Crunch Hype

European lawmakers are eyeing binding transparency requirements for Internet platforms in a Digital Services Act (DSA) due to be drafted by the end of the year. But the question of how to create governance structures that provide regulators and researchers with meaningful access to data so platforms can be held accountable for the content they’re […]

Target today is joining the growing number of grocery retailers offering curbside and in-store pickup services for fresh and frozen items. The retailer had paused its plans to rollout grocery pickup this spring, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as a factor. It said it didn’t have time to train employees on the new processes. Today, those […]

The house of cards has well and truly collapsed for Wirecard, the German payments company that has been accused of accounting fraud. Today it announced that its German operation Wirecard AG was applying for insolvency proceedings in a Munich court, the Amtsgericht München, due to “impending insolvency and over-indebtedness.” It also issued a separate statement that elaborated to […]

Since its launch in 1998 Illumina and its genetic analysis toolkits and services have become an essential component of the new biological manufacturing and therapeutic development industries which have emerged in the last twenty five years. And for the past six years the company has attempted to encourage the development of the industry through an […]

Google said on Thursday it plans to offer credit to millions of merchants in India through its Google Pay app starting later this year as the American technology group looks to help small businesses in the country steer through the pandemic and also find a business model for its mobile payments service. The company said […]

TikTok is announcing to advertisers that it’s open for business. The company is today officially introducing a new brand and platform called “TikTok For Business” that will serve as the home for all its current and future marketing solutions for brands. At launch, the site will include access to TikTok ad formats, including its marque […]

Connect Ventures, the London-based seed-stage VC that was an early investor in Citymapper and Typeform — and more recently backed scaling startups such as Curve and TrueLayer — is announcing a new $80 million fund to continue investing in “product-led” founders. Backing the new fund is a combination of existing and new LPs including Top […]

SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son said on Thursday he is leaving the board of Jack Ma’s Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group today, a month after Ma left the board of Son’s technology group. Son said he sees the move as “graduating” from Alibaba Group’s board, his most successful investment to date, as he swiftly moved […]

Api.video, a “developer-first” video platform that makes it easier for websites and apps to video features, has raised $5.5 million, in a seed round led by London venture capital firm Blossom Capital. Also participating is Kima Ventures and a number of angel investors. Previous backers include Octave Klaba (founder of OVH), Eduardo Ronzano (founder of […]

The streets of Koramangala, one of the largest neighborhoods in Bangalore, are plastered with hoardings and banners of digital payment services. Every few steps, you find a bank, and offices of fintech startups. But when Mohammed Nayeem wanted to get a credit card, he realized his options were limited. He applied for a credit card […]

One of China’s most valuable artificial intelligence chipmakers Cambricon is one step closer to its initial public offering, and its prospectus reveals a rare snapshot of where Chinese companies stand in relation to their international counterparts in this critical field. Cambricon got the nod in early June to list on the Star Market, China’s new […]

AWS today launched Amazon Honeycode, a no-code environment built around a spreadsheet-like interface that is a bit of a detour for Amazon’s cloud service. Typically, after all, AWS is all about giving developers all of the tools to build their applications — but they then have to put all of the pieces together. Honeycode, on […]

New York City is on the verge of approving a shared electric scooter pilot program, opening up a potentially lucrative market and new micromobility battleground in the United States. The New York City Council is expected Thursday to vote on a bill that will require the New York Department of Transportation to create a pilot […]

For photographers and videographers spending a lot less time on location and a lot more time at the desk right now, one great use of time is going back through archives and backlogs to find hidden gems, and honing those edit skills. One recently released device called the Loupedeck CT can make that an even […]

As we increasingly rely on AI, we must be vigilant to ensure these programs are helping to solve problems of racial injustice, rather than perpetuate and magnify them.

Earlier today we took a look at two companies that have filed to go public, nCino and GoHealth. The pair join Lemonade in a march toward the public markets. But those three firms are hardly alone. We know that DoorDash filed privately earlier this year (it also raised a pile of cash lately, so its […]

Plenty of investments are made during a recession, and it’s no secret that smart investors will put money into recession-proof markets.

The PACT Act is a new bipartisan effort to reform Section 230, the crucial liability shield that enables internet platforms to exist, approaching the law’s shortcomings “with a scalpel rather than a jackhammer,” as Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) describes it. It is a welcome alternative to the dangerous EARN IT Act and risible executive order […]

AWS today announced the beta launch of Amazon Honeycode, a new, fully managed low-code/no-code development tool that aims to make it easy for anybody in a company to build their own applications. All of this, of course, is backed by a database in AWS and a web-based, drag-and-drop interface builder. Developers can build applications for […]

Think you’ve found a way to consistently brick someone’s PS4, or make it run code that it shouldn’t? Sony wants to know — and now they’re willing to pay. This morning Sony announced that it’s opening its bug bounty program to the public, and will pay for newly discovered bugs and exploits that impact either […]

"We’re largely hands off with our companies, but I think almost all the founders we pick tend to do the right thing and have a broader perspective on society."

The final week of a16z’s Crypto Startup School kicks off with former Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Brian Brooks discussing “Token Securities Frameworks and Launching a Network.” Brooks starts off calling crypto the “most perfect intersection of tech and finance,” but he cautions that crypto builders must navigate traditional financial-services regulatory structures.

When Dell bought EMC in 2016 for $67 billion it was one of the biggest acquisitions in tech history, and it brought with it a boatload of debt. Since then Dell has been working on ways to mitigate that debt by selling off various pieces of the corporate empire and going public again, but one […]

Instagram is expanding its TikTok competitor known as “Reels” to new markets, following its launch last year in Brazil. Starting today, Instagram is rolling out further access to Reels in France and Germany, allowing users to record short, 15-second video clips set to music or other audio, then share them on the platform where they […]

After what felt like winter, investors say startup deals are back on — although the numbers suggest they never stopped. As Semil Shah of Haystack VC phrased it in a blog post, “It’s game on, pandemic or bust.” This is good news for founders and big funds, but the investment landscape becomes more complicated when […]

Does your elevator pitch lack traction? Could it do with a serious makeover? We’re here to help. Tune into Pitchers & Pitches, an interactive pitch-off and feedback session, on July 1 at 4pm ET / 1pm PT. This event is 100% free — simply register here to attend. Pitchers & Pitches — part pitch-off, part […]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into allegations of failing touchscreens on Tesla’s older Model S vehicles. The federal agency launched the probe after receiving 11 complaints from Tesla owners over a 13-month period alleging failures of the touchscreen in 2013 through 2015 Model S vehicles. The problem, which stems […]

Facebook shifts its VR strategy, WhatsApp’s payment service hits a snag in Brazil and we look at how Trump’s visa ban will affect Silicon Valley. Here’s your Daily Crunch for June 24, 2020. 1. Facebook kills off its cheapest VR headset Just two years after launching the Oculus Go, Facebook announced that it’s discontinuing the […]

When we announced the formation of The TechCrunch List last week, we had no idea what response we would get to our proposal for founders to recommend their “first check” investors. While plenty of founders over the years had told us that they wanted such a database to rely on or to refer to other […]

In a filing this week, connected speaker maker Sonos noted plans to cut 12% of its workforce, in addition to closing some of its smaller offices and its garish showroom in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood. The move follows a letter to shareholders sent last month that acknowledged struggles stemming from a combination of closed retail storefronts […]

The WWDC keynote was a bit of a masterclass in what a press conference looks like with some real production values. Turns out there are some fringe benefits to being one of the three most valuable companies in the world.

At a time where IT has to help employees set up and manage devices remotely, a service that simplifies those processes could certainly come in handy. Apple recognized that, and acquired Fleetsmith today, a startup that helps companies do precisely that with Apple devices. While Apple didn’t publicize the acquisition, it has confirmed the deal […]

Virtual events are the new norm for product rollouts in 2020, with Slack taking to the internet earlier today to talk about a new part of its service called Slack Connect. On the heels of Apple’s lengthy and pretty good virtual WWDC that took place earlier this week, Slack’s event, part experiment and part press conference, […]

Google said Wednesday it’s making a handful of privacy changes for users. In a blog post, the search giant said it’ll make it easier for users to go “incognito” and pause data collection as they use Google’s mobile apps. It’s also adding proactive account security recommendations to its Security Checkup tool. Google also said it’ll […]

Startups don’t come with instructions — a fact that inspired us to create TC Early Stage 2020, a two-day online event packed with workshops designed specifically for early-stage startup founders. It’s the closest thing you’ll find to a blueprint for DIY success, and it all goes down on July 21-22. Early-bird pricing remains in effect […]

Data and analytics service Databricks today announced that it has acquired Redash, a company that helps data scientists and analysts visualize their data and build dashboards around it. Redash’s customers include the likes of Atlassian, Cloudflare, Mozilla and Soundcloud and the company offers both an open-source self-hosted version of its tools, as well as paid […]

For decades, the United States has had a monopoly on positioning, navigation, and timing technology with its Global Positioning System (GPS), a constellation of satellites operated by the military that today provides the backbone for location on billion of devices worldwide. As those technologies have become not just key to military maneuvers but the very […]

Ellevest, a company whose focus has been on closing the gender investing gap by way of a financial planning service aimed at women, is today expanding into banking. The company this morning announced a new membership plan which encompasses one-on-one financial and career coaching, member-only workshops and guides, personalized investing plans, plus a no-fee debit […]

The productivity software space is filled with niche startups designing premium tools with very particular customers in mind. On the flip side a growing class of startups are beginning to focus more on simplifying life for companies with subscription fatigue offering more all-in-one platforms that handle several facets of workplace productivity. ClickUp belongs to the […]

More than a year after Amazon announced that it would be lead a $575 million investment into UK food delivery startup Deliveroo, the country’s competition regulator, the CMA, has finally announced that it has provisionally cleared the deal, without any additional remedies (that is, requests to alter the terms), saying that it does not pose […]

CapitalG, the growth equity arm of Alphabet, is doubling down on its bet on Aye Finance, an Indian startup that operates a digital lending platform for small businesses. On Wednesday, the Gurgaon-based startup said it had raised $27.5 million in its Series E financing round led by CapitalG, which has also led one of its […]

Olympus cameras have fallen. After three straight years of operating losses, one of the world’s foremost camera makers in giving up the ghost. The Japanese tech giant this week announced its intentions to sell off its imaging unit by the end of September 2020. The proposed buyer is Japan Industrial Partners, an 18-year-old private equity […]

Expect more as companies try to thread the needle and get out while the Nasdaq is over 10,000.

It’s more than two years since a flagship update to the European Union’s data protection regime moved into the application phase. Yet the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been dogged by criticism of a failure of enforcement related to major cross-border complaints — lending weight to critics who claim the legislation has created a […]

Collaborative enterprise software is absolutely booming, and Airtable is riding that wave in a very real way. The company, which offers a flexible, collaborative database product, has raised more than $170 million in funding from investors like CRV, Benchmark, Coatue Management, and Thrive Capital. So it should come as no surprise that we’re simply thrilled […]

Google is introducing new tools for newsrooms looking to understand their online audiences and how those audiences feed into their overall business. These efforts fall under the umbrella of the broader Google News Initiative, introduced in 2018 as a way for the search giant to fund quality journalism and find other ways to support the […]

Relativity Space has a new customer for its 3D printed rockets: Established satellite maker and operator Iridium, which has picked the company for launches in 2023. To accomplish those, and other launches like them, the company is also setting up a new launch site at Vandenberg Air Base in California. “It’s obviously pretty huge news […]

AfterShip, the e-commerce shipment tracking platform, announced today that Postmen, its shipping API, is now available for free, with no limits on shipment volume. Co-founder Andrew Chan told TechCrunch that the company decided to make the Postmen API, previously offered as a SaaS subscription for enterprises, free in response to the massive jump in online […]

A year after its initial release, Jumbo has two important pieces of news to announce. First, the company has released a major update of its app that protects your privacy on online services. Second, the company has raised an $8 million Series A funding round. If you’re not familiar with Jumbo, the app wants to […]

The Cloud Foundry Foundation, the nonprofit behind the popular open-source enterprise platform-as-a-service project, is holding its developer conference today. What’s usually a bi-annual community gathering (traditionally one in Europe and one in North America) is now a virtual event, but there’s still plenty of news from the Summit, both from the organization itself and from […]