They say if you’re going to cut, cut deeply so you only have to do it once. Alas, a growing number of companies are realizing that despite layoffs earlier in the year, they need to cut back more now. Klarna, the Stockholm, Sweden-based buy-now-pay-later outfit finds itself in this camp. According to the outlet Sifted, … Read more
Let’s talk humanoids for a minute, shall we? Why do so many roboticists insist on creating robots that look like us? Get ready to see plenty more humanoid robots. The subject is top of mind for a few reasons. First — and most prominently — is the fact that Tesla plans to unveil a version … Read more
Dr. Michelle Longmire, physician/scientist turned startup founder, founded Medable with the goal of transforming patient connectivity in the healthcare system. Along the way in raising $479 million, Sapphire Ventures invested in several rounds, providing Longmire with new relationships and opportunities within Sapphire Ventures’ network. Join Cathy Gao, partner at Sapphire Ventures, and Longmire on this … Read more
One of the most pressing issues the U.S. has to prepare for, perhaps, is the future it faces after the toppling of Roe v. Wade. Come the midterm elections, voters will weigh in on candidates and, consequently, measures that will dictate abortion access and other human rights issues. The role venture capital must play in … Read more
The overturning of Roe v. Wade sent a huge shockwave through the U.S., and while the nation recovers slowly, the venture community is already beginning to act. Founders are reassessing where they open their businesses, not wanting to lure employees to a state that doesn’t support reproductive rights, and investors are considering adding healthcare to … Read more
The first exclusive Thursday Night Football game on Amazon Prime Video was a win for the streaming service, with 15.3 million viewers, the company announced today. Amazon’s successful TNF game underscores the value that live sports bring to streaming services. On average, TNF games usually earn about 12.84 million across Amazon, Fox, and the NFL … Read more
The popular Mac application Pixelmator Pro today rolled out its latest release with the launch of Pixelmator Pro 3.0. The image editing app’s update included 200 new design templates, customizable mockups, and a machine learning-powered feature the company is calling “Smart Replace.” The update comes after the company announced earlier this year that Pixelmator Photo … Read more
If you’re having trouble accessing Instagram right now, it’s because the social network is currently experiencing a partial outage. A spokesperson for the company told TechCrunch in an email that Instagram is aware of the issue, and that it’s working to get the app back to normal. “We’re aware that some people are having trouble … Read more
The future comes at you fast: TechCrunch Disrupt 2022 is now just a few weeks away. If you’re involved in the tech world — or want to break into it — you’ll want to be in San Francisco from October 18–20. And if your funds are tight, there’s now a golden opportunity to experience Disrupt up … Read more
In the world of investment, a “party round” is an investment round — typically an angel round — where a larger number of angels throw in what (to them) is pocket change to help a company get off the ground. “Pocket change” is relative, of course; what is pocket change to a very high-net-worth individual … Read more
The quest to build the perfect humanoid robot is heating up, as Figure — a startup currently operating in stealth — is developing a multi-purpose bipedal ‘bot it plans to pilot in 2024. Speaking under the condition of anonymity, a source close to to the company recently confirmed the startup’s operations, funding, high-profile hires and … Read more
A jury in a Texas federal court has ordered Meta to pay walkie-talkie app company Voxer more than $174.5 million in damages, according to court documents filed on Wednesday. Voxer, the creator of the Walkie Talkie app, first filed its lawsuit against Meta (formerly known as Facebook) in 2020 after it accused the company of … Read more
Heading into the final days of the third quarter, I am looking forward to more than just a new sheaf of data concerning venture capital flows around the world. When September wraps, we’ll start a countdown for earnings reports from consumer-serving fintech giants, data that will help us understand present-day market appetite for trading and … Read more
If my PR inbox is anything to go by (trust me, it is), companies, and especially stock-market listed megacorps, are scrambling to out-green each other with tales of how the planet will be taking breaths of relief because of what glorious stewardship they provide for our slowly heating planet. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals … Read more
JBalvin, the Prince of Reggaeton, has been candid with his fans about his mental health struggles and healing journey. Now, he’s productizing some of his journey by launching OYE, a Spanish/English wellness app. The app, which seeks to support those struggling with mental health issues, is built by Balvin and his two co-founders Mario Chamorro, … Read more
Weeks after Twitter’s ex-security chief accused the company of cybersecurity mismanagement, Twitter has now informed its users of a bug that didn’t close all of a user’s active logged-in sessions on Android and iOS after an account’s password was reset. This issue could have implications for those who had reset their password because they believed … Read more
Earlier this year, Twitter launched the Twitter Moderation Research Consortium (TMRC), a group of experts from across academia, civil society, nongovernmental organizations and journalism dedicated to studying Twitter’s platform governance issues. Previously, membership in the TMRC was limited to select trusted partners, but Twitter today began offering all researchers the chance to apply. To be … Read more
Julio Vasconcellos Contributor Share on Twitter Julio Vasconcellos is the managing partner of Atlantico, a venture capital fund focused on Latin America. He was previously the founder of Canary and Peixe Urbano, and was Facebook’s first employee in Brazil. More posts by this contributor Latin America’s digital transformation is making up for lost time Cautious … Read more
Spain’s homegrown on-demand delivery app, Glovo — which since the end of last year has been majority owned by Germany’s Delivery Hero — has been fined €79 million (~$79M) for breaches of labor laws related to the employment classification of couriers, local press reported yesterday. El Pais reported that the record sanction for the company … Read more
U.K. residents travelling to Norway or Iceland will soon have their mobile roaming fees capped, representing part of a recent trade agreement between the countries. The U.K. signed a free trade agreement last July with Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, a triumvirate of markets notable for the fact that they are not members of the European … Read more
Chaos engineering was originally developed at large companies to help them pressure test systems in production. Over time, startups and open source projects have made it more accessible, but for the most part it is still in the realm of SREs (site reliability engineers) testing production systems. Steadybit, a German startup wants to put it … Read more
We posted a pair of Apple Watch reviews this time last week. Both the Series 8 and second gen SE received high marks for their categories — flagship and budget, respectively. Were Apple to stick to those two products, it’s easy to imagine the company maintaining roughly a third of the smartwatch market share it … Read more
Remote work has never been as accepted, or mainstream, as it is today. Yet some businesses hesitate to explore the option of hiring people in other countries because the prospect can be daunting and costly. Nurasyl Serik and Volodymyr Fedoriv started Remofirst in 2021 to open up that option to more businesses with a SaaS … Read more
Simon Butler Contributor Share on Twitter Simon Butler was founder and CEO of Methodics Inc, acquired by Perforce in 2020. He is currently the general manager of Perforce’s Methodics Business unit. This year is proving to be momentous for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. During a global chip shortage and record inflation, U.S. President Biden signed into … Read more
TechCrunch Disrupt is a three-day showcase of the work being done by the best and brightest in Silicon Valley and is an exclusive first look at the most exciting new innovations coming over the next few years. The conference, set this year for October 18–20 in San Francisco, has hosted some of the most prominent … Read more
Instagram is testing a new way to filter out unsolicited nude messages sent over direct messages, confirming reports of the development posted by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi earlier this week. The images indicated Instagram was working on technology that would cover up photos that may contain nudity but noted that the company would not be … Read more
Anyone who has to use a wheelchair regularly runs the risk of incurring injury from poor circulation. Kalogon believes it can mitigate this common but potentially life-threatening condition with a smart cushion that prevents any one part of the body from being compressed for too long — and it has already caught the eye of … Read more
Many of the e-commerce roll-up companies, also known as aggregators, slowed down this year after a record 2021. However, some younger companies in this space are still thriving. One of these is OpenStore, a company founded in 2021 as a way for Shopify entrepreneurs looking to move on to sell their businesses in a matter … Read more
Google announced a new Chromecast with HD streaming support today that costs just $30 and has a remote control with it. The company is launching the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) — yes, that’s the official name — in 19 countries including the U.S. This comes two years after Google launched a $49 Chromecast with … Read more
Market share analyses aren’t an exact science, exactly. Different firms take different factors into account, though more often than not, the numbers more or less line up among the bigger players. We discussed these figures in our recent review of the Apple Watch Series 8, noting that the line had captured roughly one-third of the … Read more