TechCrunch Industry News

TechCrunch is embarking on a major new project to survey the venture capital investors of Europe. 
Over the next few weeks, we will be ‘zeroing-in’ on Europe’s major cities, from A-Z, Amsterdam to Zurich, and many points in-between. It’s part of a broader series of surveys we’re doing to help founders find the right investors. Our survey […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google One, Google’s subscription program for buying additional storage and live support, is getting an update today that will bring free phone backups for Android and iOS devices to anybody who installs the app — even if they don’t have a paid membership. The catch: While the feature is free, the backups count against your […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While much of today’s Congressional grilling into the anticompetitive practices of the big tech giants focused on their core businesses, Amazon’s hardware also came in for close inspection during the hours-long interrogation. It was a small but significant exchange, because it touched on the breadth of the company’s services and how dominance in one area […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Toppr, one of the largest online learning startups in India, has secured $46 million in a new financing round as it looks to scale its platform including a new product. Dubai-headquartered investment firm Foundation Holdings led the Mumbai-based seven-year-old startup’s Series D round. Kaizen Private Equity, an existing investor, also participated in the new round, […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Online alcohol delivery startup Drizly has told customers that it was hit by a data breach. In an email to customers obtained by TechCrunch, the company said that a hacker “obtained” some customer data. The hacker took customer email addresses, date-of-birth, hashed passwords, and in some cases delivery address, the email read. Drizly did not […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google today announced its plans to build a new subsea cable with landing points in New York in the U.S. and Bude, UK and Bilbao, Spain in Europe. The new cable, named after the pioneering computer scientist Grace Hopper, will join Google’s various other private subsea cables like Curie between the U.S. and South America, […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following earlier reporting, Google has confirmed that it will continue to allow employees to work from home through the end of June of next year. The company told TechCrunch that Sundar Pichai announced the plan in an email sent to staff earlier today. “To give employees the ability to plan ahead, we are extending our […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Earlier this year, the oft-mocked but actually pretty important new branch of the military, the Space Force, revealed an image that was suspiciously reminiscent of Star Trek. Now the Space Force has revealed a new, sharper graphic that is the force’s actual logo — and a motto to go with it: “Semper Supra,” or “always […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Online shopping service Instacart says reused passwords are to blame for a recent spate of account breaches, which saw personal data belonging to hundreds of thousands of Instacart customers stolen and put up for sale on the dark web. The company published a statement late on Thursday saying its investigation showed that Instacart “was not […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You might not know Gorilla Glass by name, but odds are pretty good you own at least one device sporting Corning’s chemically strengthened glass composite. It’s been a ubiquitous feature of consumer products ranging from smartphones to wearables for more than a decade now, courtesy of excellent drop and scratch resistance. All in all, it […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Toronto Blue Jays may not have a have a home yet this season, but one things for sure: plenty of teams are going to be playing in the uncanny valley this year. The spectacle of a major league baseball team playing in front of an empty has some precedent from places like Korea, Taiwan […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gaming phones are a weird one. They make sense on paper to some degree. As we well know, everyone’s a gamer these days, and much or most of that gaming happens on mobile devices. So why aren’t devoting gaming phones a more popular phenomenon? It’s not for lack of trying. Lenovo’s the latest company to […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I’ve learned a lot during this pandemic. About myself, about the world. But perhaps most important of all, I’ve learned the value of a good chair. In normal years I’m rarely home, between work and travel, and as such it’s not something I gave much thought to. So naturally, I spent the first month and […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Diaspora Ventures, a new VC fund based in the U.S. founded by two partners who grew up in France but have been in the U.S. for more than a decade —Â Ilan Abehassera (pictured right) and Carlos Diaz (pictured left). As the name suggests, Diaspora Ventures wants to invest in the French diaspora, and especially […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While other premium smartphone makers were exploring mid-tier devices amid slowing sales, OnePlus’s prices were slowly creeping up. It’s true that the company never cracked the $1,000 price point (beyond a few limited-edition models), but for those following the company’s story, it felt like it was straying a bit from its biggest appeal: flagship-quality devices […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Netflix is testing a new pricing tier in India as the on-demand video streaming service looks to court more subscribers in Asia’s third-largest economy. The American giant has unveiled a “Mobile+” plan for some new subscribers in India that delivers streaming in high-definition (HD) quality and supports mobile, tablet, and computer screens (but not TV). […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the sports world slowly begins to emerge from the pandemic shut down with MLB scheduled to start this week, Fox Sports is launching its redesigned sports app today for Android and iOS. The new app and accompanying website, offers a more modern interface, access to live sports (with cable subscription) and bonus camera angles […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We continue to be stuck inside, and video games continue to sell well. It’s pretty much as simple as that, honestly. I mean, there’s more nuance than that, obviously, but that’s really the top line takeaway from NPD’s June gaming numbers. More specifically, last month saw $1.2 billion total spent on gaming, up 26% from […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s not hard to see why Russell Quinn calls 2017 the worst year of his life. That was the year he moved back to the United Kingdom to take care of his mother, and the year in which both his mother and grandmother died within a month of each other. Quinn recalled returning to Los […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let’s just say it’s been busy times over here (Twitter being completely unusable has helped productivity though!) On Tuesday, we launched the first draft of The TechCrunch List, a verified, curated list of investors who have demonstrated a commitment to first checks and leading rounds from seed through growth, organized by market vertical. We constructed […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The U.S. App Store’s downloads have surpassed China’s downloads for the first time since 2014, in a new milestone. According to data from Sensor Tower’s Q2 2020 report, out today, the U.S. App Store saw 27.4% year-over-year growth in the quarter, compared to the 2.1% growth for the China App Store. During the quarter, the […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber said Thursday it has acquired Routematch, an Atlanta-based company that provides software to transit agencies as the ride-hailing company looks to offer more SaaS-related services to cities. Uber did not share terms of the deal. However, this doesn’t appear to be a minor “acquihire,” in which a company is purchased to land a few […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Game publisher Tilting Point announced today that it has made its third acquisition in eight months, buying games, key employees and “most of the assets” from FTX Games and Plamee Studios — both previously owned Playtech, which will be focusing on its gaming and sports betting software moving forward. Plamee previously developed Narcos: Cartel Wars, […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The e-reader category was exciting once — or at least as exciting as one could hope from such a space. It was a vibrant category, with plenty of key players, each looking to outdo one another. But as is the case with a depressing number of verticals, Amazon has largely wiped the floor with the […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Trump administration has backed down from plans to revoke visas of international students studying in the U.S., whose schools planned to take their classes exclusively online in the fall because of the coronavirus pandemic. The reversal comes as over a dozen universities and colleges threatened legal action against the administration’s order. The multi-faceted effort […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ulysses, a popular writing app for the Mac, iPhone and iPad, is receiving an update with some new features. The user interface has been slightly redesigned with a new right-hand column that acts as a dashboard. There’s also a new grammar and style check feature that goes beyond what’s provided on Apple’s platform by default. […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tesla has lowered the price of another vehicle. This time it’s the Model Y, an electric SUV the company started shipping in March. The long-range all-wheel drive version of the car is now listed with a purchase price of $49,990, or $3,000 less than what it was before. The car’s new pricing was first reported […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Google said on Monday that it has partnered with CBSE, a government body that oversees education in private and public schools in India, to deliver a “blended learning experience” across 22,000 schools in the world’s second largest internet market by the end of this year. The Search giant, which today also announced plans to invest […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PC shipments had a rough first quarter for all of the same reasons as everything that isn’t a Clorox wipe or N95 mask. People just weren’t ready to drop a ton of money on a new device. The impact of COVID-19 was lessened slightly by IT departments and individuals adapting to the new remote working […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

TikTok likes and views are broken for some unknown portion of the video app’s user base this afternoon. The impacted users are seeing a “zero” like count on TikTok posts, including their own and those of other app users, as well as “zero” views. The company has acknowledged the issue and says it’s working on […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apple unveiled the next major version iOS a few weeks ago. I’ve been playing around with beta versions of iOS 14 and here’s what you should expect when you update your iPhone to the final release of iOS 14 this fall. The most interesting change is something you’re not going to notice at first. The […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everywhere you go, you are being followed. Not by some creep in a raincoat, but by the advertisers wanting to sell you things. The more advertisers know about you — where you go, which shops you visit, and what purchases you make — the more they can profile you, understand your tastes, your hobbies and […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Streaming video has become a huge part of our lives, whether it’s watching your favorite shows on Netflix or getting live TV through Hulu or YouTube or checking out your favorite gamers on Twitch. But streaming is trickling into other facets of our lives, too, whether it’s fitness or the move from physical events to […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Samsung’s next big Unpacked event is scheduled for August 5. As is the trend these days, the unveiling will be online-only, following in the footsteps of big virtual events from the likes of. Microsoft and Apple. It’s Samsung’s first crack at the format. The company just made it under the pre-COVID-19 shutdown wire back in […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Instagram today is starting a small global test of the Instagram Shop tab, first announced this May, which allows Instagram users to shop from top brands and creators via a new tab in the app’s navigation bar with just one tap. Here, users will be able to filter products by categories, as they can today […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Maintaining satellites on orbit and ensuring they make full use of their operational lifespan has never been more important, given concerns around sustainable operations in an increasingly crowded orbital environment. As companies tighten their belts financially to deal with the ongoing economic impact of COVID-19, too, it’s more important than ever for in-space assets to […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mercedes-Benz sent out a teaser image and video Monday of its upcoming 2021 S-Class that hints at a sleeker interior that forgoes the bevy of physical knobs and toggles found in previous models in favor of a digital centric design. The teasers illustrate a movement in the automotive industry popularized by Tesla to incorporate large […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Responsibly managing machine learning processes is no longer just a desirable component of progress but a necessary one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VCs should take note. These are the people who will build the next Facebook. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A day after formally completing the sale of Boost, Virgin and other Sprint prepaid networks to Dish, T-Mobile is pulling the plug on Sprint 5G. The move is one in a long list of issues that need sorting out in the wake of April’s $26.5 billion merger. And like a number of other moves, it’s […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

T-Mobile today announced that it has closed a deal that divests Sprint’s pre-paid businesses, including Boost and Virgin Mobile. The news finds Dish entering the wireless carrier game in earnest, courtesy of the $1.4 billion deal. The whole thing was, of course, a key part of T-Mobile’s bid to merge with Sprint. It was a […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A few months back, Google announced plans to reopen some U.S. offices after the July 4th holiday. But the best laid plans, and all of that. Things have obviously not been going great in terms of the United States’ battle with COVID-19, and Google once again finds itself proceeding on the side of caution. As […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Facebook is no longer betting on Lasso, an app it launched a year and a half ago, to take on TikTok . The social juggernaut’s TikTok clone is shutting down on July 10, Lasso alerted users on Wednesday. Launched in late 2018, Lasso was seen as Facebook’s answer to TikTok that’s gained ground with young users, […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Facebook’s recently launched app, Hobbi, an experiment in short-form content creation around personal projects, hobbies, and other Pinterest-y content, is already shutting down. The app first arrived on iOS in February as one of now several launches from Facebook’s internal R&D group, the NPE Team. Hobbi users have now been notified by way of push […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Consumer spending on mobile apps and app installs grew significantly during the first half of 2020, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from Sensor Tower. In the first half of the year, consumers spent $50.1 billion worldwide across the App Store and Google Play — a figure that’s up 23.4% […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Two big new pieces of news today from the ongoing battle between social media and politics. Both Twitch and Reddit have made moves against political content, citing violations of terms of service. Twitch confirmed today that it has temporarily suspended the president’s account. “Hateful conduct is not allowed on Twitch,” a spokesperson for the streaming […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ford rolled out all the stops Thursday evening for the reveal of its all-new F-150 truck, right down to the splashy videos dominated by electric guitar riffs. Heck, the automaker even cast the sharp-tongued Denis Leary as its MC. Of course, none of that really matters. It’s all about what Ford has done to improve […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Facebook is expanding the availability of the tools it offers to help game streamers and other online creators make money. The social network first launched fan subscriptions in early 2018, giving a small group of creators in the United States and the United Kingdom the ability to charge their fans a $4.99 monthly fee for […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Set for a late-July release, Tenet has been viewed an important bellwether for Hollywood. After all, director Christopher Nolan has long been a surefire blockbuster machine, courtesy of films like the Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception and Interstellar. The mysterious thriller will be a clear test of whether audiences are willing to brave the indoor theater […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Video chat has long been one of the chief selling points of smart screens like the Amazon Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub Max (the regular Hub is still lacking a camera, mind). But until today, the latter only offered users the option for one-on-one calls. That’s all well and good for the most part, […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices