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

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 without those two letters in the spotlight, it got us wondering how the conversation even started — especially when ARK had already been burned by…

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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 without those two letters in the spotlight, it got us wondering how the conversation even started — especially when ARK had already been burned by a company operating in the same space.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Julie Bort sits down with Dylan Robbins, founder and CEO of Lucra, the white-label platform turning friendly competitions into loyalty programs for brands like golf courses, arcades, and pickleball clubs.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

1:43 How Lucra works

4:10 Meeting ARK Invest over darts and landing the Series B

7:24 Pitching a non-AI startup during peak AI mania

10:41 The growth metrics that won investors over

13:02 Overcoming ARK’s bad experience with Skillz and the B2B pivot

20:43 What’s next: the mini games vertical

29:25 Outro

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. @jeffcraymore

    May 20, 2026 at 6:07 pm

    Series B, you are not a startup. You have serious customers and active growth. And he said that. Over years. That’s not a startup.

    Reply

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CNET

iOS 27: Are We Getting Excited for Siri? Yes, We Are

At WWDC 2026, Apple relaunched its AI efforts with iOS 27, featuring Siri AI that is more powerful, helpful, and conversational, while protecting your privacy. Here are the top three iOS 27 features you should know. 0:00 – Introduction 0:12 – Siri AI Upgrades & Features 1:13 – The New Dedicated Siri App 1:26 –…

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June 9, 2026

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At WWDC 2026, Apple relaunched its AI efforts with iOS 27, featuring Siri AI that is more powerful, helpful, and conversational, while protecting your privacy. Here are the top three iOS 27 features you should know.

0:00 – Introduction
0:12 – Siri AI Upgrades & Features
1:13 – The New Dedicated Siri App
1:26 – Siri Camera Mode
1:49 – Siri Beta & Release Timeline
2:06 – iOS 27 Parental Controls & Kids Protections
2:49 – Customizable Liquid Glass
3:43 – iOS 27 Key Dates & Final Reminders
4:08 – Outro & Discussion

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#iOS27 #Apple #Siri #AppleIntelligence #iPhone #TechNews #AllThingsMobile #SoftwareUpdate #Privacy

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CNET

Apple’s New Siri Lives Everywhere: What Comes Next?

All of Apple’s devices will have a new layer of AI this year. Here’s what it could mean for devices to come. Read more about iOS 27 on CNET.com Apple Didn’t Really Say What’s Coming in iOS 27, So I Guess I Will 0:00 Introduction to the New Siri and App 0:10 Apple’s Responsible and…

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June 8, 2026

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All of Apple’s devices will have a new layer of AI this year. Here’s what it could mean for devices to come.

Read more about iOS 27 on CNET.com
Apple Didn’t Really Say What’s Coming in iOS 27, So I Guess I Will

0:00 Introduction to the New Siri and App
0:10 Apple’s Responsible and Private Approach to AI
0:30 Siri as a Standalone App Across All Devices
0:52 Native Integration and Privacy Promises
1:18 Ambient AI and the Future of Smart Glasses
1:50 Visual Intelligence and Vision Pro Integration
2:10 The Design Team Behind the New Siri
2:50 Apple Intelligence vs. Siri: Generative AI and Shortcuts
3:14 Release Timeline and Final Thoughts

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#apple #wwdc #wwdc2026 #siri #appleintelligence #siriai #ai #applenews #technews

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Science & Technology

Apple’s New AI Photo Editing Tools Revealed at WWDC 2026

Watch Apple’s new Spatial Reframing feature in action, which lets you reposition the angle of a picture after it’s taken, and is another of its AI-focused updates for its Photos app revealed at #WWDC26

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June 8, 2026

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Watch Apple’s new Spatial Reframing feature in action, which lets you reposition the angle of a picture after it’s taken, and is another of its AI-focused updates for its Photos app revealed at #WWDC26

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