Crunch Hype

Chris Krebs, one of the most senior cybersecurity officials in the U.S. government, has been fired. Krebs served as the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) since its founding in November 2018 until he was removed from his position on Tuesday. It’s not immediately clear who is currently heading the agency. A […]

Seldon is a U.K. startup that specializes in the rarified world of development tools to optimize machine learning. What does this mean? Well, dear reader, it means that the “AI” that companies are so fond of trumpeting does actually end up working. It has now raised a £7.1 million Series A round co-led by AlbionVC […]

The musician’s life is rarely an easy one. That goes double for these last, oh, eight or so months. Most artists who haven’t risen the ranks to rock-star levels make the lion’s share of their money from live shows, and that’s just not in the cards for now — and likely won’t be for some […]

Sight Tech Global is little more than two weeks out, and today we published the detailed agenda for Dec. 2 & 3. The show runs from 8 a.m. to noonish Pacific standard time. If you have not already grabbed a free pass to the 100% virtual event, now is the time! Sight Tech Global will […]

Google has taken the wraps off Chimera Painter, a web-based tool that lets anyone generate terrifying cryptozoological entities in an interface that looks like MS Paint by way of Diablo. Why, you ask? Well, isn’t it obvious? No… no, I suppose it isn’t. Surely the strangest thing to hit Google’s AI blog for at least […]

We review each of Apple’s new M1-powered Macs, Twitter launches its new Stories-like format and Amazon launches a pharmacy service. This is your Daily Crunch for November 17, 2020. The big story: Reviewing Apple’s new Macs We’ve got three big hardware reviews today, each one highlighting a new Mac with Apple’s M1 chipset. First up, […]

The latest tech hearing was a study in contrasts. Contrasts between lawmakers who made an effort to stay on topic in a hearing ostensibly about social media and the 2020 election and those who… just talked about whatever was on their minds. Also contrasts between then and now. Social media companies previously treated any attempt […]

Even without a Green New Deal, the sweeping set of climate-related initiatives many Democrats are pushing for, President-elect Joe Biden will have plenty of opportunities to move ahead with much of the ambitious energy transformation plan as part of any infrastructure or stimulus package. Should Republicans manage to maintain control of the Senate, there are […]

As President-elect Joe Biden readies his transition team and sets the agenda for his first 100 days in office, startups can expect to see some movement on long-stalled infrastructure initiatives that could mean big boosts to their business. Infrastructure is high on the list of priorities of the incoming Biden Administration as the former vice […]

Twitter’s new Stories feature, “Fleets,” appears to be struggling under the load. Launched this morning to Twitter’s global user base, Fleets appear at the top of the Twitter app, allowing users to post ephemeral content that disappears in 24 hours as well as view stories posted by others. But user demand and curiosity about the […]

Conan O’Brien is making the move to streaming. In June of next year, his nightly talk show “Conan” will be ending its 10-year run on TBS, while he launches a new, weekly variety series on streaming service HBO Max. “In 1993 Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: ‘As soon as possible, […]

TC Sessions: Space is coming up soon, and we’ve decided to sweeten the deal for what’s included with your event pass. Buy your ticket now and you’ll get a free annual membership to Extra Crunch, our membership program focused on startups, founders and investors with more than 100 exclusive articles published per month. Extra Crunch […]

Masayoshi Son, the founder and CEO of the Japanese conglomerate SoftBank, has had a topsy turvy year or two, but the story he is eager to tell is that he is back and in the black. Such was the overarching message delivered at a virtual Dealbook conference earlier today, with Son joining from Tokyo and […]

Repeat founders who have a proven track record, good references, and in the best cases, an exit to point to will have an easy time making inroads with venture capitalists. Earlier this week, for example, the former founders of Udemy and altMBA raised more than $4 million for a startup with no name or final […]

Rocket printer Relativity Space is raising a $500 million D round, valuing the launch provider at $2.3 billion, as reported by CNBC and confirmed to TechCrunch by sources familiar with the matter. That’s not bad for company that has yet to take its first payload to orbit. Relativity aims to reduce the cost and increase […]

As one of the least digitized sectors of our economy, construction is ripe for technology disruption.

If we are to realize telehealth’s full potential, we must first reckon with the fact that there are serious flaws in the predominant way it is delivered today — flaws that endanger patients themselves.

A-Frame, a Los Angeles-based developer of personal care brands supported by celebrities, has raised $2 million in a new round of funding led by Initialized Capital. Joining Initialized in the round is the serial entrepreneur Moise Emquies, whose previous clothing lines, Ella Moss and Splendid, were acquired by the fashion holding company VFC in 2017. […]

Motional, the Aptiv-Hyundai $4 billion joint venture aimed at commercializing autonomous vehicles, is preparing to roll out fully driverless vehicles on public roads in Las Vegas after receiving approval from the state of Nevada. The company’s president and CEO Karl Iagnemma announced Tuesday in a blog post that the state has given permission to test […]

Boston-based marketing automation firm Klaviyo wants to change the way marketers interact with data, giving them direct access to their data and their customers. It believes that makes it easier to customize the messages and produce better results. Investors apparently agree, awarding the company a $200 million Series C on a hefty $4.15 billion valuation […]

YouTube is announcing new ad products today, designed to help marketers reach YouTube visitors who are doing more listening than watching. The big addition is audio advertising. As the Google -owned video site puts it in a blog post, these are ads designed for viewers who “squeeze in a living room workout before dinner, catch […]

Natalie Portman and John Legend are joining a group of venture capitalists and unnamed fashion brands backing MycoWorks, a company that just raised $45 million to commercialize its technology that makes a fungal-based biomaterial that can replace leather. The goal is to get consumers to trade in their leather and lizard skin couture for some […]

Airbnb filed to go public yesterday, offering the world a look into its financial performance over the past several years. The company’s S-1 detailed an expanding travel giant with billions in annual revenue that was severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. But past our overview of Airbnb’s core financial results and our look into which investors […]

Now that Apple’s getting more serious about its own branded headphones, Beats have, perhaps, lost a little bit of luster within the company. The products are still wildly popular, of course, and the brand offers a lot more options than its parent. Powerbeats are one of the more utilitarian entries among the brand’s wireless offerings […]

Car sharing marketplace Turo has teamed up with Kiva to offer interest-free loans to Black people and folks from traditionally underserved communities to buy cars and then share them on Turo. The $1 million commitment aims to address the issue of wealth inequality in the United States. Called the Turo Seed Initiative, those who are […]

Facebook today is rolling out an updated version of its Messenger Kids app with the goal of making it easier for kids to interact with their friends and family, navigate the app, and personalize their experience with features like custom chat bubble colors. The redesign also gives the kid-friendly app a look-and-feel that’s more like […]

Meet Mati, a startup that recently raised a $13.5 million Series A round to build a digital reputation API that could change the way you interact with online services. Mati uses an API-first approach and lets users seamlessly share pieces of their legal identity. Investors in today’s funding round include Tribe Capital with Arjun Sethi […]

In a September interview at TechCrunch Disrupt, Dropbox co-founder and CEO Drew Houston talked about how the pandemic had forced the company to rethink what work means, and how his company is shifting with the new requirements of a work-from-home world. Today, the company announced broad changes to Dropbox Spaces, the product introduced last year, […]

Consumer healthcare stocks are plummeting this morning on news that Amazon has finally launched its integrated pharmacy service. Amazon launches Amazon Pharmacy, a delivery service for prescription medications The news, which could dramatically reshape the healthcare landscape by offering deep discounts on prescription medication and two-day delivery services for Amazon Prime customers, has already taken […]

The US property market has proven to be more resilient than you might have assumed it would be in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, and today a startup that’s built a computer vision tool to help owners assess and fix those properties more easily is announcing a significant round of funding as it sees […]

Lunar exploration startup Astrobotic is working on developing ultra-fast wireless charging technology for its CubeRover shoebox-sized lunar robotic explorers. The project, which is funded by NASA’s Tipping Point program with a $5.8 million award, will tap Seattle-based wireless charging startup WiBotic for expertise in high-speed, short-range wireless power, and brings in Bosch to assist with […]

Survival and strategy games are often played in stages. You have the early game where you’re learning the ropes, understanding systems. Then you have mid-game where you’re executing and gathering resources. The most fun part, for me, has always been the late mid-game where you’re in full control of your powers and skills and you’ve […]

Let’s get something morbid out of the way right up front: estate planning is a growth business in 2020. Whether you need to create or update a will, build a family trust, or sign over power of attorney for end-of-life decision-making, it’s been a heck of a year for many families, and even more people […]

There’s nothing small about the latest Mac mini. Never mind the Mac mini’s tiny size or low price. This diminutive desktop is a revolution for most users, thanks to Apple’s new chipset. Called the M1, this chip platform replaces the Intel CPU long found at the heart of Apple’s desktop and portable computers, and the […]

Reviewing hardware is an act of minutia. Occasionally something new or potentially earth-shattering comes along, but on the whole, it’s about chipping away. Documenting small, gradual changes designed to keep product lines fresh and — if you play your cards right — differentiating yourself from the competition. Apple’s as guilty of this as anyone, of […]

Levels today is announcing a large seed round to help bring its biowearable metabolic sensor to market. The innovative platform pairs continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) with an impressive software suite to provide the wearer with deep insights about their health. The company’s founders strongly feel that this approach helps users close the loop between food, […]

Earlier this year, Instagram launched a new feature called “Guides,” which allowed creators to share tips, resources and other longer-form content in a dedicated tab on their user profiles. Initially, Instagram limited Guides to a select group of creators who were publishing content focused on mental health and well-being. Today, the company says it’s making […]

Google today announced an update to Google Maps that includes a number of new COVID-related features, as well as the ability to see the live status of your takeout or delivery orders, as well as the launch of the long-expected new Assistant driving mode. In addition, the company shared a few new stats around Google […]

SpaceX’s astronaut-ferrying Crew Dragon spacecraft is now docked to the International Space Station in Earth’s orbit, marking the successful completion of the first phase of its inaugural operational mission. Dragon was certified for human spaceflight earlier this month by NASA after having completed the development and testing program with a successful human demonstration flight earlier […]

YardLink allows construction companies to obtain critical equipment faster than traditional equipment rental companies. It’s now raised a £1.7m seed round, bringing the total it’s raised to date to £2.4m. The round was led by Speedinvest Network Effects, with participation from FJ Labs. Construction sites often have to hire equipment, but the centralized nature of […]

5G. Edge. Open. Programmable. AI. No, it’s not bingo at your local silicon chip enthusiast meetup, and no, I am not trying to game Google’s search algorithms (well, maybe just a bit). Rather, it’s a combination of technologies that are predicted to become critical for the future of the internet of things across industries as […]

Twitter this morning is launching its own version of Stories — aka “Fleets” — to its global user base. The product, which allows users to post ephemeral content that disappears in 24 hours, had already rolled out to select markets including Brazil, India, Italy, South Korea, and most recently, Japan. The company, in a press […]

TikTok today announced it’s expanding its parental control feature set known as Family Pairing to give parents additional tools to manage various aspects of their teen’s account as well as their privacy on the social video platform. The new tools will allow parents to set their teen’s account to private, control whether their Liked Videos […]

As Italy reinstates many COVID-19 restrictions, the country’s tech ecosystem is watching and waiting to see what the wider effects of the emergency will be. Italy’s ecosystem for tech venture capital and startups has been in development for years and has made decent strides in the last decade. Will the coronavirus stymie their efforts? Put […]

Targeting the population that’s most underserved with new treatment options has been part of the mission fro Twentyeight Health since its launch. Now a new partnership with the venture-backed startup, Healthify, means that the company will be able to expand its reach. Healthify works with managed care organizations and case workers to integrate social determinants […]

Byron Deeter’s portfolio includes Twilio, DocuSign, Box, Canva, Intercom, SendGrid and many more. He is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced SaaS and cloud investors in the biz, which is why Alex Wilhelm and I are more than thrilled to lead a live Q&A with Deeter on today’s forthcoming episode of Extra Crunch Live. […]

Communication tools are evolving quickly. We have all kinds of social media for our personal lives, Slack for chatting with our coworkers, Discord for gaming and other communities, and Zoom and FaceTime for when we want to look someone (almost) in the eyes. But the business phone has been mostly stuck in the past. OpenPhone […]

Giraffe360 has a robotic camera, combined with a subscription service, which enables real estate agents and brokers to generate high-resolution photos of properties, floor plans and virtual tours easily. It’s now raised $4.5M in a funding round led by LAUNCHub Ventures and Hoxton Ventures. Also participating is HCVC (Hardware Club), alongside existing investor Change Ventures. […]

A little over two years after its $753 million acquisition of the prescription medicine delivery service Pillpack, Amazon has finally launched Amazon Pharmacy, its online and mobile prescription medication ordering and fulfillment service. Using a secure pharmacy profile, customers can add their insurance information, manage prescriptions and choose payment options all through Amazon’s service. And […]

Turtlemint, an Indian startup that is helping consumers identify and purchase the most appropriate insurance policies for them, has raised $30 million in a new financing round as it looks to reach more users in small cities and towns in the world’s second largest internet market. The new round, the five-year-old Mumbai-headquartered startup’s Series D, […]