TechCrunch Industry News
3,850 episodes — Page 45 of 77
Volvo had some R&D data stolen in security breach
Volvo Cars is investigating a cybersecurity breach and theft of a limited amount of the company’s research and development data. The data breach was reported Friday by the Swedish automaker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Coinbase Ventures backs cross-chain infra Router Protocol
A startup that has built a decentralized exchange as well as a cross-chain infrastructure to facilitate communication across layer 1 and layer 2 blockchain solutions is the latest to receive backing from Coinbase Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta’s Horizon Worlds is available in the US and Canada for 18+ users
The company formerly known as Facebook is taking a step toward its goal to transport us to the metaverse. Now, Horizon Worlds — the Second Life or Minecraft of Meta’s VR apps — is expanding out of invite-only beta, opening up to all users over 18-years-old in the US and Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Collective helps freelancers work together as a team
Meet Collective, a French startup that wants to redefine what it means to work as a freelancer in development, product design, digital marketing, data strategy and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chainguard lands $5M to help companies secure their software supply chains
By late last year, the alarm bells were just starting to ring. Researchers discovered that Russian spies had months earlier burrowed deep into the networks of several U.S. federal networks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Arch nabs $5.5M to aggregate private market data for investors
More capital has been raised in the private markets than the public markets for over a decade, and this staggering growth has shown no signs of slowing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Netflix’s gaming service adds three more titles globally on iOS and Android
Last month, Netflix’s new gaming service became globally available across both iOS and Android with a debut lineup that included two “Stranger Things”-themed games and a few more casual gaming titles. Netflix has now expanded its lineup with three more games that are rolling out globally for both iOS and Android users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chinese Amazon aggregator Nebula Brands raises $50M led by L Catterton
2021 has been a rosy year for China-based Amazon vendors looking for exits. Roll-ups, or brand aggregators, have been flooding China’s export-oriented e-commerce market with capital to scoop up sellers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Toyota will build its first US battery plant in North Carolina
Toyota Motor will build its first battery factory in the U.S. in North Carolina, the company and state officials confirmed Monday, as more automakers seek to take control of the supply chain with in-house battery manufacturing plants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
VCs eye investment in Polygon
A number of investors including Sequoia Capital India and Steadview Capital are in talks to back Polygon, which operates a framework for building and connecting Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks, by way of tokens purchase, three sources familiar with the matter told me. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
New Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal begins restructuring as two execs step down
Earlier this week, Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down from his role. He appointed CTO Parag Agrawal as new CEO, effective immediately. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Porsche invests in German startup aiming to be a one-stop shop for carbon neutral homes
Porsche’s venture arm has taken a minority stake in 1Komma5, a five-month-old German startup aiming to offer households everything needed for a carbon neutral home, including energy storage, charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and solar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
GM delays production of new Chevy Bolt EVs until end of January
General Motors will continue to delay production of new Chevrolet Bolt EVs at the company’s Orion assembly plant in Michigan “through the week of Jan. 24, 2022,” the company said in a statement emailed to TechCrunch on Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bounce’s first electric scooter features swappable battery, costs less than $500
Bangalore-based Bounce on Thursday priced its first electric scooter at as low as 36,000 Indian rupees ($480), considerably undercutting the heavily-backed rival Ola as the mobility war intensifies in the world’s second most populous nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Attack surface management startup CyCognito raises $100M Series C on $800M valuation
As companies look for ways to prevent cyber attacks, one strategy is to be proactive and find vulnerabilities that could lead to a breach in an approach called “attack surface management.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Fresh from a $10M round, Plan A launches SaaS tool for ESG reporting aimed at startups/VCs
With key ESG reporting regulations such as the EU Taxonomy and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) covering more than 75 percent of European companies, across the EU and the UK, the regulatory environment is evolving fast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Irish eSports giant’s new startup bets big on rugby in bid for US market share
A fantasy sports exchange founded by Irish betting veteran Paddy Power is bringing NFT-enabled live trading to rugby fans in a bid to expand globally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will talk Section 230 reform with Congress this week
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen will go before Congress again this week, this time offering her unique perspective on the company’s moderation and policy failures as they relate to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the key legal shield that protects online platforms from liability for the user-created content they host. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Thought Machine closes $200M for its cloud native banking SaaS and becomes a unicorn
Thought Machine, a 2014 (Xoogler) founded startup that sells cloud-based b2b banking services, has closed a $200 million Series C round and announced that it’s achieved unicorn status (aka, passing a $1BN valuation). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Paris asks scooter sharing services to restrict speed to 10km/h
Riding a scooter in Paris will soon feel incredibly… slow. The City of Paris has announced that scooter sharing services should restrict the maximum top speed to 10km/h (that’s 6.2mph). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Perfeggt brings in first capital to shell out plant-based egg alternative
Worldwide, over 1.3 trillion eggs are produced annually, and Perfeggt co-founders believe this market is largely untapped and has room to grow with plant-based alternatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
On legal demands and press freedoms
In August 2020, two FBI agents were standing on my doorstep, unannounced, wanting to ask me questions about a TechCrunch story we had published the year before. The story was about how a hacker took thousands of documents, including visas and diplomatic passports, from a server at Mexico’s Embassy in Guatemala. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
India’s Blume Ventures raises $105 million in the first close of its fourth fund
Blume Ventures said on Wednesday it has raised $105 million in the first close of its fourth fund, less than two years after finalizing its previous fund, as investment activity intensifies in the world’s second largest internet market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Polestar is bringing its electric Precept sedan to market in 2024 with a new name
The Polestar Precept sedan — the concept vehicle turned production project — has a new name and an official launch date. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Roku customers report streaming issues after 10.5 update
A number of Roku customers are experiencing problems with their Roku TVs following the Roku OS 10.5 update. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lydia adds stock and crypto trading to its payment app
French startup Lydia is entering a whole new category by adding trading to its financial super app later this year. The company is partnering with Bitpanda for this feature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mmhmm eats Macro
Mmhmm has perhaps the noisiest take on the future of video-conferencing: virtual meetings will be fun, flexible, and, as shown by its most recent acquisition, emotive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Zuma takes in fresh capital to convert your next apartment tenant lead into a contract
Given its product market fit in real estate, Zuma now aims to implement its business model into other industries with sales teams, like healthcare, automotive, insurance, education and fashion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Biliti bets US market is primed for electric tuk tuk deliveries
Biliti Electric, a startup founded less than a year ago, wants its electric tuk tuks to become a common sight in densely packed cities in the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Cross-selling startup Carro secures $20M to connect brands with each other, influencers
Carro enables brand partnerships to sell each other’s products without having to purchase inventory or manage logistics and returns. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
VR glove startup says Meta’s recently unveiled prototype is ‘substantively identical’ to their own device
Facebook, errr Meta, showed off a new prototype haptic feedback glove yesterday which they detailed could eventually bring a new generation of AR/VR users closer to digital content than they’ve ever been. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
QuEra Computing emerges from stealth with $17M to launch quantum device
QuEra Computing, a Boston-based quantum computer developer, is coming out of stealth mode today with $17 million in funding from Rakuten, Day One Ventures and Frontiers Capital. Angel investors Serguei Beloussov and Paul Maritz also joined in the round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Lambda School shakes off its brand with new name
Lambda School, a buzzy coding bootcamp that has landed over $122 million in known venture capital to date, is rebranding to Bloom Institute of Technology, according to a blog post from CEO Austen Allred. The company is also updating its tuition payment options to introduce an outcomes-based loan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
EasySend raises $55.5M for a no-code platform to build online interactions with customers
No-code continues to permeate the many layers of enterprise IT, where traditionally non-technical workers have had to rely on technical experts to get things done, and startups building these tools are raising a lot of money as they see a surge of business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mark Cuban’s Fireside app attracts NFL stars and others as backers
Mark Cuban’s Fireside, an audio platform that is helping creators share their stories with audiences through live, interactive and virtual shows, is in advanced stages to close a “seed+” round, two sources familiar with the matter told me. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple offers $30 million to settle off-the-clock bag search controversy
California's supreme court ruled Apple broke the law by failing to pay employees while they waited for mandatory bag and iPhone searches. Now, Apple has offered to pay $30 million to settle the suit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Oxygen, a neobank for freelancers and small businesses, in talks to raise funds at over $500 million valuation
Oxygen, a startup that is bringing digital banking services to freelancers and micro-and small-sized businesses, is in talks to raise a new round at a valuation of over $500 million, two sources familiar with the matter told me. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Starlink’s new rectangular satellite broadband dish is smaller and lighter than before
Starlink has introduced a new user terminal customers can get with their starter kit. The company now offers a rectangular option that's smaller and lighter than its original circular one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
GM plans to build a military vehicle based on the Hummer EV
The Hummer H1 was based on a military truck, and now it appears GM is ready to return the favor: GM plans to build a military vehicle prototype based on the upcoming Hummer EV. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Tencent shares its metaverse vision for the first time
How could Tencent not jump on the metaverse bandwagon when Facebook is hinging its future on the new buzzword? At this stage, Tencent’s approach seems more measured than Facebook’s $10 billion investment into its metaverse division. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Ample raises $30M to take battery swapping business to Europe
Ample, a startup developing battery swapping technology for electric vehicles, has scored another $30 million from The Blackstone Group and Spanish multinational financial services company Banco Santander. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Digital restaurant startup Zak orders up new capital on mission to be ‘Toast of LatAm’
As food operators themselves, ZAK founders saw first-hand last year the toll it was taking on restaurants that needed to quickly reinvent themselves during the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
fuboTV to acquire streaming platform Molotov for $190 million
fuboTV is making a significant move in Europe with plans to acquire Molotov, a French startup with a leading television streaming service. fuboTV also operates a TV streaming platform, but it is currently only operating in the U.S., Canada and Spain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
AudioMob, which serves audio ads inside mobile games, raises a $14M Series A
AudioMob is a startup that provides ‘non-intrusive’ audio ads within mobile games. It turns out that gamers don’t seem to mind little ads like this popping up, and somehow AudioMob seems to have cracked the mechanic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Instagram’s creator subscriptions nearing launch, App Store listing reveals
Instagram earlier this year said it would explore the idea of creator subscriptions and was later spotted developing a feature that would offer exclusive Stories that were only visible to a creator’s subscriptions. Now, it seems, the company is poised to launch creator subscriptions into broader testing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Edtech startup BrightChamps comes out of stealth mode with $63 million funding
BrightChamps, an Indian edtech startup that is attempting to bridge the learning gap left by K12 schools, said on Monday it has raised $51 million in a new financing round and $63 million to date since launching a year ago as the Goa-headquartered firm looks to expand its footprints in over 10 nations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
US government offers $10M bounty for DarkSide ransomware hackers
The U.S. Department of State is upping the ante in its fight against ransomware by offering a reward of up to $10 million for information that helps identify or track down leaders of the notorious DarkSide ransomware group. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
An accelerator and fund says it’s giving away its voting rights to scientist founders: “They lose control”
SciFounders, an accelerator program and fund launched back in January with $6 million in backing, has a new proposition for the scientist founders who it looks to help run their own companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Rivian hit with gender discrimination lawsuit that alleges toxic ‘bro culture’
Rivian, the electric automaker that recently filed for an IPO, has been sued by a former sales and marketing vice president for alleged gender discrimination. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nintendo releases Animal Crossing update a day early
Grab your Nintendo Switches and start downloading the “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” update, because it’s going to be a late night. Nintendo just dropped the update to version 2.0 – a day early. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices