Rocket Lab successfully launched an Electron rocket this afternoon with a new satellite for the Argos program, which provides connectivity to a number of scientific endeavors. It’s a milestone for the company, but more importantly marks — easily — the worst pun ever launched into space. The mission was called “It Argos Up From Here.” … Read more
Fintor, a fintech startup making it easier for non-accredited investors to invest in real estate properties, has just launched its mobile app for both iOS and Android. It also just raised a $6.2 million extension funding round from its existing investors, including Public.com, Hustle Fund, 500 Global, VU Ventures, Graphene Ventures and angel investors such … Read more
It’s a rote story by now that many populations around the world are facing rapid decline. Birth rates in many countries are falling, leading to concerns about graying populations engendering imbalanced economies. That’s true when we consider nation-level populations. It’s also true when we consider the rate at which new unicorns are born, measured by the … Read more
To state the (painfully) obvious: The fates of agriculture and climate change are inextricably linked. The weather dictates what grows where and when, but as the Earth warms beneath a wool blanket of excess carbon, agriculture is especially vulnerable in ways you might not expect. Record-setting heat and droughts fry grasses that farmers depend on … Read more
Pakistan’s central bank revoked the in-principle approval and permit to conduct pilot operations of fintech Tag and has ordered the startup to close all customers’ wallet accounts and pull its apps from the app stores in a move that poses existential threat to the firm. State Bank of Pakistan said in an order that it … Read more
This week on The TechCrunch Podcast we talked with Dom about how conservative VCs are using their dollars to shape the world, and we spoke with Taylor about how the Musk train just keeps on rumbling along. On the topic of billionaires… “A big chunk of the conversation that is missing is just that it’s … Read more
Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff has been preaching for years about the importance of corporate social responsibility, the idea that companies need to worry about not only making money for investors but also contributing positively to the wider community in which they operate. He could be onto something. Increasingly, consumers and some investors want to do … Read more
For the first time, a Netflix movie is getting a one-week theatrical sneak preview event across 600 AMC, Regal and Cinemark theaters in the U.S. The historic deal marks the first time all three major theater chains have agreed to show a big-budget Netflix movie. Viewers will get a chance to watch “Glass Onion: A … Read more
Shopify has agreed to make changes linked to shopper safety and combating fakes after a regulatory intervention in the European Union following a number of complaints, the Commission said today. The changes agreed to include a commitment to create a “fast and effective” ‘notice and action’ procedure for national consumer authorities to report problems they … Read more
Eric L. Sophir Contributor Eric L. Sophir is an IP partner at law firm Foley & Lardner LLP where he counsels clients in AI, digital health, manufacturing and other industries. Matthew Horton Contributor Share on Twitter Matthew Horton is a senior counsel and IP lawyer at law firm Foley & Lardner LLP where he focuses … Read more
In the early days of a startup, everyone is on the same page. But there’s no way to know how well a founding team will get along by the time a company reaches maturity. Set aside the romantic notion that startup teams consist of visionary mavericks who are building the future in real time; they’re … Read more
US president Joe Biden has signed an Executive Order attached to reupping a flagship data transfer agreement with the European Union — with the goal of making life easier for businesses that need to export EU user-data to the US for processing. The White House announced the development in a statement today — saying that … Read more
FlyFeed claims it signed more than $10 million worth of contracts and closed a $3 million round of investment to launch its first insect farm in Vietnam, in its push to produce low-cost, high-nutrient protein for human consumption. The company was founded less than a year ago and is targeting the three billion people who … Read more
It was only five years ago that electronic punk band YACHT entered the recording studio with a daunting task: they would train an AI on fourteen years of their music, then synthesize the results into the album “Chain Tripping.” “I’m not interested in being a reactionary,” YACHT member and tech writer Claire L. Evans said … Read more
Premiering on October 8, entertainment studio BlackBox TV is releasing a short-form series exclusive to Meta Quest TV and in Meta Horizon Worlds with the Meta Quest 2 headset. The 360° VR experience “Scream Park” takes users on a virtual reality horror rollercoaster ride just in time for spooky season. Meta Quest TV is the … Read more
There’s one issue I have started to see more and more often: Startup founders, in their desperation to show how big their markets are, overstep the mark significantly, claiming numbers for their TAM/SAM/SOM that are unobtainable and absurd. I get it: You want to seem like you’re building a very valuable company. But in the … Read more
When Russia invaded her home country of Ukraine, UK-based tech entrepreneur Irra Ariella Khi, cofounder of Zamna — set up a fundraising page to directly support people inside Ukraine. Khi’s father (aged 70) and godmother (aged 82) are both in Ukraine, as are her stepsister and her children. Khi then temporarily stepped back from her … Read more
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
The proliferation of delivery services give customers many options, but means chaos for busy restaurants that need to manage orders across multiple apps and channels. Many kitchens handle this by juggling several devices at a time, one for each app. Klikit wants to save Southeast Asian food businesses from “tablet hell” by aggregating order information … 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
Image Credits: TechCrunch This week was a weird one for crypto, as reality TV superstar Kim Kardashian was one of the first celebrities to get an SEC fine for promoting a cryptocurrency in a social media #ad; we also had to about Dogecoin rallying on Elon’s recommitment to the Twitter deal. Listen to the fill … Read more