TechCrunch Startup News
3,873 episodes — Page 34 of 78
Lightyear stops production on €250,000 solar-powered EV
Solar-powered electric vehicle maker Lightyear said it’s halting production on its flagship Lightyear 0, its premium EV with a sticker price of €250,000. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Scythe raises $42 million for its electric robotic mower
Scythe first hit our radar when it emerged from stealth in 2021 with a $13.8 million Series B. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
With a focus on patients with chronic illness, Nourish hopes to help Americans eat better
Nourish connects users with a registered dietitian (RD) via telehealth and helps them get their consultations covered by health insurance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Area 120, Google’s in-house incubator, severely impacted by Alphabet mass layoffs
Area 120, the Google in-house incubator responsible for products such as Checks, Tables, Stack and ThreadBite, has been significantly affected by broader layoffs at Google parent company Alphabet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
GoodOnes raises to help make sense of your mess of a camera roll
You know what it’s like — you’ve been on vacation and you’ve taken 28 million photos, and you just want to select the best 12 so you can make a calendar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Indian food delivery giant Swiggy to cut 380 jobs
Swiggy plans to lay off 380 jobs as the Prosus Venture and SoftBank-backed Indian food delivery giant looks to navigate the market downturn that has forced firms to become leaner and more disciplined. In an email to employees on Friday, Swiggy co-founder and chief executive Sriharsha Majety said the startup has advanced its plans for […]Indian food delivery giant Swiggy to cut 380 jobs by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
German teens went crazy for this ‘compliments’ app, and now VCs are backing its next phase
The teenage market for apps is a tough nut to crack and stay relevant in. Just ask Snapchat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Kate is a new car maker focused on micro-cars for everyday use
Meet Kate, a French company that wants to create a tiny car that you can use for your daily commute and various errands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
P2P lending platform PeopleFund raises $20M Series C extension led by Bain Capital
PeopleFund, a South Korean marketplace that connects borrowers and investors to enable lending, has recently added $20 million to its $63.4 million Series C. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Good Meat approved to sell serum-free cultivated meat in Singapore
Good Meat announced today it has received regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency to use serum-free media for the production of its cultivated meat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Luxury fashion meets blockchain on Syky, the Seven Seven Six-backed web3 platform
Syky will serve as an incubator, marketplace and social community for the next generation of fashion designers and consumers.Luxury fashion meets blockchain on Syky, the Seven Seven Six-backed web3 platform by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
CloseFactor raises $15.2M to automate repetitive sales processes
Several years ago, co-founders Leena Joshi, Ben Cheung and Erik Buchanan experienced frustration with the amount of manual work they were putting into collecting information about sales and marketing accounts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nucleus aims to simplify the process of managing microservices
An increasing number of organizations are adopting microservices, the loosely-coupled, independently-deployable services that together make up an app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Google-backed ShareChat cuts 20% workforce to ‘sustain through headwinds’
ShareChat, the Indian social media startup backed by Twitter, Google, Tiger Global and Temasek, has laid off 20% of its workforce — or over 400 employees — just a month after eliminating more than 100 roles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
As it shifts focus from DIY computer kits, Kano spins out its creative software suite as a standalone business
Kano Computing (“Kano”), the venture-backed company best known for its DIY computer kits and software for teaching coding and STEM skills to kids, is spinning out its creative software suite and online community platform as an independent business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Sam Bankman-Fried launches Substack: ‘I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away’
FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried launched his own Substack newsletter today, in a very unusual move for someone who was recently arrested and is facing eight counts of U.S. criminal charges. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Coho AI, which uses AI to help B2B SaaS companies boost revenue, raises $8.5M
Teams dedicated to boosting customer acquisition, retention and sales don’t necessarily have the time or tools to use data insights effectively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Stripe’s internal valuation gets cut to $63 billion
Stripe, a richly-valued payments startup, has cut its internal valuation yet again, according to sources familiar with the manner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Project Eaden’s fiber technology poised to spin threads into whole cuts of ‘meat’
Project Eaden produces edible plant-based protein fibers, similar to those already being used to create textiles, that mimic the texture and appearance of animal-based meats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Data observability startup Metaplane lands investment from YC, others
The need for data observability, or the ability to understand, diagnose and orchestrate data health across various IT tools, continues to grow as organizations adopt more apps and services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Qarnot creates green data centers by putting servers in central heating boilers
Running a data center means that you have to find innovative ways to manage heat from the servers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Korean handmade goods marketplace Backpackr gears up to expand into Southeast Asia
About a decade ago, Donghwan Kim helped his cousin, a ceramist, look for sales channels, like flea markets, to sell his ceramics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nigerian agritech Releaf gets more capital as it launches new tech for food processing
Releaf, a Nigerian agritech startup that supplies ingredients (starting with the oil palm) to consumer goods manufacturers and their food factories, has received $3.3 million in an oversubscribed pre-Series A round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Superscript, a bespoke insurance provider for SMEs, raises $54 million
Superscript, an insurance broker and tech platform targeting SMEs and “high-growth” tech firms, has raised £45 million ($54 million) in a Series B round of funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Microsoft partners with India space agency to work with startups
Microsoft plans to collaborate with the Indian space agency to give Indian space tech startups free access to cloud tools, the two said Thursday, the latest in the U.S. tech giant’s attempts to deepen its ties with young firms in the South Asian market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Indian fintech KreditBee nears $700 million valuation in new funding
Indian fintech Kreditbee has raised an additional $100 million in a funding round, it said, as the lender looks to scale its business in the South Asian market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
OneRoof grabs funding to help apartment dwellers cozy up to their neighbors
In the past year, OneRoof has transformed from a chat room app into a platform offering in-person events, a neighbor directory and a “grow” feature to help people create their own communities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
MeetKai launches new room-scanning tech and metaverse builder
Not everyone believes that the metaverse — social, VR-centric worlds — has staying power. But MeetKai is among the steadfast optimists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SurrealDB raises $6M for its database-as-a-service offering
There’s plenty of vendors in the managed database services market — and plenty that are well-financed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Singapore-based AlterPacks turns food waste into food containers
Food waste and food packaging take up a significant portion of the world’s landfills. AlterPacks is tackling both issues with technology that turns food waste into takeout boxes and other containers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This startup brings Southeast Asia’s vacant hospital rooms into the sharing economy
Uber and Airbnb have long been the poster children for the sharing economy. In other realms of society, entrepreneurs are also trying to match demand with untapped assets and services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Startups set to go to space for the first time on SpaceX’s Transporter-6 mission
SpaceX is poised to launch 114 payloads to orbit on a Falcon 9 tomorrow morning, the sixth mission of its smallsat rideshare program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
South Korean financial super app Toss closes $405M Series G as valuation rises 7%
Viva Republica, an operator of South Korean finance super app Toss, has finalized a $405 million Series G funding and it says it is now valued at 9.1 trillion won ( $7 billion), up from 8.5 trillion won in June 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Meta acquires Luxexcel, a smart eyewear company
As Meta faces antitrust scrutiny over its acquisition of VR fitness developers Within, the tech giant is making another acquisition. Meta confirmed to TechCrunch that it is purchasing Luxexcel, a smart eyewear company headquartered in the Netherlands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Fintech Vint hopes to turn wine and spirits into a mainstream asset class
Fintech startup Vint thinks everyone should invest in wine and spirits and is hoping to facilitate such investments with the help of fresh seed funding.Fintech Vint hopes to turn wine and spirits into a mainstream asset class by Anna Heim originally published on TechCrunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Helm.ai snags $31M to scale its ‘unsupervised’ autonomous driving software
A few bright spots remain in the autonomous vehicle industry even amid macroeconomic headwinds that have nearly shut off the spigot of venture capital and led to further consolidation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bitcoin miner Argo to avoid bankruptcy with $100M deal from Galaxy Digital
Galaxy plans to acquire Argo’s bitcoin mining facility Helios for $65 million and provide a $35 million loan amid the miner’s restructuring. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Recall.ai helps companies make the most of virtual meeting data
For organizations that do a good chunk of their work through virtual meetings, simply hitting record or taking notes isn’t enough to capture everything that’s said. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Y Combinator-backed Poly uses AI to generate art assets
As generative AI like ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 attract investor attention, startup entrepreneurs are looking to cash in with new business models built around them. One of the more interesting ventures to emerge from the space recently is Poly, which lets designers create video game and other virtual assets, including textures for 3D models, using […]Y Combinator-backed Poly uses AI to generate art assets by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jakarta-based fintech Akulaku raises $200M from Japan’s largest bank
Jakarta-based fintech Akulaku has raised $200 million from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), the largest bank in Japan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
TechCrunch Early Stage focuses on fledgling founders
Whether you’re singing “Take This Job and Shove It” while workin’ “9 to 5” or you’re a fledgling startup founder, TechCrunch Early Stage 2023 is the bootstrapping bootcamp designed just for you. The daylong founder-focused summit — on April 20 in Boston, Massachusetts — covers the essential building blocks you need to build a solid foundation […]TechCrunch Early Stage focuses on fledgling founders by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Indian fintech Money View valued at $900 million in new funding
Indian fintech Money View said on Monday it has raised $75 million in a new funding round, its second this year, despite the market slump as it looks to scale its core credit business and build more products in the South Asian market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Vianova builds a location data platform for shared mobility companies and cities
Meet Vianova, a French startup that is building a data platform for shared mobility companies as well as local governments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Reliance buys 23.3% stake in US-based AI firm Exyn
Reliance has backed Philadelphia-based AI and robotics startup Exyn, the Indian conglomerate disclosed in a stock exchange filing on Thursday, making further inroads in startups globally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Gynger launches out of stealth to loan companies cash for software
Software spend is becoming a prime target for cuts as it grows into a larger line item in enterprises’ budgets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
South Park creators’ deepfake video startup Deep Voodoo conjures $20M in new funding
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park and various other media over the years, have raised $20 million to continue work on their professional deepfake studio for creators, Deep Voodoo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
ImagenAI, which uses AI to personalize photo editing styles, lands $30M
ImagenAI, a startup using AI to help professional photographers edit photos and automate post-production work, today announced that it raised $30 million in an all-equity growth investment from Summit Partners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Early-stage Mexico fintech Aviva is making loans as easy as a video call
Aviva uses AI and natural language processing to match customers’ spoken words with fields of a loan application. Within minutes, customers can qualify for up to $1,000.Early-stage Mexico fintech Aviva is making loans as easy as a video call by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Revel raises $7.8M to become the Instagram and Robinhood of NFT platforms
Social collectibles platform Revel describes itself as 'a cross between Instagram and Robinhood, wrapped in social game economics.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Salon software Mangomint raises $13M as it booms in post-COVID labor shortage
Ever needed to read your credit card information on the phone to make a massage appointment? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices