TechCrunch Industry News
3,880 episodes — Page 38 of 78
Boston’s ClearMotion funded by Nio Capital to switch on in-car metaverse in China
U.S.-China decoupling is expected to discourage cross-border investments between the two superpowers as investors shy away from sanctions and geopolitical risks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Twitter will let you edit your tweet up to five times
Twitter announced a much-anticipated feature last week — the ability to edit tweets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Open-source password manager Bitwarden raises $100M
Bitwarden, an open-source password manager for enterprises and consumers, has raised $100 million in a round of funding led by PSG, with participation form Battery Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
LG Electronics launches NFT platform that lets users buy and sell digital artwork
LG Electronics said today it has released its non-fungible token (NFT) platform LG Art Lab, which lets users discover, buy, sell and trade NFTs on LG’s smart TVs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Docquity, a community for healthcare professionals, raises $44M Series C
A call between doctors can save lives. That’s what Docquity co-founder Indranil Roychowdhury learned when his father was hospitalized with a life-threatening condition in India. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
UK clears $8.1B merger between NortonLifeLock and Avast
The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has formally cleared the proposed $8.1 billion merger between cybersecurity giants NortonLifeLock and Avast, a month after provisionally greenlighting the deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google will allow alternative payment systems for Play Store in more countries
Google announced today it’s expanding the user choice billing program for Play Store — which lets users choose alternative payment systems for in-app purchases — to India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and the European Economic Area. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Disney+ will reportedly launch in-app commerce features by year’s end
Disney is looking at ways for viewers to buy themed merchandise and accessories by scanning a QR code in the Disney+ app, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OneSignal lands $50M to automatically optimize SMS, in-app and email campaigns
OneSignal, a platform that powers notifications for mobile apps and more, today announced that it raised $50 million in a Series C round led by BAM Elevate with participation from SignalFire and other existing investors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Twitter’s attempt to monetize porn reportedly halted due to child safety warnings
Despite serving as the online watercooler for journalists, politicians and VCs, Twitter isn’t the most profitable social network on the block. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
China’s NetEase snaps up French video game studio Quantic Dream
NetEase, a Chinese technology company and billion-dollar video-game publisher, has acquired French video-game studio Quantic Dream. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
PostEx acquires Call Courier to become Pakistan’s larger e-commerce service provider
Pakistani fintech PostEx has acquired logistics service provider Call Courier, creating what it describes as the largest e-commerce service provider in the country. PostEx will now serve 1.3 million users with over 8,000 merchants across 500 cities in Pakistan, and is on track to having a loan book of more than $12 million. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Musk cites whistleblower allegations in fresh attempt to backtrack on $44B Twitter acquisition
Elon Musk is adding allegations from Twitter security whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko to his list of reasons for pulling out of the $44 billion Twitter acquisition he proposed back in April. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Honda and LG Energy plan to build a $4.4 billion lithium-ion plant in the US
Honda is the latest car company with plans to manufacture lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NASA scrubs Artemis I launch due to technical issue
After much fanfare, including a crop of celebrity appearances and the arrival of Vice President Kamala Harris, NASA said it was scrubbing today’s first-ever launch attempt of the mega moon rocket due to technical issues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
T-Mobile phones will connect to Starlink for free starting next year
T-Mobile and SpaceX have announced that Starlink satellites launched next year will be able to connect directly to the carrier’s phones over existing cellular bands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Zuckerberg says Meta’s next VR headset will launch in October and will focus on ‘social presence’
Meta is launching its next VR headset this October at the company’s Connect conference. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
$10B crypto developer platform Alchemy buys coding bootcamp in first-ever acquisition
Web3 developer infrastructure startup Alchemy, which last raised a $200 million Series C1 last February, has just made its first acquisition ever — and it’s in the education space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Instagram is now allowing users to share posts, Reels, and locations through QR codes
Instagram is now allowing users to share anyone’s posts or Reels through a QR code. What’s more, users can also share a QR code location through its searchable Map experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Strange Facebook bug is spamming everyone’s feed with celebrity page posts
Facebook said Wednesday that it’s aware that some users are seeing bizarre posts on their feeds and assured it’s working to resolve the issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dutchie launches new cannabis Point of Sale platform with its own dual-screen register
Dutchie today is announcing a new cannabis point of sale platform, including a dual-screen terminal for dispensaries. Called Dutchie POS, this comes just weeks after the company announced a new payment platform, Dutchie Pay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ex-Apple engineer admits stealing automotive trade secrets
A case concerning Apple’s driving trade secrets which started in 2018 has come to a close. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Human drivers in UK won’t be liable for accidents when vehicle is self-driving
Manufacturers operating self-driving vehicles in the UK will be liable for a vehicle’s actions when in autonomous mode, according to the country’s new roadmap to achieve a widespread rollout of self-driving vehicles by 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Zencastr adds editing and distro in bid to become a full-service podcast offering
Zencastr has been my go-to podcast recording platform for a while now, owing to an innovative system that records each participant’s channel locally, before uploading it to the server. It’s a nice, quick way to ensure your guests have better sound quality than non-purpose-built platforms like Zoom, without forcing them to record locally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Otter.ai challenger Airgram raises $10M to transcribe and time your video calls
There’re plenty of tools out there competing to help people make their video calls breezier. Some, like voice transcription service Otter.ai, have been getting a boost from the COVID-19 pandemic and pulling in handsome investments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lincoln’s latest EV concept is a grand tourer land yacht with a sprinkle of 1920s nostalgia
Lincoln revealed Thursday during Monterey Car Week its vision for future EVs — while commemorating its centennial year — with the debut of the Lincoln Model L 100 concept, an autonomous, battery-electric grand tourer that pays homage to the brand’s first luxury vehicle, the 1922 Model L. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Revolut to allow users to donate to the homeless via the Beam crowdfunding platform
The world is entering a huge cost of living crisis, which will inevitably result in a rise in homelessness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This new $100M fund plans to focus on startups accelerating the science around longevity
Longevity-focused startups have been proliferating in recent years as we become more focused on our health. However, it’s not just about apps to get you in the gym. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Funding Circle cofounder unveils new Super Payments fintech venture with $27M investment
Funding Circle cofounder Samir Desai has unveiled a new U.K. fintech startup called Super Payments, a venture he founded back in February but which very little was known about up until now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Incredible Health passes unicorn valuation as it bags $80M Series B
Incredible Health, a US-based job-matching platform which made nurses its first focus, has closed an $80 million Series B funding round and announced hitting a $1.65BN unicorn valuation, billing itself as the highest valued “tech-enabled” career marketplace in the healthcare sector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Polestar is launching an EV roadster in 2026 called the Polestar 6
Electric vehicle maker Polestar said Tuesday that it is expanding its lineup to include an 884-horsepower hard-top convertible with recycled polyester upholstery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta launches Horizon Worlds in France and Spain
In an effort to expand its social platform for virtual reality, Horizon Worlds, Meta is launching it in France and Spain today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tencent veterans secure $13M to build cross-chain decentralized identities
There is a host of startups working on decentralized identities for the next generation of the internet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Uber to sunset free loyalty program in favor of subscription membership
Ride-hailing giant Uber is shutting down its free loyalty program, Uber Rewards, so it can focus on its subscription-based Uber One membership. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
US unmasks alleged Conti ransomware operative, offers $10M for intel
The U.S. government said it will offer up to $10 million for information related to five people believed to be high-ranking members of the notorious Russia-backed Conti ransomware gang. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Suspected Tornado Cash developer arrested in Amsterdam
The Dutch government agency responsible for investigating financial crimes said it has arrested a developer suspected of being involved with crypto mixing service Tornado Cash in a move that has rattled some crypto and privacy advocates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google Meet’s new feature lets users consume YouTube and Spotify together
As Google continues the great merger between its Duo and Meet video communications apps, the company today announced that it’s introducing new Apple SharePlay-like live-sharing features to Meet, making it easier for call-participants to engage with content together in real time. I Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Farther, a wealth tech firm, banks $15M Series A as valuation hits $50M
Farther provides two sets of tools, one for advisors to expand their businesses and one for clients to invest in ways that align with their goals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Weedmaps for Business debuts as a SaaS suite for cannabis retailers and brands
Veteran cannabis tech company WM Technology is rebranding and expanding its SaaS offering to move upstream beyond its existing Weedmaps marketplace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Joby Aviation’s contract with U.S. Air Force expands to include Marines
The United States Department of Defense is deepening its relationship with electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft company Joby Aviation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
South Korea to probe Apple and Google over in-app payment rule break
South Korea’s communication watchdog, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), said Tuesday it will investigate Apple and Google over potential violations of the country’s in-app payment rule. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
WhatsApp extends time limit to delete a message to 60 hours
WhatsApp now allows you to delete a message for up to two days and 12 hours (60 hours in total), so you can remove an accidentally sent chat even after hours. Previously, this limit was 1 hour, 8 minutes, and 16 seconds — yep, there were seconds involved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bitmain co-founder welcomes crypto regulation to restore market confidence
The collapse of Three Arrow Capital and the counterparties wrapped in the crypto hedge fund’s troubles have drawn questions about the soundness of the heady digital asset investment space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google is suing Sonos over patent infringement once again
Google is suing Sonos (again) over patent infringement in what seems to be an unending legal fight series between two tech companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Amazon is buying iRobot for $1.7B
Amazon this morning announced plans to acquire Roomba maker iRobot for an all-cash deal valued at $1.7 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Get ready for a HBO Max – Discovery+ mashup app in 2023
The headline of Warner Bros. Discovery’s earnings call was something a lot of people dreaded: HBO Max and Discovery+ are merging into a new service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Toyota-backed robotaxi unicorn Pony.ai sues ex-employees over trade secrets
Pony.ai, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company valued at $8.5 billion as of late, has sued two former employees over alleged trade secret infringement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Samsung brings Amazon Luna games to its smart TVs and monitors
Samsung announced Wednesday that it’s bringing more than 250 games to the Samsung Gaming Hub through the Amazon Luna streaming-based gaming service. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Thousands of Solana wallets drained in multimillion dollar exploit
Solana, an increasingly popular blockchain known for its speedy transactions, has become the target of the crypto sphere’s latest hack. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Uber’s ride with Indian food delivery firm Zomato comes to an end
Uber’s ride with Zomato has concluded. The ride-hailing firm sold its 7.8% stake of the lossmaking Indian food delivery firm on Wednesday for over $390 million, a person familiar with the matter said, becoming the latest large institutional investor to offload its shares. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices