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Sophie Alcorn Contributor Share on Twitter Sophie Alcorn is the founder of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley and 2019 Global Law Experts Awards’ “Law Firm of the Year in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Services.” She connects people with the businesses and opportunities that expand their lives. More posts by this contributor Dear Sophie: Any … Read more

TikTok today announced it’s expanding its “state-controlled media” label to over 40 more global markets, to alert users when videos they’re seeing on the app are being published by entities whose “editorial output or decision-making process” is subject to influence by a government, the company said on Wednesday. The pilot initially began last year after … Read more

Boston Dynamics just released the latest demo of its humanoid robot, Atlas. The robot could already run and jump over complex terrain thanks to its feet. Now, the robot has hands, per se. These rudimentary grippers gives the robot new life. Suddenly, instead of being an agile pack mule, the Atlas becomes something closer to … Read more

Sophos is laying off about 10% of its global workforce, TechCrunch has learned. Sophos confirmed the layoffs in an email to TechCrunch. “Sophos today announced an internal restructuring which has resulted in job losses and the start of consultation periods that potentially will affect 10% of our global employee base,” said Jitendra Bulani, a spokesperson … Read more

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single person, think about their work and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha interviewed Roger Lee, an entrepreneur who’s spent the … Read more

Microsoft today announced details of a much-rumored round of layoffs, confirming in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that 10,000 employees will be impacted as part of “workforce reduction” measures the company is taking in response to “macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities.” The news comes as major redundancies continue to permeate the … Read more

Twitter announced an annual Blue subscription plan for hardcore users who want to commit for a year. The revamped Twitter Blue subscription was launched last December at a rate of $8 per month (or $11 per month for iOS users). Now, users have a chance to get a discount and be all in for a … Read more

Conventional wisdom suggests that a Series B company should be hunkering down right now, cutting costs, weathering the storm, but Israeli startup Quantum Machines is defying this approach as it continues to grow in spite of the economic uncertainty swirling around the world. The company announced that it got an additional $20 million tacked onto … Read more

DNV, a Norwegian shipping classification society, has confirmed its systems were hit by a ransomware attack, affecting around 1,000 ships that rely on its technology. The Oslo-based DNV said in a statement on Wednesday that its ShipManager software was targeted by file-encrypting malware on January 7, forcing the organization to shut down its servers. ShipManager … Read more

There are no guarantees in this world. Nothing lasts forever — especially those things made by Google. In September, the company announced that it would be pulling the plug on its ambitious, but oft-forgotten, cloud gaming service. Stadia’s servers are officially shutting down today, two months shy of its third birthday. The dream of cloud … Read more

Apple has resurrected the larger HomePod with a second-generation version that includes better sound, as well as better intelligence and computing smarts. The new HomePod retails for $299 and pre-orders kick off today, with in-store availability and shipping beginning in the U.S. and select other markets on Friday, February 3. Apple’s new HomePod includes two … Read more

A U.S.-based subsidiary of oil company Shell is buying EV charging network operator Volta in an all-cash transaction valued at $169 million. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Shell USA Inc. will acquire all outstanding shares of Class A common stock of Volta at $0.86 per share in cash upon completion of the merger. … Read more

Goldenset Collective is launching out of stealth with a $10 million seed round to deploy equity investments in digital creators. The company was founded by Rob Fishman, Darren Lachtman and Nick Millman, the trio who previously founded Niche, a brand partnership marketplace acquired by Twitter for over $50 million, and then Brat, a Gen Z … Read more

Commerce has gone through quite a change over the past three years. First was the quick shift to online during the pandemic, then came the reckoning after people began venturing out again. During this time, commerce companies, both brick-and-mortar and online, were looking to technology to get their companies up-and-running, but were finding it a … Read more

Deal Box, a capital markets advisory and token offering packaging platform, has launched its venture arm with plans to invest $125 million in startups using web3 technology, the company shared Wednesday. “We believe in the transformative power of web3, and we plan to invest in both web3 startups and companies that use web3 technology, including … Read more

Autonomous trucking startup Waabi has bagged Volvo Group Venture Capital AB, the automaker’s VC arm, as a strategic investor. The companies aren’t disclosing the amount invested, nor many other details about the deal, but having Volvo on board will both provide Waabi access to Volvo’s extensive industry network and help the startup explore opportunities for … Read more

Often, first-time ecommerce entrepreneurs don’t know what they need to build an effective funnel and cart experience for their platforms. It’s not their fault; the problem’s challenging. According to one source, the average cart abandonment rate across all industries is 69.57%. That means roughly seven out of 10 shoppers won’t complete their transaction, leading to … Read more

The starry-eyed founder story usually goes something like this: Start an earthbound company, make lots of money, launch a rocket company to go to Mars. If that’s the stereotypical narrative, then Chris Graves has it all backward. Graves started with the Red Planet, helping to develop a key instrument for NASA’s Perseverance rover that’s currently … Read more

Barely a year after Tanzania capped the commissions that e-hailing firms like Uber and Bolt charge their partners at 15%, the authority in charge has backtracked on the order, taking away drivers’ prospects of increased earnings. The fee was increased to 25% effective last Sunday after the Land and Transport Regulatory Authority (Latra) issued a … Read more

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. The brand, which is the cultivated meat division of U.S.-based food startup Eat Just, says it is the only cultivated meat producer in the world with the ability to sell … Read more

The process used by millions of agents and thousands of property portals globally to reach buyers and sellers on digital channels is highly fragmented. And it’s evident that proptech, unlike other industries, has lagged in utilizing social media to make sales. South African startup Flow wants to change how real estate agencies,  developers and agents … Read more

MENA-based buy now, pay later startup Tabby has raised $58 million, led by Sequoia Capital India and STV, at a valuation of $660 million. The investors co-led the fintech’s Series B extension round last June.  PayPal Ventures, the global corporate venture arm of PayPal, is one of the participating investors (this marks its first investment … Read more

OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman sat down for a wide-ranging interview with this editor late last week, answering questions about some of his most ambitious personal investments, as well as about the future of OpenAI. There was much to discuss. The now eight-year-old outfit has dominated the national conversation in the two months since … Read more

Gogoro, the Taiwanese paladin for two-wheeler battery swapping, is working with the Indian state of Maharashtra to establish state-wide battery charging and swapping infrastructure. The initiative will be driven by a “50-50” partnership between Gogoro and Belrise Industries, an automotive systems manufacturer based in India, that will form an infrastructure company to own the batteries … Read more

The messaging platform Discord announced its acquisition of Gas, an app that’s popular among teens for its positive spin on social media. On Gas, users sign up with their school, add friends, and answer polls about their classmates. But the questions in the polls are intended to boost users’ confidence, rather than damage it. Teens … Read more

Tesla faked a 2016 video promoting its self-driving technology, according to testimony by a senior engineer reviewed by Reuters. The video, which shows a Tesla Model X driving on urban, suburban and highway streets; stopping itself at a red light; and accelerating at a green light is still on Tesla’s website and carries the tagline: … Read more

“Tell me something I don’t know,” was my first reaction when reports on venture capital in 2022 hit my inbox this month. It is pretty clear by now that there was a slowdown, so what’s the point of harping on about it as we enter a new year? The point, as often with data, is … Read more