Crunch Hype

A new app called HiHello is taking aim at business cards. While plenty of apps in the past have tried to kill the business card, they never achieved critical mass. Mainly, this is because most required that both parties — the business card holder and recipient — have their app installed. HiHello is different. Instead […]

TechCrunch Disrupt SF (September 5-7), we said from the start, was going to be the most ambitious ever, and when it comes to programming, there’s no question the Disrupt SF agenda eclipses anything we’ve done in the past. There are two BIG stages, plus two speaker Q&A stages, workshops and a Startup Showcase stage, where […]

A study of circumstances and demographics attendant on attacks against refugees and immigrants in Germany has shown that Facebook use appears to be deeply linked with the frequency of violent acts. Far from being mere trolling or isolated expressions of controversial political opinions, spikes in anti-refugee posts were predictive of violent crimes against those groups.

The legacy of CryptoKitties is still in development, but most can agree that the project raised awareness (and attracted development talent) to new uses for blockchain tokens.

Are you trying to stay off social media, but just can’t seem to stop yourself from posting? When random thoughts pop into your head, do you find yourself launching Twitter and typing before you remember you’re trying to quit? Well, now there’s a better way. Hello, Brizzly. Brizzly is a revolutionary new app designed just […]

Morgan Stanley is no longer providing equity coverage on Tesla’s stock, the second firm to drop its stock rating on the electric automaker since CEO Elon Musk announced plans via Twitter to take the company private. Tesla declined to comment. Morgan Stanley could not be reached for comment to explain why it dropped Tesla. However, […]

This likely won’t come as a surprise to anyone who saw the news late last month, but Mayfield Robotics, maker of the adorable home robot Kuri announced today that it’s ceasing operations. The company, which began life as a part of Bosch, will close its doors by the end of October this year. In July, Mayfield […]

Facebook has been a bit slow to adopt the voice computing revolution. It has no voice assistant, its smart speaker is still in development, and some apps like Instagram aren’t fully equipped for audio communication. But much of that is set to change judging by experiments discovered in Facebook’s code, plus new patent filings. Developing […]

Creators of the 1Sheeld, a tool designed to connect smartphones to Arduino boards, have created something even more interesting. Their latest product, the Elkrem, is a smart kit for creating blockchain IoT devices and they have raised $250,000 from Endure Capital and Consensys to build the project. The founders are Amr Saleh and Islam Mustafa […]

Capital, crypto, and regulation go together like bread, peanut butter, and jelly. And what better way to make a great sandwich than to bring them all together at TechCrunch Disrupt. I’ll be leading a panel with Avichal Garg of Electric Capital, Arianna Simpson of Autonomous Partners, and Valerie Szczepanik of the SEC in San Francisco. […]

The Mosaic Manufacturing Palette 2 – an upgrade the original Palette – is a self-contained system for full color 3D printing. It works by cutting and splicing multiple filament colors and then feeding them through as the object is printed. The system uses a unique and internal cutter called the Splice Core that measures and […]

Facebook announced this morning it’s making a change to how its ad targeting system works in order to tackle the misuse of its platform to discriminate and exclude audiences based on factors like ethnicity and religion. The company says it’s now removing over 5,000 ad targeting options that could have been misused to place discriminatory […]

Uber’s search for a chief financial officer — and the person who will steer the company toward an IPO — is over. The ride-hailing company said Tuesday its new CFO is Nelson J. Chai, the former CEO of insurance and warranty provider Warranty Group. Chai has the kind of experience Uber will need to navigate a successful […]

TraceLink, a nine-year-old, software-as-a-service platform for tracking pharmaceuticals and trying to weed out counterfeit prescription drugs in the process, has raised $93 million in Series D funding. Most of the money — $60 million — was used to buy primary shares, with another $33 million used to buy up the shares of previous shareholders. Georgian Partners […]

According to a report from Bloomberg, Apple has been working on multiple new Macs. In particular, Apple could be planning to release a new entry-level laptop to replace the aging MacBook Air. This isn’t the first rumor about a MacBook Air refresh. While Apple has released a 12-inch retina MacBook, it’s not nearly as cheap […]

A new way to attack Facebook is to fraudulently report a news story as false in hopes of reducing its visibility, either because someone wants to censor it or just doesn’t agree with it. Sometimes known as “brigading,” a concerted effort by trolls to flag a piece of content can reduce its visibility. Facebook now […]

23andMe is beefing up its African, East Asian and Native American ancestry capabilities — something it has sorely lacked. Specifically, 23andMe has added to its database 12 new regions across Africa and East Asia. When I first tried 23andMe a few years ago, it told me I was 71 percent West African, which tells me […]

HTC continues to bet big on VR, today announcing the launch of pre-orders for the Vive Wireless Adapter. The adapter allows Vive and Vive Pro owners to cut the cord, so to speak, and allow users to tether wirelessly to their PC. The Base Adapter works with both the Vive and Vive Pro, though the […]

Netflix is one of the highest-grossing apps on the iOS App Store, but it looks like the video streaming giant is contemplating how it might make an even bigger margin on its iPhone and iPad users. TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that Netflix, in its own words, is “testing the iTunes payment method” in 33 […]

Sequoia has announced the close of its newest fund for India and Southeast Asia. The firm has raised $695 million for this fund, which is its fifth since it expanded into India 12 years ago. Reports at the beginning of this year suggested that the firm was shooting for a $1 billion fund, perhaps influenced by […]

Southeast Asia’s venture capital space is booming right now. Openspace Ventures just announced the close of its newest $135 million fund, Golden Gate Ventures hit the first close on its upcoming $100 million vehicle, and a third Singapore-based fund is also raising big right now: Qualgro. Unlike others, Qualgro has operated relatively under the radar to […]

Cootek, the Chinese mobile internet company best known for keyboard app TouchPal, has filed for a public offering in the United States. In its F-1 form, submitted last week to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cootek said it wants to raise up to $100 million. The Shanghai-based company began operating in 2008, when TouchPal was […]

From “cheese 2.0” to connecting flights for satellites, Y Combinator showed off a wide array of early stage startups fresh from its YC Summer 2018 batch. A total of 63 companies took to the stage in front of a full audience at the Computer History Museum today in Mountain View to pitch on-off switches for […]

Apple has landed a big new partner for Apple Pay in the U.S. after Costco began accepting the mobile payment service across 750 stores. The retailer plans to include support at its gas stations, but that isn’t yet complete. The rollout — first reported by MacRumors — follows limited trials at selected Costco outlets, including […]

Stratolaunch, the commercial space firm founded by Paul Allen back in 2011, has revealed a bit more of its plan for taking payloads to orbit via one of the world's biggest planes. It's now working on a pair of its own rocket-powered launch vehicles, and is in the early phases of creating a reusable, crew-capable space plane.

One Medical, the company hoping to disrupt the doctor’s office with concierge services, virtual visits and same-day appointments, is rumored to be in late-stage talks with the Carlyle Group for $200 million in funding, according to CNBC. The firm is also looking to buy an additional $100 million worth of shares from existing investors, according […]

Google’s Unskippable Labs team has been testing ad effectiveness in a compelling new way: It created a fake pizza brand called Doctor Fork, used stock footage to create 33 ads and then served them up on YouTube and reached 20 million impressions. Ben Jones, creative director at Unskippable Labs, explained that there are certain axioms […]

Twitch Prime, the perks program for Amazon Prime members offering free loot, games and other benefits, is ditching one of its best features: ad-free viewing. According to an email sent out to Amazon Prime members today, ad-free viewing will no longer be included as a part of Twitch Prime for new members, beginning on September […]

Animoto, a cloud-based video maker service for social media sites, has revealed a data breach. The breach occurred on July 10 but was confirmed by the company in early August, and later reported to the California attorney general. Names, dates of birth and user email addresses were accessed by hackers, but the company said it […]

Mike Rothenberg, infamous Silicon Valley venture capitalist and founder of Rothenberg Ventures, has been formally charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for overcharging investors to fund personal projects. It’s important to note a formal charge is not proof of guilt and Rothenberg has not made any admission of guilt under these proceedings. However, Rothenberg […]

Venezuela has just taken drastic and unprecedented steps to stabilize its currency as it grapples with hyperinflation and other economic issues. The country's currency has not only been massively devalued and renamed, but is now tied to a state-issued cryptocurrency called the Petro, which itself fluctuates based on oil prices. Hardly anyone knows what to expect out of this.

Amazon is today rolling out a set of new features to its Echo Dot Kids Edition devices — the now $70 version of the Echo Dot smart speaker that ships with a protective case and a year’s subscription to Amazon FreeTime, normally a $2.99 per month subscription for Prime members. Now joining the Kids Edition’s […]

Magnetic resonance imaging is an invaluable tool in the medical field, but it's also a slow and cumbersome process. It may take hour to complete a scan, during which time the patient, perhaps a child or someone in serious pain, must sit perfectly still. NYU has been working on a way to accelerate this process, and is now collaborating with Facebook with the goal of cutting down MRI durations by 90 percent.

What Robinhood did to democratize buying individual stocks, Titan wants to do for investing in a managed portfolio. Instead of being restricted to rich accredited investors willing to pour $5,000 or even $500,000 into a traditional hedge fund that charges 2 percent fees and 20 percent of profits, Titan lets anyone invest as little as […]

As a teenager in Nigeria, I tried to build an artificial intelligence system. I was inspired by the same dream that motivated the pioneers in the field: That we could create an intelligence of pure logic and objectivity that would free humanity from human error and human foibles.

CBS in the beginning of the year brought its streaming service for cord cutters, CBS All Access, to Amazon’s a la carte TV service, Prime Video Channels. At the time, however, only the higher-priced, $9.99 per month commercial-free subscription was offered to Prime members. At the time, CBS said its $5.99 per month ad-supported tier […]

Audible is getting into the fitness business with a little help from Aaptiv. The Amazon-owned audiobook giant is adding content from the popular audio fitness app. There are only three guided courses to start — all firmly targeted at beginners. There’s audio coaching to run a mile, a 5K and a guided meditation course, all […]

You know that feeling when a deadline’s bearing down on you like a runaway train? If you hope to secure a spot in Startup Alley at Disrupt San Francisco 2018 — which takes place September 5-7 — you’d best get moving, because that deadline is coming at you full steam ahead. Your chance to buy […]

A year ago I felt a panic that still reverberates in me today. Hackers swapped my T-Mobile SIM card without my approval and methodically shut down access to most of my accounts and began reaching out to my Facebook friends asking to borrow crypto. Their social engineering tactics, to be clear, were laughable but they […]

Dark Sky, one of the more popular mobile weather applications on the market, is out today with a complete refresh of its app, which has now been re-written from the ground up, the company says. The biggest change is the introduction of a new unified timeline that combines both the precipitation predictions Dark Sky is […]

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal law that had banned gambling on sporting events in most states. That ruling is set to unlock billions of dollars in new business opportunities for online fantasy sports sites like DraftKings. That’s why we’re absolutely thrilled to have DraftKings CEO Jason Robins join us on […]

Pepsi this morning announced its intentions to buy Tel Aviv-based beverage company SodaStream for $3.2 billion. The deal comes as more consumers are turning away from sugary beverages and toward more sustainable, in-home options. The acquisition, which has been unanimously approved by PepsiCo’s shareholders, comes as the soda company is looking to diversify its portfolio […]

Gecko Robotics aims to save human lives at our nation’s power plants with its wall-climbing robots. To continue doing so, the startup tells TechCrunch it has just secured $7 million from a cadre of high-profile sources, including Founders Fund, Mark Cuban, The Westly Group, Justin Kan and Y Combinator. We first reported on the Pittsburgh-based company when […]

Nvidia is taking advantage of the Gamescom in Germany to hold a press conference about its future graphics processing units. The conference will start at 6 PM in Germany, 12 PM in New York, 9 AM in San Francisco. Just a week after the company unveiled its new Turing architecture, Nvidia could share more details […]

You wouldn’t expect a medical app to get its start as a Snapchat competitor. Neither did video chat startup TapTalk’s founder Onno Faber. But four years ago he was diagnosed with a rare disease called neurofibromatosis type 2 that caused tumors, leading Onno to lose hearing in one ear. He’s amongst the one in 10 people with an […]

Microsoft announced this morning it’s bringing Minecraft: Education Edition to the iPad for the first time. The game, which first launched to the public in late 2016, has been previously available in schools on Windows 10 devices and on macOS. The iPad software will roll out to schools starting in September, the company says. If […]

Fitbit’s ability to start righting the ship can largely be credited with its dive into the smartwatch category. Ionic was a bit of a mess, to be sure, but the Versa has proven a bona fide hit. But while smartwatches represent a rare bright spot in the stagnant wearable space, fitness bands have always — […]

iPrice, an e-commerce aggregation service in Southeast Asia, has landed a strategic investment from Naver, the Korean internet giant valued at over $21 billion, as part of a follow-on to the startup’s $4 million Series B from May. There’s actually a strong connection around that recent round. It was led by Line Ventures, the investment arm […]

Farfetch, the UK-based marketplace for high-end fashion and other luxury goods, has confirmed its plans to go public. According to an F-1 form filed with the SEC, the company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker FTCH. An IPO for the company has been in the works for some time, and […]

Apple is cracking down on illegal content in China after it removed potentially thousands of apps related to gambling, including ‘lottery’ services. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. phone-maker purged as many as 25,000 apps — that’s a figure that was first cited by state-owned broadcaster CCTV [link in Chinese]. Apple didn’t comment […]