The Station: CES trends and Uber plots another spinoff  

The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click The Station — to receive it every weekend in your inbox. Hi friends and new readers, welcome back to The Station, a newsletter dedicated to all the present and future ways people and packages move from Point A to […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 08:41:40

Bustle CEO Bryan Goldberg explains his plans for taking the company public  

"Now, you know, we did six acquisitions in 2019. I don't know if we'll do six acquisitions in 2021. But I want to do a lot more than one acquisition in 2021."

what do you think? 2021-01-18 07:21:17

It may not be as glamorous as D2C, but beauty tech is big money  

Shifting consumer demands within beauty and retail are creating rich opportunities for U.S.-based beauty/consumer tech SaaS companies.

what do you think? 2021-01-18 07:05:58

WhatsApp-Facebook data-sharing transparency under review by EU DPAs after Ireland sends draft decision  

A long-running investigation in the European Union focused on the transparency of data-sharing between Facebook and WhatsApp has taken the first major step towards a resolution. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) confirmed Saturday it sent a draft decision to fellow EU DPAs towards the back end of last year. This will trigger a review process […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 06:52:01

Tencent-backed Hike, once India's answer to WhatsApp, has given up on messaging  

India's answer to WhatsApp has completely moved on from messaging. Hike Messenger, backed by Tencent, Tiger Global and SoftBank and valued at $1.4 billion in 2016, earlier this month announced that it was shutting down StickerChat, its messaging app. (StickerChat users saw notifications about it late last week.) The startup, founded by Kavin Bharti Mittal, […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 06:08:19

Personio raises $125M on a $1.7B valuation for an HR platform targeting SMEs  

With the last year changing how (and where) many of us work, organizations have started to rethink how well they manage their employees, and what tools they use to do that. Today, one of the startups that is building technology to address this challenge is announcing a major round of funding that underscores its traction […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 05:51:51

Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee sent back to prison in bribery case  

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee is back in prison following a retrial of his 2017 conviction in a bribery case that helped lead to the downfall of former South Korean president Park Guen-hye. The Seoul High Court sentenced Lee to 30 months on Monday. Lee was originally convicted of bribery in 2017 and […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 05:49:29

Goama lets developers integrate a social gaming platform into their apps  

Goama (also known as Go Games) lets developers quickly integrate social games into their apps. Some of Goama's clients have used it for promotional campaigns, while others rely on the platform, which introduces new games every week, to add a full-fledged gaming function to their app. The startup, which recently took part in SOSV's accelerator […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 05:22:55

Watch Virgin Orbit launch a rocket to space from a modified 747 for the first time  

Virgin Orbit scored a major success on Sunday, with a test flight that not only achieved its goals of reaching space and orbit, but also of delivering payloads on board for NASA, marking its first commercial mission, too. The launch was a success in every possible regard, which puts Virgin Orbit on track to becoming […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 05:04:08

Startups at CES showed how tech can help elderly people and their caregivers  

The COVID-19 pandemic shined a harsh spotlight on the challenges many elderly people face. Older adults are among the highest-risk groups for developing cases that need hospitalization and nursing homes were especially vulnerable to outbreaks. While dealing with COVID-19, the elderly have also faced many other problems, including the difficulty of accessing medical care for […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 04:56:38

Calling Bucharest VCs: Be featured in The Great TechCrunch Survey of European VC  

TechCrunch is embarking on a major project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe, and their cities. Our <a href=”of VCs in Bucharest and Romania will capture how the country is faring, and what changes are being wrought amongst investors by the coronavirus pandemic. We'd like to know how Romania’s startup scene is […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 04:14:26

Twitter is bringing Moments to Indian social app Dailyhunt  

Five years after its launch, Twitter Moments is growing beyond the American social networking platform. On Monday, Twitter said it had partnered with Dailyhunt to bring Moments to the Indian social app. Dailyhunt app now has a dedicated tab called ‘Twitter Moments India’ to showcase curated tweets pertaining to news and other events in the […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 03:52:46

proSapient raises $10M Series A led by Smedvig Capital to expand expert network platform  

For several years there has been talk about how to leverage 'experts' online. How do you 'suck their brains' for information in an efficient manner, whether it be for research into companies or sectors, often for investment purposes. Major players in this arena include GLG, Third Bridge, Guidepoint and Alphasights. With the pandemic destroying many […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 03:02:35

Signal and Telegram are also growing in China – for now  

As fears over WhatsApp’s privacy policies send millions of users in the West to Signal and Telegram, the two encrypted apps are also seeing a slight user uptick in China, where WeChat has long dominated and the government has a tight grip on online communication. Following WhatsApp’s pop-up notification reminding users that it shares their […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 02:38:14

Flipkart doubles down on rewards program, partners with 5,000 retail outlets in India  

Flipkart on Monday launched SuperCoin Pay that its customers will be able to use across thousands of retail stores across the country as Walmart-owned e-commerce giant bets on its loyalty program to win and sustain its user base in the world's second largest internet market. The Bangalore-headquartered e-commerce giant said it had partnered with over […]

what do you think? 2021-01-18 02:03:23

UK's Bloom & Wild raises $102M to seed its flower delivery service across Europe  

Bloom & Wild, a London-based startup that takes an updated and online approach to the very traditional business of ordering and delivering flowers, has seen business blossom in the last year. And today, it is announcing a big round of funding to help it double down on the opportunity ahead. The company has raised £75 […]

what do you think? 2021-01-17 17:31:13

Virgin Orbit reaches orbit for the first time  

Virgin Orbit launched its LauncherOne rocket to orbit for the first time today, with a successful demonstration mission that carried a handful of satellites and delivered them successfully to low Earth orbit on behalf of NASA. It’s a crucial milestone for the small satellite launch company, and the first time the company has shown that […]

what do you think? 2021-01-17 12:04:39

Original Content podcast: Martin Scorsese and Fran Lebowitz have a good time in 'Pretend It's A City'  

The concept behind the new Netflix documentary series “Pretend It’s A City” is pretty straightforward: Author Fran Lebowitz talks, while Martin Scorsese (who’s both director and an on-camera presence) listens and laughs. Lebowitz’s musings across seven episodes are organized by loose themes, such as “Metropolitan Transit” and “Library Services,” with the more recent footage interspersed […]

what do you think? 2021-01-17 10:07:20

GitHub's head of HR resigns in light of termination of Jewish employee  

A GitHub internal investigation has revealed the company made “significant errors of judgment and procedure” in the firing of the Jewish employee who cautioned his coworkers about the presence of Nazis in the DC area on the day of insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In a blog post today, GitHub COO Erica Brescia said the […]

what do you think? 2021-01-17 03:33:27

Threat of inauguration violence casts a long shadow over social media  

As the U.S. heads into one of the most perilous phases of American democracy since the Civil War, social media companies are scrambling to shore up their patchwork defenses for a moment they appear to have believed would never come. Most major platforms pulled the emergency break last week, deplatforming the president of the United […]

what do you think? 2021-01-17 01:12:51

Startups look beyond lidar for autonomous vehicle perception  

Last CES was a time of reckoning for lidar companies, many of which were cratering due to a lack of demand from a (still) non-existent autonomous vehicle industry. The few that excelled did so by specializing, and this year the trend has pushed beyond lidar, with new sensing and imaging methods pushing to both compete […]

what do you think? 2021-01-16 11:29:56

Human Capital: Labor issues at GitHub, Facebook's new civil rights exec and a legal battle against Prop 22  

This week kicked off with a report of a GitHub worker who was fired after cautioning his coworkers in the DC area to stay safe from Nazis during the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Meanwhile, Facebook created a new executive role pertaining to civil rights and California's Proposition 22 faced its first legal challenge this […]

what do you think? 2021-01-16 11:11:22

This Week in Apps: Parler deplatformed, alt apps rise, looking back at 2020 trends  

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 218 billion downloads and $143 billion in global consumer spend in 2020. Consumers last year also spent 3.5 trillion minutes using […]

what do you think? 2021-01-16 10:35:42

Checkout wants to be Rapyd and Fast  

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch's venture-capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. We're back on this lovely Saturday with a bonus episode! Again! There is enough going on that to avoid failing to bring you stuff that we think matters, we are back yet again for more. This time around we […]

what do you think? 2021-01-16 10:33:33

No one knows what anything is worth  

Welcome back to The TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It's broadly based on the daily column that appears on Extra Crunch, but free, and made for your weekend reading. Click here if you want it in your inbox every Saturday morning. Ready? Let's talk money, startups and spicy IPO rumors. It was yet another week of startups […]

what do you think? 2021-01-16 08:04:08

After a record year for Israeli startups, 16 investors tell us what's next  

Israel's startup ecosystem raised record amounts of funding and produced 19 IPOs in 2020, despite the pandemic. Now tech companies across industries are poised for an even better year, according to more than a dozen investors we talked to in the country. Mainstay sectors like cybersecurity continue to matter, they said, but are maturing (more […]

what do you think? 2021-01-16 07:46:56

Stay gold, 'Plaid for X' startups  

A failed acquisition usually triggers the same series of questions: What does this mean for early-stage startups in the sector? Will a chilling effect occur and hurt valuations? Will VCs stop funding this category? How will the exit environment look going forward? This week gave that narrative a bullish twist. Visa and Plaid announced that […]

what do you think? 2021-01-16 06:09:58

The pandemic was top of mind in the tech of CES 2021  

Of course COVID-19 was bound to be an unavoidable topic during the first-ever all-virtual CES. After all, the topic is at front of mind regardless of the topic these days. Close to a year into the pandemic, presenters still understandably feel obligated to address the always-present elephant in the room. Sometimes it was as simple […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 21:12:04

DOT evaluated 11 GPS replacements and found only one that worked across use cases  

The United States' GPS system, which is operated by the Defense Department, offers every one of us critical infrastructure around what is known as positioning, navigation and timing (PNT). Positioning and navigation is obvious every time we open up a maps app, but timing is also a critical function of GPS — offering our smartphones […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 21:08:45

Facebook blocks new events around DC and state capitols  

As a precaution against coordinated violence as the U.S. approaches President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, Facebook announced a few new measures it’s putting in place. In a blog post and tweets from Facebook Policy Communications Director Andy Stone, the company explained that it would block any events slated to happen near the White House, the U.S. […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 20:21:53

Daily Crunch: WhatsApp responds to privacy backlash  

WhatsApp delays enforcement of a controversial privacy change, Apple may get rid of the Touch Bar in future MacBooks and Bumble files to go public. This is your Daily Crunch for January 15, 2021. The big story: WhatsApp responds to privacy backlash Earlier this month, WhatsApp sent users a notification asking them to consent to […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 16:34:35

WhatsApp delays enforcement of privacy terms by 3 months, following backlash  

WhatsApp said on Friday that it won’t enforce the planned update to its data-sharing policy until May 15, weeks after news about the new terms created confusion among its users, exposed the Facebook app to a potential lawsuit, triggered a nationwide investigation and drove tens of millions of its loyal fans to explore alternative messaging […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 15:06:29

Group Nine's SPAC goes public  

Group Nine Media revealed last month that it was forming a SPAC (short for special purpose acquisition corporation) in order to raise money for acquisitions. The company has now moved forward with those plans, announcing last night that it had priced the SPAC’s IPO at $10 per unit, to raise a total of $200 million. […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 13:52:34

How Twitter is handling the 2021 US presidential transition  

Twitter has set out its plans for US Inauguration Day 2021, next Wednesday, January 20, when president-elect Joe Biden will be sworn into office as the 46th US president and vice president-elect Kamala Harris will become VP. “This year, multiple challenging circumstances will require that most people experience this historic ceremony virtually,” the social media […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 13:03:17

As home sales skyrocket and IPO looms, Diane Yu joins fintech Better.com as CTO  

The pandemic might have wiped out whole swaths of the economy, but one area that is pulsating with activity is home sales. Driven by remote work and changing commute patterns, home sales skyrocketed last year, with the National Association of Realtors predicting that the total volume when fully calculated will be the highest in 14 […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 12:41:44

EMA warns over doctored COVID-19 vaccine data hacked and leaked online  

The European Medical Agency (EMA) has warned that information on COVID-19-related medicines and vaccines, which was stolen in a cyber attack last December and leaked online earlier this week, includes correspondence that’s been manipulated prior to publication “in a way which could undermine trust in vaccines”. It’s not clear exactly how the information — which […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 12:28:44

Tracy Chou launches Block Party to combat online harassment and abuse  

Block Party, an anti-harassment startup that aims to help folks feel safer on social media founded by Tracy Chou, launched today. Currently only available for Twitter, Block Party helps people filter out the content they don’t want to see and into what Block Party calls the Lockout Folder. That’s where all of the filtered-out content […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 11:57:15

Apple said to be planning new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros with MagSafe and Apple processors  

Apple has planned new upgraded MacBook Pros for launch “later this year” according to a new report from Bloomberg. These new models would come in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes, with new and improved Apple Silicon processors like those that Apple debuted on the new MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro model late last year. […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 11:37:38

GitLab oversaw a $195 million secondary sale that values the company at $6 billion  

GitLab has confirmed with TechCrunch that it oversaw a $195 million secondary sale that values the company at $6 billion. CNBC broke the story earlier today. The company’s impressive valuation comes after its most recent 2019 Series E in which it raised $268 million on a 2.75 billion valuation, an increase of $3.25 billion in […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 10:35:32

Rapid growth in 2020 reveals OKR software market's untapped potential  

Today, let's peek at new and historical growth numbers from Gthmhub, Perdoo, WorkBoard, Ally.io, Koan and WeekDone.

what do you think? 2021-01-15 09:57:53

A security researcher commandeered a country's expired top-level domain to save it from hackers  

In mid-October, a little-known but critically important domain name for one country’s internet space began to expire. The domain — scpt-network.com — was one of two nameservers for the .cd country code top-level domain, assigned to the Democratic Republic of Congo. If it fell into the wrong hands, an attacker could redirect millions of unknowing […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 08:41:36

Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro are a solid AirPods alternative  

I suspect it will be a while before I get excited over wireless earbuds. It's not for a lack of trying on the part of manufacturers. In fact, quite the contrary. The category actually matured quite quickly, compared to various other verticals in the consumer electronics space. The truth is, most major hardware makers have […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 08:23:15

Everlywell raises $75M from HealthQuest Capital following its recent $175M Series D round  

At-home health testing kit startup Everlywell has raised $75 million, following the close of the $175 million Series D it announced in December. The new funding comes from HealthQuest Capital, and sees the fund’s founder and managing partner Dr. Garheng Kong join the company’s board of directors. The new funding is a secondary sale, with proceeds […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 08:16:35

Fired GitHub employee who warned co-workers about Nazis is seeking legal counsel  

On the day a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol, a worried GitHub employee warned his co-workers in the D.C. area to be safe. After making a comment in Slack saying, "stay safe homies, Nazis are about," a fellow employee took offense, saying that type of rhetoric wasn't good for work, the […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 08:04:14

15 steps to fundraising a new VC or private equity fund  

Based on my experience, taking the 15 steps below will help build the core of a high-performing fundraising and investor relations function.

what do you think? 2021-01-15 07:01:10

Bumble files to go public  

The dating and networking service Bumble has filed to go public. The company, launched by a former co-founder of the IAC-owned Tinder, plans to list its share on the Nasdaq stock exchange, using the ticker symbol “BMBL.” Bumble’s planned IPO was first reported in December. Whitney Wolfe Herd doesn't care what she's supposed to do Bumble […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 06:03:50

Apple is extending Apple TV+ trials again  

If you’ve got an Apple TV+ trial that’s set to expire sometime between now and June, good news: you’re getting some free bonus time. Apple TV+ first launched in November of 2019, alongside a one-year free trial for anyone buying a new iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV or Mac. As those initial trials approached […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 05:20:01

Twitter's decentralized future  

This week, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey finally responded publicly to the company's decision to ban President Trump from its platform, writing that Twitter had “faced an extraordinary and untenable circumstance” and that he did not “feel pride” about the decision. In the same thread, he took time to call out a nascent Twitter-sponsored initiative called […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 05:17:48

Want a job in tech? Flockjay pitches its sales training service as an on-ramp to tech careers  

“Most people don’t even know that a job in tech sales is even a possibility,” says Shaan Hathiramani, the founder and chief executive of Flockjay, a company offering a tech sales training curriculum to the masses. Hathiramani sees his startup as an on-ramp to the tech industry for legions of workers who have the skillsets […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 04:37:11

OneWeb has now raised $1.4B, with $400M from SoftBank and Hughes, to help fund its first satellite fleet  

After a troubled year that saw broadband satellite operator OneWeb file for bankruptcy, get rescue finance from the U.K. government and Bharti, and then emerge out of that with a launch of part of its fleet last month, the London-based company today announced that it’s closed $1.4 billion in funding — money that it says […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 04:33:57

Coinbase commits to a 'better customer experience' following complaints  

Coinbase has a problem. As interest in bitcoin has soared along with its price, the popular cryptocurrency exchange has found itself the target of a growing spate of angry customers who haven’t been able to access customer service. A quick look at Twitter tells the story. As one upset user of the service ranted earlier […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 04:24:30

Marc Lore leaves Walmart a little over four years after selling Jet.com for $3B  

Marc Lore, the executive vice president, president and CEO of U.S. e-commerce for Walmart, is stepping down a little over four years after selling his e-commerce company Jet.com to the country’s largest retailer for $3 billion. Lore’s tenure at the company was a mixed bag. Walmart instituted several new technology initiatives under Lore’s tenure, but […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 04:23:28

Trump Administration adds Xiaomi to military blacklist  

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is the latest to be added to the Trump Administration’s military blacklist. On Thursday, the Department of Defense added nine more companies to its list of alleged Chinese military companies, including Xiaomi. Xiaomi was the world’s third-largest smartphone maker as of Q3 last year, coming ahead of Apple and trailing behind […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 04:20:22

Uber planning to spin out Postmates' delivery robot arm  

Another Uber spinout is in the works. Postmates X, the robotics division of the on-demand delivery startup that Uber acquired last year for $2.65 billion, is seeking investors in its bid to become a separate company, according to several people familiar with the plans. The startup is being referred to as Serve Robotics, a nod […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 04:17:29

Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson says wisdom lies with your developers  

Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson knows a thing or two about unleashing developers. His company has garnered a market cap of almost $60 billion by creating a set of tools to make it easy for programmers to insert a whole host of communications functionality into an application with a couple of lines of code. Given that […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 04:16:51

Lessons from Top Hat's acquisition spree  

Top Hat, a startup that digitizes textbooks and turns them into an interactive experience for college students, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired yet another business: Fountainhead Press. The acquisition marks Top Hat's third scoop of a publishing company in the past 12 months. Top Hat's whole business proposition is a subtweet to Zoom […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 03:52:03

Extra Crunch roundup: antitrust jitters, SPAC odyssey, white-hot IPOs, more  

Some time ago, I gave up on the idea of identifying a thread that could connect each story in this weekly roundup. There are no unified theories for technology news.

what do you think? 2021-01-15 02:59:47

Crossbeam raises $25M to back startups built on 'platform economies'  

While many venture capitalists might hope to fund the next Amazon or Shopify, Crossbeam is a new firm focused on backing the startups built on top of these platforms. And it recently closed its $25 million first fund. We’ve written about well-funded startups like SellerX, Perch and Heroes that acquire and grow Amazon businesses, and […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 02:41:11

Desktop Metal buys fellow 3D printing company EnvisionTEC for $300M  

Desktop Metal this morning announced its intention to purchase fellow 3D printing company EnvisionTEC. Founded in Germany in 2002, EnvisionTEC specializes in photopolymer additive manufacturing, putting its technology in more direct competition with the likes of 3D printing darling Carbon than Desktop Metal's own existing portfolio. The deal follows Desktop Metal's push to go public […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 02:15:05

Corporate credit card platform Moss raises $25.5 million  

German startup Moss has raised a $25.5 million (€21 million) funding round led by Valar Ventures. Existing investors Cherry Ventures and Global Founders Capital are also participating. Moss provides credit cards and a spending platform to small and medium businesses in Germany. The company has developed its own risk engine to come up with a […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 01:45:38

Amazon's newest product lets companies build their own Alexa assistant for cars, apps and video games  

Amazon is selling access to the underlying technology stack of Alexa to let companies — starting with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles — build their own intelligent assistants with unique voices, skills and wake words. The new Alexa Custom Assistant product, which was announced Friday, can coexist and cooperate with the Alexa assistant. Theoretically, this means an […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 01:38:07

Video game spending increased 27% in 2020  

If you've been following the gaming space — or just the state of the world, generally — over the past 12 months, this shouldn't come as a major surprise. Spending saw big increases pretty much across the board in 2020 as a homebound populace sought comfort and distraction in gaming. This comes in stark contrast […]

what do you think? 2021-01-15 01:29:16

Swimm raises $5.7M to help teams document their code  

Most developers don’t enjoy writing documentation for their code and that makes life quite a bit harder when a new team member tries to get started on working on a company’s codebase. And even when there are documentation or in-line comments in the source code, that’s often not updated, and, over time, that information becomes […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 21:07:38

Daily Crunch: Samsung unveils Galaxy S21 line  

Samsung lowers prices with its latest Galaxy S phones, Google completes its Fitbit acquisition and Beyond Meat is coming to Taco Bell. This is your Daily Crunch for January 14, 2021. The big story: Samsung unveils Galaxy S21 line Samsung’s new line of phones includes the S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra, priced at $799, $999 […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 19:40:41

iSpot expands its ad measurement platform by acquiring Ace Metrix  

ISpot.tv announced today that it has acquired Ace Metrix, a deal that brings two TV and video ad measurement companies together. ISpot founder and CEO Sean Muller said that the companies have complementary solutions. After all, he said, “In simple terms, there are only two reasons why brands buy advertising — one is to deliver business […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 19:32:03

12 'flexible VCs' who operate where equity meets revenue share  

A dozen active investors who offer funding via revenue-based, compensation-based and blended-return streams.

what do you think? 2021-01-14 19:12:24

Medium acquires social book reading app Glose  

Medium is acquiring Paris-based startup Glose for an undisclosed amount. Glose has been building iOS, Android and web apps that let you buy, download and read books on your devices. The company has turned reading into a multiplayer experience, as you can build a bookshelf, share notes with your followers and start conversations in the […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 16:53:16

5 consumer hardware VCs share their 2021 investment strategies  

"Tesla is arguably the most interesting connected consumer hardware company since Apple exploded in scale with the success of the iPhone."

what do you think? 2021-01-14 15:43:36

A theory about the current IPO market  

Lots of demand, little supply, boom goes the price.

what do you think? 2021-01-14 14:42:36

Exclusive: Tiger Global is raising a new $3.75 billion venture fund, one year after closing its last  

According to a recent letter sent to its investors, Tiger Global Management, the New York-based investing powerhouse, is raising a new $3.75 billion venture fund called Tiger Private Investment Partners XIV that it expects to close in March. The fund is Tiger Global’s thirteenth venture fund, despite its title — the partners might be superstitious […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 14:05:30

This new module keeps Philips Hue bulbs connected even when the wall switch gets flipped  

Philips Hue bulbs are pretty great, but they have a mortal enemy: the humble light switch. If you’ve got a Hue bulb tied to a standard light switch, flipping that switch means the Hue bulb loses power completely… along with any fancy tricks like controlling the bulb through your phone or a voice assistant. A […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 13:57:55

Harness snags $85M Series C on $1.7B valuation as revenue grows 3x  

Harness, the startup that wants to create a suite of engineering tools to give every company the kind of technological reach that the biggest companies have, announced an $85 million Series C today on a $1.7 billion valuation. Today’s round comes after 2019’s $60 million Series B, which had a $500 million valuation, showing a […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 13:54:34

Confusion over WhatsApp's new T&Cs triggers privacy warning from Italy  

Confusion over an update to Facebook-owned chat platform WhatsApp’s terms and conditions has triggered an intervention by Italy’s data protection agency. The Italian GPDP said today it has contacted the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) to raise concerns about a lack of clear information over what’s changing under the incoming T&Cs. In recent weeks WhatsApp […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 13:17:36

WhatsApp faces legal challenge over privacy in its biggest market  

WhatsApp is facing a legal challenge in India, its biggest market, after a petition was filed Thursday before Delhi High Court over the upcoming change in the Facebook-owned app's data sharing policy. The petition alleges the new terms that WhatsApp requires its roughly 450 million users in the country to accept is a violation of […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 13:07:40

Gemini is launching a credit card with bitcoin rewards  

Cryptocurrency exchange company Gemini is acquiring Blockrize and announcing a new product today based on Blockrize's work. Later this year, the company is launching a credit card that works like a regular credit card — but you earn bitcoin rewards based on your purchases. The credit card will work like any other credit card and […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 12:49:29

Samsung's Galaxy S21 line arrives with camera bumps, price drops and S Pen compatibility  

Samsung wasted no time this year. With Mobile World Congress pushed back six or so months, the hardware maker hitched its wagon to the tail end of the CES whirlwind — though unlike its press conference earlier in the week, the company is very much on its own for the latest Unpacked. And why not? […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 12:40:46

Mosaic raises $18.5M Series A from GC to rebuild the CFO software stack  

CFOs are the supposed omniscient owners of a company. While the CEO sets strategy, messages, and builds culture, the CFO needs to know everything that it is going on in an organization. Where is revenue coming from, and when will it arrive? How much will new headcount cost, and when do those expenses need to […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 12:03:26

Google's Fitbit acquisition is official  

Following regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the pond, Google this morning announced that it has completed its acquisition of wearables pioneer, Fitbit. Google's use of the vast amount of user health data has long been the key sticking point of regulatory concern of the deal. After all, targeted advertising continues to be at the […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 11:51:51

Amazon's Ring Neighbors app exposed users' precise locations and home addresses  

A security flaw in Ring’s Neighbors app was exposing the precise locations and home addresses of users who had posted to the app. Ring, the video doorbell and home security startup acquired by Amazon for $1 billion, launched Neighbors in 2018 as a breakaway feature in its own standalone app. Neighbors is one of several […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 11:51:47

Watch Blue Origin launch a rocket with an upgraded crew capsule live  

Blue Origin is launching its New Shepard suborbital rocket for the first time in 2021, with a liftoff planned for 9:45 AM CST (10:45 AM EST/7:45 AM PST) [Update: Now targeting 10:57 AM CST (11:57 AM EST/8:57 AM PST)] from its launch facility in West Texas. This is the 14th flight of New Shepard, and […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 11:44:08

Blue Origin successfully launches and lands key crew capsule test in first mission of 2021  

Blue Origin launched its first mission of 2021, flying its New Shepard rocket in West Texas to a medium height of just over 350,000 feet. This is the first flight for this particular booster, and for the capsule it carried, which was equipped with a range of new passenger safety, control and comfort systems that […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 11:31:07

X1 Card raises $12 million for its credit card with limits based on your income  

X1 Card is raising a $12 million funding round. The company is building a credit card that sets limits based on your current and future income, not your credit score. Spark Capital is leading the round with Jared Leto, Aaron Levie, Jeremy Stoppelman, Max Levchin and Ali Rowghani also participating. American Express veteran Ash Gupta […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 10:39:10

The end of Plaid-Visa, and Palantir's growing startup mafia  

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch's venture-capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we — Natasha and Danny and Alex and Grace — had a lot to get through, as the news volume in early 2021 has been rapid and serious. Sadly this means that some early-stage rounds missed the […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 10:08:17

Carbyne raises $25M for a next-generation platform to improve emergency 911 responses  

Emergency services continue to be a major force when it comes to coping with the Covid-19 health pandemic, and today a company that is building technology to help them run better is announcing a round of funding to continue expanding its business. Carbyne — an Israeli startup that has built a cloud-based platform aimed at […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 10:02:57

Nuclear fusion tech developer General Fusion now has Shopify and Amazon founders backing it  

In a brief announcement today, the Canadian nuclear fusion technology developer General Fusion announced that the investment firm created by Shopify founder Tobias Lütke has joined the company’s cap table. The size of the investment made by Lütke’s Thistledown Capital was not disclosed, but with the addition, General Fusion has the founders of the two […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 09:10:51

2020 was one of the warmest years in history and indicates mounting risks of climate change  

It’s official. 2020 was one of the warmest years on record, either edging out or coming in just behind 2016 for the warmest year in recorded history according to data from U.S. government agencies (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration had the year just tied with 2016, while the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration put […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 06:47:13

Lumiata raises $14 million for its service to predict healthcare outcomes  

Healthcare systems are always looking out for ways to save money and a startup called Lumiata has just raised $14 million to continue building out its service that aims to help them do it.  The company, already backed by Khosla Ventures and Blue Venture Fund raised its latest round from Defy.vc and AllegisNL Capital.  The company’s […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 06:41:11

Tech and health companies including Microsoft and Salesforce team up on digital COVID-19 vaccination records  

A new cross-industry initiative is seeking to establish a standard for digital vaccination records that can be used universally to identify COVID-19 vaccination status for individuals, in a way that can be both secure via encryption and traceable and verifiable for trustworthiness regarding their contents. The so-called ‘Vaccination Credential Initiative’ includes a range of big-name […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 06:19:24

Germany's Xentral nabs $20M led by Sequoia to help online-facing SMBs run back offices better  

Small enterprises remain one of the most underserved segments of the business market, but the growth of cloud-based services — easier to buy, easier to provision — has helped that change in recent years. Today, one of the more promising startups out of Europe building software to help SMEs run online businesses is announcing some […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 05:55:06

Samsung unveils its newest Tile competitor, the Galaxy SmartTag  

Alongside its other announcements at Samsung’s event today, the company introduced its new Galaxy SmartTag Bluetooth locator, a lost item beacon for Samsung owners and a competitor with Tile. Like Tile and Apple’s forthcoming AirTags, the beacon can be attached to keys, a bag, a pet’s collar or anything else you want to track. Initially, […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 05:26:08

3Drens helps fleet operators use their vehicles more efficiently  

3Drens' IoT mobility management platform not only lets fleet operators track where their vehicles are, but also produces data that helps them make business decisions. The company began operating in Taiwan, where it is based, before expanding into Southeast Asia. Currently presenting at CES' Taiwan Tech Arena, 3Drens is focused on the increased demand for […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 04:56:54

Origami Labs' OFLO is a smart walkie talkie for frontline workers  

OFLO is a voice communication system designed to replace traditional walkie talkies. Its hardware is more compact and lightweight, with a bone conduction headset, and capable of covering unlimited distances and multiple channels. Created by Origami Labs, OFLO is also connected to software that features auto logging and productivity tools for teams who don't have […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 04:40:21

Minna Technologies, a subscription management tool for banking customers, raises $18.8M  

With the proliferation of subscription services, combined with our lives becoming almost 100% digital, there's a rising need to be able to manage these services. But most banks don't have much of an answer. Step in Minna Technologies, which sells in its subscription management services into banking apps. It's now raised $18.8 million (€15.5m / […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 04:26:06

Home services platform Porch acquires four companies  

Only a few weeks after its SPAC IPO, Porch today announced that it has made four acquisitions, worth a total of $122 million. The most important here is probably the acquisition of Homeowners of America for $100 million, which gets Porch deeper into the home insurance space. In addition, Porch is also acquiring mover marketing […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 04:23:21

YC-backed Blabla raises $1.5M to teach English through short videos  

Short, snappy, entertaining videos have become an increasingly common way for young people to receive information. Why not learn English through TikTok-like videos too? That was what prompted Angelo Huang to launch Blabla. Originally from Taiwan, Huang relocated to Shanghai in 2019 to start Blabla after working in Silicon Valley for over a decade. A […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 04:13:55

E2E encrypted email providers also see sign-ups surge as chat app users flock to Signal and Telegram in search of privacy  

Privacy concerns that have been driving app users to alternative chat apps like Signal and Telegram in recent weeks, since Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced a T&Cs change, appear to also be generating some uplift for end-to-end encrypted email providers. Two Europe-based Protonmail and Tutanota have reported an uptick in sign ups in recent weeks. Protonmail founder […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 04:03:23

Beyond Meat shares soar after inking deal with Taco Bell on new menu items  

Shares of Beyond Meat are soaring on news that the company will be working with Taco Bell on new menu items. The company’s stock was up $17.13, or 13.67%, to $142.48 and climbing in midday trading after Taco Bell announced that it would embrace Beyond Meat to come up with new menu items due to […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 03:51:54

Madrona promotes Anu Sharma and Daniel Li as Partners  

Fresh off the announcement of more than $500 million in new capital across two new funds, Seattle-based Madrona Venture Group has announced that they’re adding Anu Sharma and Daniel Li to the team’s list of Partners. The firm, which in recent years has paid particularly close attention to enterprise software bets, invests heavily in the […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 03:25:24

Grab Financial Group raises $300 million Series A led by Hanhwa Asset Management  

Grab Financial Group said today it has raised more than $300 million in Series A funding, led by South Korean firm Hanhwa Asset Management, with participation from K3 Ventures, GGV Capital, Arbor Ventures and Flourish Ventures. The Financial Times reports that the funding values Grab Financial, a subsidiary of ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab, at […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 03:09:20

Samsung answers Apple with the $199 Galaxy Buds Pro  

Even before the leaks, we all saw the Galaxy Buds Pro coming. It was a given that the company was planning to deliver its own take on Apple's AirPods Pro, with improved sound quality and active noise canceling. The real secret weapon here, however, may be the price. This morning's S21 announcement found Samsung dropping […]

what do you think? 2021-01-14 02:50:52