Crunch Hype

French startup Clever Cloud is a cloud hosting company that operates a Platform as a Service (or PaaS). The company just launched GPU-based instances for machine learning purposes under a new brand, Clever Grid. Behind the scene, the company uses Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070. You get billed by the minute and the most basic instance […]

Founded in 2011, Gogoro now makes the best-selling electric scooters in Taiwan, where it is headquartered. The startup has always seen itself as an end-to-end platform developer, however, and today it marked a major milestone with the announcement of a new vehicle sharing system. Called GoShare, the program will start operating with a pilot fleet […]

Waresix, one of a handful of startups aiming to modernize logistics in Indonesia — the world’s fourth most populous country — has pulled in $14.5 million to grow its 18-month-old business. This new investment, Waresix’s Series A, is led by EV Growth — the growth-stage fund co-run by East Ventures — with participation from SMDV […]

PayU, the Naspers owned fintech firm that specializes in emerging markets, is broadening its global reach into Southeast Asia after it announced a deal to buy a majority stake in Singapore-based Red Dot Payment. Naspers is best known for its payments and fintech business in markets like India, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe, but […]

Stunt driver Vaughn Gittin Jr. took a Lincoln MKZ through its paces at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, drifting the vehicle and taking it up a signature hill climb. Except Gittin wasn’t in the car. Donning a Samsung VR headset, Gittin was controlling the vehicle miles away from the Goodwood arena using a teleoperation system […]

Alphabet-backed UnitedMasters, the music label distribution startup and record label alternative that offers artists 100 percent ownership of everything they create, launched its iPhone app today. The iPhone app works like the service they used to offer only via the web, giving artists the chance to upload their own tracks (from iCloud, Dropbox or directly […]

Wouldn't it be nice to have a solar panel that's only there when the sun shines on it? That's the idea behind this research project, which uses shape-shifting materials to make a solar panel grow from a compressed state to an expanded one with nothing more than a change in temperature.

HQ Trivia is struggling after a mutiny failed to oust its CEO. Downloads per month are down 92% versus last June according to Sensor Tower. And now four sources confirm that HQ laid off staff members this week. One said about 20% of staff was let go, and another said six to seven employees were […]

Sunny Dhillon Contributor Sunny Dhillon is a partner at Signia Venture Partners. More posts by this contributor Digital influencers and the dollars that follow them Security tokens will be coming soon to an exchange near you Deepfakes are having a moment. Their dangers are becoming more known and understood. The media is rife with articles […]

Tesla has extended its 5-star safety rating streak to Europe. In a new round of testing, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) awarded the Model 3 its highest rating of five stars. You can watch a video of Euro NCAP’s crash test below. As fun as it is to watch a Tesla Model […]

Wireless charging has been a wonderful addition to mainstream flagship smartphones including the iPhone, Samsung’s Galaxy lineup and Google’s Pixel phones. But there hasn’t been a really great option for bringing the benefits of wireless charging with you on the road, while keeping your desktop setup tidy until now, with TwelveSouth’s recently released HiRise Wireless. […]

It’s no secret that America thrives on tech-savvy immigrants who put down permanent roots: Three in five of the country’s biggest tech companies — Apple, Facebook, and Google among them — were founded by first- or second-generation immigrants. Those giants combined boast a market cap of over $4 trillion and employ nearly two million workers. Considering […]

Apple is set to replace the technology underlying the keyboards found in its MacBook Air and MacBook Pro computers, according to a new report from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac). Kuo is frequently accurate in his predictions, which are sourced from within Apple’s supply chain and tend to provide an early indication of forthcoming […]

Back in 2017, Tesla introduced an automated emergency breaking (AEB) system for all its vehicles that’s powered by its Autopilot technology, which is available even for vehicles with haven’t purchased the actual Autopilot cruise-assist upgrade. Now, the automaker is showing off some of the more advanced features coming in its next-generation AEB update. These include […]

This month marks the 40th anniversary of Sony’s first Walkman, the portable music player that would forever change the way we consume music. And while the audio cassette long ago fell out of favor for the CD and later digital music, the format’s certainly not forgotten. It may not have the same audiophile cache as […]

SpaceX managed another first for its reusable rocketry efforts during its most recent launch when it caught part of the fairing in a giant net mounted on a boat named ‘Ms. Tree.’ The nosecone component, used to protect the Falcon Heavy’s cargo during its June 25 launch, typically is either lost or falls into the […]

Global automakers BMW and Daimler will join forces in a new long-term partnership to co-develop automated driving technologies, including levels of automation all the way up to SAE Level 4, which is defined as full self-driving, no human intervention required, but only under exactly defined conditions or domains – steering wheel and brakes not necessarily […]

London is one of the world’s biggest markets for consumers that travel using ride-hailing services. Is it now also becoming one of the most crowded when it comes to the companies offering the transportation, too? Today, India’s Ola confirmed that it is the latest of the wave of app-based ride-hailing providers to receive a license […]

Some of the world’s most fascinating names and leaders in tech startup and investing come to our Disrupt Main Stage to discuss big-picture topics. And that tradition continues at Disrupt Berlin 2019 on 11-12 December. But what happens when you want to dig into a specific technology or emerging trend? You head for a Q&A Session. […]

July 4 is American Independence Day, but it also marks the arrival of Stranger Things season three — a release that might just be the most-anticipated in the history of Netflix. Season three dropped at 12:01 PDT which means, dear reader, that it is now online and ready for your viewing pleasure. The series has […]

European micro-mobility startup Dott is about to raise a $34 million Series A round (€30 million). Compared to many scooter companies out there, the startup is taking a careful approach when it comes to growth in order to build a good reputation and a sustainable service. EQT Ventures and Naspers are leading today’s found. Existing […]

French startup Shine is launching two new features today — Shine Premium, a premium account with basic insurance coverage for freelancers, and support for more types of companies using Shine Start. Shine is building an alternative to traditional bank accounts for freelancers. In addition to bank information and a payment card, users can register a “micro-company” […]

P.F.C. (Personal Finance Co.), a so-called “neobank” founded in Sweden, has raised €5 million in funding. Backing the young company is Nordea, the largest bank in the Nordics region. In other words, chalk this up as another example of an incumbent bank placing financial and strategic bets on a fintech upstart, even if it doesn’t […]

MoviePass is temporarily suspending its service, starting on July 4, in order to finish working on improvements to its mobile app, the company announced today. The hiatus comes after a difficult year for the cash-burning company, and as Regal, the second-largest movie theater chain in the United States, is reportedly preparing to launch its own […]

Jerry Colonna was a good venture capitalist. Still, when he became engulfed in a dangerous depression after the dot.com bubble’s burst — owing to the economic crash, to the terrorist attack in New York, to the approach of middle age — he saved himself by leaving VC, a kind of accidental if lucrative profession for […]

Superhuman, the buzzy and currently invite-only email startup that you might have come across even if you yourself don’t have access if you’ve ever encountered a “Sent via Superhuman” email signature, is making some changes based on community feedback. These include removing location logging altogether, getting rid of all existing location data and turning off […]

How a failed cookie startup paved the way for next-gen logistics and distribution software.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is shaping up to be a big moment for Lotus. The company is finally taking “some” of the wraps off of its first major model launch — and its first electric hypercar — under the new ownership of Geely. And now, one day before attendees will get a glimpse, Lotus […]

It might seem like you’ve now got podcasts covering any and every conceivable topic, but comedy writer and actor Maria Blascucci argued that there’s still “this whole untapped market” — namely, podcasts created by women. Certainly, some of the most successful shows are hosted by women — but if you look at a list of […]

Nintendo's Mario Maker series is among the most generous gifts the company could have given to its fans, and the new installment on Switch is better than its predecessor in every way. Yet despite the freedom and encouragement it gives, it's hard not to feel a gentle tug groundward when your ambitions begin to soar.

The LA-based VC closed on $400 million for its latest early-stage fund in 2017.

In a blow to Amazon, a U.S. appeals court ruled that the mega-retailer can be held accountable for faulty third-party sales. The ruling arrived this week via the 3rd U.S. City Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, running counter to a past lower court ruling that had come out in Amazon’s favor. If upheld, the ruling […]

The $10 million entry fee to join the Facebook-developed cryptocurrency’s Libra Association is merely a minimum. Members who’ll verify transactions can opt to invest more in exchange for more Libra Investment Tokens that will earn them dividends from the interest earned by the Libra Reserve after it pays for infrastructure and operations costs. If regulators […]

If you're driving your car from Portland to Merced, you probably rely on GPS to see where you are. But what if you're driving your Moon rover from Oceanus Procellarum to the Sea of Tranquility? Actually, GPS should be fine — if this NASA research pans out.

The legalization of cannabis and hemp for medicinal and recreational use in states across the U.S. and in Canada has opened up a huge vein of green, green cash for startups. Two entrepreneurs tantalized early on by the smell of dank profits are Pax Labs CEO Bharat Vasan and Eaze and Wayv founder Keith McCarty. […]

The concept of a Google Doodle — the little widget that sometimes replaces the Google logo on the company’s main search page — has gotten a lot more complex over the years. The first one (from 1998!) was just a simple static image of the Google logo with a Burning Man logo behind it, meant […]

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. Apple’s iOS 13 update will make FaceTime eye contact way easier Apple has added to the latest iOS 13 Developer beta […]

Amazon has responded to a letter of inquiry it received from U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) that asks the company to detail what happens to customers’ Alexa voice records and data after they speak to their virtual assistant. The Senator’s letter was prompted by a CNET investigation in May, which found that Amazon keeps voice […]

When you think of old, giant mainframes that sit in the basement of a giant corporation, still doing the same work they did 30 years ago, chances are you’re thinking about a financial institution. It’s the financial enterprises, though, that are often leading the charge in bringing new technologies and software development practices to their […]

Boeing has said it will offer $100 million to the families and communities of those who died aboard the two 737 Max passenger jets that crashed earlier this year. This "initial outreach" will likely only be a small part of the company's penance for the mistakes that led to the deaths of 346 people.

The firm e.ventures, a 20-year-old, early-stage venture outfit that has historically invested out of dedicated funds in numerous geographies, including the U.S., Russia, Germany, Asia and Brazil, has raised $400 million in fresh capital across two new funds: a $225 million U.S.-focused fund that’s based in San Francisco, and a $175 million fund that’s focused […]

Editor’s Note: Shortened week Due to the U.S. Independence Day holiday this week on July 4th, Extra Crunch will not be publishing our normal editorial on Thursday and Friday of this week, nor will we send out this EC Roundup newsletter on Saturday. Normal publishing will resume starting next week on Monday. Conference Call Today […]

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos seems to be really hoping that his streaming service’s forthcoming Lord of the Rings original series can match Game of Thrones in terms of fantasy hype. Now, thanks to Deadline, we know the person who will be in the director’s chair for the first couple of episodes of this Bezos-beloved project: Juan […]

Sophie Alcorn founded her own immigration-focused boutique law firm a few years ago, that has quickly become a go-to resource for founders and tech workers in the Bay Area and beyond. While immigration paperwork acceptance rates have been dropping for immigration paperwork under tougher requirements set by the Trump Administration, especially for H-1Bs, Alcorn says […]

The immigration process in the U.S. has become a high-stakes undertaking for employers, workers, and entrepreneurs. Predictability has eroded. Processing times have soared. And any mistake or...

App store spending is continuing to grow, although not as quickly as in years past. According to a new report from Sensor Tower, the iOS App Store and Google Play combined brought in $39.7 billion in worldwide app revenue in the first half of 2019 — that’s up 15.4% over the $34.4 billion seen during […]

Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, has enabled tens of millions of people — if not more — to come online for the first time with his disruptive telecom network. He has changed how many Indians, once thrifty about each megabyte they spent browsing the internet, consume mobile data today. But many of these first time […]

In a recent interview, Samsung CEO DJ Koh noted that the company was hard at work on Galaxy Fold fixes (he also said people won’t be using smartphones in five years, so who knows?). And now, a report from Bloomberg confirms that the company has put the finishing touches on those fixes two months after […]

This summer has blessed us with a wealth of awesome television options, from Big Little Lies to Chernobyl to The Handmaid’s Tale. And the good times keep rollin’. Tomorrow, Stranger Things Season 3 drops on Netflix. To celebrate, it would appear that Epic Games is adding portals in Fortnite’s Mega Mall. Netflix’s Chris Lee, director […]

Just two weeks after the UK’s Information Commissioner published a damning report setting out major privacy and other concerns about programmatic advertising, today the country’s Competition and Markets Authority poured more cold water on the digital advertising industry that could have a direct impact not just on digital advertising leaders like Google and Facebook, but […]