Salesforce has built a deep bench of executive talent via acquisition

When Salesforce acquired Quip in 2016 for $750 million, it gained CEO and co-founder Bret Taylor as part of the deal. Taylor has since risen quickly through the ranks of the software giant to become president and COO, second in command behind CEO Marc Benioff. Taylor’s experience shows that startup founders can sometimes play a […]
https://tcrn.ch/3836jNJ

The Equity crew predicts what’s to come in 2021

What could go wrong? Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture-capital-focused podcast (now on Twitter!), where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. As you can see, this is our yearly predictions episode. Our behind-the-scenes guru Chris Gates joins us on the mic, we take shots at our prior prognostications, and nosh on what we […]
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Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee faces nine-year sentence in bribery case

Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee faces a nine-year prison term in the bribery case that contributed to the downfall of former president Park Guen-hye. Prosecutors argued that the length of the sentence is warranted because of Samsung’s power as the largest chaebol, or family-owned conglomerate, in South Korea. “Samsung is a group with […]
https://tcrn.ch/3pGPn5E

Student-founded Develop for Good surpasses 25,000 volunteer hours connecting students with nonprofits

This has been the year of the social organization. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world and the United States, governments and a patchwork of nonprofits and volunteer organizations sprang into action, offering everything from food and medical supplies to children’s books and clothing to individuals and families struggling in the virus’s wake. Perhaps […]
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Section 230 is threatened in new bill tying liability shield repeal to $2,000 checks

Tech got dragged into yet another irrelevant Congressional scuffle this week after President Trump agreed to sign a bipartisan pandemic relief package but continued to press for additional $2,000 checks that his party opposed during negotiations. In tweets and other comments, Trump tied a push for the boosted relief payments to his entirely unrelated demand […]
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One CMO’s journey with risk management and compliance

Without active involvement from business unit leaders across the company in marketing, human resources, sales and more, a company can never have a healthy risk-aware culture.
https://tcrn.ch/3n5v7IR

As launch market matures, space opportunities on the ground take off

The space economy in the last few years has been in large part driven by the increasing cadence and reliability of launch services, and while that market will continue to grow, the new economy enabled by those launches is only just beginning to take off. If you thought the launch boom was big, just wait […]
https://tcrn.ch/3hzFROQ

Seattle-based Madrona raises $320M for its eighth fund

Madrona Venture Group has been a mainstay of the Seattle and northwest United States startup ecosystem for years now, and it looks like it is going to continue that legacy going forward. In a filing with the SEC, the firm announced its eighth venture capital fund, raising $320 million. That’s up slightly from the firm’s […]
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Z Fellows offers $10k to stop what you’re doing for a week and work on a side project

There is massive VC overcapitalization for Series A and later companies, and probably for seed as well. But there is a massive gap in the market to financially underwrite promising founders and guide them out of their current employers or schools. Cory Levy, who has been a long-time angel investor and startup tinkerer, launched First […]
https://tcrn.ch/3mWF63h

2021 will be a calmer year for semiconductors and chips (except for Intel)

If ever there was a typically quiet tech industry that seemed to drive massive headlines this year, it was semiconductors. From record-setting M&A purchases to prodigious venture capital financing, the decline of major players and huge international trade fights, semiconductor companies found themselves in the crosshairs of inventors, VCs, regulators, politicians and, well, Apple. 2020 […]
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Tesla to make India debut ‘early’ next year

Tesla will begin operating in India in “early” 2021, a top Indian minister said on Monday, a day after the tech-centric carmaker said it was confident it would enter the world’s second most populated market next year. Tesla’s operations with begin with sales in early 2021 and then “maybe” look at assembling and manufacturing vehicles […]
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2020 was a defining year for cannabis: What comes next?

Ross Lipson Contributor Ross Lipson is CEO and co-founder at Dutchie, an online cannabis marketplace. Ross possesses more than a decade of experience in advanced and equitable delivery services for a variety of industries, including online food ordering, and has executed two successful business exits. To say that COVID-19 has dominated the past year would […]
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Gillmor Gang: Get Back

Today we sat on the deck with our daughter Ella and her boyfriend Nick. Knowing of my fascination with all things Beatles, Nick gave me a Japanese 45 of Get Back flipped with Don’t Let Me Down. His gift coincided with a 5 minute cut of material from a newly authorized production of a new […]
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What startups can learn from this dumpster fire year

Want this newsletter in your inbox every Saturday morning? Sign up here. Remember when it was news that venture capitalists were open for business? Or when Zoom investing was only done by that one guy in Ann Arbor (ha, I kid!)? These past few months have felt busier than ever, with no holiday slowdown in […]
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Original Content podcast: ‘The Mandalorian’ season two goes deep into Star Wars mythology

“The Mandalorian” just wrapped up its second season on Disney+, with an action-packed and surprise-filled finale. In many ways, it feels like a seamless continuation of the first season’s storylines, with the titular bounty hunter searching for a Jedi who can take responsibility for the alien moppet known to the internet as Baby Yoda, while […]
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Music made 2020 better, but we failed to make 2020 better for musicians

“Are you okay?” I don’t have a good answer to the question. Knowing full well that I’m talking back to an algorithm — even one asking the same question of everyone with a different band mad-libbed in — doesn’t soften the blow. Am I? Are we? Is anyone, really? In this case, it’s referring to […]
https://tcrn.ch/3poOcaJ

Daily Crunch: Alibaba faces antitrust probe

Chinese authorities investigate an e-commerce giant, Google may be tightening its grip on research and VCs weigh in on the year’s biggest surprises. This is your (briefer than usual) Daily Crunch for December 24, 2020. The big story: Alibaba faces antitrust probe China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said that it’s investigating the e-commerce giant […]
https://tcrn.ch/3aGvXt4

Bristol’s Brightpearl raises $33M Series C round led by Sage to boost its platform for retailers

Brightpearl, which allows retailers to streamline their operations thus boosting sales, has raised $33 million in funding to scale its business. This Series C round was led by Sage, which has put $23 million into the U.K. company. Previous backers Cipio Partners, Notion Capital and Verdane also participated, putting in $10 million. The Bristol, U.K.-based startup […]
https://tcrn.ch/3rrc6UG

China’s e-commerce titan Alibaba hit with antitrust probe

China’s top market watchdog has begun a probe into Alibaba over alleged anti-competition practices at the e-commerce firm, the latest of Beijing’s efforts to curb the country’s ever-expanding internet titans. The State Administration for Market Regulation said Thursday in a brief statement that it is investigating Alibaba over its “choosing one from two” policy, in […]
https://tcrn.ch/37Nr4Ni

Google reportedly tightens grip on research into ‘sensitive topics’

Google is currently under fire for apparently pushing out a researcher whose work warned of bias in AI, and now a report from Reuters says others doing such work at the company have been asked to “strike a positive tone” and undergo additional reviews for research touching on “sensitive topics.” Reuters, citing researchers at the […]
https://tcrn.ch/3pnY8kE

No rules, no problem: DeepMind’s MuZero masters games while learning how to play them

DeepMind has made it a mission to show that not only can an AI truly become proficient at a game, it can do so without even being told the rules. Its newest AI agent, called MuZero, accomplishes this not just with visually simple games with complex strategies, like Go, Chess, and Shogi, but with visually […]
https://tcrn.ch/3hfulrN

Fluent Forever raises $4.9M for its language learning system

Fluent Forever, a startup that uses a novel learning system to help its users master a new language faster, has raised a $4.9 million funding round led by Denver-based Stout Street Capital. Other investors in this round include The Syndicate, LAUNCH, Mana Ventures, Noveus VC, Flight.VC, Insta VC, UpVentures, Firebrand Ventures, Cultivation Capital, Spero Ventures […]
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The Biden administration can change the world with new crypto regulations

Regulation shouldn't be a guessing game.
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Gift Guide: TechCrunch’s Favorite Things of 2020

It goes without saying, but 2020 was a bad year for a lot of people. For many, it was a year of stress, of sadness, and anxiety. It was a year of missing friends and family; of just getting to the next day, even as each day seemed to blur into the last. As we’ve […]
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Singapore-based open finance startup Finantier gets backing from Y Combinator

Being “underbanked” doesn’t mean that someone lacks access to financial services. Instead, it often means they don’t have traditional bank accounts or credit cards. But in markets like Indonesia, many still use digital wallets or e-commerce platforms, creating alternative sources of user data that can help them secure working capital and other financial tools. Finantier, […]
https://tcrn.ch/3rmPapS

Boardable’s board management software for nonprofits raises $8 million

Indianapolis-based Boardable, a provider of board management software tools for nonprofits, has raised $8 million in a new round of financing, the company said. The investment came from Base10 Partners with participation from the company’s seed-stage backer, the Indianapolis-based enterprise investment firm High Alpha. Boardable provides organizational tools to help nonprofits better manage their board meetings […]
https://tcrn.ch/3mIRYd2

3 VCs discuss space junk and what else they’re betting on right now

Space may be the final frontier, but in terms of investment, VCs are just getting started.
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Google expands its cloud with new regions in Chile, Germany and Saudi Arabia

It’s been a busy year of expansion for the large cloud providers, with AWS, Azure and Google aggressively expanding their data center presence around the world. To cap off the year, Google Cloud today announced a new set of cloud regions, which will go live in the coming months and years. These new regions, which […]
https://tcrn.ch/38tJT70

Bolt adds $75M to its Series C, as the battle to rule online checkout continues

Bolt, a startup that offers online checkout technology to retailers, announced this morning that it has added $75 million to its Series C round, bringing the financing to a total of $125 million. WestCap and General Atlantic led the new tranche, which Bolt CEO Ryan Breslow told TechCrunch was raised at around twice its Series […]
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Original Content podcast: The pandemic thriller ‘Songbird’ could have been a lot worse

Let’s be clear: “Songbird” is not a good movie. It’s hard to see how it could have been any good, since “Songbird” was written shortly after the pandemic began and filmed a few months later — so the filmmakers had to write a screenplay, shoot it in the midst of a pandemic and edit it, […]
https://tcrn.ch/2WzMBlS

Mixtape podcast: Artificial intelligence and disability

 Welcome back to Mixtape, the TechCrunch podcast that looks at the human element that powers technology. For this episode we spoke with Meredith Whittaker, co-founder of the AI Now Institute and Minderoo Research Professor at NYU; Mara Mills, associate professor of Media, Culture and Communication at NYU and co-director of the NYU Center for […]
https://tcrn.ch/3h3xZES

Gillmor Gang: Full Stream Ahead

Twitter is shutting down Periscope, the video app it acquired several years ago when Facebook Live threatened to lap the field. When we stream the Gillmor Gang sessions, we send them to Facebook, Twitter, and an unlisted embed on YouTube. At one point, we planned to stream the sessions live on TechCrunch, but for now […]
https://tcrn.ch/3hcgCSn

FDA authorizes Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, as expected after an independent panel commissioned by the administration recommended its approval earlier this week. This is the second vaccine now authorized for use in the U.S. under EUA, after the Pfizer -BioNTech vaccine was approved […]
https://tcrn.ch/3h47VJZ

Extra Crunch roundup: ‘Nightmare’ security breach, Poshmark’s IPO, crypto boom, more

The rest of the world may be slowing down as we prepare for Christmas and New Year's, but we are not taking our foot off the gas.
https://tcrn.ch/3h1cvIT

Daily Crunch: Amy Klobuchar discusses Amazon Halo concerns

We interview the senior senator from Minnesota about fitness trackers, Sony pulls “Cyberpunk 2077” from the PlayStation Store and Indian delivery startup Zomato raises a massive round. This is your Daily Crunch for December 18, 2020. The big story: Amy Klobuchar discusses Amazon Halo concerns Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar recently wrote an open letter to […]
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How should SaaS companies deliver and price professional services?

In the end, each SaaS company has to decide the best course, based on its business goals, customer base, and competitive environment.
https://tcrn.ch/3h2oINo

Peter Beck on Rocket Lab’s expanding orbit

Just a few years ago it seemed like Rocket Lab was going to be an up-and-comer in the launch world, and so they are today — in addition to going reusable, creating a low-cost satellite platform, and planning a mission to Venus. CEO and founder Peter Beck, speaking at TC Sessions: Space, talked about how […]
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Tips for applying an intersectional framework to AI development

Ultimately, there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” approach to building intersectional AI. At The Trevor Project, our team has outlined a methodology based on what we do, what we know today and the specific communities we serve.
https://tcrn.ch/2WtokxY

Virgin Orbit, Relativity Space and Astra dish on the economics and efficiencies of space launches

Relativity Space CEO Tim Ellis, Astra CEO Chris Kemp and VOX Space (Virgin Orbit’s national-security-focused subsidiary) President Mandy Vaughn all joined us at TC Sessions: Space to jointly discuss their varied approaches to the small spacecraft launch market. Each has a very different type of space launch system, but each is targeting roughly the same […]
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NASA’s Kathy Lueders discusses the Artemis moon landing 2024 target and team selection

NASA’s head of human spaceflight Kathy Lueders joined us on stage at TechCrunch Sessions: Space, where she spoke to scientist and Netflix host Emily Calandrelli about her work at the agency — including NASA’s progress on the Artemis program and the return of American astronauts to the surface of the moon. The 2024 target for […]
https://tcrn.ch/3r6rQMS

‘Gas stations in space’ startup Orbit Fab extends seed round to $6M with strategic investor Munich Re Ventures

Orbit Fab CDO Jeremy Schiel shows off the company’s satellite coupling system on stage at TC Disrupt 2019. On-orbit servicing startup Orbit Fab, which bills itself as the company focused on creating “gas stations in space,” has added an additional investor to its seed funding round. The add-on investment comes from Munich Re Ventures (the […]
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How to pick an investor in good or bad times

Investors put money into businesses they understand and founders they trust and respect. That is a constant at any time, COVID-19 or not.
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Amazon’s Project Kuiper has developed a small, low-cost customer terminal for its broadband satellite network

Amazon’s Project Kuiper is perhaps one of the company’s most ambitious projects yet: Building a globe-spanning broadband wireless network to deliver affordable connectivity to underserved communities. Project Kuiper has made progress this year with a key FCC approval, and now it’s also created a prototype of a key piece of hardware that will help its […]
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Dear Sophie: How did immigration change for startup founders in 2020?

I’m on an F1 OPT and am about to incorporate a startup with my two American co-founders. What were the biggest immigration changes in 2020 affecting us?
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Financial aid-focused Frank expands into helping students take online classes

Frank, a startup best known for helping college students secure and manage financial aid, is expanding into a new part of the edtech world. Namely, finding and taking online classes, with the company helping students deploy their financial aid money to open digital slots at more than 100 colleges. As a company, Frank straddles the […]
https://tcrn.ch/37mx0ML

Get 90% off an annual DocSend plan with Extra Crunch

Extra Crunch is excited to announce we’re renewing our Partner Perk with DocSend. Annual and two-year members of Extra Crunch that are new to DocSend can get up to 90% off an annual plan.  DocSend is a secure document-sharing platform that not only lets you share your documents with ease, but it also provides you […]
https://tcrn.ch/2Wld1Yt

Among Us launches on the Nintendo Switch

Surprise! Among Us is now available on the Nintendo Switch for $5.00. The Switch version features cross-platform play allowing PC, mobile and Switch players to play a game together. The hit game just launched on the gaming platform after becoming a surprise hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally launched in 2018, the game found an […]
https://tcrn.ch/37krGcH

Google’s Nest Hub Max smart screen can now make Zoom calls

The Nest Hub Max is getting Zoom . Google outlined the arrival of the popular teleconferencing platform in a blog post today, noting that it has started to roll out for users in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia. The much-requested feature is arriving as an “early preview,” essentially meaning that users will have to […]
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Apple launches its new app privacy labels across all its App Stores

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June, the company announced it would soon require developers to disclose their app’s privacy practices to customers via new, glanceable summaries that appear on their apps’ product pages on the App Store. Today, these new app privacy labels are going live across all of Apple’s App Stores, including iOS, […]
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Amazon launches a Live Translation feature for Echo devices

Amazon today announced a new Alexa feature, Live Translation, that will translate conversations between people who speak two different languages. The feature uses Amazon’s speech recognition technology and neural machine translation technology to work, and supports translating between English and French, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese (Brazilian), German, or Italian. To use Live Translation, an Echo device […]
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Gillmor Gang: Strange Days Indeed

The place we’re in, the valley of the dolls between the vote and the Inauguration, is overshadowed by the battle to save our lives. The vaccines look promising, and so does the persistence of the Trumpster to play his games. Somehow we have to live with that, on both sides. In the business we’re in, […]
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