Plus more of TechCrunch's top stories this afternoon

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August 19, 2025

 

TechCrunch Top 3

Databricks CEO says fresh $1B will help him attack a new AI database market

Databricks CEO says fresh $1B will help him attack a new AI database market: The round, which pushes Databricks' valuation to $100B, was co-led by Insight Partners and Thrive. CEO Ali Ghodsi says he's found an enormous untapped AI agent market to spend the funds. Read More

Spotify's latest feature lets you add your own transitions to playlists: The new options are designed to appeal to playlist experts and other music fans, who have collectively created nearly 9 billion playlists on Spotify's platform to date. Read More

AI crawler Firecrawl raises $14.5M, is still looking to hire agents as employees: Firecrawl nabbed Shopify’s CEO Tobias Lütke as an investor from a gutsy email after they discovered he was using the product. Read More

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Afternoon Must-Reads

Discover how developer tools are shifting fast with Lauri Moore and David Cramer at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Discover how developer tools are shifting fast with Lauri Moore and David Cramer at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025: From no-code to AI-assisted dev environments, “vibe coding” is changing how early-stage startups build — and who they need to hire. The once-standard idea of landing a “10x engineer” as your first critical hire is getting a serious reality check with Lauri Moore (Bessemer) and David Cramer (Sentry) on the Builder Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in October at San Francisco's Moscone West. Read More

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Hear from Meta, Waymo, NEA, and more at Disrupt 2025

Disrupt 2025 gathers 250+ industry trailblazers and 10,000+ attendees in San Francisco on October 27–29. Explore 200+ sessions on scaling, exits, and the evolving tech landscape. Hear from Elad Gil (Gil & Co), Astro Teller (X, The Moonshot Factory), Tekedra Mawakana (Waymo), May Habib (Writer), and more. Register now to save $600+ before prices hike.

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Last but Not Least

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