Techin' Geek

Let’s get straight to the point: Starting today, you can receive an extra $100 off our existing $300 discount on your founder, investor, or attendee TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 pass, which adds a delightful perk to our current promotional pricing. 

This limited-time offer will be available all week, ending on Friday, August 7 at 11:59 p.m. PT. This discount represents your final chance at an additional deal before we transition to our next pricing level on August 21. 

Register using this link to secure your extra $100 off.

If you need more details before finalizing your arrangements, Disrupt will take place at Moscone West from October 13–15, bringing together over 10,000 founders, VCs, industry innovators, and creators for three days focused on one objective: driving momentum for future success. 

This isn’t a passive event you sit and watch — it’s a curated agenda of speakers, workshops, networking opportunities, and post-event thrill for those actively building, investing, and exploring what’s next. 

The Disrupt Stage: The conversations everyone will be discussing 

The Disrupt Stage is our premier programming, and we’ve just unveiled the initial lineup. We’ll explore the most significant transformations in technology today, from a post-smartphone era featuring Amazon’s SVP of Devices and Services Panos Panay; to the practical effects of a world where anyone can create their own software, with Replit founder and CEO Amjad Masad; and much, much more. 

However, that’s just one stage. Disrupt 2026 will also include the: 

AI Stage, discussing the security vulnerabilities and business model changes AI is imposing on every SaaS enterprise.

New Smart Money Stage, addressing stablecoins, instant transactions, and the role of AI in financial reliability. 

New Smart Systems Stage, providing insight into fusion innovations and grid pressures that will shape AI’s next decade. 

Builders Stage, the long-time preferred stage where founders and investors engage practically about funding, hiring, and scaling their ventures. 

Beyond the stages 

Most Disrupt passes also grant access to Startup Battlefield, where 200 startups will compete in real-time for the Battlefield Cup. You’ll also enjoy networking opportunities tailored to your needs as a founder, investor, or learner, in addition to our Expo Hall, where numerous startups showcase their innovations. 

This flash sale concludes Friday 

After 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, August 7, this added $100 discount will vanish. Regular discounted rates will cease on August 21. If Disrupt is on your agenda for this year, this is the top deal you’ll encounter before the event. 

Save an additional $100 before Friday.

We look forward to seeing you October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco! 

A former executive from Uber is now part of Travis Kalanick’s robotics and industrial AI venture Atoms, just weeks after it secured $1.7 billion in funding.

Gautam Gupta, who previously served as the finance chief under Kalanick, announced via social media on Wednesday that he has taken on the role of chief financial officer at Atoms. Gupta had a tenure of over four years at Uber before departing in July 2017, shortly after Kalanick stepped down as CEO. (Gupta had expressed his plans to leave earlier that May.)

The hiring of Gupta continues Kalanick’s effort to reunite former Uber colleagues at Atoms. This year, Atoms also acquired mining automation startup Pronto, led by Anthony Levandowski, a former self-driving engineer at Uber (and Google). LinkedIn shows that several key former Uber staff members who collaborated with Kalanick are now employed at Atoms, which was formerly known as CloudKitchens.

“In many ways, this round represents some unfinished business. It provides the fuel to complete the bits-to-atoms narrative we initiated at Uber, furthered at CloudKitchens, and will now conclude at Atoms,” Kalanick stated when announcing the $1.7 billion funding round last month.

Uber participated in this funding round as an investor, bringing back together the company with the founder it ousted in 2017 amid a series of scandals and allegations of pervasive sexual harassment and discrimination. Uber has not revealed its exact contribution. The Information reported it as $100 million, a figure TechCrunch has also confirmed.

Kalanick has expressed his vision for Atoms to focus on mining, food, and transportation, although his communications so far have leaned less toward specifics and more toward a desire to “confront the ultimate challenge, Nature and its strong resistance to change.”

Gupta invested in Uber in 2012 while serving as a vice president at Goldman Sachs and subsequently joined the company in 2013.

“[T]he primary reason I joined was — Travis. I believed he embodied a unique blend of brilliance and drive that made me want to invest in the individual, not just the market,” Gupta shared on Wednesday. “He was always the first to arrive and the last to leave, every single day. Challenging regulations, unions, city red tape, etc. Without his pioneering efforts in ridesharing, I doubt anyone else would have had the determination to overcome all the obstacles to establish an entirely new market worth hundreds of billions from scratch.”

Gupta mentioned on Wednesday that A*, the venture capital firm he co-launched in 2020 after spending three years at Opendoor, invested in Atoms, marking the “largest investment in our fund’s history.” Gupta is resigning from A* to assume the CFO position at Atoms, as noted in his LinkedIn profile.

On Wednesday, the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department revealed that OpenAI and its former subsidiary Statsig have reached a settlement that mandates three years of oversight concerning the hiring practices of the AI organization.

The DOJ has claimed that these entities employed various strategies to bar U.S. citizens from applying for positions occupied by immigrant workers while they were being sponsored for permanent residency in the U.S. Though the companies did not acknowledge any wrongdoing, they consented to pay $3.2 million. Out of this amount, $1.2 million constitutes a fine, while the remainder of $2 million will be reserved for compensating U.S. citizens who applied for those roles, provided the DOJ identifies any individuals harmed.

The DOJ asserted that OpenAI and Statsig violated sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by failing to genuinely seek qualified U.S. citizens for these positions before initiating permanent residency applications (PERM), as mandated by the INA. According to the DOJ, they did not post vacancies on public job boards, promoted roles during late-night radio segments, and insisted on paper applications instead of electronic formats.

Despite there being fewer than 10 positions involved, the DOJ noted that under the terms of the settlement, the entities are required to pay the fine and undergo departmental oversight concerning their PERM positions. Oversight entails tasks such as creating and obtaining approval for their hiring policies for PERM roles and submitting biannual reports. These reports must detail how many applications for foreign workers were pursued, the number of U.S. citizens interviewed, along with additional statistics.

OpenAI took over AI A/B testing firm Statsig in September 2025 and subsequently divested part of the enterprise in May 2026. Nevertheless, the DOJ indicates it began investigating both firms separately prior to the acquisition, in August 2025, involving five cases against OpenAI from 2023 to 2025, and one related to Statsig.

The DOJ states that this settlement is a component of its intensified approach towards companies on this issue. However, the INA, instituted in 1952, has been upheld by various administrations against other major tech firms. For example, during the Biden administration, both Facebook and Apple entered into comparable settlements, although in those instances, the DOJ claimed the violations were extensive and systematic.

Moove’s transformation from a vehicle financing company to ride-hailing and delivery services in Africa, and now encompassing autonomous vehicles, might appear as a significant shift. However, co-founder and co-CEO Ladi Delano explained that the background in financing and operating human-driven ride-hailing fleets served as perfect preparation for the company’s new venture.

The company has successfully secured $250 million at a valuation of $2.1 billion to expand this part of its business.

Established in 2020 in Nigeria and currently based in Dubai, the company announced that Mubadala Investment Company was the lead investor in this latest Series C funding round, along with Woven Capital and Ion Pacific as co-leads.

Moove continues to focus heavily on human-driven ride-hailing. It manages a fleet of 42,000 vehicles across 14 different countries. With a workforce of 3,300 globally, the company still offers vehicle financing to gig economy drivers.

Its move into autonomous vehicles began in early 2023 following a thorough analysis of the sector and its four primary stakeholders: the AV developers, vehicle manufacturers, platforms like Uber, and consumers. According to Delano, none of these entities are interested in “owning the metal,” referring to the vehicles.

“In this scenario, who possesses the vehicle? Who runs the vehicle? Who coordinates the vehicle? Who handles servicing, maintenance? Who looks after lost items? Who cleans?” Delano queried. He noted that it became evident that Moove’s expertise in managing extensive fleets and providing financing could be relevant to the operations of autonomous vehicles.

“Let’s build a product where we own, operate, and coordinate autonomous vehicles, and let’s find partners for this endeavor — that’s essentially our approach,” Delano stated. “By 2023, we began discussions with virtually every AV company imaginable, and, as fate would have it, we successfully partnered with Waymo first.”

Moove acts as the fleet operator for Waymo in cities like Phoenix, Miami, and Las Vegas, with plans to extend to London in the future. While the company does not currently own the Waymo vehicles, it has plans to do so. Moove is looking to utilize debt financing for acquiring the robotaxis. Delano did not provide a specific timeline for the acquisition of Waymo robotaxis but mentioned that Moove already owns robotaxi vehicles from a different AV developer, without disclosing the name of the company.

“Ultimately, our goal is to possess, you know, hundreds of thousands of vehicles,” he indicated, referring to robotaxis.

This recent funding will be allocated to expand the company’s autonomous vehicle fleet management operations, including hiring approximately 350 new employees. (Delano mentioned that its traditional mobility sector is on track to reach full profitability this year.) A portion of the funds will also support the development of automated depots that are termed “nests.” These “nests” will operate 24/7 and employ robotics for vehicle charging, maintenance, and servicing tasks.

Moove currently has around 15 depots under various stages of development. Delano refrained from specifying when the automated, “lights-out” depots would be operational, stating that this is a forthcoming product.

Other participants in this funding round include BlueCrest Capital Management, Sona Asset Management, Raptor Group, BlackRock, MUFG, Franklin Templeton, Uber, Left Lane, Silverbacks Holdings, Square Associates, The Latest Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, and the Ontario Power Generation Pension Plan. 

Earlier this year, Lightspeed garnered attention when it declared that Claire Zau, an investor and well-known tech content creator, would be joining the venture firm. She boasts over 100,000 followers on TikTok and more than 250,000 followers on Instagram, where she analyzes the most significant tech trends of the day. 

Lightspeed partners Josh Machiz and Zau visited the Equity studio to discuss the strategy fueling their expanding social media presence; their podcast, Lightwork; and how it all began with a direct message on Instagram.

“Many individuals are eager to partake in the future and are enthusiastic about technology,” Zau expressed to Equity. “They simply lack access to the information in a comprehensible format. That’s hopefully the role I feel incredibly fortunate and honored to fulfill.” 

Zau represents, in many respects, a new generation of venture operators utilizing social media to engage with fresh audiences, whether they are merely tech enthusiasts or potential founders who might subsequently seek investment from Lightspeed.

The podcast she co-hosts with Machiz, Lightspeed’s CMO, is part of a burgeoning media trend that numerous venture firms are adopting, where firms assume a more active role in assisting their portfolio companies in narrating their stories to the public. 

“There’s an ever-decreasing amount of traditional journalism out there due to layoffs and media consolidation,” Machiz stated. “For startups, it’s becoming increasingly challenging to get their story out. Availability of platforms to share their narratives is dwindling. There are now significant barriers to communicating your funding story. Thus, we aspire to offer another avenue to convey your tale in this new media landscape.” 

Thus far, the duo — and the firm — have observed certain advantages to broadening the Lightspeed media domain. Engaging with emerging founders is the primary benefit, but being active online also allows them to receive immediate feedback on investments and innovative technology. For instance, Zau mentioned that within the Silicon Valley bubble, there was much excitement about funding a new AI startup, yet upon discussing the investment online, she recognized that Gen Z was rather skeptical of AI. 

“It was, I would even characterize it as humbling,” she remarked about the direct feedback she received on some of her videos. “Having essentially real-time insight into how people are interacting with these technologies and which narratives resonate is incredibly valuable.” 

Machiz and Zau also shared with Equity their thoughts on what lies ahead for them. Another podcast? A TV show someday? “Our ambition is to become the place where future founders hopefully learn about venture and grasp the ecosystem,” Machiz shared. “We’re still in the early stages.” 

Tune in to catch more of the discussion — and what Machiz and Zau have in store for the future. 

Klaviyo, a publicly traded e-commerce marketing automation company, has reached an agreement to acquire Agency, an AI-focused customer success startup founded by experienced entrepreneur Elias Torres three years ago. The specifics of the acquisition deal were not revealed.

Established in 2023, Agency had garnered $32 million in funding from various investors, including Sequoia, Menlo Ventures, and Felicis before the acquisition took place.

As a result of this agreement, Torres (depicted left) will step into the role of chief product officer at Klaviyo, overseeing Agency’s team of 25 to expedite the growth and development of Klaviyo’s AI tools: Composer, which creates marketing initiatives, and Customer Agent, responsible for post-sale assistance such as returns and order tracking.

“Elias and the team have created an excellent product with Agency,” shared Klaviyo co-founder and CEO Andrew Bialecki (shown right) in a statement to TechCrunch. “We intend to integrate that with our agent products and aim to deliver this to 200,000 businesses — and ideally to millions more within the next few years.”

For Torres, joining Klaviyo represents a full-circle moment in his career. Familiar with M&A ventures, he co-founded Performable (which was acquired by HubSpot in 2011) and later Drift, where he functioned as CTO for eight years until its $1.2 billion acquisition by Vista Equity in 2021.

In 2010 at Performable, Torres recruited Bialecki, who had completed his degree at Harvard just two years prior, as one of the first engineers of that startup. Torres guided Bialecki through the nuances of early-stage startup operations. “He absorbed it in a very short period,” Torres reminisced about their collaborative experience.

Bialecki co-founded Klaviyo, initially self-funding it, soon after departing from Performable. When Klaviyo secured its first external funding in 2015, Bialecki invited Torres to invest in the seed round as an angel backer.
Klaviyo subsequently achieved a significant IPO in September 2023, valued at $9.2 billion.

Despite Klaviyo’s stock facing challenges like other SaaS enterprises, Torres and Bialecki are confident that the platform’s years of accumulated customer data provide its AI agents with a competitive edge over rivals like Decagon and Sierra.

“Elias and I came together on the vision of providing agents for businesses that they can offer to their customers,” Bialecki stated, expressing enthusiasm to collaborate with Torres once again, just as they did at the onset of the cloud era. “This is the next major technology revolution: agents. Let’s reunite and build.”