Best of TechCrunch — June 2025

1. 1
   Article

   TechCrunch·47w

   11 startups from YC Demo Day that investors are talking about

   Y Combinator's Spring 2025 Demo Day featured 11 standout startups, with nearly all focused on AI development. Notable companies include Anvil (SEO for LLMs), Atum Works (3D chip manufacturing), Den (AI for enterprise knowledge workers), and Eloquent AI (automated customer operations). Several startups are building "Cursor for X" variations, while others explore quantum computing and robotics applications. Investors showed particular interest in companies addressing AI evaluation, enterprise automation, and next-generation computing architectures.

   20
2. 2
   Article

   TechCrunch·45w

   Better Auth, an authentication tool by a self-taught Ethiopian dev, raises $5M from Peak XV, YC

   Better Auth, an open-source TypeScript authentication framework, has raised $5M seed funding from Peak XV and Y Combinator. Built by self-taught Ethiopian developer Bereket Engida, the tool allows developers to implement authentication directly in their databases rather than relying on external services like Auth0 or Firebase. The framework has gained significant traction with 150,000+ weekly downloads and 15,000+ GitHub stars, particularly among AI startups needing custom authentication flows. Unlike hosted services, Better Auth keeps user data on-premise and offers flexible customization options.

   15
3. 3
   Article

   TechCrunch·48w

   Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai dismisses AI job fears, emphasizes expansion plans

   Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai addresses concerns about AI replacing jobs, arguing that AI serves as an accelerator making engineers more productive rather than eliminating positions. He emphasizes the company's growth plans through 2026, citing expanding ventures like Waymo, quantum computing, and YouTube's growth as evidence of new opportunities. While acknowledging legitimate concerns about job displacement, Pichai maintains optimism about AI progress while noting uncertainty about achieving artificial general intelligence.

   14