TechCrunch

On the heels of news that the U.S. venture capital market’s third quarter was far from catastrophic, it’s becoming clear that while startup investment has slowed, it’s still a great time to build a software company. Thanks to a new sheaf of data from SVB, we can see quite clearly that the macro picture for … 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. Before we get into this week’s show notes, some programming notes: First up, use code “EQUITY” for a special listener discount for Disrupt tickets. We’re mere weeks away, and you should come hang out … Read more

As far as delivery robots go, Amazon’s in-house Scout program seemed like a no brainer. Few – if any – companies stand to gain more from a successful sidewalk deliver service. As noted by Bloomberg earlier this week, however, Amazon is pumping the brakes on the program. In a statement offered to TechCrunch, Amazon notes … Read more

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, confirmed Thursday that hackers made off with at least $100 million, but that the figure could have been significantly more. The Binance blockchain, also known as BNB Chain and Binance Smart Chain, took the rare step of suspending transactions and fund transfers after discovering a vulnerability affecting the BSC … Read more

As traditional financial institutions continue to mingle with the cryptocurrency world, Visa is the latest to expand its offerings in the space, this time working alongside crypto exchange FTX for a “long-term global partnership.” The agreement between the two companies consists of offering FTX-branded Visa debit cards to FTX customers globally with a focus on … Read more

Google said today that it will open its first data center in Japan by 2023. The company noted that this data center will be located in Inzai City, Chiba, and is a part of its $730 million infrastructure fund that will continue through 2024. This is the company’s third data center in Asia after Taiwan … Read more

Screenshots of tweets are one of the most popular ways to share tweets with friends or post them on your other social media accounts. But Twitter is now showing a pop-up to many users, asking them to share the tweet instead of taking a screenshot. Users are seeing different kinds of popups when they take … Read more

Wildfires have become an ever-increasing threat as houses are built closer together and the growing impacts of climate change wreak havoc on natural landscapes. Entrepreneurs, in response, have started to develop tech meant to minimize the scale and damage of these natural disasters. Convective Capital is a new VC firm looking to back them. Bill … Read more

A Kenya-based venture studio with a focus on tourism, Purple Elephant Ventures (PEV), has raised $1 million pre-seed funding to build the next generation of startups that use technology to modernize the tourism sector. Investors participating in this round include Klister Credit Corp., a Canadian investment firm, The Untours Foundation, and a number of angel … Read more

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Thursday that production on its long-delayed all-electric semi truck has started with the first deliveries beginning in December. The automaker introduced an all-electric Class 8 truck prototype, dubbed Tesla Semi, during a splashy November 2017 event held in Hawthorne, California, on the grounds of the company’s design studio and Musk’s … Read more

In recent years, assets under management at the investment firm Tiger Global have exploded. Now the firm is taking stock and winnowing down its operations, per a new investor letter first seen by Axios and obtained subsequently by TechCrunch. Most significantly, whether for lack of other options or — just as likely — in reaction … Read more

Amazon announced yesterday the launch of Amazon Catalytic Capital, a $150 million commitment focused on investing in underrepresented builders in tech. The initiative, according to a release, will invest in funds that back pre-seed and seed-stage startups built by Black, Latino, Indigenous, women, and LGBTQIA+ founders. The goal is that the money will support more … Read more

Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled that the Elon Musk vs. Twitter trial will be put on hold so that the two parties can work out a deal. Earlier this week, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO finally agreed to pay $54.20 per share for Twitter, the same $44 billion deal he proposed in April. This afternoon, Musk’s … Read more

Basketball isn’t the only heat you’ll find in Miami, a city rapidly becoming known for its emerging tech development and investment in the hot crypto sector. It’s why we chose it as the destination for our first TC Sessions: Crypto on November 17. We have an outstanding agenda lined up with leading movers and shakers … Read more

Nintendo shared the first trailer for the anticipated “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” an animated adventure featuring some deeply meme-worthy casting. With Chris Pratt as Mario and Jack Black as Bowser, fans were excited to see just how unhinged this film would be. More than 600,000 viewers tuned into the premiere on Nintendo of America’s … Read more

Spotify is pulling 11 original podcasts from the platform, which will impact studios Parcast and Gimlet and involve less than 5% layoffs, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to TechCrunch. Spotify will also reassign some staff to other podcasts, we understand. Reached for comment, Spotify said it does not comment publicly on staffing changes. … Read more

After Elon Musk agreed to buy Twitter after all, his legal team is now motioning for the court to cancel the upcoming trial with Twitter, slated to begin on October 17. But, as Judge Kathaleen McCormick pointed out yesterday, the trial cannot be called off until both parties agree. So, the trial is still technically … Read more

Healthcare unicorn Ro is notifying employees of a data exposure involving their personal information after a security contractor “inadvertently” uploaded a spreadsheet of employee data to the internet. In a data breach notice obtained by TechCrunch from an affected employee who received the notice this week, Ro said it discovered that the contractor uploaded the … Read more

Less than two months before Hurricane Ian swept across Florida, its governor, Ron DeSantis, referred to ESG investing as a danger to economic freedom. His office even released a statement saying the practice sought to “advance a woke ideological agenda,” and that investors taking into account environmental, social and governance-related matters into their decisions were … Read more

Atman Capital, a year-old early-stage venture firm partially backed by about 20 founders, is sweetening the deal for these individual limited partners. It promises to give credit to any one of them who refers a successful deal to the venture firm in the form of some carried interest in the firm’s own profits. It’s an … Read more

Just a few days after Twitter said its new “Edit” button would launch to its paying subscribers in select markets, the company today announced the feature would begin to roll out to its U.S. audience through its Twitter Blue subscription. Previously, the edit button was being made available to Blue subscribers in Canada, Australia and … Read more

Michigan, long the automotive manufacturing capital of the United States, is now getting pumped with investment both publicly and privately to build out a series of battery manufacturing plants that will power the wave of electric vehicles coming to market. The demand for domestically produced batteries has reached new peaks after the passage of the … Read more

Bradley Tusk Contributor Share on Twitter Bradley Tusk is the founder and CEO of Tusk Ventures. More posts by this contributor Where does Facebook go from here? A California judge just struck down Prop 22: Now what? When we’re looking at different startups, we constantly ask ourselves the same question I imagine every venture fund … Read more