The most interesting startups right now want to get you off your phone
Startups
The most interesting startups right now want to get you off your phone
Theresa Loconsolo
10:17 AM PDT · June 5, 2026
33 min
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While the AI fundraising machine keeps breaking its own records, some founders are building in the other direction.
Mirror founder Brynn Putnam just raised money for Board, a startup focused on bringing people together through in-person games and social experiences. Cyberdeck creators are going viral crafting whimsical DIY computers that literally encourage users to touch grass. Unlike the AI-free browser crowd, this doesn’t just feel like backlash, but also people genuinely gravitating toward things that feel a little more human.
Watch Equity podcast hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane dig into the week’s headlines, from the “together tech” wave to what Anthropic’s confidential IPO filing means against the backdrop of Alphabet’s $80 billion AI raise, and whether the money is all flowing back to the big guys anyway.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Topics
AI, anthropic ipo, board, Brynn Putnam, climate tech vc, cyberdeck, Equity, Hardware, impulse space, Roundup, slow tech, Startups, together tech
Theresa Loconsolo
Audio Producer
Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing theresa.loconsolo@techcrunch.com.
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