TechCrunch Industry News

Freshworks aims for nearly $9 billion valuation in US IPO

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Freshworks disclosed on Monday that it is aiming for a valuation of up to $9 billion in its US initial public offering in which it is hoping to raise ...

Twitter introduces a new label that allows the ‘good bots’ to identify themselves

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter today is introducing a new feature that will allow accounts to self-identify as bots by adding a label to their profile. This feature is desig...

Epic Games asks Apple to reinstate Fortnite in South Korea after new law

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Epic Games has asked Apple to rejoin its Fortnite developer account in South Korea as the U.S. game maker plans to re-release Fortnite on iOS in South...

GM extends Chevy Bolt EV production shutdown another two weeks

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

GM has extended a shutdown at its Orion Assembly Plant another two weeks due to a battery pack shortage related to the widespread Chevrolet Bolt EV an...

The newest Roomba gets smarter as it vacuums

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Roomba is easily among the most ubiquitous robots in the world — but it has never been one of the smartest. On the whole, that’s not a major i...

Automakers race to design desire for luxury and tech

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In late summer, car collectors converged in Monterey, Detroit and, most recently, Oxford, England, in an annual tradition focused on ogling over — a...

Texas Right to Life website exposed job applicants’ resumes

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life exposed the personal information of hundreds of job applicants after a website bug allowed anyone to access th...

Howard University cancels classes after ransomware attack

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Washington D.C’s Howard University has canceled classes after becoming the latest educational institution to be hit by a ransomware attack. The inci...

Zip acquisition of Payflex means Africa is ripe for BNPL disruption

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) company Zip this week acquired South Africa-based BNPL player Payflex for an undisclosed amount. It’s a piece o...

Dukaan raises $11 million to help merchants in India set up online stores

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dukaan, a one-year-old Bangalore-based startup that enables merchants to set up online stores and sell products digitally, said on Monday it has raise...

Rivian’s electric R1T pickup truck, R1S SUV get their official EPA ranges

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rivian announced Friday that the first edition version of its all-electric R1T pickup truck has an official EPA range of 314 miles, while its R1T SUV ...

Elon Musk warns the Tesla Roadster might not ship until at least 2023

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Add the Roadster to the list of delayed Tesla vehicles. On Wednesday, CEO Elon Musk said the performance EV wouldn’t make its previously announced 2...

Point raises $46.5 million for its premium debit card

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Challenger bank Point has raised a $46.5 million Series B funding round. The company offers an account associated with a debit card. And the startup p...

Nikola and Bosch ink deal for hydrogen fuel cell modules

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Beleaguered electric truck developer Nikola Corp. has inked a new agreement with Bosch for its hydrogen fuel cell modules. The modules will be used to...

FAA opens probe into anomaly on Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceflight

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The FAA is looking into an anomaly on the Virgin Galactic flight that carried Richard Branson to space. Virgin's spacecraft went off-course during des...

Apollo completes its $5B acquisition of Verizon Media, now known as Yahoo

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Private equity firm Apollo Global Management this morning announced that it has completed its acquisition of Yahoo (formerly known as Verizon Media Gr...

Danish startups Responsibly raises $2M to benchmark supply chains on climate, diversity

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If the world is to reach NetZero, and avoid climate disaster it needs to make every product sustainable and that means every purchase. But to do that ...

CryptoPunks creator inks representation deal with major Hollywood talent agency

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

One of Hollywood’s biggest talent agencies is getting into the NFT game. Larva Labs, the creator of CryptoPunks, just signed with United Talent Agen...

Windows 11 launches October 5

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft offered a broad “Holiday 2021” release date when it announced Windows 11, back in June. Of course, it didn’t specify precisely which h...

China restricts kids’ online gaming to three hours a week

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

China’s National Press and Publication Administration has released a notice imposing limits on online gaming for minors. On September 1st, video gam...

Astra’s first commercial launch fails to reach orbit

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Astra, now a public company, ran into a problem during its first commercial launch (the mission carried a test payload contracted by the U.S. Space Fo...

Indiagold raises $12 million for its gold-focused digital alternative credit platform

30 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

India has a fascination for gold. The households in the South Asian market are estimated to have a stash of over 25,000 tons of the precious metal, wh...

Fig raises $2.2M to supercharge the terminal

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Can an old Terminal learn new tricks? Fig, a company out of Y Combinator’s S20 class, has raised a $2.2M seed round to prove that it can. Their goal...

Workstream’s text-based recruitment tool gets a $48M bet from BOND and beyond

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It isn’t only tech giants that are struggling to fill open roles with talented individuals, it’s your local Jamba Juice, too. Since 2017, San Fran...

Canalys: U.S. PC sales up 17% YoY for quarter, even as tablet sales stagnate

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Canalys released its quarterly U.S. PC sales today, and while the news was quite good with sales overall up 17% YoY, the growth slowed significantly f...

After testing, Instagram launches ads in the Instagram Shop tab globally

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, Instagram unveiled Shops as part of Facebook’s larger pivot toward e-commerce. Shops is front-and-almost-center on the app’s bottom nav...

Peloton Tread arrives next week with enhanced safety features, following recall

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

During a banner year for connected fitness, Peloton stumbled, as its two treadmills – the Tread+ and Tread – drew the scrutiny of the U.S. Consume...

Microsoft will bring cloud gaming to Xbox consoles this holiday season

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft is moving into the next phase of its plan to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to as many devices as possible, bringing it to Xbox Series X/S and Xbox...

GM says it will seek reimbursement from LG Chem for $1B Chevy Bolt recall losses

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

American automaker General Motors expanded its recall of Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles on Friday due to fire risks from battery manufacturing defec...

OpenTable integrates CLEAR’s digital vaccine card for restaurants requiring proof of vaccination

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Cities like New York City, San Francisco and New Orleans are moving to enact COVID-19 vaccination requirements for indoor dining. So OpenTable, the on...

India’s Zetwerk valued at $1.33 billion in new funding

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An Indian startup that operates a business-to-business marketplace for manufacturing items is the latest to attain the coveted unicorn status in the S...

Spotify to spend $1B buying its own stock

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

If Spotify is still a growth-focused company, shouldn't it preserve its capital to invest in exclusive podcasts and the like — efforts that may gran...

Musk: The Tesla Bot is coming

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Remember that weird Will Smith movie about robots? Yeah, neither do we. But Elon Musk does. Tesla is developing a 5’8” Tesla Bot, with a prototype...

Would the math work if Databricks were valued at $38B?

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Databricks, the open-source data lake and data management powerhouse has been on quite a financial run lately. Today Bloomberg reported the company co...

RepairSmith raises $42M Series B to bring auto repair to customers’ doorsteps

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Needing to get your car fixed is like having a toothache: It’s painful, hard to ignore and likely means someone messing around under the hood. Repai...

Waze with ‘PAW Patrol’ voices sounds like a chill car ride

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Waze might have a way to keep your kids entertained during a drive without handing them a tablet: distract them with your navigation app. The company ...

Fortnite adds a new mode that’s basically Among Us

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fortnite now boasts its own version of one of the pandemic’s hottest games. Fortnite-maker Epic just introduced into the game a new limited-time mod...

OnlyFans promotes its SFW app as it seeks funding at a $1B+ valuation

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

OnlyFans — the platform where adult creators can directly monetize their audience — is pushing its safe-for-work app OFTV, which is available on i...

EV startup Canoo is gearing up for production in Oklahoma factory

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

EV startup Canoo has hired hundreds of employees and is homing in on a production date, but critical milestones including landing a battery supplier r...

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin goes toe to toe with NASA in federal court over award to SpaceX

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Blue Origin, the space company helmed by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is taking NASA to court. The company filed a complaint with a federal claims court on...

Google infringed on five Sonos patents, according to preliminary ruling

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Way back in January 2020, Sonos sued Google over patent infringement. Today, the streaming speaker company scored an early victory with the U.S. Inter...

Lamborghini’s Countach LPI 800-4 is an 802-horsepower hybrid supercar

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After all the leaks and teases, Lamborghini has finally announced its new hybrid-engine Countach. Thankfully, almost everything you need to know about...

Foxconn plans to build EV factories in the US and Thailand in 2022

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Foxconn is getting more serious about its electric vehicle ambitions. The company told investors during an earnings call that it plans to build EV fac...

Ford F-150 hybrid: The 2021 rumble before the Lightning EV strikes

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Full-size pickup trucks are the meat of the U.S. automotive business; it’s a red-hot category with the Ford F-150 leading the pack in sales and the ...

Reddit is raising up to $700M in Series F funding

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, Reddit raised $250 million, bringing the 16-year-old site up to around $800 million in total funding. Today, it announced plans for...

Archer Aviation is seeking $1B in damages from Wisk Aero as legal dispute escalates

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Archer Aviation is seeking $1 billion in damages from Wisk Aero, according to court filings Tuesday, significantly escalating the ongoing legal battle...

Impossible’s plant-based sausage is coming home

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Impossible sent me a tube of its plant-based sausage to try ahead of today’s news. As an aside, the big box with several frozen packs inside was may...

Wix launches a no-code app builder for $200 per month

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This morning, Wix announced a new product for business owners called Branded App by Wix, which allows users to develop native apps without writing cod...

Cannabis giant Leafly is going public through a SPAC merger

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Leafly is turning to a SPAC with Merdia Merger Corp. I to go public. The deal, valued at about $532 million and expected to generate proceeds of up to...

Fortnite’s Ariana Grande concert offers a taste of music in the metaverse

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ariana Grande strutted and soared around a candy-colored series of Fortnite sets in Epic’s latest major in-game live music event. The multi-day “t...

Siga secures $8.1M Series B to prevent cyberattacks on critical infrastructure

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Siga OT Solutions, an Israeli cybersecurity startup that helps organizations secure their operations by monitoring the raw electric signals of critica...

Google’s Nest Cams and Doorbell get a refresh

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Yesterday’s leak didn’t leave much to the imagination. And today’s big Nest reveal confirms pretty much everything we saw — which is precisely...

Bulk payments startup Comma raises $6M Seed round led by Octopus and Connect

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

UK-based open banking bulk payment startup Comma has raised £4.34 million ($6m) in a Seed round of funding led by Octopus Ventures and Connect Ventur...

Twitter Spaces now let you invite co-hosts

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fleets weren’t long for this world, but Twitter’s product teams aren’t slowing down on bringing new stuff to Spaces, the company’s own take on...

Heatworks opens pre-orders for its plumbing-free countertop dishwasher

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Heatworks has at long last opened pre-orders for the Tetra, a countertop dishwasher that debuted at CES 2018. The Tetra doesn't require any plumbing, ...

Oh, Facebook changed its privacy settings again

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ever considerate of its users, Facebook has determined that its privacy settings needed a bit of a shuffle to keep things clear and easy to find. To t...

Discord now lets you customize your user profile on its apps

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For mobile users, Discord is adding one new feature that you’d find on a more traditional social app. The company rolled out an option for users to ...

Apple’s Touch ID-enabled keyboard is finally available on its own

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Three-and-half months after launching the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, Apple is finally breaking it out from its iMac bundle. The accessory is now av...

Controversial crime app Citizen launches $20/month Protect service

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After months of testing with upwards of 100,000 beta testers, Citizen today is launching its premium Protect offering for all users. The subscription ...

Google gives the world its first official glimpse of the Pixel 6

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

While the company isn’t revealing everything about it just yet, this morning Google gave the world its first official peek at its next flagship phon...

Finite State lands $30M Series B to help uncover security flaws in device firmware

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Columbus, Ohio-based Finite State, a startup that provides supply chain security for connected devices and critical infrastructure, has raised $30M in...

Apple tweaks controversial iOS 15 Safari changes in latest beta

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Apple is responding to user complaints and feedback about the controversial changes to the Safari mobile browser with today’s launch of iOS 15 and i...

Panic sells 20,000+ Playdate handhelds in under 20 minutes

30 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As we’ve known for about a week, today was the day Panic’s charming/whacky/curious/all-of-the-above Playdate gaming device (and its crank!) went u...

Nothing Ear (1) review

30 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s always exciting to see a new company enter the consumer hardware space — and deliver a solid first product out of the game. Learn more about ...

Rocket Lab returns to flight after failed May mission with successful launch for U.S. Space Force

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rocket Lab is back in business launching rockets, after an issue during its last launch in May caused a total loss of the payloads on board. The compa...

The Lilium electric Jet will use batteries manufactured by Germany’s Customcells

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Electric air taxi startup Lilium has tapped German manufacturer Customcell to supply batteries for its flagship 7-seater Lilium Jet. The battery IP is...

Alphabet crushes Q2 earnings estimates as Google Cloud cuts losses, grows 54%

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today after the bell amidst a deluge of major technology company earnings reports, Alphabet reported its own second-quarter performance. Learn more ab...

Here’s Nothing’s $99 Ear (1) buds

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been just over five months since Carl Pei first told the world about Nothing. Perhaps it’s just the way time moves these days or maybe it’s...

Polestar to double its retail stores as it seeks to ramp up EV sales

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Polestar plans to launch in nine more markets this year, doubling its global presence as it seeks to sell more of its electric sedans. Learn more abou...

I get it, Elizabeth Holmes

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The next time someone jokes at a cocktail party about Elizabeth Holmes’ baritone voice, remind them how dumb is it that we give more money to people...

Apple Music brings its spatial audio and lossless streaming to Android

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It takes a really specific consumer to buy an Android phone, yet use Apple Music. But the small overlap in that venn diagram may be getting bigger. La...

Fi’s smart collar adds sleep tracking for dogs

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Conventional wisdom holds that one ought let sleeping does lie. But no one says you’re barred from tracking them while they do. New York-based smart...

OnePlus announces $150 Pro noise cancelling earbuds

23 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With a couple of generations of wireless earbuds under its belt, OnePlus finally has the AirPods Pro — and the rest of the premium market — in its...

Pre-orders for Panic’s Playdate handheld will open on July 29th

23 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Playdate, the adorable whimsy-and-nostalgia-box/handheld game system built by Panic (with some help from Teenage Engineering), has taken one more big ...

Upgrade launches a credit card with bitcoin rewards

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fintech startup Upgrade is launching a new credit card today. The Upgrade Bitcoin Rewards Card is a classic Visa credit card that works across the Vis...

Rivian plans to install EV chargers in Tennessee’s 56 state parks

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rivian electric vehicle charging stations are coming to yet another state park system. The EV startup said it would install its so-called “waypoint”...

Samsung will announce new foldables on August 11

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Samsung just sent out invites for its next Unpacked event. There are those companies that like to sneak hints into their invites — and then there’...

Inkbit raises $30M for its self-correcting 3D printing technology

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

MIT CSAIL spinout Inkbit this week announced that it has raised $30 million. The Series B, led by Phoenix Venture Partners LLC, brings the firm’s to...

CNN+ streaming service will offer live and on-demand content in early 2022

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The rumors of a CNN streaming service were true. The network has unveiled a CNN+ service that will offer a blend of live and on-demand shows that are ...

US blames China for Exchange server hacks and ransomware attacks

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Biden administration and its allies has formally accused China of the mass-hacking of Microsoft Exchange servers earlier this year, which prompted...

The new Anthony Bourdain documentary ‘Roadrunner’ leans partly on deepfaked audio

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On July 16th, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain will open in US theatres. Like many documentaries, the film pieces together archival foo...

Valve launches Steam Deck, a $400 PC gaming portable

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A new challenger has emerged in the gaming hardware category. Game distribution giant Valve today announced the launch of Steam Deck, a $399 gaming po...

Clubhouse ventures beyond audio with Backchannel, a new messaging feature

16 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We knew DMs were on the way to Clubhouse and today the new feature landed, spicing up the audio-only app with a text-based chat feature. Clubhouse’s...

An Echo Dot designed by Diane von Furstenberg? Yeah, sure, why not

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, Amazon launched Build It, a fun little program that lets customers preorder concept devices. Think about it like Indiegogo or Kicks...

Apple introduces a $99 MagSafe Battery Pack for the iPhone 12

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The addition of MagSafe to the iPhone 12 line introduced all manner of fun avenues for accessory makers, but there’s a strong case (so to speak) to ...

Android 12 will let you play games before they finish downloading

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

At its Game Developer Summit, Google today announced a new feature for Android game developers today that will speed up the time from starting a downl...

MSCHF drops tiny action figures of your favorite failed startup hardware

14 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hardware is hard. You can browse the archives of this site and come up with dozens of bold attempts to make new consumer electronics gadgets work — ...

Brazilian HR startup Flash raises $22M in a Tiger Global-led Series B round of funding

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Flash, a startup that has developed a flexible benefits platform for Brazilian companies and employees, has raised $22 million in a Series B round of ...

Twitter appoints resident grievance officer in India to comply with new internet rules

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter has appointed a resident grievance officer in India days after the American social media firm said to have lost the liability protection on us...

EU fines BMW, VW $1B for running emissions cartel since the 90s

13 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As environmental issues really came of age in the 1990s, certain German automakers were meeting in secret groups to make sure their cars would continu...

New York City’s new biometrics privacy law takes effect

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A new biometrics privacy ordinance has taken effect across New York City, putting new limits on what businesses can do with the biometric data they co...

Nintendo’s OLED Switch arrives October 8, priced at $350

09 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

So much for the big E3 reveal. Weeks after the big gaming show, Nintendo has finally taking the wraps off the latest iteration of its wildly popular h...

Dodge Challenges: Can the automaker bring muscle into the electric future?

09 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The term muscle car has always been a euphemism for concessions. Want the most power for the money? Forget about a sports car from Porsche or Lotus. B...

Beyond Meat launches plant-based chicken tenders at US restaurants

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Beyond Meat today announced the arrival of its new plant-based Chicken Tenders at upward of 400 U.S. based restaurants. The news follows continued gro...

Dispatch from Bangalore

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A startup founder, who hasn’t had much sleep all week, woke up on a recent Sunday to a phone call from his co-founder. A senior engineer was feeling...

ZeroFox acquires dark web threat intelligence company Vigilante

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

ZeroFox, a cybersecurity startup that helps companies detect risks found on social media and digital channels, has announced it has acquired dark web ...

Box takes fight with activist investor public in SEC filing

07 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The war between Box’s current leadership and activist shareholder Starboard took a new turn today with a detailed timeline outlining the two g...

Twitter has lost liability protection in India, government says

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter no longer enjoys the liability protection against user-generated content in India, the government said in a court filing this week as tension ...

Facebook is testing a Twitter-like ‘threads’ feature on some public figures’ pages

06 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Get your spool-of-yarn emojis ready — threads might be coming to Facebook soon. Facebook has been spotted testing a new feature that gives public fi...

Jim Whitehurst steps down as president at IBM just 14 months after taking role

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a surprise announcement today, IBM announced that Jim Whitehurst, who came over in the Red deal, would be stepping down as company president just 1...