French artificial intelligence startup **Mistral AI** is on the verge of securing a massive €2 billion investment, catapulting its valuation to an impressive €12 billion ($14 billion). This funding round cements its status as one of **Europe's most valuable tech startups**, showcasing the rapid growth and investor confidence in the AI sector.

Founded in 2023 by Arthur Mensch, a former DeepMind researcher, along with ex-Meta researchers Timothée Lacroix and Guillaume Lample, Mistral AI is positioning itself as a formidable rival to OpenAI. The company is dedicated to developing **open-source language models** and innovative AI services, including a chatbot specifically designed for European users, known as **Le Chat**.

This development highlights the intense competition and innovation in artificial intelligence, with Mistral AI leading the charge in creating accessible and region-specific AI solutions that could reshape the technological landscape.

French artificial intelligence startup Mistral AI is finalizing a €2 billion investment that values the company at €12 billion ($14 billion), including the new funding — solidifying its position as one of Europe’s most valuable tech startups.

Mistral AI's Stunning $14 Billion Valuation: Europe's New AI Powerhouse Emerges

# Brownstone Shared Housing's Ambitious Expansion in San Francisco

Brownstone Shared Housing, the operator behind the $700-a-month "pods" in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, is pushing forward with plans to significantly expand its unique housing model. Despite facing numerous challenges, including permit issues and legal battles, the startup has demonstrated resilience and is now eyeing a massive scale-up.

![A view of Brownstone’s pods at their SoMa location](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/34/46/00/24272902/3/ratio4x3_960.webp)
*Caption: A view of Brownstone’s “pods” at the firm’s SoMa location in San Francisco. They’re 4 feet tall and can fit a twin mattress. Courtesy of Brownstone.*

## Overcoming Obstacles and Scaling Up

Since its inception two years ago, Brownstone has navigated a turbulent path. The startup initially opened its pod complex in Mint Plaza without the necessary permits, leading to complaints from city officials and threats of hefty fees. However, it has managed to **withstand these challenges**, avoid eviction, and continue operating.

CEO James Stallworth recently announced that Brownstone is close to leasing a new space near Mint Plaza, capable of housing 100 pods. But this is just the beginning. The startup plans to shift to a **franchise model**, encouraging landlords to convert vacant office spaces into pod housing. Stallworth's ambitious goal is to add **10,000 new pods** in downtown San Francisco.

## The Franchise Model and Market Demand

Under the proposed franchise system, landlords—particularly those with lower-end commercial office space—would partner with Brownstone to quickly set up pod housing. The pods, designed by co-founder Christina Lennox, can be installed in weeks, though permitting remains a slow process.

Stallworth emphasized that this initiative isn't for self-gratification but to address the city's housing crisis. With **thousands of applications** received for the $700-a-month pods, there's clear demand. He estimates at least 10,000 people are interested in affordable housing in San Francisco at any time, citing the high number of applications to local incubators like Y Combinator.

## Resilience and Future Outlook

Brownstone's journey has been marked by viral attention and legal hurdles, including a fought-off $306,000 fee and a dropped eviction lawsuit. Despite these, the company has shown **remarkable staying power**. Stallworth notes a recent positive shift with city inspectors, and with the hiring of a new COO, Sam Daly, he is optimistic about scaling the business efficiently.

This expansion could play a key role in revitalizing San Francisco's downtown by filling vacant buildings and providing much-needed affordable housing options.

Brownstone Shared Housing, the operator of $700-a-month "pods" in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood, is hoping to bring thousands more to the city.

San Francisco's $700-a-Month Pod Housing Startup Aims to Install 10,000 More Units in the City

# FirstClub's Premium Approach in India's Quick Commerce Market

While quick commerce in India is dominated by 10-minute deliveries, **FirstClub** is charting a different path with a slower, curated approach. Despite this, the startup has seen rapid growth, tripling its valuation to **$120 million** just three months after launching its app.

## Funding and Growth

FirstClub has raised **$23 million** in a Series A round co-led by Accel and RTP Global, with participation from Blume Founders Fund, 2am VC, Paramark Ventures, and Aditya Birla Ventures. This funding comes only eight months after an $8 million seed round at a $40 million valuation in December.

## Market Context

India's e-commerce market, valued at approximately **$60 billion** in GMV, is expected to grow to $170-$190 billion by 2030. The shift from traditional e-commerce to ultra-fast fulfillment is driven by quick-commerce startups, prompting giants like Amazon and Flipkart to enter the space.

## FirstClub's Strategy

FirstClub targets the top **10% of Indian households** (about 20 million) with premium products and a curated experience. It operates in Bengaluru with four dark stores (called "clubhouses") and offers over **4,000 curated SKUs** across categories like packaged foods, fresh produce, bakery, dairy, and nutrition.

Founder and CEO Ayyappan R, with over a decade of experience at Flipkart and ITC, emphasizes quality over speed. The startup has an average order value of **₹1,050 (about $12)**—double that of leading competitors—and a **60% repeat purchase rate**.

## Product Curation and Exclusivity

FirstClub focuses on **exclusive products**, with 60% of its offerings being unique to the platform. It uses a third-party consumer panel for blind testing to ensure only the best products are featured. For example, paneer (cottage cheese) is tested from various brands, and only the top three make it to the platform.

## Expansion Plans

With the new funding, FirstClub plans to expand into new categories such as children's food, pet food, nutraceuticals, and cafes with freshly made items. It will also enter home and general merchandise categories within six months, including home decor, essentials, and utensils.

The customer base is **70% women**, so the startup tailors products and expansions to their needs. Customers are primarily from households with an annual income of **₹1.5 million (around $17,000)**, and the app enforces a minimum cart value of ₹199 to target the right audience.

## Technology and User Experience

The app is designed for a **browser-led experience** rather than search-led, encouraging exploration and improving retention. FirstClub has banned over **200 harmful ingredients** from its supply chain to ensure product safety.

![FirstClub's app offers a curated experience to customers](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/firstclub-app.jpg)
*Image Credits: FirstClub*

## Future Vision

FirstClub aims to emulate the experiences of retailers like Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and TJ Maxx in North America. Plans include expanding to **35 clubhouses** in Bengaluru this year, entering new cities, and exploring multiple channels such as slotted deliveries, subscriptions, and offline presence.

The startup currently employs **185 people**, including 75 in operations, and is focused on maintaining high quality and hygiene standards in its operations.

FirstClub has raised $23 million in a Series A round co-led by Accel and RTP Global to expand its premium quick commerce platform.

How FirstClub Defied India's Quick Commerce Craze and Tripled Its Valuation to $120M with a Premium Strategy

# Unlocking User Insights with Vision AI: The Human Behavior Story

Founded by a 20-year-old and two 22-year-olds, **Human Behavior** is leveraging **vision AI** to provide companies with a deep understanding of how people interact with their products. This innovative approach moves beyond traditional analytics tools like Mixpanel and PostHog, offering real-time insights into user behavior, conversions, and churn.

## The Founders' Journey

Amogh Chaturvedi (CEO), Skyler Ji (CTO), and Chirag Kawediya (COO) met at a hacker house in 2023. Their first venture, Dough, was an e-commerce accounting tool that they bootstrapped. After receiving feedback from customers who wanted to know not just what was selling, but why, they pivoted to **Human Behavior**.

![Human Behavior founders](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/pnbZheM_mb0dmjmTH5ItPQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDtoPTQ2MTtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/techcrunch_finance_785/d13490e6da33c144e766d597add41ca0)
*L-R: Amogh Chaturvedi (CEO), Chirag Kawediya (COO), Skyler Ji (CTO) | Image Credits: Human Behavior*

## The Technology Behind It

Human Behavior uses **AI** to analyze user session replays, generating actionable insights without the need for manual event tagging or extensive engineering efforts. This addresses a common pain point for startups: the time-consuming process of setting up trackers for every interaction.

## Rapid Funding Success

The team raised a **$5 million seed round** in just two days, backed by prominent investors including **General Catalyst**, Paul Graham, Vercel Ventures, and **Y Combinator**. This quick funding round highlights the strong belief in their vision and the potential of their technology.

## Why It Matters

For product teams, understanding user behavior is crucial for improving engagement and retention. Human Behavior's solution automates this process, providing answers to critical questions and enabling faster, data-driven decisions.

![Human Behavior team](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/a8cYbNjSwPq1edqpUTOOUw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTY0MDhoPTQ2MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/techcrunch_finance_785/2a01c9caa0233aaf3d461957781ce7f2)
*L-R: Amogh Chaturvedi (CEO), Chirag Kawediya (COO), Skyler Ji (CTO) | Image Credits: Human Behavior*

Founded by a 20-year-old and two 22-year-olds, Human Behavior uses vision AI to give companies a real understanding of how people use their products.

How These Young Founders Raised $5M to Decode User Behavior with Vision AI

Startups don't build themselves, and the **Builders Stage** at **TechCrunch Disrupt 2025** — happening October 27–29 in San Francisco — is where founders, operators, and investors get real about the nitty-gritty of turning ideas into thriving businesses. This stage is packed with tactics, from fundraising to scaling, featuring heavy hitters like Elad Gil, Dick Costolo, and Ryan Petersen, plus new additions like Discord's Jason Citron and live robot demos.

![TechCrunch Disrupt Builders Stage](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/TC25_Builders_Stage_V2.png?w=680)

### Raising Smart
- **Elad Gil**, CEO of Gil & Co., shares insights on early investments in AI startups and what's next in the space.
  ![Elad Gil and Sarah Guo](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/53486897769_be737acd80_k.jpg?w=680)
- **Adam Bain, Dick Costolo, and David Fischer** of 01 Advisors discuss building and scaling startups with candid advice.
- **Navin Chaddha** of Mayfield and **Charles Hudson** of Precursor Ventures reveal how to pitch at the inception stage with just a vision.
  ![Navin Chaddha](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Navin-Chaddha-TechCrunch-Disrupt-2024.jpg?w=680)
- Panels on seed money secrets, Series A raises in 2026, and what VCs really want in a pitch, featuring experts like **Gabby Cazeau** and **Medha Agarwal**.
  ![VC Panel](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/48833252076_44337b2f2c_k.jpg?w=680)
- Exploring alternative funding with **Erik Allebest** and others on bootstrapping and non-VC capital.
- Strategies for later-stage raises with **Lila Preston** and insights on where VCs are betting in 2026 from **Nina Achadjian**.

### Scaling Smart
- **Ryan Petersen**, CEO of Flexport, on building amid uncertainty and economic insights.
  ![Ryan Petersen](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/54430820378_2a8380bffc_h.jpg?w=680)
- **Jason Citron** of Discord and **Tade Oyerinde** of Campus on creating lasting communities and companies.
- Achieving **product-market fit** with **Rajat Bhageria** and investors, focusing on testing and iteration.
  ![Ann Bordetsky](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TechCrunch-Disrupt-Haje-Kamps-114.jpg?w=680)
- Discussions on hiring early employees, including salary, equity, and the role of AI agents, with panelists like **Randi Jakubowitz**.
- Debates on the need for Silicon Valley, featuring **Anh-Tho Chuong** and others on decentralized tech building.
- Building effective **go-to-market engines** with **Max Altschuler** and leveraging AI for growth.
- A live demo of **Moxi the humanoid robot** by Diligent Robotics, showcasing AI in healthcare.
  ![Moxi Robot](https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Diligent-robotics-Moxi.jpg?w=680)

Join over 10,000 tech leaders at Disrupt 2025 to gain actionable insights and network with the best in the industry.

Learn the real tactics of startup success at the Builders Stage, TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Oct 27–29 in San Francisco. Register now to save up to $668.

Unlock Startup Success: Inside TechCrunch Disrupt 2025's Builders Stage with Top Founders and Investors

# Eudia: The AI-Augmented Law Firm Changing the Game

Eudia, a Palo Alto-based AI startup, is pioneering the world's first **AI-augmented law firm** with a bold mission: to eliminate the traditional **billable hour**. According to CEO Omar Haroun, this model has spiraled out of control, leaving many legal departments struggling with budgets and knowledge management. "Most legal departments have lost control of their budgets and their knowledge," Haroun stated in a press release, introducing Eudia Counsel as the first **AI-native law firm** designed to help companies regain that control.

## Behind the Scenes of Innovation

Haroun shared insights at the 2025 Augmented Intelligence Summit in New York, revealing that Eudia operates under Arizona's Alternative Business Structure (ABS) program. This unique setup allows it to function as a "provider of a law firm" without being owned by lawyers, a rarity in the U.S. legal landscape. The company is also expanding its **AI for Good** initiative, aiming to transform pro bono work and make legal services more accessible, driven by Haroun's background in law, consulting, and AI, including the sale of his previous startup, Text IQ, to Relativity in 2021.

## Impressive Client Roster and Impact

With over a decade in AI, Haroun has attracted major clients like **Fortune 500 companies** from the start. Mark Smolik, General Counsel at DHL, praised Eudia for bringing organization to scattered data across continents, resulting in "considerable savings." Gary Hood of Duracell called using Eudia a "no-brainer" for contracts and M&A due diligence. Other clients include Cargill, Coherent, Graybar, and Intuit, with many expressing frustration over rising legal bills despite claims of AI adoption by traditional firms.

## Funding and Future Vision

In February 2025, Eudia secured up to **$105 million in Series A funding** led by General Catalyst, with support from Sierra Ventures and Floodgate. This investment fuels their expansion, including the acquisition of Johnson Hana, adding over 300 lawyers to create a **human-AI hybrid workforce**. Haroun emphasizes that AI's value lies in augmenting labor, not replacing it, ensuring quality through human oversight. CTO Ashish Agrawal, with 30 years of AI experience at IBM, Apple, and Google, highlights the importance of organic integration and citations for reliable AI outputs.

## A Broader Mission for Equity

Eudia's AI for Good initiative aims to remove barriers to legal services, support small businesses, and foster economic mobility, particularly in underserved communities. This aligns with their vision of a new paradigm for legal work, combining technology with human expertise to drive efficiency and justice.

"Most legal departments have lost control of their budgets and their knowledge."

This $100M AI Startup Is Revolutionizing Legal Services and Ending the Billable Hour Forever

# Advanced Geothermal Startups Are Just Getting Warmed Up

When congressional Republicans took a sledgehammer to the Inflation Reduction Act last summer, **advanced geothermal startups** were largely spared. Drilling for renewable energy appears to be one of the few things that engenders bipartisan support.

Now, with the uncertainty settled, geothermal companies are announcing deals that promise to pave the way for broader deployment of their technology.

Houston-based **Fervo Energy** said on Tuesday it has picked a supplier for key parts of its power plants, signaling that the second phase of the Cape Station project in Utah was moving full steam ahead. The startup said that **Baker Hughes**, the major oil field services and energy technology company, would design and deliver five steam turbines. Altogether, they'll generate **300 megawatts** of electricity 24/7, enough to power around 180,000 homes.

Fervo is one of several startups pursuing deeper, hotter geothermal wells. The company has adapted directional drilling techniques used by the oil and gas industry to tap rocks nearly 16,000 feet below the surface. At that depth, temperatures are expected to maintain a steady 520° F.

Behind the Baker Hughes deal is **$206 million in financing** that Fervo secured in June, which is split between $100 million in project-level preferred equity from Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, Bill Gates' climate investment fund; a $60 million bump to an existing loan from Mercuria, a global energy trading company; and $45.6 million in bridge debt financing from an X-Caliber Rural Capital affiliate, a rural infrastructure investment firm. Trump energy secretary Chris Wright oversaw an investment into Fervo in 2022 when he was CEO of Liberty Energy.

Meanwhile, fellow startup **Sage Geosystems** said last week that it had signed an agreement with geothermal developer Ormat Technologies to deploy its technology at one of Ormat's existing power plants.

If all goes as planned, Ormat will license Sage's **Pressure Geothermal technology**, which injects water into fractured rock under pressure, where it absorbs heat. When the water returns to the surface, Sage harvests both the heat and pressure from it, using both to spin turbines to generate electricity.

Because geothermal power plants generate heat around the clock, they've attracted the interest of data center developers. A recent analysis said that the technology could generate enough electricity to supply nearly two-thirds of data center demand by 2030.

Geothermal energy startups including Fervo Energy and Sage Geosystems are signing key deals that bring their technology closer to broader commercial deployment.

The Geothermal Gold Rush: How Startups Like Fervo and Sage Are Heating Up the Renewable Energy Scene

# Inside the Turmoil: How Commonwealth Kitchen's Post-COVID Boom Turned into Chaos

For an entrepreneur whose business was on the cusp of a breakthrough, Nathalie Lecorps felt closer to having a breakdown.

It was December 2023, and the owner of **Gourmet Kreyol** was having the busiest months of her career. Her food truck and catering business had won a **$1 million contract to feed Haitian refugees**. She’d already hired 32 workers — including some migrants themselves — to roast pork and fry plantains out of **CommonWealth Kitchen**, the acclaimed food incubator in Dorchester where Lecorps was then based.

Yet Lecorps was so despondent she often sat in her car in **CommonWealth Kitchen’s parking lot**, trying to will herself to walk through its doors.

An anonymous email, a cease-and-desist letter, and constant staff turnover have roiled the Dorchester-based food startup hub, which boomed in the wake of COVID and George Floyd protests.

An anonymous email, a cease-and-desist letter, and constant staff turnover have roiled the Dorchester-based food startup hub, which boomed in wake of COVID and George Floyd protests.

Mistral AI's Stunning $14 Billion Valuation: Europe's New AI Powerhouse Emerges

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Other Latest News

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Unlock Startup Success: Inside TechCrunch Disrupt 2025's Builders Stage with Top Founders and Investors

This $100M AI Startup Is Revolutionizing Legal Services and Ending the Billable Hour Forever

The Geothermal Gold Rush: How Startups Like Fervo and Sage Are Heating Up the Renewable Energy Scene

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Other Latest News

San Francisco's $700-a-Month Pod Housing Startup Aims to Install 10,000 More Units in the City

How FirstClub Defied India's Quick Commerce Craze and Tripled Its Valuation to $120M with a Premium Strategy

How These Young Founders Raised $5M to Decode User Behavior with Vision AI

Unlock Startup Success: Inside TechCrunch Disrupt 2025's Builders Stage with Top Founders and Investors

This $100M AI Startup Is Revolutionizing Legal Services and Ending the Billable Hour Forever

The Geothermal Gold Rush: How Startups Like Fervo and Sage Are Heating Up the Renewable Energy Scene

Inside the Turmoil: How Commonwealth Kitchen's Post-COVID Boom Turned into Chaos