Gemba, an enterprise-focused virtual reality (VR) training startup used by some of the world’s biggest companies, has raised $18 million in a Series A round of funding. Gemba designs and delivers so-called virtual “masterclasses” spanning subject matters such as supply chain management and lean manufacturing, working in conjunction with experts from the respective fields to deliver … Read more
Scores of Microsoft services including Teams, Xbox Live, Outlook and Microsoft 365 suite are inaccessible to thousands of users around the globe. Microsoft has acknowledged the outage, and said it’s working on a fix. According to DownDetector, a popular tool that tracks service reliability, users began reporting accessibility issues with multiple services including Microsoft 365, … Read more
Does the average person want to shop for apparel in virtual reality (VR)? Speaking for myself, it sounds rather cumbersome — having to plop on a headset to browse for, say, trousers as opposed to click through a few galleries. But not everyone agrees — particularly those who hope to build a business out of … Read more
In another flip-flop move, Twitter says that it will now remember the feed — the algorithmic “For You” or chronological “Following” — its users have chosen on the web. This change will give relief to many who had complained that the social network showed them the algorithmic timeline by default each time they visited the … Read more
In 2016, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states signed the Value Added Tax (VAT) agreement paving way for the introduction of the general levy on consumption across the region. The United Arabs Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia became the first member states to adopt the treaty in 2018, and its implementation meant that for … Read more
Meet Oneleaf, a new startup that wants to make hypnosis mainstream. The startup has designed an app that helps you get started with hypnosis and follow various programs to quit smoking, reduce anxiety or lose weight. Oneleaf raised $4.6 million (€4.2 million) from Frst, Kima Ventures, Raise Ventures and several business angels. Bpifrance also contributed … Read more
Tesla’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 earnings are upon us, and with it expectations from Wall Street for the electric vehicle maker to hit revenue for the quarter of $24.03 billion and adjusted earnings per share to land around $1.13, according to Yahoo Finance data. If Tesla hits that revenue estimate, it’ll mark a record for the … Read more
Terra Drone said today it has raised $14 million in Series C funding from Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, marking the VC firm’s first investment in Asia. The Japan-headquartered company, which builds drone software, hardware and uncrewed aircraft traffic management software, said the new capital brings its total raised to $97 … Read more
Asteroid mining startup AstroForge will head to space twice this year, as it attempts to do what no other company has been able to before: unlock the potentially limitless value of precious minerals in deep space. When TechCrunch covered AstroForge’s seed round last April, we noted that the company was planning a demonstration mission sometime … Read more
Tesla is investing $3.6 billion into expanding its existing gigafactory in Nevada. Confirming White House reports from earlier today, the company said it will build two new production facilities in the state — a 100-gigawatt-hour battery cell factory and Tesla’s first high-volume Semi truck factory. Taking up a combined 4 million square feet of space, … Read more
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PST, subscribe here. What’s up, Crunchers? Good to see you again! We’re so glad to have you with us. It’s been a really busy day on the site today, and Haje has been busy getting … Read more
Pegasus Tech Ventures, a Silicon Valley-headquartered venture capital firm that helps corporations invest in startups, said it has set up a $100 million fund with Japanese chemical and life science company Denka. Denka, a 107-year-old firm, is the sole limited partner of the newly established corporate venture capital fund and in line with its 2030 … Read more
One of the most remarkable things about construction robotics is the sheer breadth of tasks that can potentially be automated. As I’ve noted before, the entire category is a prime target for robotics startups, given that it fills all of the big Ds of automation — dull, dirty and (quite often) dangerous. It’s also one … Read more
Waymo, the self-driving technology unit under Alphabet, quietly laid off workers Monday, according to The Information and several posts on LinkedIn and Blind. The cuts at the autonomous vehicle company follow a swell of layoffs at Alphabet and Google late last week. It’s not yet clear how many of Waymo’s staff will be affected, and … Read more
YouTube announced today that it’s partnering with Arizona State University and educational video company Crash Course to launch a new program that enables students to earn college credit. The Google-owned company says the new program, which is called College Foundations, is designed to create an affordable and accessible way to earn college credit. Starting today, … Read more
Less than a year after assuming the role, All Raise CEO Mandela SH Dixon has stepped down from her position at the nonprofit. The entrepreneur, who previously ran Founder Gym, an online training center for underrepresented founders, said in a blog post that the decision was made after she realized “being in the field working … Read more
A number of major crypto companies in recent months have laid off employees in an effort to keep their businesses afloat. But as big players drop talent back into the pool, startups are getting the opportunity to snatch them up. Recruiters and talent heads alike shared their thoughts with TechCrunch on what this means and … Read more
Last week, the video game giant Riot Games revealed that hackers had compromised its “development environment”— where the company stores its source code — with a social engineering attack. While the company reassured its users that “there is no indication that player data or personal information was obtained,” the hack could still be damaging, as … Read more
TechCrunch Live is back! I’m thrilled to bring this event series back for its third season. We’re booked for months, and I’m delighted to host the upcoming guests. Join us for our first episode with Benchmark and Cambly taking place on February 1, 2023 at 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET. TCL’s mission is still to … Read more
“May I suggest respectfully that Ticketmaster ought to look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the problem, it’s me,’” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on the Senate floor Tuesday, referencing Taylor Swift’s latest hit “Anti-Hero.” In a hearing on consumer protection and competition in live entertainment, senators grilled Live Nation CFO and president Joe Berchtold … Read more
The final report from the government’s National AI Research Resource recommends a new, multi-billion-dollar research organization to improve the capabilities and accessibility of the field to U.S. scientists. The document presents “a roadmap and implementation plan for a national cyberinfrastructure aimed at overcoming the access divide, reaping the benefits of greater brainpower and more diverse … Read more
A number of consumer advocacy groups have a problem with Walmart’s entry into the metaverse. The online retailer last fall announced the launch of two new virtual worlds on Roblox, “Walmart Land” and “Universe of Play,” aimed at engaging the next generation of shoppers. The experiences allow Roblox users to play games featuring toys and … Read more
Amazon made headlines this month when the company began to work through its long-rumored 18,000 job cuts. Going, too, are a number of products and strategies as the company right-sizes for the current state of the economy, the market’s attitude to tech stocks and the current landscape as dictated by its competitors and would-be rivals. … Read more
Although the crypto gaming industry remains below its 2021 peaks, it still pulled in substantial venture funding last year. But looking to the future, the subsector may look outside of tokenomics to grow and sustain itself for the long haul. “Tokens are a fantastic way to share ownership of economies. I’m very supportive of tokens … Read more
Honda is establishing a division dedicated to the development of electric vehicles and other electrical products including storage and generation, the company said on Tuesday (via Reuters). The Japanese automaker somewhat lags the rest of the market when it comes to EVs to date. Last year, Honda announced expansive plans to electrify its lineup, including … Read more
It’s a tough time to be a richly priced company that didn’t go public when the getting was good. Not only are there fewer later-stage players with the resources and appetite to support such companies — SoftBank and Tiger Global have pulled back dramatically, for example — but even secondary investors have lost interest. That’s … Read more
Instagram announced today that it’s introducing a new dynamic profile photo feature that lets users showcase both their profile photo and their avatar. Prior to this update, you had to choose between displaying a profile picture or your avatar on your profile. Now, you can flip between the two. “Now you can add your avatar … Read more
Tapbots, the makers of a popular third-party Twitter app Tweetbot that was recently killed by Twitter’s API changes, is releasing its next new product. Hoping to fill the void that Tweetbot leaves behind, the company is now making its anticipated Mastodon client app Ivory available on the App Store as an Early Access release. The … Read more
Lyft has introduced wait time fees – in other words, charges incurred if a Lyft driver has to wait for you upon pickup. The rideshare platform hasn’t had these previously, despite its main competitor Uber having them since 2016. Lyft’s wait time fees kick in two minutes after on-time arrival for standard rides and five … Read more
Startup board meetings are scheduled several weeks apart, but many founders work until the last minute on the deck updating investors on revenue, the product pipeline, hiring and other essential matters. In this environment, founders who try to “bright side” their numbers into a positive narrative will lose credibility. It’s nice to think so, but … Read more