A new era is on the way for Apple as Tim Cook plans to step down from his CEO role in September, handing the reins to hardware chief John Ternus.

Ternus may be inheriting one of the most durable businesses in tech, but he’s also stepping into a very different ecosystem than the one Cook spent decades shaping. The App Store’s 30% cut is under pressure, the behind-the-scenes power Apple once held over developers is being challenged, and vibe-coded apps are changing what it means to build on Apple’s platform.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, hosts Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, and Sean O’Kane dig into what this transition means for startups and a closer look at some of the week’s biggest deals — including SpaceX’s $60B option on Cursor.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

00:26 Anthropic’s Mythos accessed by “unauthorized groups”

04:28 Is Amazon’s $5B Anthropic investment just another circular deal?

09:53 SpaceX and Cursor’s $60B option

18:25 Is this finally the year of the IPO?

21:38 SpaceX, Revolut, and Cerebras: the IPOs to watch

26:41 Tim Cook’s retirement plans

29:15 What a new Apple CEO means for startups and the App Store

35:59 Outro