TechCrunch Industry News

An international law enforcement operation has led to the arrests of suspected core members of the prolific DoppelPaymer ransomware operation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tesla has cut the prices of its Model S sedan and Model X SUV in the U.S., according to the company’s website. This is the second time this year that Tesla has slashed prices, and it might be a bid to boost sales before the end of the quarter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitter’s paid plan Twitter Blue is now available to more than 20 new countries in Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A government watchdog has found that the Secret Service and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit repeatedly failed to obtain the correct legal paperwork when carrying out invasive cell phone surveillance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roofing isn’t a glamorous job. In fact, one could reasonably argue that it checks off the classic three Ds of automation — dull, dirty and dangerous — with aplomb. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Several competition watchdogs in Africa plan to collectively interrogate the market conduct of global digital firms, putting big techs like Google and Meta, which have faced investigations and remedial action in other jurisdictions, on alert. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dozens of apps including Spotify, Amazon Music, Tiktok and gaming hubs Vector Unit and FRVR are headed to VW Group brands, beginning with Audi thanks to a new app store launched by its software subsidiary Cariad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TikTok announced today that it’s introducing new well-being features for teens, families and its broader community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The OnePlus that was founded in 2013 was a cautious company, deliberate in its release schedule. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No company is immune from the generative AI wave, and everybody wants in. Meta is the latest entrant in testing AI-powered tools for its products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Card collectors often dispute how much their cards are worth. New Jersey-based CollX provides a free iOS and Android app to card enthusiasts that allows them to scan their trading cards and get value in return. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Planet Computers turned heads when it arrived on the scene almost exactly five years ago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sono Motors is ending its long-awaited electric car program and instead pivoting to a business that aims to sell its solar vehicle technology to other companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The DOJ is reportedly getting ready to file suit to block the $20 billion Adobe-Figma deal announced last year on the grounds it is anti-competitive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dapper Labs, the company behind many popular NFT collectible projects, will face a lawsuit accusing it of selling unregistered securities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unlocking exclusive access has been a long-held promise of a lot of NFT-based communities. And now, Spotify is helping some of them realize that claim with token-gated playlists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google Cloud has partnered with the Tezos Foundation to grow its web3 application development and provide new services for its customers, the companies announced on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amazon teamed up with hearing implant company Cochlear to launch Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) support to compatible Cochlear devices, the company announced today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Remember poring over reviews on Rate My Professors to find out which prof is good-looking and who gives easy As? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Green Labs, a South Korean agtech startup that raised $140 million (170 billion won) Series C in January last year, is cutting a significant number of jobs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Home fitness had a huge moment at the outset of the pandemic — and understandably so. People were stuck at home, gyms closed and suddenly workout options seemed to dramatically decrease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Japan is joining a growing list of countries exploring the possibility of adopting a digital currency, with country’s central bank, the Bank of Japan (BoJ), announcing that it would launch a pilot to test a “digital yen” in April. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Web3 gaming company Unagi today announced a €4.7 million ($5 million) seed round of funding, as the French startup prepares to expand its NFT fantasy sports platform beyond football (“soccer”) and into the basketball realm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Autonomous aircraft have long been thought of as having the most potential, though not in the realm of glitzy people-carrying drones so much as the more sedate world of cargo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amid signs of life in the NFT market, an NFT-focused startup, Thred, launched today to help users discover new collections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Micro-EV subscription startup Dance, which launched in 2020, has raised an additional €12 million in an equity and debt round led by existing investors HV Capital, Eurazeo and BlueYard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are as many link-in-bio tools available for creators as the number of links they typically display on their pages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In-app browsers are usually not the best way to consume content in an app. In fact, Android developers have been using the Chrome custom tabs features to fine-tune the experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monad Labs, the team supporting the Monad blockchain, has raised $19 million in seed funding led by Dragonfly Capital, it exclusively told TechCrunch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company Joby Aviation has taken another step on its path to start a commercial air taxi service by 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At a time when venture capital funding is slowing in China, EV is one of the few sectors that are still keeping investors excited. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

App Store might suggest you a useful app from time to time, but you can’t rely on that to discover new apps. P Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Otonomo, connected automotive company that has seen its stock price plummet since going public in 2021, has announced that it is coming together with Urgent.ly, a roadside assistance tech provider, in a reverse merger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Reddit has confirmed hackers accessed internal documents and source code following a “highly-targeted” phishing attack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a couple of years since DJI first launched its Mavic Mini, and last year it brought the Mini 3 Pro. It’s utterly confusing why the current drone is called the Mini 2 SE, but in any case, it’s the newest flying creature in the hovering menagerie that is the DJI line-up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Delivery company DoorDash is introducing new features for riders including reduced notifications, a request for customers to not text them while they are on a trip, and messaging promoting one-tap replies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

GraphQL, developed internally at Facebook to help developers with API management before getting rolled out as an open-source query language in 2015, has gained traction as an alternative (or complement) to REST and other tools. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Security researchers say they have recently observed a Russian hacking crew, who were behind the destructive WhisperGate malware cyberattacks, targeting Ukrainian entities with a new information-stealing malware. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last year, Snap shut down Zenly, a popular social mapping app it acquired for over $200 million in 2017, despite the fact that Zenly still had 40 million active users and growing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WhatsApp Status, the feature that was introduced in 2017 as the company’s take on Snapchat Stories, has received a number of updates to make it more attractive and appealing to users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In October last year, Sendy, a Kenyan logistics scale-up, wound up its supplies service, which enabled retailers to purchase FMCGs directly from manufacturers, saying it was directing all its focus on its end-to-end fulfillment offering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Simple HealthKit provides at-home and in-clinic diagnostics, performs its own testing and telehealth services and works with pharmacy partners for treatment and follow-up care. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cyber-criminals are actively exploiting a two-year-old VMware vulnerability as part of a ransomware campaign targeting thousands of organizations worldwide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple had a rare quarter where it missed its revenue target due to problems in the supply chain and manufacturing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Given our general reliance on something called “food” you’d think the issue of pollination – and its general decline – might be higher up the world’s agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitter will discontinue offering free access to the Twitter API starting February 9 and will make a paid version available, the Elon Musk-owned microblogging website said as it looks for more avenues to monetize the platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Snapchat has more than 2 million paid subscribers on its Snapchat+ program, the company said during its latest earnings report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twitter announced Tuesday that it is discontinuing CoTweeting, a feature that let two users co-author a tweet. The company said that the feature will immediately cease to exist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Showing that there’s real investor enthusiasm for identity management platforms, Saviynt, which enables companies to secure apps, data and infrastructure in a single platform, today announced that it raised $205 million in debt from AB Private Credit Investors’ Tech Capital Solutions group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Groupon has laid off another 500 employees in a measure to cut costs, the company said in an SEC filing last week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices