on Tesla and AI How Mati Carbon took home the grand prize from this year’s Xprize Carbon Removal competition Vibe coding, Cursor, and which AI-powered coding tool OpenAI has its sights on acquiring next The $91.5 billion raised by U.S. startups in Q1 —and why more than half of it went to just 10 companies Equity will be back next week, so stay tuned! Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads , at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here . Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. We’d also like to thank TechCrunch’s audience development team. Thank you so much for listening, and we'll talk to you next time . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices…

Equity

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How to survive and thrive as tariffs, AI, and politics unsettle the rules of business 27:32

7 weeks ago27:32