TechCrunch Industry News
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Einride to operate its cab-less autonomous pods on U.S. public roads
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Einride, the Swedish startup that wants to electrify the autonomous freight industry, will begin operating its purpose-built, self-driving pods on pub...
Uber rejects claim that it explored exiting India
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Uber said on Thursday it has never explored exiting India, a key overseas market for several tech giants, dismissing a claim that it has had held disc...
Twitter partners with Shopify to bring merchants’ products to Twitter Shopping
23 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As part of its ongoing efforts to expand into e-commerce, Twitter today announced a new partnership with Shopify. The deal will see Twitter launching ...
Wingcopter raises another $42M ahead of ambitious Africa deployment
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In mid-May, Wingcopter announced an extremely ambitious plan to deploy some 12,000 of its fixed-wing UAVs in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next half dec...
Neobank Stashfin raises $270 million, tops $700 million valuation
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Singapore-based Stashfin has raised $270 million in a new funding round as the neobanking platform, which currently only serves customers in India, lo...
Magic Eden raises $130M, hitting unicorn status at $1.6B valuation
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
NFT marketplace Magic Eden, launched just nine months ago, has raised $130 million in a Series B round co-led by Electric Capital and Greylock Partner...
Iran to cut electricity to authorized crypto miners: report
21 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Iran’s relationship with the crypto mining sector is a love-hate one. The government is again restricting crypto mining activity as it tries to ease...
Ransomware ring claims attack on Africa’s largest retail chain Shoprite
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
RansomHouse, a ransomware gang, has claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on Shoprite, Africa’s largest retailer. Learn more about your ad choi...
Brex, which started out serving startups, now says it is ‘less suited to meet the needs of smaller customers’
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Three months after announcing it would make a big push into software and enterprise, fintech giant Brex is apparently abandoning the very segment it s...
Immutable launches $500M fund to boost web3 gaming adoption
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The crypto gaming industry is continuing to grow in popularity as more capital is deployed in the space and traditional Web 2.0 gaming studios look to...
Reddit is buying machine learning platform Spell
17 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reddit announced Thursday that it would buy Spell, a platform for running machine learning experiments, for an undisclosed amount. Learn more about yo...
Google Maps has a new Android widget to show live traffic around you
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Google Maps is introducing a new widget for Android that will be another use for the functionality that helped make a name for Waze, the other driving...
GreyNoise to expand its threat intel collection after securing $15M in funding
16 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
GreyNoise Intelligence, a Washington D.C.-based cybersecurity startup that analyses internet scanning traffic to help organizations separate threats f...
Amazon revamps Fire TV user interface with new home screen, improved navigation and more
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon Fire TV revealed an updated user interface that aims to improve the navigation experience for users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po...
Lime is trailing shared electric motorbikes
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Shared micromobility giant Lime is piloting electric motorbikes in Long Beach, California. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/...
Overair nabs $145M to produce eVTOL prototype by 2023
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Overair, a California-based electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle startup, has secured $145 million in funding that will go towards th...
Cereal maker Magic Spoon scoops up $85M as it lands spot on Target shelves
14 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Gaining a place on retail shelves is just the start to Magic Spoon's plan to evolve into an omnichannel brand that eventually goes beyond the cereal b...
Crypto lender Celsius pauses withdrawals, transfers citing ‘extreme market conditions’
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network, recently valued at about $3 billion, told customers Sunday evening that it is pausing “withdrawals, swap, and...
Amazon said to pull out of IPL cricket streaming bidding
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon won’t be bidding for the IPL media rights for the year 2023 to 2027, a person familiar with the matter said, leaving the hotly contested stre...
Duolingo back in China app stores after 1 year with a local twist
10 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Duolingo, the Nasdaq-listed language learning app, is back in China’s Apple App Store and Android stores nearly a year after it disappeared from the...
Tesla accuses civil rights agency of unlawfully suing for racial discrimination
10 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tesla has accused the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) of failing to conduct proper investigations before it sued Tesla for...
Google expands ads verification program to tackle financial scams
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Google is expanding a verification program for financial services ads that it launched in the UK last summer after seeing what it describes as a “pr...
Multicoin Capital leads $60M investment in Delphia to give retail investors edge against hedge funds
09 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The startup’s “share-to-earn” data token model will reward users for contributing valuable information, which it will then use to help its model...
Tencent once more seeks to expand its mobile hit Honor of Kings globally
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Honor of Kings, the world’s largest mobile game made by China’s internet behemoth Tencent, is rolling out a global version by the end of this year...
Oracle quietly closes $28B deal to buy electronic health records company Cerner
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At the end of last year, just before Christmas, Oracle made a big move when it announced it was acquiring electronic health records company Cerner for...
At 65 inches and 8K, the world’s largest holographic display is here
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Bigger isn’t always better, but when the Looking Glass Factory announces a beast of a holographic display, it tickles our rods, cones and curiosity ...
Etsy is launching a purchase protection program, investing $25M to cover refunds in some cases
07 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Online marketplace Etsy is launching a new Purchase Protection program for buyers and sellers on its platform, the company announced on Monday. Starti...
Google disables RCS ads in India following rampant spam by businesses
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Google has disabled businesses ability to use RCS for promotion in India, the company’s biggest market by users, following reports of rampant spam b...
Gemini lays off 10% of workforce as the ‘crypto revolution’ enters its ‘contraction phase’
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Crypto platform Gemini has cut approximately 10% of its workforce, per co-founders and twin brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Learn more about yo...
Foxconn confirms ransomware attack disrupted operations at Mexico factory
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Smartphone manufacturing giant Foxconn has confirmed that a ransomware attack in late May disrupted operations at one of its Mexico-based production p...
Amazon is launching an invite-based ordering option, starting with the PS5 and Xbox Series X
03 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon is launching a new invite-based ordering experience for high-demand, low-supply products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...
Pear VC’s Anand Iyer goes solo with new $20M fund for crypto developer tools
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Engineers are the bedrock of any tech product, and blockchains are no exception. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Binance Labs closes $500M fund to focus on Web3 and blockchain adoption
02 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Venture capital firms continue to deploy and raise capital for crypto markets despite volatility in recent weeks, with Binance Labs closing a $500 mil...
Smiler comes up with a different kind of gig economy for event and venue photographers
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Traditional venue photography providers like DEI Global, MagicMemories, Picsolve and Sharingbox are reliant on fixed equipment, permanent staffing cos...
Zinc heads towards new $41M tech-for-good fund to back pre-team talent solving big problems
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So-called “tech for good” accelerators addressing such worthy-sounding subjects as ESGs and SDGs have appeared in the last few years. Some observe...
HitPay is a one-stop solution for SMEs
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
HitPay has almost everything SMEs need to run their businesses. In addition to being an online payment gateway, it also offers tools like point-of-sal...
Berlin-based B2B BNPL platform Mondu raises $43M Series A led by Valar in the US
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Given the likely global recession, small businesses are reaching for new kinds of financing. Thus, the Buy Now Pay Later business model is now expandi...
India withdraws warning on biometric ID sharing following online uproar
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
India has withdrawn a warning that asked users to not share photocopies of their national biometric ID following a widespread uproar from users on soc...
Joywell Foods raises $25M to bring sweet proteins to market
31 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joywell uses a proprietary microbial fermentation process to produce sweet proteins that are nearly identical to those found in exotic fruits and berr...
FlexID gets Algorand funding to offer self-sovereign IDs to Africa’s unbanked
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Much of the world’s attention around blockchain is on the highs and lows of cryptocurrency values. Startups like FlexID remind us that distributed l...
Amid crypto market turmoil, Andreessen Horowitz announces $4.5 billion web3 fund
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Despite a gloomy outlook for crypto markets based on the past few weeks of token turbulence, venture capitalists looking to spend their way into a web...
ViolaCredit closes $700M fund to provide asset-based lending FinTech startups
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fintech startup and alternative credit asset manager Viola Credit, has closed its latest $700 million fund which provides asset-based lending capit...
Broadcom to acquire VMware in massive $61B deal
27 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes when there is smoke, there is actually fire. Such was the case with the rumors of Broadcom’s interest in VMware this past weekend. Learn m...
Dyson has been secretly building robots
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You probably know Dyson for their vacuums, or maybe that too-powerful dryer you’ve tentatively stuck your hands in while waiting for a flight. Maybe...
Monte Carlo raises $135M Series D at $1.6B price, showing that unicorn rounds are still a thing
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you grow this quickly, yes, you can raise capital for your software business like it's still 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastc...
DigitalOcean launches serverless product based on last year’s Nimbella acquisition
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When DigitialOcean bought Nimbella last year, you knew it intended to go deeper into serverless technologies, and sure enough the company announced a ...
Premium streaming subscriptions continue to increase despite Netflix’s downfall
24 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve been following Netflix lately, then you’d know the streamer is on shaky ground at the moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po...
Metaverse app BUD raises another $37M, plans to launch NFTs
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
BUD, a nascent app taking a shot at creating a metaverse for Gen Z to play and interact with each other, has raised another round of funding in three ...
COVID was the best thing for Kitty, as insurance apps for pets boom
23 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Technology turned out to be a boon for pets during the pandemic. Without ready access to vets, pet owners turned to mobile apps to keep track on their...
Leanplum acquired by Clevertap as retention marketing platforms consolidate
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
CleverTap, a retention marketing platform which has raised $76.6M to date, is to fully acquire Bulgarian-originated but San Francisco-based Leanplum, ...
Everstream Analytics secures new cash to predict supply chain disruptions
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Everstream Analytics, a supply chain insights and risk analytics startup, today announced that it raised $24 million in a Series A round led by Morgan...
Framework’s user-repairable laptop gets an upgrade
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
There may be some irony in upgrading a laptop designed around the principles of user repairability/upgradeability. Though certainly Framework isn’t ...
India reiterates its strict VPN rules, breach disclosures despite concerns
19 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
India is pushing ahead with its new cybersecurity rules that will require cloud service providers and VPN operators to maintain names of their custome...
Amazon launches Smart Commerce in India to help offline stores launch digital storefronts
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon said it will help neighborhood stores across India launch their own digital storefronts to better serve their customers, the latest effort by t...
Banking-as-a-service startup Unit closes on $100M at a $1.2B valuation
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Unit, a banking-as-a-service startup, has closed on a $100 million Series C round of funding led by Insight Partners. Existing backers Accel, Better T...
Red Hat open sources StackRox, the Kubernetes security platform it acquired last year
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last January, Red Hat announced that it was acquiring Kubernetes security startup StackRox, a company that had raised over $65 million since it was fo...
Curious Thing’s voice AI communication platform asks the right questions
17 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Sydney-based Curious Thing is an aptly-named startup. The voice AI communication platform can call people and ask them questions like “How are you f...
Tech giants pledge $30M to boost open source software security
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tech giants including Amazon, Google and Microsoft have pledged millions of dollars to bolster the security of open source software. Learn more about ...
Binance halts Luna and UST trading across most of its spot pairs following meltdown
16 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, has suspended trading of Terraform Labs’ Terra (Luna) and TerraUSD (UST) tokens ac...
Elon Musk says Twitter deal “temporarily on hold” over spam
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Twitter staff must really be wishing for a quiet life… Elon Musk, the gadfly billionaire who recently decided he wants to add the social media platf...
TopUp Mama looking to solve sourcing challenges for restaurants
13 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Stock-outs, unpredictable prices of farm produce and a lack of working capital are among the challenges that plague small restaurants and food vendors...
Interswitch receives $110M investment from LeapFrog and Tana Africa Capital
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
African payments company Interswitch has secured a $110 million joint investment from LeapFrog Investments and Tana Africa Capital to scale its digita...
Educapital aims to raise a $160 million fund focused on edtech and future of work
12 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
VC firm Educapital recently announced that it has reached the first close of its second fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.c...
Faye hopes to do for travel insurance what Lemonade did for general insurance
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
While (former) startups like Lemonade came along to attack the tired world of insurance, the travel insurance market is now coming in for the same tre...
Tenyx raises $15M to build more intelligent voice-based customer service AI
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Automating customer service tasks, particularly those that require agents to speak with customers on the phone, is something of a holy grail in the en...
Moovit adds Beep’s autonomous shuttle to trip-planning app
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Israeli trip-planning app Moovit is integrating with Orlando-based autonomous shuttle startup Beep, which will allow riders to view options for taking...
Cloudflare heads effort to make JavaScript environments interoperable
10 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cloudflare today announced that it’s collaborating with Deno, the development company behind the eponymous Deno runtime, and individual contributors...
Atma wants to make job hunting in Indonesia easier
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Atma, an Indonesian startup that wants to make job hunting less painful, announced today it has raised $5 million in pre-seed funding led by AC Ventur...
Fortnite is back on iOS through Xbox Cloud Gaming
09 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Microsoft is throwing its weight behind Epic Games in the fight against Apple — and bringing Fortnite back to iOS in the process. Learn more about y...
Peloton reportedly looks to sell up to a 20% stake amid struggles
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In February, Peloton CEO John Foley stepped down as the connected fitness pioneer cut 2,800 jobs. No one could say the news was unexpected. Learn more...
Porsche joins $400M bet on lithium-silicon batteries to juice up future EVs
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Porsche has read the room. With its first electric vehicle now outselling the quintessential 911 sports car, the German automaker is responding by upp...
Pinterest quietly launches a live-streaming app for video creators
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pinterest on Monday launched a new app aimed at making it easier for creators to live stream to its platform. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ...
Amberdata raises $30M to chase the “unlimited opportunity” of bringing traditional finance into web3
05 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Amberdata, an institutionally-focused digital asset data provider, has raised $30 million in its Series B, its CEO Shawn Douglass exclusively told Tec...
Ursa Major lands order for 200 rocket engines from Phantom Space
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hundreds of rocket engines manufactured by startup Ursa Major will be going to space company Phantom Space over the next few years, part of a massive ...
AccelByte, a backend services platform for game developers, raises $60M led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
AccelByte, a platform that helps game creators build backend services and tools, has raised $60 million in Series B led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, wit...
Americana’s chip turns physical objects into NFTs
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
NFTs are being used for far more than just proving you own a JPEG on the internet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoice...
USV quietly announces $625M in fresh funding for ‘both Web2 and Web3’ teams
03 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Union Square Ventures (USV), the 19-year-old, New York-based venture firm, has raised $275 million for its eighth early-stage fund and $350 m...
Okra Solar is bringing renewable energy to underserved markets
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Okra Solar walked away with the trophy and a giant check at our 2019 Shenzhen Hardware Battlefield event. It’s a moment happily eternalized in a new...
Airbnb commits to fully remote workplace: ‘Live and work anywhere’
02 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Airbnb is going all in on the “live anywhere, work anywhere” philosophy that much of the business world has been forced to adopt, committing to fu...
More TradFi in DeFi as Sienna Network launches SiennaLend, a private crypto lending platform
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It was last year that we covered the $11.2M fundraise for Sienna Network, the ‘privacy decentralized’ startup. Learn more about your ad choices. V...
CommandBar lands $19M to inject in-app searches with smarts
29 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to the explosion of low- and no-code development tools, building web apps from scratch has become easier — and cheaper — than it once was. ...
Smallstep takes big step toward authenticating machine-to-machine communications
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Smallstep founder and CEO Mike Malone calls big, distributed systems his happy place, but these systems involve a lot of machine-to-machine communicat...
Apple opens Self Service Repair to US iPhone users
28 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I’ve been covering Apple in various capacities for a long time now. Over the years, I don’t know that I’ve seen an announcement from the company...
GM expects to spend $2B on Cruise in 2022
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
General Motors expects full-year 2022 expenses at Cruise, the automaker’s autonomous driving subsidiary, to be approximately $2 billion, according t...
In the wake of Fast’s collapse, Volume thinks it can crack the payment checkout conundrum
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Online payment methods can be expensive for merchants, who have to pay between 2% and 8% of every sale to debit and credit card, ewallet and BNPL faci...
Jack in the Box is piloting Miso’s hamburger-cooking robot
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You’ve got to hand it to Miso — the company knows how to sell the sizzle, as they say in the meat-cooking business. The robotics firm has been str...
Reliance says its $3.4 billion deal with Future Group ‘cannot be implemented’
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reliance Industries “cannot implement” its $3.4 billion deal to acquire several parts of retail chain Future Group after secured creditors rejecte...
Twitter said to be close to a deal with Elon Musk
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As unlikely as it may have once seemed, reports indicate Elon Musk may actually end up the owner of a newly-private Twitter after all. Learn more abou...
After layoffs, Flockjay lands on a new SaaS-y vision for tech sales
25 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Months after cutting half its staff, edtech startup Flockjay has landed on a new vision for how to disrupt tech sales: start from the inside, out. Lea...
Snapchat is growing faster than Facebook and Twitter
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Snap released its first quarter financial results for 2022 today, affirming that it’s growing faster than its fellow US-based competitors Facebook (...
Immigrant credit FinTech Pillar raises $16.9M pre-seed led by Global Founders Capital and Backed VC
22 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Immigrants to a new country can often be cash-rich. The problem is, is that they have no credit history in their new country. Learn more about your ad...
This kamikaze drone sacrifices its own rotors to take down other drones
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Drones can be dangerous, and we’ve seen consumer-grade drones used for all sorts of nefarious purposes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podc...
Connected strength-training startup Vitruvian eyes US with $15M raise
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been a wild few years for the home fitness industry. Few consumer technologies were better positioned to ride the pandemic to new heights. Ther...
BMW launches its first all-electric 7 Series sedan
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After months of teasers and a slow drip of information, BMW today announced its new i7 xDrive60, the first all-electric version of its full-size luxur...
Facebook is losing interest in its podcasting plans, new report claims
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Last April, Facebook announced a suite of new audio products, including new support for podcasts and a Clubhouse live audio competitor, which was an i...
Music streamer Deezer is going public via SPAC at a $1.1B valuation
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A European music streamer, Deezer is going public via a SPAC deal, valuing the Spotify competitor at $1.1 billion. Deezer will merge with the “blank...
Youth sports app TeamSnap launches a new system designed for clubs and leagues
19 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
TeamSnap, a web service for managing recreational and competitive sports teams and groups, announced the launch of its all-in-one multi-program manage...
D&D Beyond comes under the wing of Wizards of the Coast in $146 million deal
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The parent company of Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast will buy D&D Beyond, the role-playing game’s popular digital suite of tools....
Peloton is increasing its subscription fees starting June 1
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Peloton announced today that it’s increasing the price of its subscription fees in the United States and Canada. Starting June 1, the cost of the co...
Swiggy backs bike taxi platform Rapido in $180 million funding
15 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Swiggy has led a $180 million financing round into bike taxi startup Rapido as the Indian food delivery giant looks to broaden its fleet network acros...