TechCrunch Industry News
3,880 episodes — Page 45 of 78
Liquid Death lands $75 million more in funding, including to roll out flavored water
Liquid Death, a water brand that began life in 2018 with a funny video to first test the concept, has grown deadly serious about its growth prospects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Samsung’s 2022 Smart TVs to support cloud gaming, video chat and even NFTs
Ahead of the official start of CES, Samsung today revealed its vision for its next generation of smart TVs that will include everything from cloud-based gaming services to video chat while watching TV to even NFTs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Twitter bans Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene’s personal account over COVID-19 misinformation
Twitter has permanently suspended the personal account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) “for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy,” according to the company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Let’s talk CES 2022 trends
I spent a chunk of yesterday morning rediscovering the big trends of CES 2012. It’s a strange experience, examining so much technology that feels — at once — extremely dated and very recent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apple puts Foxconn India plant on probation after protests over food and accommodation conditions
Apple has put the southern India factory of Foxconn on probation following protests from workers over subpar food and accommodation conditions, a concern both the firms acknowledged and pledged to improve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The best tech of CES 2012
Consumer electronics are a bad metric for gauging the passage of time. And, frankly, Consumer Electronics Shows are considerably worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Fiverr rolls out new Pinterest-like personalized discovery feature
Freelance marketplace Fiverr is rolling out an interactive Pinterest-like mobile experience aimed at enabling users to engage with a constantly updated feed of visual content curated specifically for them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Waymo partners with Geely to make electric AVs for ride hail in the US
Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous driving technology arm, is partnering with Chinese automaker Geely to build an all-electric, self-driving ride-hailing vehicle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Europe’s antitrust policy shouldn’t ignore China
The TechCrunch Global Affairs Project examines the increasingly intertwined relationship between the tech sector and global politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
More companies bow out of in-person CES presence
The last few days have been fairly quiet, so far as CES is concerned — no doubt owing to the holiday. The last major dropout came from Microsoft, which confirmed on Christmas Eve it would no longer be traveling to Las Vegas for the event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Movano targets an H2 2022 launch for its fitness ring
My first in-person experience with a fitness ring was back at CES 2017. Four years later, one wonders if they might be having a moment at next week’s show — in-person or no. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Naren Gupta, co-founder of Nexus Venture Partners, passes away
Naren Gupta, a venture capitalist who co-founded Nexus Venture Partners to help cement Indian SaaS startups’ position to the world, died on Saturday. He was 73. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
TikTok moderator sues over mental trauma caused by graphic videos
In a proposed class-action lawsuit, TikTok moderator Candie Frazier said that she has screened videos showing violence, school shootings, fatal falls and even cannibalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Despite scrapped IPO, Babbel sees fast growth for its language learning service
Berlin-based language learning service Babbel was supposed to IPO on the Frankfurt stock exchange in late September. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
FDA authorizes Pfizer’s Covid antiviral pill for people 12 and older
The FDA has issued an emergency authorization for Pfizer's antiviral pill, making it the first oral method for treating mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. The EUA covers high-risk people 12 and up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dealroom raises €6M Series A for its startup data, market intelligence service
European startup and venture capital data company Dealroom has raised a €6 million Series A, it told TechCrunch. The company’s new capital comes nearly two years after it raised €2.75 million in early 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Via files confidentially to go public
On-demand shuttle service and software company Via has confidentially filed to go public, the company said in a statement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The long haul of Microsoft’s China localization
In 2019, when LinkedIn began asking for Chinese users’ phone numbers, it was clear that the professional social network would have to follow a different set of rules in the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
AI chip maker Kneron raises $25M for autonomous driving push
AI chips, which are semiconductors designed to accelerate machine learning, have many applications. One of the promising use cases, according to Albert Liu, is using AI chips in autonomous driving vehicles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Line to launch NFT service LineNext next year
Japan-based messaging app Line Corporation, which is wholly owned by Z Holdings, will launch NFT service next year via its new organization LineNext to provide the marketplace for companies and individuals to trade NFTs globally, excluding Japan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Security flaws found in a popular guest Wi-Fi system used in hundreds of hotels
A security researcher says an internet gateway, used by hundreds of hotels to offer and manage their guest Wi-Fi networks, has vulnerabilities that could put the personal information of their guests at risk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Fuzey takes in $4.5M to charge up its management tools for service-based businesses
The company's tools digitize for small businesses what was traditionally done manually and on paper, like invoices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Spotify acquires podcast tech company Whooshkaa which turns radio broadcasts into on-demand audio
Spotify is continuing its investments in podcasts with today’s news that’s it’s acquired another podcast technology company, Whooshkaa, an Australia-based all-in-one platform for hosting, managing, distributing, promoting, monetizing and measuring podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Silverflow nabs $17M for its updated, cloud-based take on payments processing technology
When it comes to online payments, the front end of the system has seen a massive amount of disruption in the last several years, with companies like Stripe, Adyen, PayPal, Square and others building APIs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Amazon to lower its cut of Alexa skill developer revenue starting in 2022
Amazon is joining other tech giants by lowering its cut of developer revenue generated by voice apps, known as Alexa skills, which run on Amazon’s smart speakers and other Alexa-powered devices. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Papaya raises $50M to give you a way to pay bills via its mobile app
Paying bills is hardly a fun thing. So I think it’s safe to say that any technology that can make the process easier is welcome by all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Six more women sue Tesla over workplace sexual harassment
In the wake of Jessica Barraza’s lawsuit last month, six more current and former female employees have come forward to accuse Tesla of fostering a culture of rampant sexual harassment at its Fremont factory in California. In separate complaints filed on Tuesday with the Superior Court in Alameda County, the women said they were consistently subjected to catcalling, unwanted advances, physical contact and discrimination while at work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mesh Payments racks up $50M to help corporate users manage spend and payments
Now that the world appears to have settled longer-term into working in a significantly more distributed way in the wake of Covid-19, companies are getting more serious about using tools to manage how their teams operate within those new parameters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The race is on to patch Log4Shell, the bug that’s breaking the internet
Security teams around the globe are scrambling to fix Log4Shell, a critical security flaw in Log4j, an open source logging software that’s found practically everywhere from online games to enterprise software and cloud datacenters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Mozilla expects to generate more than $500M in revenue this year
The Mozilla Foundation today released its financial report for 2020. As usual, this gives us a good picture of the organization’s financial health from a year ago, but for the first time this year, Mozilla also provided us with more recent data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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