Equity

Today on Equity, we're teaming up with our newest podcast, Build Mode.

In this interview, Build Mode host Isabelle Johannessen sits down with Ross Fubini of XYZ Ventures and Leslie Feinzaig of Graham & Walker Ventures to pull back the curtain on how VCs build their own go-to-market strategies.

They dig into what it’s really like raising a first fund, why founder-market fit applies to investors too, and how the best investor relationships start years before you ever need the money.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. 
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AI companies are clustering around healthcare and fast. 

In just the past week, OpenAI bought health startup Torch, Anthropic launched Claude for Health, and Sam Altman-backed MergeLabs closed a $250 million seed round at an $850 million valuation. The money and products are pouring into health and voice AI, but so are concerns about hallucination risks, inaccurate medical information, and massive security vulnerabilities in systems handling sensitive patient data. 

Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O'Kane dig into why the AI world is suddenly obsessed with health care, what other products can expect an AI-makeover, and more. 

Listen to the full episode to hear:  


How Anthropic's co-work tool could threaten Salesforce and other enterprise software giants 


Bandcamp’s move against AI, banning AI-generated music from its platform 


Why fusion energy is heating up, with startups like Type One Energy suddenly raising hundreds of millions 


The latest on Luminar's bankruptcy and a potential bidding war overits LIDAR assets 

Chapters: 

00:00 - Introduction  

00:29 - Waymo testing in New York City? 

02:13 - Bandcamp bans AI-generated music  

04:57 - Luminar's bankruptcy and LIDAR fire sale  

10:28 - Type One Energy's fusion funding frenzy  

16:10 - AI's healthcare land grab  

23:28 - Voice AI deals heat up  

25:26 - Anthropic's co-work tool threatens enterprise software 

Subscribe to Equity on ⁠YouTube⁠,⁠ Apple Podcasts⁠,⁠ Overcast⁠,⁠ Spotify⁠ and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on⁠ X⁠ and⁠ Threads⁠, at @EquityPod. 
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AI agents are supposed to make work easier. Instead, they're creating a whole new category of security nightmares. 

 

As companies deploy AI-powered chatbots, agents, and copilots across their operations, they're facing a new risk: how do you let employees and AI agents use powerful AI tools without accidentally leaking sensitive data, violating compliance rules, or opening the door to prompt-based injections? Witness AI just raised $58 million to find a solution, building what they call "the confidence layer for enterprise AI." 

 

Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan was joined by Barmak Meftah, co-founder and partner at Ballistic Ventures, and Rick Caccia, CEO of Witness AI, to discuss what enterprises are actually worried about, why AI security become an $800 billion to $1.2 trillion market by 2031, and what happens when AI agents start talking to other AI agents without human oversight. 

 

Listen to the full episode to hear:  


How enterprises accidentally leak sensitive data through "shadow AI" usage. 


What CISOs are actually worried about right now, how the problem has evolved rapidly over 18 months, and what it will look like over the next year. 


Why traditional cybersecurity approaches don't work for AI agents. 


Real examples of AI agents going rogue, including one that threatened to blackmail an employee. 

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. 
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After years of chatbots and image generators, AI is finally leaving the screen. At CES 2026, that shift became impossible to ignore. 

 

The annual tech showcase in Las Vegas was dominated by "physical AI" and robotics, from Boston Dynamic's newly redesigned Atlas humanoid robot to AI-powered ice makers (yes, really). The companies in attendance clearly want consumers to know: AI isn't just capable of answering questions anymore. It's ready to movecar parts in factories, catchcatching drones with net guns, and dance in automaker booths. 

 

Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane break down everything we saw at CES 2026 and more deals from the week that caught our eye. 

 

Listen to the full episode to hear about:  


Discord’s rumored IPO, years after shutting down a Microsoft acquisition 


xAI's massive $20 billion raise and the dark side of Grok's content moderation failures 


How Mobileye is getting into the humanoid robotics game with its acquisition of Mentee Robotics 


OpenAI's potential shift toward audio-first, screenless AI experiences 

Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
00:38 - Discord's surprise IPO filing
03:24 - xAI's $20B raise amid CSAM controversy
11:06 - Mobileye's pivot to humanoid robotics
14:41 - Physical AI takes over CES
18:31 - Why humanoid robots still don't make sense
24:26 - OpenAI's war on screens and ambient computing
29:56 - Wrap-up

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. 
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Vanessa Larco, partner at Premise and former partner at NEA, thinks 2026 will finally be the year of consumer AI. 

Larco, who's been investing in consumer and prosumer for years, thinks we're about to see a shift in how consumers spend time online, with AI powering “concierge-like” services. The question is, will legacy consumer products like WebMD and TripAdvisor continue to exist as standalone apps, or will they just get absorbed into ChatGPT or Meta AI? And where can startups carve out an AI-powered niche for themselves? 

Today on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sat down with Larco to talk about why consumer is back, what OpenAI won't kill, and where the real opportunities are hiding. 

Listen to the full episode to hear about: 


Why Larco thinks OpenAI won't build marketplace businesses that require managing real humans. 


Larco’s take on "disposable software" and why AI apps “should be treated like Word docs.” 


How Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses turned Larco into a believer in voice interfaces (and why she thinks screens are optional for most tasks). 


More predictions for 2026, including another huge year for M&A. 


What new business models stablecoins could unlock.  

00:00 - Introduction  

00:53 - Why founders are excited about consumer again  

04:40 - The moat against OpenAI: Managing real humans  

09:22 - Apps as disposable as Word docs  

12:48 - Social media in the AI era 

18:48 - Meta Ray-Bans and why wearables are actually good  

23:35 - Stablecoins and consumer fintech opportunities  

26:54 - M&A predictions for 2026 

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. 
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