Rephonic
Artwork for Equity
Venture Capital
Openai
Artificial Intelligence
Fintech
Google
Cybersecurity
NVIDIA
Elon Musk
Generative AI
Startups
Waymo
Anthropic
Silicon Valley
AI Technology
Meta
Apple
Tesla
Colossal Biosciences
Tiktok
CES

The intersection of technology, startups, and venture capital touches everything now. That’s why Equity, TechCrunch's flagship podcast, digs into the business of startups for entrepreneurs and enthusiasts alike. Every Wednesday and Friday, TechCrunch reporters keep you up-to-date on the world of business, technology, and venture capital. Equity is ranked the No.2 podcast in the Top 100 Venture Cap... more

PublishesDailyEpisodes756Founded9 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
BusinessTechnologyEntrepreneurship

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for Equity

Latest Episodes

Slapping "AI" on your startup’s pitch deck is basically table stakes right now. When a founder raised $20 million from Cathie Wood's ARK Invest for an eSports gamification loyalty startup without those two letters in the spotlight, it got us wonderin... more

The Musk v. Altman trial came to a close this week, and the final arguments kept circling back to one question: can we trust the people in charge of AI? All of this is playing out as SpaceX charges toward what could be one of the largest IPOs in Amer... more

AI may be changing how companies build, but it's also changing how they get attacked, often by their own tools. Amazon Chief Security Officer Steve Schmidt has watched threat actors at every skill level get sharper, faster, and harder to contain. The... more

Everyone wants a piece of the enterprise AI pie, and this week, we saw a string of companies making their moves. From Anthropic and OpenAI announcing new joint ventures targeting enterprise AI deployment to SAP dropping $1B on German AI startup Prior... more

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Accepts Sponsors
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

Recent Guests

Chris Urmson
CEO of Aurora
Aurora
Episode: Aurora's Chris Urmson on why self-driving trucks are finally ready (Live at HumanX)
Chris Valenzuela
Co-CEO and co-founder of Runway
Runway
Episode: Is AI video just a prequel? Runway's CEO thinks world models are next
Rachel Slaybaugh
General Partner at DCVC, focusing on climate sustainability and energy investments
DCVC
Episode: Fusion doesn't have a normal startup timeline, and investors are fine with that
Aloe Blacc
Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and biotech founder
Biotech startup founder (Major Inc./Pepto ID)
Episode: The musician-turned-biotech-founder waiting to fundraise
Amit Jain
Founder of Luma AI
Luma AI
Episode: Luma AI's Amit Jain on why most world model companies are getting it completely wrong
Sridhar Ramaswamy
CEO of Snowflake
Snowflake
Episode: Snowflake’s transition from storing data to shipping with it
Ari Schottenstein
Head of alternatives, ARENA Private Wealth
ARENA Private Wealth
Episode: Why private wealth is cutting out the VC middleman
Mitch Stein
Founder and principal, ARENA Private Wealth
ARENA Private Wealth
Episode: Why private wealth is cutting out the VC middleman
Henry Soong
Founder of Watch Club
Watch Club
Episode: ReelShort made $1.2 billion on werewolf romances. Watch Club wants to do it better.

Hosts

Rebecca Bellan
Host and TechCrunch reporter covering AI and equity topics; frequent host on the show.
Kirsten Korosec
Transportation editor at TechCrunch; frequent Equity guest/host
Anthony Ha
Weekend Editor at TechCrunch; regular Equity host

Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars from 653 ratings
  • Decline under Connie

    TechCrunch and this podcast (that I used to love) seem to be seriously declining under recent leadership changes. Is TechCrunch a serious news outlet, or a PR vehicle for companies?

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    Me, Brian
    United Statesa year ago
  • Was my favorite but went downhill

    Equity was my favorite podcast across a number of hosts. However after Alex Wilhelm left the show really declined in quality. I no longer follow the show, but plan to check in every 6 months to see if it ever gets back to its original quality

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    AmitPodcast
    United Statesa year ago
  • Show deteriorated significantly

    Since Alex left, the show has been on a downward spiral, at least to me.

    1. The hosts don’t seem to have deep knowledge in any of the topics anymore. The perspectives they present are so shallow that it’s hard to tolerate if you’re even somewhat familiar with the subject. The last episode I tried to listen to, about drones and biotech LLMs, was so bad I had to stop halfway through. Not only did it lack any valuable insights, but it felt like a group of school kids casually chatting about someth... more

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    Pragmichael
    United Statesa year ago
  • Jaded and cynical, the show has lost

    The hosts clearly despise tech and founders that have reached any meaningful scale. Sad, because this used to be a great pod.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    JHTScherck
    United States2 years ago
  • Literally, WAS my favourite podcast!

    Since Alex left and even from before that, when the show was clearly undergoing its transition to a post-Alex era it started to go down hill. Tbh it lost its flare after Natasha joined…it’s all because the “politik” is entrenched!! The snide remarks aren’t “funny” and the conclusions clearly come from a personal bias with no attempt to neutralise. Mary Ann doesn’t like autonomous taxis - she says this every time - it’s a perfectly valid opinion to have and the team play both sides of an argument... more

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Beeb fan
    United Kingdom2 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

A number of listeners miss prior hosts and a more balanced, less political tone.
Many reviews highlight strong host energy, guest variety, and high-quality technical discussions, with praise for data-driven insights and practical implications for startups and VC.
Listeners appreciate deep-dive analyses and tangible takeaways for founders and investors, but some critics feel recent episodes show weaker subject-matter depth and more opinion-driven content.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Is AI video just a prequel? Runway's CEO thinks world models are next
Q: What is the more nuanced argument beyond treating filmmaking like a content factory?
The guest explains that AI can shorten production timelines and budgets by accelerating previsualization, pre-production, and frame generation, allowing for more iterations and experimentation while maintaining storytelling quality, rather than simply mass-producing content.
Aurora's Chris Urmson on why self-driving trucks are finally ready (Live at HumanX)
Q: What makes trucking a better starting point than robo-taxis for Aurora?
Trucking offers a trillion-dollar market with clearer safety and operational constraints, enabling earlier profitability and scale while still enabling broader physical AI ambitions later on.
Aurora's Chris Urmson on why self-driving trucks are finally ready (Live at HumanX)
Q: Where do you see Aurora's trucking roadmap in light of regulation and demand?
The roadmap is currently constrained by regulation, but the business case in the Sun Belt shows a path to scale, financeable by the higher utilization of trucks and growing demand from customers.
Luma AI's Amit Jain on why most world model companies are getting it completely wrong
Q: What are your thoughts on the idea that LLMs have hit a ceiling and what should we aim for next?
LLMs are valuable and becoming mainstream, but their understanding is limited to text; the real opportunity lies in combining text with audio, video, and physics to build world models that can reason about the real world and act within it.
ReelShort made $1.2 billion on werewolf romances. Watch Club wants to do it better.
Q: What is the monetization plan in the near term, given the audience's expectations for free video?
In the near term, monetization is not the priority; the plan is to monetize later through ads and premium experiences as the fan base scales, treating Watch Club like a social network that supports engagement first.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About Equity

What is Equity about and what kind of topics does it cover?

Equity offers concise, insight-rich coverage at the intersection of technology, startups, and venture capital. Across recent episodes, the show consistently features founders, investors, policymakers, and senior tech reporters who unpack how funding, product strategy, regulation, and AI are shaping the startup ecosystem. Episodes often center on real-world growth stories (from bootstrapped origins to scale, IPO dynamics, and strategic partnerships), regulatory and policy debates affecting technology, and how major corporate players influence innovation. A standout aspect is the willingness to host technically deep conversations with guests from both the startup world and policy space, delivering practical lessons for founders, operators, an... more

Where can I find podcast stats for Equity?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for Equity. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to Equity and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does Equity get?

Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for Equity, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.

What are the audience demographics for Equity?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for Equity, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does Equity have?

To see how many followers or subscribers Equity has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

How many episodes of Equity are there?

Equity launched 9 years ago and published 756 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact Equity?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for Equity?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for Equity from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for Equity?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of Equity. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on Equity?

Recent guests on Equity include:

1. Chris Urmson
2. Chris Valenzuela
3. Rachel Slaybaugh
4. Aloe Blacc
5. Amit Jain
6. Sridhar Ramaswamy
7. Ari Schottenstein
8. Mitch Stein

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

Find and pitch the right podcasts

We help savvy brands, marketers and PR professionals to find the right podcasts for any topic or niche. Get the data and contacts you need to pitch podcasts at scale and turn listeners into customers.
Try it free for 7 days