TechCrunch Industry News
3,925 episodes — Page 21 of 79
Bereave wants employers to suck a little less at navigating death
If death and taxes are inevitable, why are companies so prepared for taxes, but not for death? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
New York moves to limit kids’ access to ‘addictive feeds’
New York’s state legislature has passed a bill that would prohibit social media companies from showing so-called “addictive feeds” to children under 18, unless they obtain parental consent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Siri and Google Assistant look to generative AI for a new lease on life
Voice assistants in general are having an existential moment, and generative AI is poised to be the logical successor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Shopify acquires Threads (no, not that one)
Shopify has acquired Threads.com, the Seqiuoa-backed Slack alternative, Threads said on its website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Robinhood acquires global crypto exchange Bitstamp for $200M
Stock-trading platform Robinhood is diving deeper into the cryptocurrency realm with the acquisition of crytpo exchange Bitstamp. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Amazon buys Indian video streaming service MX Player
Amazon has agreed to acquire Indian video streaming service MX Player from the local media powerhouse Times Internet, the latest step by the e-commerce giant to make its services and brand popular in smaller cities and towns in the key overseas market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dive goes cloud-native for its computational fluid dynamics simulation service
Spun out of Bosch, Dive wants to change how manufacturers use computer simulations by both using modern mathematical approaches and cloud computing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Asana introduces ‘AI teammates’ designed to work alongside human employees
Asana is using its work graph to train LLMs with the goal of creating AI assistants that work alongside human employees in company workflows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
GetWhy, a market research AI platform that extracts insights from video interviews, raises $34.5M
GetWhy helps businesses carry out market studies and extract insights from video-based interviews using AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Travel app Sékr wants to help you plan your next road trip with its new AI tool
Sékr, a startup that offers a mobile app for outdoor enthusiasts and campers, is launching a new AI tool for planning road trips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spotify to increase premium pricing in the US to $11.99 per month
Spotify has announced that it’s hiking subscriptions for customers in the U.S., the second such price increase in the space of a year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
X tweaks rules to formally allow adult content
X will now allow users to post consensually produced NSFW content as long as it is prominently labeled as such. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spain bans Meta from launching election features on Facebook, Instagram over privacy fears
Meta has been banned from launching features on Facebook and Instagram that would have collected data on voters in Spain using the social networks ahead of next month’s European Elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Instagram now lets teens limit interactions to their ‘Close Friends’ group to combat harassment
Instagram is expanding the scope of its "Limits" tool specifically for teenagers that would let them restrict unwanted interactions with people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Billionaire Groupon founder Lefkofsky is back with another IPO: AI healthtech Tempus
Eric Lefkofsky knows the public listing rodeo well and is about to enter it for a fourth time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Redpanda acquires Benthos to expand its end-to-end streaming data platform
Redpanda has already integrated Benthos into its own service and has made it the core technology of its new Redpanda Connect service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
How Clean Energy Ventures avoided the pandemic bubble and raised a $305M fund
When other firms were investing and raising eye-popping sums, Clean Energy Ventures took a different approach. It appears to be paying off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
YouTube’s free games catalog ‘Playables’ rolls out to all users
YouTube's free Playables don't directly challenge the app store model or break Apple's rules. However, they do compete with the App Store's free games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Félix Pago raises $15.5 million to help Latino workers send money home via WhatsApp
Remittances from workers in the U.S. to their families and friends in Latin America amounted to $155 billion in 2023. With such a huge opportunity, banks, money transfer companies, retailers, and fintechs are all trying make transfers more convenient on both sides of the transaction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
LumApps, the French ‘intranet superapp,’ sells majority stake to Bridgepoint in a $650M deal
Big news today for LumApps, the French startup that has described itself as an “intranet superapp” with a platform for building and provisioning internal communications and apps for workforces. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Canva launches a proper enterprise product — and they mean it this time
Back in 2019, Canva, the wildly successful design tool, introduced what the company was calling an enterprise product, but in reality it was more geared towards teams than fulfilling true enterprise requirements. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spotify to shut off Car Thing for good, leading users to demand refunds
Spotify is notifying customers who purchased its Car Thing product that the devices will stop working after December 9, 2024 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Using memes, social media users have become red teams for half-baked AI features
“Running with scissors is a cardio exercise that can increase your heart rate and require concentration and focus,” says Google’s new AI search feature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google invests $350 million in India’s Flipkart
Google is investing nearly $350 million in Flipkart, becoming the latest high-profile name to back the Indian e-commerce startup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google to build first subsea fibre optic cable connecting Africa with Australia
Google is preparing to build what will be the first subsea fibre optic cable connecting the continents of Africa and Australia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta’s new AI council is comprised entirely of white men
Meanwhile, women and people of color are disproportionately impacted by irresponsible AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Why Spotify is launching its own font, Spotify Mix
Spotify launched its own font, the company announced on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses now let you share images directly to your Instagram Story
Meta is updating its Ray-Ban smart glasses with new hands-free functionality Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta, Match, Coinbase and others team up to fight online fraud and crypto scams
The new coalition, Tech Against Scams, will work together to find ways to fight back against the tools used by scammers and to better educate the public against financial scams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aurora unveils self-driving truck with Volvo
A new self-driving truck — manufactured by Volvo and loaded with autonomous vehicle tech developed by Aurora Innovation — could be on public highways as early as this summer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Hollywood agency CAA aims to help stars manage their own AI likenesses
Creative Artists Agency, one of the top entertainment and sports talent agencies, is hoping to be at the forefront of AI protection services for celebrities in Hollywood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OpenAI to remove ChatGPT’s Scarlett Johansson-like voice
OpenAI is removing one of the voices used by ChatGPT after users found that it sounded similar to Scarlett Johansson, the company announced on Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
A US trustee wants troubled fintech Synapse to be liquidated via Chapter 7 bankruptcy, cites ‘gross mismanagement’
The prospects for troubled banking-as-a-service startup Synapse have gone from bad to worse this week after the United States Trustee filed an emergency motion on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Microsoft warned it could be fined billions by EU over missing GenAI risk info
The European Union has warned Microsoft it could be fined up to 1% of its global annual turnover under the bloc’s online governance regime, the Digital Services Act . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Shipping logistics startup Harbor Lab raises $16M Series A led by Atomico
Cargo ships docking at a commercial port incur costs called “disbursements” and “port call expenses.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Cannabis and gaming payments startup Aeropay is now offering an alternative to Mastercard and Visa
The key to taking on legacy players in the financial technology industry may be to go where they have not gone before Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Netflix to take on Google and Amazon by building its own ad server
The announcement signifies a significant shake-up in the streaming giant's advertising approach. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Restaurant365 orders in $175M at a $1B+ valuation to supersize its food service software stack
The restaurant industry in the U.S. is expected to pass $1 trillion in sales for the first time this year, despite wider economic pressures on consumer Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Accel has a fresh $650M to back European early-stage startups
Accel has invested in more than 200 startups in the region to date, making it one of the more prolific VCs in this market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Uber to acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan unit from Delivery Hero for $950M in cash
Uber Technologies announced Tuesday that it will buy the Taiwan unit of Delivery Hero’s Foodpanda for $950 million in cash. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The buzziest EV IPO of the year is a Chinese automaker
Zeekr's market hype is noteworthy and may indicate that investors see value in the high-quality, low-price offerings of Chinese automakers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Anthropic now lets kids use its AI tech — within limits
AI startup Anthropic is changing its policies to allow minors to use its generative AI tools — in certain circumstances, at least. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Microsoft is launching its mobile game store in July
Microsoft will launch its own mobile game store in July, the company announced at the Bloomberg Technology Summit on Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oura launches two new heart health features
Smart ring maker Oura is launching two new features focused on heart health, the company announced on Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bluesky now lets you personalize its main Discover feed using new controls
The social network has announced an updated version of its app that lets you offer feedback about its algorithmic feed so you can better customize it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Always-on video portal lets people in NYC and Dublin interact in real time
A new sculpture going live on Wednesday in the Flatiron South Public Plaza in New York is not your typical artwork. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Match looks to Hinge as Tinder fails
Match Group, the company that owns several dating apps, including Tinder and Hinge, released its first-quarter earnings report on Tuesday, which shows that Tinder’s paying user base has decreased for the sixth quarter in a row. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bedrock Studio is Amazon’s attempt to simplify generative AI app development
Amazon is launching a new tool, Bedrock Studio, designed to let organizations experiment with generative AI models, collaborate on those models, and ultimately build generative AI-powered apps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rivian loses $1.45 billion as cost-cutting measures continu
Rivian lost $1.45 billion in the first quarter, showing that its recent company-wide cost-cutting measures have a ways to go before it can approach profitability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Threads is testing cross-posting from Instagram globally
Meta is encouraging more users to post to its X rival Threads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices