Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Cognition, the makers of the autonomous AI software engineer named Devin, has raised more than $1 billion at a $25 billion pre-money valuation ($26 billion post money), the company announced on Wednesday. That’s a major leap from its $10.2 billion post-money valuation when it closed a $400 million funding round just eight months ago in September. The round was led by Lux Capital, General Catalyst and 8VC, with a host of existing investors pouring in, including Elad Gil, Soma Capital, Omri Casspi, Founders Fund, and a long list of others. The round also included new investors like Ribbit Capital, Atreides, and…

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A robot being developed at Duke University is almost ready to face the world, in any direction.Instead of trying to copy symmetrical shapes from nature by building robots that look like people, dogs or insects, engineering professor Boyuan Chen and his team focused on uniformity in action, or what he calls “dynamic symmetry.”The result was Argus. The roly-poly robot named after a mythological many-eyed giant has depth-sensing cameras attached to 20 telescoping legs that radiate from a central core. With no front, back, top or bottom, it can see and move in any direction instantly.“Instead of…

Today is the final day to apply or nominate a startup for Startup Battlefield 200. Once the clock strikes 11:59 p.m. PT, the window closes on your chance to compete for $100,000 in equity-free funding, gain global visibility, connect directly with investors, and launch on the TechCrunch Disrupt stage. If you’re building a breakout startup — or know a founder who is — this is the moment to move. Apply now for the opportunity to join 200 of the world’s most promising early-stage startups at TechCrunch Disrupt. Image Credits:Kimberly White / Getty Images Last call for ambitious founders Founders, this is it. The application window closes tonight.…

Voice AI company ElevenLabs launched a new version of its music-generation model, called Music v2, that can switch genres mid-track. The company said that the model is designed to handle both complexity in vocals and composition. The new release comes nearly 10 months after the startup launched the first version of its music generation model. ElevenLabs noted that the model can go from opera to heavy metal and back, deliver fast rap without losing coherence, and can add non-musical sound effects to a track. With the new model, artists can pick a part of a song and recreate it using…

Traditionally, sleep earbuds have been designed to mask outside noise and promote sleep with calming sounds. But today, a Boston-based startup called SOND is introducing a new type of earbuds designed to actively intervene to encourage better sleep. Founded by a pair of MIT grads, one who is Bose’s former Head of Global Sleep, SOND emerged from stealth on Wednesday with $7 million in funding. Together with the funding, the company introduced its debut product: Dreambuds, a closed-loop, in-ear system that captures 12 physiological signals from the wearer, then acts on them in real-time to help consumers get better sleep.…

There are only 3 days left to save up to $410 on your ticket to TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. Early Bird pricing ends May 29 at 11:59 p.m. PT, and once the deadline passes, ticket prices increase. If you plan to attend one of the most influential gatherings in tech this year, now is the time to lock in your pass before rates go up again. Disrupt: Where the tech ecosystem moves forward From October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco, TechCrunch Disrupt brings together 10,000+ founders, investors, operators, and innovators driving the future of technology. Whether you’re raising capital, scouting investments, hiring talent, launching…

For China’s top AI researchers, the borders are quickly closing. Researchers, startup founders and executives at private firms are now reportedly subject to travel restrictions, with some of the industry’s most prominent figures required to seek government approval before heading abroad. The restrictions reflect a wider shift in how Beijing manages the brain-drain in the AI sector, which has seen skyrocketing demand for talent to train and tweak AI models as the global tech industry taps into this new avenue to seek growth. In March 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese authorities had been advising top AI founders…

What if Minnesota schools could get more funding without your taxes increasing by even a single cent?Yes, it sounds too good to be true. But a proposal along those lines will be on ballots this fall.With bipartisan backing from the Legislature, voters will be asked if the state constitution should be amended so that schools would receive more support from a fund that has been growing since Minnesota’s early statehood.Established in 1858, the Permanent School Fund provides annual disbursements to every public school district in the state. The fund grew to $2.3 billion as of 2025. As big as that…

Database provider ClickHouse has crossed $250 million in annualized revenue run rate, tripling its business from last year, Yury Izrailevsky, co-founder and president of product and technology, told TechCrunch. Izrailevsky expects the revenue figure to reach the high-nine digits by the end of the year. ClickHouse was valued at $15 billion in January following a $400 million Series D funding round led by Dragoneer Investment Group. The latest valuation implies a steep multiple of over 60x annualized revenue. The fast revenue growth and premium valuation position the less-than-five-year-old company for an IPO within the next few years, according to Izrailevsky…

Database provider ClickHouse has crossed $250 million in annualized revenue run rate, tripling its business from last year, Yury Izrailevsky, co-founder and president of product and technology, told TechCrunch. Izrailevsky expects the revenue figure to reach the high-nine digits by the end of the year. ClickHouse was valued at $15 billion in January following a $400 million Series D funding round led by Dragoneer Investment Group. The latest valuation implies a steep multiple of over 60x annualized revenue. The fast revenue growth and premium valuation position the less-than-five-year-old company for an IPO within the next few years, according to Izrailevsky…