#female-founders

#female-founders

There is a new wave of women who refuse to wait for the AI industry to become "fair" and "equal." They are building their own companies, on their own terms, with a more authentic and purpose-driven design mentality. It's not general-purpose AI; it's gender-purpose AI.

Two-thirds of every U.S. venture dollar going to female-founded startups last year flowed into AI, Pitchbook's latest US All In: Female Founders in the VC Ecosystem report found. And nearly half of that AI money went to just two companies: Anthropic and Scale AI. Meanwhile, ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati raised a record-breaking $2 billion seed round for her AI startup, Thinking Machines Lab, in July 2025, the largest seed funding in history, valuing the pre-product company at $12 billion.

Rachael McCrary, a longtime lingerie designer and founder of the company Spice Rack, is launching four videos on OnlyFans Wednesday. The videos are quite different from the usual OnlyFans fare. They'll focus on pitching investors, building a brand, and navigating being an entrepreneur as a woman, McCrary tells WIRED. More videos will follow. She's also creating a Spice Rack x OnlyFans clothing line that will launch on the site later this year.

"The first five years of RIXO, we lived together, apart from being in the office together," Rix tells Bustle. "We were literally together 24/7. Neither of us had boyfriends." Other friendships wouldn't have survived, especially remembering how difficult that time was for both of them. "We were 23. We wouldn't even buy ourselves a coffee," she says. "We were so careful about our spending, wanting to put everything into the business. It wasn't a glamorous lifestyle."

Halogen Ventures has closed a $30 million Fund III to target early-stage startups focused on enhancing the 'future of family', particularly in health and care.