TechCrunch

Discord is refreshing its popular chat app with a handful of new features, including one that developers who build tools for the platform have wanted for a long time. The changes seek to make the community-building app a more versatile place to hang out, with new ways to customize the servers where hundreds of thousands … Read more

Happy TechCrunch Disrupt eve! That’s right, tech’s OG conference dedicated to early-stage startup founders — and the ecosystem that supports them — kicks off tomorrow at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. No FOMO zone: It’s not too late to buy a pass and get in on all the action and opportunity. We’d love to … Read more

Lyft is increasing the service fees its riders in the U.S. pay for each ride. The rise in cost, which will go directly to Lyft, aims to cover the higher costs of insurance, reports Reuters. Lyft’s service fees pay for overhead costs like driver insurance and security background checks. The company expected a rise in insurance … Read more

As hundreds of thousands of EVs come to market over the next few years, demand for critical battery materials like lithium, graphite, nickel, and cobalt has never been higher. Automakers are scrambling to ensure their own supply of key raw materials and, in the process, reduce their reliance on China, the dominant force in the … 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. Don’t forget that the code “EQUITY” can save you money on Disrupt tickets and TechCrunch+ access. And it makes us here on the show look good! Hell yeah, this is our Monday show. And heck yes, … Read more

This morning Kanye West announced he’s buying Parler, the annoyingly-named so-called “free speech” platform that ignores the proper French pronunciation of its moniker in service of a poor pun. The deal terms aren’t out there yet, but the startup has so far raised $56 million and I bet it has a tidy little exit on … Read more

Eric Tarczynski Contributor Share on Twitter Eric Tarczynski is managing partner and founder of Contrary Capital. More posts by this contributor University entrepreneurship — without the university To predict what 2023 will look like for venture capital, we need to start by understanding where we are now. We’re entering a messy middle where prices continue … Read more

More tech antitrust activity: Spain’s competition watchdog has opened an investigation into potential anti-competitive behavior by the Dutch online travel agency giant, Booking.com, following a couple of complaints lodged by the Spanish Association of Hotel Managers and the Regional Hotel Association of Madrid. The national competition regulator said today that it will look into whether … Read more

Kanye West, the rapper who also also goes by the name Ye, has reached an agreement to buy “uncancelable free speech platform” Parler, the two said in a statement Monday, in a move they said will help individuals express their conservative opinions freely. As part of the deal, financial terms of which were not disclosed, … Read more

Banking-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms have taken off rapidly across the fintech world over the last 18 months. By partnering with banks, these platforms allow entities from startups and fintechs to big corporations and banks to provide tailored banking services and experiences to their customers. Fintechs offering BaaS services in U.S. and Europe, such as Unit, Rapyd … Read more

Byju’s said Monday it has raised $250 million in new funding from existing backers as the Indian edtech giant looks to navigate the market downturn that has forced the firm to postpone its initial public offering and cut thousands of jobs. The new funding valued the Bengaluru-headquartered startup at $22 billion, the same figure at … Read more

Flipkart has launched a metaverse offering for consumers to discover and shop new products, the latest bet from the Indian e-commerce giant as it experiments with web3 offerings to supercharge its customer experience. The Walmart-backed Bengaluru-headquartered firm has partnered with eDAO, a Polygon-incubated firm, to launch the metaverse offering, which it is calling Flipverse. The … Read more

Climate tech wrapped a strong Q3, landing three of the top four equity deals, including the whopping $1 billion Series A raised by fleet charging startup TeraWatt. While the broader market might be cooling, climate tech continues to be a hot ticket, with investment figures for top deals in Q3 outpacing the two previous quarters … Read more

When Celonis, an 11-year-old German process mining company, announced a $1 billion raise in August on a $13.2 billion post-money valuation, it was a bit of a shock. After all, VC firms were pulling back from the huge raises and gaudy valuations of yesteryear. But Celonis — which has raised $2.4 billion, per Crunchbase, with … Read more

India on Sunday launched 75 digital banking units in villages and small towns across the country in a move that it said will help bring financial services and literacy to more citizens. The digital banking units, set up in collaboration with over 20 public and private banks, are brick-and-mortar outlets that are equipped with tablets … Read more

Hi, friends! It’s time for another edition of Week in Review, the newsletter where we quickly recap the most read TechCrunch stories from the past seven days. Want it in your inbox every Saturday morning? Sign up here. most read LEGS: The company formerly known as Facebook held its Meta Connect conference this week, where … Read more

Welcome to The TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It’s inspired by the daily TechCrunch+ column where it gets its name. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here. Having talked to many insurtech investors lately, I found myself thinking about usage-based insurance (UBI, which in this case doesn’t refer to universal basic … Read more

What appeared earlier this year to be a selfless act of technotopianism, the widespread deployment of Starlink terminals in Ukraine, has soured as SpaceX and governments disagree on who ultimately should foot the bill of this unprecedented aid campaign. Some expect Elon Musk — one of the richest men in the world — to cough … Read more

A majority of retail workers at the Apple Store at Penn Square in Oklahoma City have voted to unionize. The second Apple Store to win union representation in the U.S., the workers voted 56-32 in favor of forming a union, and will be represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA). Per National Labor Relations … Read more

There’s no one who knows a company’s inner workings like a chief financial officer. So, when three high-profile CFOs leave their jobs at richly valued, late-stage startups in quick succession, we notice it. This week, OpenSea CFO Brian Roberts left the web3 company less than a year after taking the job. Days later, Brex CFO … Read more

Everyrealm, a metaverse real estate company that spun out of Republic’s crypto arm in February, is facing two lawsuits first filed in August from former directors at the company who allege they each faced numerous, separate instances of discrimination and harassment while working there. In addition to the company itself, multiple Everyrealm executives are also … Read more