This young startup is taking on a fragrance industry that hasn’t changed in a almost half century

Fragrance tech company Patina announced Thursday a $2 million raise from investors, including Betaworks and True Ventures. 

Maka Kids is redefining kids’ screen time with a streaming app optimized for well-being, not engagement

Maka Kids is building a streaming app for children ages zero to six featuring content designed for healthy development. The startup has now raised $3 million in seed funding to scale its platform.

Beauty booking startup Fresha hits $1 billion valuation with KKR backing

Beauty and wellness booking marketplace Fresha says it has raised $80 million investment from KKR’s Next Generation Technology Growth fund, KKR’s growth equity arm.

General Catalyst just led a $63M bet on India’s travel payments market

Scapia, an Indian startup that combines travel booking with co-branded credit cards and mobile payments, said the deal doubles its valuation.

Imperagen raises £5 million to use quantum physics, AI on enzyme engineering

Biotech company Imperagen announced on Thursday a £5 million ($6.7 million) seed round led by PXN Ventures, with participation from IQ Capital and Northern Gritstone.

Sam Altman makes ‘mic drop’ offer to every Y Combinator startup

Altman offered to have OpenAI invest in every single startup in this Y Combinator class: tokens for equity.

You don’t need to be an AI startup to raise. Lucra has $20M to prove it. 

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 withou…

OpenAI barrels towards IPO that may happen in September

A day after Elon Musk lost his lawsuit that threatened OpenAI’s structure, leadership and finances, OpenAI is reportedly back to prepping for its IPO.

Startup Battlefield 200 applications close in one week: Window to nominate and apply for the most promising startups ends May 27

Startup Battlefield 200 applications close May 27. Pitch at TechCrunch Disrupt, get investor access, win $100K, plus more scaling perks. Nominate an early-stage founder or submit your startup here.