article thumbnail

Eight Ben Franklin TechCelerator Finalists Chosen from Erie, Pennsylvania!

Ben Franklin Technology Partners

The eight entrepreneurial teams chosen for the 2024 Erie program represent an exciting mix of products & ideas: Premier Manufacturing – d.b.a Hikes and Hose uses highly sustainable and durable outdoor gear products from recycled fabrics and firehose.

mix-use 99
article thumbnail

Hydration brand Cure mixes new funding into its growth plans

TechCrunch

It’s been a hot minute since TechCrunch checked in on the brand — almost three years, actually — which is carving out a unique niche in the $10 billion functional drink mix market that founder and CEO Lauren Picasso told TechCrunch has “exploded” in the past 12 months. Some of those other functional beverage startups are also venture-backed.

mix-use 71
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Wefox grabs $400M at $4.5B valuation to buck the insurtech downturn trend

TechCrunch

This way of growing users, by getting third-party brokers to use Wefox to advise their own customers, is how CEO and founder Julian Teicke reckons helped the company double its revenues to $320 million last year. and Asia in 2024. billion valuation, while YuLife snagged $120 million at an $800 million valuation just last week.

mix-use 144
article thumbnail

WeWalk raises cash to bring computer vision to smart cane for visually-impaired people

TechCrunch

million) in venture funding from several notable institutional and angel investors — this includes Manchester City and German international footballer İlkay Gündoğan. Last year, WeWalk announced a partnership with Intel-owned Moovit to bring local transit data into the mix. WeWalk , a U.K.-based The WeWalk Smart Cane.

mix-use 96
article thumbnail

Y Combinator, 500 Startups, Plug and Play invest in Odiggo’s $2.2M seed round

TechCrunch

The rosters of existing investors participating in the round are Y Combinator, 500 Startups, and Plug and Play Ventures. Regional VCs like Seedra Ventures, LoftyInc Capital, and Essa Al-Saleh (CEO of Volta-Tucks) also took part. A commission-based model is used and Odiggo charges the car suppliers 20% commission on every transaction.

investing 126
article thumbnail

Plantish fishes for restaurant partners to try plant-based salmon filets

TechCrunch

Also betting on it is Tender Food, which this week announced $12 million in seed funding for its technology aimed at replicating whole muscle cuts, using plant protein, to make beef steaks, pulled pork and chicken breasts. The company is not alone in this idea that whole cuts are the next wave. Image Credits: Or Paravoznik / Plantish team.

mix-use 102
article thumbnail

6 VCs explain why embedded insurance isn’t the only hot opportunity in insurtech

TechCrunch

And according to David Wechsler, a principal at OMERS Ventures, “having an embedded strategy is not required for venture funding.” ” On the flip side, he predicts that corporates with venture capital arms that are “committed to the insurance sector will likely step up their involvement.”