Crunch Hype

SpaceX has completed joining the bottom and top halves of the Starship orbital-scale prototype it’s building in Boca Chica, Texas. The gleaming silver spacecraft, which is the “Mk 1” prototype that SpaceX will use for high-altitude testing, using three of the Raptor engines that will ultimately power the production version, saw its bottom and top […]

Most of the people I spoke with at Facebook’s Oculus Connect see the proliferation of virtual reality as a foregone conclusion, one that’s just a matter of timing at this point. For Facebook, the conference’s “The Time is Now” catchphrase showcased that they feel their hardware is ready for everyone. But despite the success they […]

If you’re into live-streaming video games, you’ve probably heard of Streamlabs. They make a popular, free software tool for overlaying content on top of whatever game you’re playing, allowing streamers to pop everything from sponsorship logos to donation alerts on top of their video. Logitech has acquired the company for roughly $89 million, plus $29 […]

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here. 1. Facebook tries hiding Like counts to fight envy It looks like Facebook wants to end the terrible game of chasing Likes, […]

If you’re a founder facing a tough immigration question, we have a special workshop session for you next week at Disrupt SF. One of our resident legal experts, Sophie Alcorn, is going to be hosting a special workshop where you can ask any immigration question you may have. She’s the founder of Alcorn Immigration Law, […]

Google today announced its plans to open a new cloud region in Warsaw, Poland to better serve its customers in Central and Eastern Europe. This move is part of Google’s overall investment in expanding the physical footprint of its data centers. Only a few days ago, after all, the company announced that, in the next […]

The number of objects in orbit around Earth has been growing, and growing fast. Before 1957, of course, there were a total of zero human-made objects in the orbital region of outer space just beyond Earth’s atmosphere. There were 4,987 satellites orbiting the globe at the start of this year, according to the U.N. Office […]

…And see other pitchdecks get the teardown treatment from top early-stage investors Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures), Anu Duggal (Female Founders Fund) and Russ Heddleston (CEO of DocSend). All you have to do is send your deck over to ec_editors@techcrunch.com if you’re attending Disrupt, and you can get feedback directly from them in a workshop setting. […]

In way, these new wireless controllers from 8BitDo kind of defeat the purpose of the Switch Lite. So, why do I kind of want them? Honestly, I’m pretty enamored with the new, more portable version of Nintendo’s wildly successful console. As I noted in a recent review, it’s exactly the take on the Switch I […]

Some weeks, tech ethics is in the news. And some weeks, it IS the news. This week was one of the latter. There were so many ethically fraught news stories about technology companies over these past few days, I had trouble keeping track of them all. So I’m delighted that my latest interviewee for this […]

Earlier this month, HTC co-founder Cher Wang stepped down from her role as CEO. In her place, former Orange EVP Yves Maitre has taken up the reins for the Taipei-based smartphone maker. One of Maitre’s first acts as the head of HTC will be to join us at Disrupt in October. The interview — and […]

Here’s one way to play catch-up in the competitive streaming music market: preinstall your app on millions of Android handsets. That’s what Google will now be doing with YouTube Music. The company announced today the app will come preinstalled on all new devices launching with Android 10, as well as Android 9, including its own […]

This is, surely, the moment some loyal fans have waited for. And understandably so. The Galaxy Fold is, by all measures, an exciting phone. It’s the sort of bold brashness that has helped Samsung set itself apart from the competition. Many of us laughed at the Galaxy Note, too, and yet here we are, with […]

In a move to correct the imbalance of power between technologically sophisticated corporations and the lawmakers who regulate them, presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren is proposing that Congress reinstate the Office of Technology Assessment. It’s a move that gets deep into the weeds of how policy making in Washington works, but it’s something that Warren […]

Before showing “Gemini Man” to a group of reporters last week, director Ang Lee described the movie as a “leap of faith.” Then, to illustrate how nervous he was, he pretended to bite his nails. Was Lee just being self-effacing? Maybe. But afterwards, when we got a chance to grill him about the production, he […]

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.

A major drone incident at the UK’s second business airport last year continues to baffle police. Last December a series of drone sightings near Gatwick Airport caused chaos as scores of flights were grounded and thousands of travellers had their holiday plans disrupted. The incident, which took place during a peak travel period ahead of […]

DeadHappy, a U.K.-based insurtech startup that wants to offer more flexible life insurance and remove the taboo surrounding death, has raised £4 million in Series A funding. Backing comes from e.ventures, alongside the company’s seed investor Octopus Ventures. Founded in 2017, DeadHappy claims to be the UK’s “first fully digital pay-as-you-go life insurance provider”. It […]

UK startups concerned the country is about to leave the European Union in just a little over a month’s time with nothing agreed to ensure a smooth transition should point their eyes at this guide — put together by startup policy advocacy group, Coadec. While a ‘no deal’ brexit is still not inevitable the chances […]

If you’re the founder of an early-stage startup listen up. One of the best ways you can introduce your innovative company to the international tech community is to exhibit in Startup Alley at Disrupt Berlin 2019 on 11-12 December. There are plenty of reasons to exhibit, but here’s the first thing you need to know. You […]

Founders. The clock is ticking. Applications for Startup Battlefield at Disrupt Berlin 2019 are closing in just about 24 hours. On December 11-12, TechCrunch will feature the top early-stage startups from around the world in the most renowned on-stage pitch competition in the world – Startup Battlefield. Companies are battling for $50,000 in equity-free prize money, the […]

Having a slow connection is always frustrating, but just imagine how supercomputers feel. All those cores doing all kinds of processing at lightning speed, but in the end they're all waiting on an outdated network interface to stay in sync. DARPA doesn't like it. So DARPA wants to change it — specifically by making a new network interface a hundred times faster.

SoftBank did not let up the flow of capital to Brazil this month, staying busy despite the WeWork debacle. With two more $100 million-plus rounds in QuintoAndar and MadeiraMadeira, the Japanese investor has funded at least one more unicorn in the Brazilian ecosystem. Their investments in Brazil from the past two months alone far outstrip Latin America’s venture capital funding in all of 2016.

Several months after discreetly acquiring the online prescription service HeyDoctor, GoodRx is launching a new service based on the acquisition, GoodRx Care and offering a direct challenge to online prescription services like Hims, Hers, Nurx, Ro and others. Already a billion-dollar giant in the world of prescription fulfillment through its cost-comparison and discount medication fulfillment […]

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a preliminary set of guidelines for how law enforcement agencies can use in their investigations genetic information from consumer DNA analysis services. “Prosecuting violent crimes is a Department priority for many reasons, including to ensure public safety and to bring justice and closure to victims and victims’ families,” […]

Technological progress has created a situation of severe tension and incompatibility between the right to privacy and the extensive data pooling on which the digital economy is based.

Pear, a Palo Alto-based seed-stage fund that has made its name through early bets on Guardant Health, DoorDash, Memebox and Gusto, hosted its sixth annual demo day this week in what proved to be a scorchingly hot afternoon in Woodside, Calif. — not that invitees were put off by the heat. Hundreds of investors showed […]

Making the world more fit one $2,245 bike at a time

DoorDash has confirmed a data breach. The food delivery company said in a blog post Thursday that 4.9 million customers, delivery workers and merchants had their information stolen by hackers. The breach happened on May 4, the company said, but added that customers who joined after April 5, 2018 are not affected by the breach. […]

If their post has lots of Likes, you feel jealous. If your post doesn’t get enough Likes, you feel embarrassed. And when you just chase Likes, you distort your life seeking moments that score them, or censor it fearing you won’t look popular without them. That’s why Facebook is officially starting to hide Like counts […]

Tesla is rolling out a new software update that adds a slew of new features to its cars. These include the new “Smart Summon” feature, which will allow cars equipped with the optional $5,000 full-self driving package to automatically drive themselves from a parking spot to collect you in a parking lot. This is one […]

MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman describes his company as having “a very specific objective, which is to help media salespeople sell more advertising” by providing them with crucial data. And with today’s launch of MediaRadar Events, Krizelman hopes to do something similar for event organizers. These customer groups might actually be one and the same, as […]

They’re just not that into you. Or maybe it was a bot? The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced it has sued Match Group, the owner of just about all the dating apps — including Match, Tinder, OkCupid, Hinge, PlentyofFish and others — for fraudulent business practices. According to the FTC, Match tricked hundreds […]

Apple’s new premium subscription TV service is launching on November 1, and there’s a new trailer for one of its original shows, the Ronald D. Moore project ‘For All Mankind.’ The series is a fictional period piece set in the late 60s/early 70s that follows an alternate timeline in which Soviet Russia, not the U.S., […]

After passively watching for many years as tech giants developed dominant market positions that threaten consumer privacy and stifle competition, American antitrust regulators seem to have finally...

At the Oculus Connect developer conference, one of the company’s veteran executives offered some insights on the end of its best-selling product. “As we move forward into the future with Quest, it is probably time for me to give a bit of a eulogy for Gear VR,” CTO John Carmack told the audience Carmack detailed […]

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here. 1. Everything Amazon announced at its Alexa event Amazon held a big shindig yesterday to announce a whole bunch of new hardware […]

Gatsby, a platform that uses modern web technologies like React and GraphQL to help developers build better sites faster, today announced that it has raised a $15 million Series A round led by CRV. Previous investors Trinity Ventures, Mango Capital, Fathom Capital and Dig Ventures also participated, as did Kong CEO Augusto Marietti and Adobe […]

The 4-year-old firm is an investor in Vroom, a used car marketplace, and cloud automation tool Spotinst.

Uber today announced Uber Incubator, an initiative open to both Uber employees and those outside the Uber organization to develop products and services on top of Uber’s platform. “Our process follows lean startup methodologies,” Uber wrote in a blog post. “We provide support and resources to teams with a compelling opportunity, so they can rapidly […]

Sexual assaults and other safety-related issues are unfortunately a reality in the ride-hailing business. Uber, which has been the subject of some of these allegations, just announced the ability for riders to text 911 from within the app. During a ride, riders can access Uber’s safety toolkit to text 911 a prepopulated message of all […]

Samsung’s new rebooted Galaxy arrives this week with one job: it just needs to not break. I’d already spent thousands of words breaking down the ins and outs of the product the first time around. This round, on the other hand, was more about making sure everything worked. Back in April, I was among the […]

App Annie, a go-to source for mobile app market data and analytics, is expanding its platform with the acquisition of mobile analytics provider Libring. The deal will allow App Annie to present its mobile app market data side by side with advertising analytics data, in order to paint a more complete picture of an app’s […]

Uber’s best bet is to use its ubiquity and product breadth to beat rivals in ride hailing, scooters, and food delivery. It’s the only US company doing all three, but competition threatens to eat away at its margins on each. But if it can become your one-stop-shop for getting yourself or a meal from point […]

It’s been a busy couple of months for smart speakers – Amazon released a bunch just this week, including updated versions of its existing Echo hardware and a new Echo Studio with premium sound. Sonos also introduced its first portable speaker with Bluetooth support, the Sonos Move, and in August launched its collaboration collection with […]

Kobalt Music Group is driving the music industry to provide more transparency and faster royalty payments to musicians and challenging the traditional record labels and publishers with its own alternative service offerings that don’t take ownership of copyrights. Competition and market size are headwinds in its future growth, however, and the incumbents are thriving not […]

It wasn’t so long ago that Microsoft was betting heavily on its Cortana digital assistant. That’s a bet that didn’t pay off. But since this is the new Microsoft, the company is instead betting on integrating its products with those services that its users do actually use and today, the company announced that you will […]

A handful of years ago, the on-demand or ‘gig’ economy was seen as an innovative system of modern work that provided workers and consumers alike with flexibility, independence, and convenience. It seems like every week, a new on-demand or labor marketplace startup would stroll through Sand Hill Road with a slick logo and a new […]

On October 18, Nintendo will finally fill a Wii Fit-shaped hole in its product line. The Ring Fit is a kind of spiritual accessor to the numerous fitness titles that helped make the Wii’s motion controls such a massive, demographic spanning success. But the large, round peripheral is perfectly at home on the Switch, taking […]

Most people just guess how to price their vacation rental based on minimal research, or take platforms like Airbnb’s suggestions that just want to maximize their own revenue. Beyond Pricing aligns itself with home owners, taking 1% of bookings to optimize their rates on a daily basis. As you might expect of a startup that […]