Crunch Hype

In a message posted to its internal communications channel earlier this week, the massive startup accelerator Y Combinator said it will change the terms of its own PPP (the YC pro rata investment program) and investing in companies raising seed and Series A rounds on a case-by-case basis. The company began a policy of investing […]

Starting tomorrow, 777 supermarkets in California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Nevada will begin stocking the Impossible Foods plant-based meat substitute. Fueling the increased distribution and a push to expand its product suite and geographic footprint domestically and internationally is a $500 million round of funding the company closed in March. Some of that money is […]

Savvy, a healthcare cooperative, has just raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Indie.vc. Established as a cooperative that shares profits with its users, Savvy connects patients with healthcare companies and other providers looking to better serve people through products and services. Patients can take paid gigs that include tasks like interviews, focus groups and […]

Media software maker Plex has released two new projects today from its internal R&D group, Plex Labs. One is an updated take on the classic Winamp player it calls Plexamp, and another is a dedicated app for Plex server administration. The projects are meant to appeal largely to Plex power users who take full advantage […]

There’s a potential climate-related crisis brewing in the beer industry and Province Brands has just raised $1.6 million for its technology that purports to be a solution. The Canadian company, which has developed a way to make beer from any plant material, is pitching itself as a solution to the increasing shortages of barley and […]

Many have been understandably concerned that, amid corporate bailouts, a $1,200 check won’t be enough to survive several more weeks of lockdown. But the stimulus check is, at very least, better than nothing, particularly for the more than 22 million Americans have filed jobless claims in the last month alone. But actually getting the check […]

Since it exploded onto the scene in January after a newspaper exposé, Clearview AI quickly became one of the most elusive, secretive and reviled companies in the tech startup scene. The controversial facial recognition startup allows its law enforcement users to take a picture of a person, upload it and match it against its alleged […]

Despite what companies have said about providing personal protective equipment to gig workers, some workers say they are struggling to get masks, gloves and other items from companies like Target-owned Shipt, Uber, Lyft and Instacart. “PPE is still a huge issue for us,” Shipt shopper and organizer Willy Solis told TechCrunch. “We have dozens of […]

Energy demand has fallen globally. Oil prices are plummeting. Everywhere in the energy world things look fairly grim, but keeping the lights on and electrons moving remains critical to keeping even the hobbled economies of the world humming. That’s why startups like Amperon, which use data analysis to provide predictive tools for energy retailers and […]

On his personal Facebook account, Mark Zuckerberg offered an update on the company’s roadmap for bringing employees back to work in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In the post, he acknowledged that while it might be possible for a small portion of “critical employees” unable to do their work remotely to return sooner, the […]

Online grocery delivery company Instacart is launching a prescription delivery service through a partnership with Costco as demand for online delivery continues to rise amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said Thursday the delivery service is now available from nearly 200 Costco locations in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New York, Washington and Washington, D.C. […]

While it quickly became clear that the tech and developer conference held during the spring would need to be cancelled due to COVID-19, tech companies are beginning to pull the plug on events taking place later in 2020. Today, Facebook announced that it would be shelving the in-person component of its virtual reality-focused Oculus Connect […]

The startup world is going through yet another evolution. A few years ago, VCs were focused on growth over profitability. Now, making money is just as important, if not more, than sheer growth. And we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, which has brought the economy to a crawl and forced entrepreneurs to rethink both […]

The beauty of podcasting is that anyone can do it. It’s a rare medium that’s nearly as easy to make as it is to consume. And as such, no two people do it exactly the same way. There are a wealth of hardware and software solutions open to potential podcasters, so setups run the gamut […]

In today’s grim economic climate, companies are looking for ways to automate wherever they can. Bridgecrew, an early-stage startup that makes automated cloud security tooling aimed at engineers, announced a $14 million Series A today. Battery Ventures led the round with participation from NFX, the company’s $4 million seed investor. Sorensen Ventures, DNX Ventures, Tectonic […]

The economy may be contracting as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but promising startups are still continuing to raise money to shore up their finances for whatever may lie ahead. In the latest development, Stripe, a well-known payments unicorn, today announced that it had raised another $600 million in new capital, money that it plans to […]

The Libra Association, the consortium created by Facebook to oversee all things Libra, has updated its white paper to make some changes. The association is abandoning its original plan to create a global stablecoin directly tied to a basket of fiat currencies and securities. The Libra Association now plans to release several stablecoins — each […]

NASA and Planet have deemed their pilot partnership a success, and the result is that NASA will extend its contract with Planet to provide the company’s satellite imagery of Earth to all research programs funded by the agency. NASA had signed an initial contract last April with Planet to provide Planet imagery to a team […]

US carrier Verizon* has splashed out to buy veteran B2B videoconferencing platform, BlueJeans Network — shelling out less than $500 million on the acquisition, according to the Wall Street Journal which first reported the news. A Verizon spokeswoman confirmed to TechCrunch that the price-tag is sub-$500M but did not provide a more exact figure. Videoconferencing […]

TikTok is introducing a new set of parental controls to its platform to users worldwide, including in the U.S. The features, collectively referred to as “Family Pairing,” will allow parents to set controls on Screen Time Management, Restricted Mode, and Direct Messages for their teen users. It will also now disable direct messaging for users […]

India said today Zoom is ‘not a safe platform’ as the video conference service surges in popularity in many nations including the world’s second largest smartphone market as billions of people remain stuck at home due to the coronavirus crisis. “Zoom is a not a safe platform,” the Cyber Coordination Centre (CyCord) of India’s ministry of […]

Action camera manufacturer GoPro has announced some massive organizational changes at the company. In particular, the company is laying off over 200 employees — it represents a 20% staff reduction. GoPro will shut down some offices altogether. There will be offices in five geographies after the round of layoffs. The company expects to reduce operating expenses […]

Early-stage companies often have trouble dealing with the amount of data that can run through the organization, especially as it grows. Large sums are spent on data software, dislocated data, dealing with data pipelines. All of which involve data warehousing, cleaning tools and a visualization platform. Count is a startup that is an attempt to […]

While general purpose chatbots haven’t shaped user interfaces as radically as early advocates like Facebook may have hoped, when used in a more targeted capacity, they have shown promise in building closer relationships between consumers and brands and making critical enterprise workflows more streamlined. India’s Yellow Messenger operates a conversational AI platform used by companies […]

This morning Everee, a Utah-based software as a service (SaaS) startup focused on payroll, announced that it has closed a $10 million Series A. The funding event was led by Origin Ventures and Signal Peak Ventures. Previously, Everee had raised a $3.7 million Seed round in mid-2019. The company is therefore as well capitalized as […]

VAST Data, a startup that has come up with a cost-effective way to deliver flash storage, announced a $100 million Series C investment today on a $1.2 billion valuation, both unusually big numbers for an enterprise startup in Series C territory. Next47, the investment arm of Siemens, led the round with participation from existing investors […]

SF-based CRISPR diagnostics startup Mammoth Biosciences has published the first peer-reviewed study that shows validation of using its testing method to detect the presence of COVID-19 in patients. The study, published in Nature, shows performance on par with existing PCR-based molecular tests, the one ones currently authorized for use by the FDA to test for […]

The European Commission has published detailed guidance for Member States on developing coronavirus contacts tracing and warning apps. The toolbox, which has been developed by the e-Health Network with the support of the Commission, is intended as a practical guide to implementing digital tools for tracking close contacts between device carriers as a proxy for […]

NoBroker, a Bangalore-based startup that helps those looking to rent or buy an apartment connect directly with property owners, has extended its previous financing round to add $30 million to it. General Atlantic has invested $30 million in NoBroker’s Series D round, which the startup unveiled in October last year. The round, now closed at […]

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) beat analyst estimates after reporting its net profit almost doubled in the quarter that ended in March, and said it was hopeful to sustain momentum in the current quarter but slashed its industry and foundry outlook for the year. The Taiwan-headquartered company, which counts Apple among its clients, reported profit […]

Thermal imaging wearables used in China to detect COVID-19 symptoms could soon be deployed in the U.S. Hangzhou based AI startup Rokid is in talks with several companies to sell its T1 glasses in America, according to Rokid’s U.S. Director Liang Guan. Rokid is among a wave of Chinese companies creating technology to address the […]

Sprout.ai, an insurtech incubated at London’s Imperial College that is applying AI to insurance claims,, has raised $2.5 million in additional seed funding. Leading the round is Amadeus Capital Partners, with participation from Playfair Capital, and Techstars. Founded in 2018, Sprout.ai has developed AI-based software that it says enables insurance claims to be settled within […]

Food delivery — be it ready-made restaurant meals, groceries, or anything in between — has seen a huge surge of activity in the last few weeks as people have sheltered in place to slow down the spread of the novel coronavirus. Today, one of the startups that’s built a business specifically in meal-kits in the […]

Berlin-based startup Taxfix has raised a $65 million Series C funding round. Index Ventures is leading the round with Neil Rimer joining the board. The company started its fundraising process before the coronavirus process and managed to sign all contracts a few days ago. As the name suggests, Taxfix thinks filing taxes remains broken in […]

View, a 13-year-old, Milpitas, Calif.-based company that makes dynamic glass designed to reduce heat and glare as well as lessen eyestrain, has cut an unknown number of employees, including at a plant in Olive Branch, Mississippi. One employee of several years, an IT manager, wrote on LinkedIn that he was laid off owing to the […]

Previse, a fintech focused on helping suppliers get faster payment, announced that it has raised $11 million in new funding led by Reefknot Investments and Mastercard. Returning investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Hambro Perks and Augmentum Fintech also participated. Founded in 2016, Previse says it currently processes about 100,000 invoices a day, and its goal is […]

Silicon Valley mainstay the Mayfield Fund has raised $750 million across two new funds, the firm said today. The venture capital firm said its Mayfield XVI will continue to invest in early-stage companies, while its Mayfield Select II will invest in later-stage rounds of breakout portfolio companies. One difference in the new Select fund will […]

Some big changes are underway for London-based Medopad, a startup that builds software for medical practitioners to monitor patients remotely based on digital biomarkers — measurable indicators of the progression of illnesses, diseases or overall health that are picked up not with blood samples or in-doctor visits but using apps and wearables. The company is rebranding to […]

Glitch is building a premium tier for power users of its user-created micro apps. The rather eccentric developer tools platform launched in 2017, combining a coding workspace with a community of users sharing and customizing web apps. With more than 5 million apps and bots now on its platform, the team is launching paid subscriptions […]

Last fall we launched a series of new benefits for annual and two-year Extra Crunch members. Called Partner Perks, the idea with the program was to find products or services that could benefit our readers, and then collaborate with the makers of the products to offer discounts to our members. Because many of our members […]

Most of NASA’s facilities around the country have been shut down, and while some teams can work (and drive a Mars rover) from home, others are knuckling down to get some crucial missions out the door — or face a half-billion-dollar late fee, said agency head Jim Bridenstine. In an interview with the Planetary Society […]

“Tigertail,” a new film on Netflix, weaves together the past and the present to tell the life story of Pin-Jui, who we first meet as a Taiwanese boy dreaming of moving to America. We soon see that he eventually made it to New York. In the present-day sequences, he struggles to connect with his adult […]

Airwallex, a Melbourne-based cross-border financial startup that achieved “unicorn” status last year, announced today that it has raised a $160 million Series D. The round included ANZi Ventures, the investment arm of ANZ Bank, and Salesforce Ventures, along with returning investors DST Global, Tencent, Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital and Horizons Ventures. Founded in 2015, […]

U.S. major stock indexes fell in Wednesday trading as new data from the Commerce Department and Federal Reserve indicated a collapse in manufacturing output and retail sales. However, the declines did not completely erase yesterday’s gains in another sign that U.S. investors and corporations may be better positioned to withstand the economic shocks caused by […]

Houseparty, the popular video chat application acquired by Fortnite maker Epic Games in 2019, has seen massive growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With government lockdowns keeping people from being able to visit friends and other loved ones in person, consumer demand for video chat apps has skyrocketed. This has resulted in the video conferencing […]

Opendoor, the seven-year-old, San Francisco-based company that has from the outset aimed to help people buy and sell homes with the “push of a button” (or nearly), has just laid off more than a third of its staff. According to a statement sent to us by co-founder and CEO Eric Wu, the company has laid […]

The startup world is going through yet another evolution. A few years ago, VCs were focused on growth over profitability. Now, making money is just as important, if not more, than sheer growth. And we’re in the midst of a global pandemic, which has brought the economy to a crawl and forced entrepreneurs to rethink […]

Earlier today a grip of new data presented a sharply negative picture of the American economy. And this afternoon, news broke that a trio of well-known, heavily-backed unicorns were cutting staff. With stocks down as well, we’ve received negative signals from the private market, the public market and the economy as a whole in the […]

Boards of directors considering these types of financings need to understand that they are creating misalignments and raising serious fiduciary duty issues.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized the manufacture of the Coventor ventilator, a new hardware design first developed by the University of Minnesota. The project sought to create a ventilator that could provide the same level of life-saving care as existing ventilator models, but with a much lower cost to help ramp […]