Roc Nation’s VC Neil Sirni lays out his investment strategy

Jay-Z’s Roc Nation announced in 2017 that it was forming a venture investment arm called Arrive. And the firm has been busy since then — co-founder and president Neil Sirni said Arrive has made 29 investments thus far. At the same time, Sirni hasn’t really said much about those investments publicly, or about the broader […]
https://tcrn.ch/3354gp2

Y Combinator-backed Uiflow wants to accelerate no-code enterprise app creation

TechCrunch recently caught up with recent Y Combinator graduate Uiflow, a startup that is building a no-code enterprise app creation service. If you are thinking wait, don’t a number of companies already do that?, the answer is yes. But what Quickbase, Smartsheet and others are working on isn’t quite the same thing, at least from the […]
https://tcrn.ch/336WN8V

Pitch your startup to seasoned tech leaders, and a live audience, on Extra Crunch Live

TechCrunch is known for its pitch-offs. We’ve had them in cities all over the world, and heard from hundreds of startups who have shared the story of their company on our stages. We’re excited to be bringing the pitch-off to Extra Crunch Live. Anyone in the audience on an episode of Extra Crunch Live can […]
https://tcrn.ch/3gVYjCO

Digital comics startup Madefire is shutting down

R.I.P. Madefire, a startup that recruited high-profile artists to reinvent comics for new formats and platforms. An announcement on the Madefire website states the company entered into “an assignment of benefit for creditors” (explained as “a state-level insolvency proceeding similar to bankruptcy”) earlier this month, which was then reported this morning in The Beat. As […]
https://tcrn.ch/3xynSzR

PortalOne raises $15M from Atari and more for a new hybrid gaming/TV show app

Gaming and streamed video have been two of the biggest pastime winners during the last year+ of pandemic living. Today a startup that has created an app that brings those two entertainment formats together is announcing a notable seed round of funding as it prepares to come out of closed beta. PortalOne, a hybrid gaming […]
https://tcrn.ch/3t04Gax

Biden proposes ARPA-H, a health research agency to ‘end cancer’ modeled after DARPA

In a joint address to Congress last night, President Biden updated the nation on vaccination efforts and outlined his administration’s ambitious goals. Biden’s first 100 days have been characterized by sweeping legislative packages that could lift millions of Americans out of poverty and slow the clock on the climate crisis, but during his first joint […]
https://tcrn.ch/3e2ch48

Lobus raises $6 million for an art management platform on the blockchain

Reshaping ownership proofs in the fine art markets has been one of the blockchain’s clearest real-world use cases. But in recent months as top auction houses have embraced NFTs and popular artists experiment with the crypto medium, that future has seemed more tangible than ever before. The ex-Christie’s and Sotheby’s team at Lobus is aiming […]
https://tcrn.ch/2Px70Z7

DigitalOcean says customer billing data accessed in data breach

DigitalOcean has emailed customers warning of a data breach involving customers’ billing data, TechCrunch has learned. The cloud infrastructure giant told customers in an email on Wednesday, obtained by TechCrunch, that it has “confirmed an unauthorized exposure of details associated with the billing profile on your DigitalOcean account.” The company said the person “gained access […]
https://tcrn.ch/3gNUwYm

India’s entrepreneurs and investors are mobilizing to help the nation fight COVID-19 — and you can too

At a time when much of the world has asserted great control over containing the spread of the coronavirus, with countries increasingly vaccinating its citizens, a different story is playing out in India, the world’s second-most populous nation. For a week straight, India has reported more than 300,000 daily new infections, about half of all […]
https://tcrn.ch/2RbCT9R

Learn how to create an effective earned media strategy with Rebecca Reeve Henderson at TC Early Stage 2021

TechCrunch’s Early Stage 2021 is back for part two of our bootcamp-for-entrepreneurs event, with a focus on marketing and fundraising. Building on the first half of the event in April, this two-day virtual sprint will take place July 8 & 9, and we’re thrilled to welcome Rebecca Reeve Henderson as one of our all-star slate […]
https://tcrn.ch/2Prmz4o

Internal rates of return in emerging US tech hubs are starting to overtake Silicon Valley

Tech innovation is becoming more widely distributed across the U.S. amid moves from the Bay Area. Startups are booming in emerging markets -- and getting a bigger piece of the VC pie.
https://tcrn.ch/3sX8pG6

Announcing the Agenda for TC Sessions: Mobility 2021

TC Sessions: Mobility is back and we’re excited to give you the first look at who is coming to the main stage and what we plan to talk about. The event will be virtual, but never fear, we will bring you the same informative panels and provocative one-on-one interviews and networking you’re used to. The […]
https://tcrn.ch/3dTiL5n

Save $100 on TC Early Stage 2021: Marketing and Fundraising before this Friday

Save $100 and learn how to build a stronger startup — that’s what we’re talking about! The crème de la crème of the startup ecosystem will gather on July 8-9 to share their expertise and impart their hard-won wisdom at TC Early Stage 2021: Marketing and Fundraising. Here’s where the saving money bit comes in. […]
https://tcrn.ch/32QPVMU

How Brex more than doubled its valuation in a year

Brex, a fintech company that provides corporate cards and spend-management software to businesses, announced earlier today that it closed a $425 million Series D round of capital at a valuation of around $7.4 billion. The new capital came less than a year after Brex raised $150 million at a $2.9 billion pre-money valuation. So, how […]
https://tcrn.ch/3gDKzwj

Hear about building AVs under Amazon from Zoox CTO Jesse Levinson at TC Sessions: Mobility 2021

Last year, autonomous driving startup Zoox was acquired by Amazon in a deal worth $1.3 billion. Since then, Zoox has continued to pursue its existing strategy of developing and deploying autonomous passenger vehicles, revealing the design of its long-anticipated robotaxi late in December. From concept to reveal, Zoox spent six years developing its built-for-purpose passenger […]
https://tcrn.ch/3sRXOfh

Gardening startups like Neverland want to make every day Earth Day for the home gardener

Vera Kutsenko and Hayley Leibson have incredible tech pedigrees, but their latest venture involves as much digging in dirt as it does digging through lines of code. The two women have founded Neverland, a startup for the home gardener that aims to be a marketplace connecting mom and pop gardening shops with the explosion of […]
https://tcrn.ch/3sPNnsR

Interview: Apple executives on the 2021 iPad Pro, stunting with the M1 and creating headroom

When the third minute of Apple’s first product event of 2021 ticked over and they had already made 3 announcements we knew it was going to be a packed one. In a tight single hour this week, Apple launched a ton of new product including AirTags, new Apple Card family sharing, a new Apple TV, […]
https://tcrn.ch/3gCSdHj

Gillmor Gang: FreeCoin

The current rave about newsletters and so-called or social audio is just the latest version of the story of podcasting. Take the idea that podcasting is experiencing a new wave of popularity and scaffolding. Are you sure? Apple is bent on turning the space into a subscription model, and we’re all going to twist again […]
https://tcrn.ch/3vhALfv

8 investors, founders and execs predict cybersecurity, fintech will take Belfast by storm

Belfast is among one of the U.K.'s fastest growing tech hubs, so we reached out to investors, founders and executives for an inside look at the city's startup ecosystem.
https://tcrn.ch/3sQXSfr

Bobby Goodlatte has designs on how to succeed in venture (and so far, so good)

Bobby Goodlatte has only been an investor for about a decade, but he appears to have already made tens of millions of dollars, contrary to the expectations of some traditional VCs who have privately, and publicly, griped that too many novice investors have flooded into the industry. “I remember a very prominent investor saying at […]
https://tcrn.ch/3vh0ZPw

Passwordstate users warned to ‘reset all passwords’ after attackers plant malicious update

Click Studios, the Australian software house that develops the enterprise password manager Passwordstate, has warned customers to reset passwords across their organizations after a cyberattack on the password manager. An email sent by Click Studios to customers said the company had confirmed that attackers had “compromised” the password manager’s software update feature in order to […]
https://tcrn.ch/2QQnT18

Honda targets 100% EV sales in North America by 2040

Honda’s new goal is to achieve 100% EV sales in North America by 2040 as part of its broader target of being carbon neutral by 2050. CEO Toshihiro Mibe announced the planned shift away from internal combustion engines at a news conference on Friday, his first since taking over executive leadership of the company in […]
https://tcrn.ch/2Pg23ne

Two investors weigh in: Is your SPAC just a PIPE dream?

SPACs have been around for decades, but they took the 2020 IPO market by storm. For some context: 2020 had more than 248 SPACs — more than the sum of the SPACs in the previous decade.
https://tcrn.ch/3gyKytw

Hawke Ventures raises $5.6M to back digital marketing startups

Hawke Ventures, the investment arm of marketing consultancy Hawke Media, is announcing that it has closed its first $5.6 million venture fund. Managing Partner Drew Leahy acknowledged that the firm’s focus on marketing technology isn’t exactly in high demand among other VCs right now. “People are running away from martech […] but that’s our circle […]
https://tcrn.ch/2Ph0qpo

To ensure inclusivity, the Biden administration must double down on AI development initiatives

The Biden administration must clarify current laws pertaining to AI and machine learning models — how we will evaluate use by private actors and how we will govern AI usage within our systems.
https://tcrn.ch/3gwcGgZ

Customer care as a service: Outsourcing can help your startup wow clients 24/7

When should you consider outsourcing customer care, and what should you look for? Here's an overview on how startups are leveraging customer care as a service (CCaaS).
https://tcrn.ch/3azVzqV

E-commerce tracking platform AfterShip raises $66M led by Tiger Global

AfterShip launched in 2012 to help online sellers track packages across different carriers, but since then it has built a suite of data analytics tools covering almost every step of the shopping experience, from email marketing to customer retention. The Hong Kong-headquartered startup announced today it has raised a $66 million Series B led by […]
https://tcrn.ch/3xqs84v

‘Conscience laws’ endanger patients and contradict health tech’s core values

The Arkansas "conscience law" -- and others like it -- place the burden of finding appropriate care on the patient instead of on the medical community, where it belongs. These laws must be repealed.
https://tcrn.ch/32A2kV9

Foxconn’s Wisconsin factory plans scaled back dramatically

It was “the eighth wonder of the world,” Donald Trump said, driving a golden shovel into the ground. The then-president touted Foxconn’s planned Wisconsin factory as a major win for his economic goals. A year and a half later, the future of the manufacturing deal is far less certain. Earlier this week, the state announced […]
https://tcrn.ch/3tGjtbM

Google Meet gets a refreshed UI, multipinning, autozoom and more

Google today announced a major update to Meet, its video-meeting service, which brings several user interface tweaks for desktop users, as well as quite a bit of new functionality, including multipinning so that you can highlight multiple feeds instead of just one, as well as new AI-driven video capabilities for light adjustments, autozoom and a […]
https://tcrn.ch/3tJ4cHg

Apple brings Touch ID to the Magic Keyboard

Apple has unveiled a new, colorful iMac today with an Apple-designed M1 chip. But that was just part of the story as the company used that opportunity to release new Mac accessories. In addition to a Magic Trackpad and a Magic Mouse with multiple color options, Apple is bringing Touch ID to desktop Macs with […]
https://tcrn.ch/3n82SLA

The new Apple TV 4K comes with a new Siri Remote

Apple announced a new Apple TV 4K today, which will come with a new Siri Remote. In addition to the existing Siri support, this new aluminum remote features a redesigned clickpad that allows for circular gestures in the outer ring, which viewers can use to quickly find the scene they’re looking for. And to eliminate […]
https://tcrn.ch/2Qmri7Q

Apple’s new iMac finally gets an actually good webcam

Apple introduced new iMacs at its event on Tuesday, outfitted with its M1 processor and redesigned inside and out from the ground up. The hardware is impressive, but one of the biggest improvements for everyone’s Zoom-heavy life might be the webcam. Apple said it’s the “best camera ever in a Mac,” which honestly wouldn’t take […]
https://tcrn.ch/3emhouY

No one behind the wheel in deadly Tesla crash Saturday night, say authorities

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration is opening an investigation into a crash involving a Tesla that authorities say was operating with no one behind the wheel, which left two men dead on late Saturday evening outside of Houston. The 2019 Tesla Model S went off the road after it failed to negotiate a slight […]
https://tcrn.ch/3ap6DXM

Reddit unveils its Clubhouse clone, Reddit Talk

On the heels of Clubhouse’s latest fundraise, Reddit today officially unveiled its Clubhouse rival, Reddit Talk following a recent report from Mashable that revealed the company had been developing audio-based social networking features. Like many of the newly launched Clubhouse clones, Reddit’s voice chat experience hasn’t deviated much from Clubhouse’s overall design where speakers sit […]
https://tcrn.ch/3aqrda7

European VC soars in Q1

A stunning first quarter in venture capital funding was not restricted to the United States; Europe also had one hell of a start to the year.
https://tcrn.ch/3x2q5mV

Consumer agency warns against Peloton Tread+ use, as company pushes back

Almost exactly a month ago, Peloton CEO John Foley wrote an open letter about the the company’s treadmill. “I’m reaching out to you today because I recently learned about a tragic accident involving a child and the Tread+, resulting in, unthinkably, a death,” it begins. “While we are aware of only a small handful of […]
https://tcrn.ch/3drVaIM

Why it’s not surprising to see nine-figure AI rounds

This week Scale AI raised a $325 million Series E. The company, as TechCrunch has written, works in the data labeling space. And it has been on a fundraising tear over the last few years.
https://tcrn.ch/3mWH6tY

What does it take to create a startup ecosystem?

Say it louder for the people in the back: As tech grows bigger by the minute and venture capital adds dollar signs by the day, a startup hub’s success is not an either/or situation. The next Silicon Valley is a tired narrative, when in reality startups look, innovate and create differently all over the world. […]
https://tcrn.ch/3alH7Tn

Katie Haun on saying yes to Coinbase and where a16z’s crypto fund is placing its bets now

Coinbase, the newly public cryptocurrency exchange, has had it share of ups and downs. Still, the nearly nine-year-old, San Francisco-based outfit got a lot right ahead of its highly successful direct listing this week, including, seemingly, inviting in former federal prosecutor Katie Haun to join its board in 2017. At the time, Haun had just […]
https://tcrn.ch/3dnOqvA

SpaceX wins NASA contract to develop human landing system for returning to the moon

The winner of NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) contract award is SpaceX, which bid $2.9 billion for the privilege of developing the means by which NASA astronauts will return to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo program. SpaceX was in the running alongside Blue Origin and Dynetics, but reportedly undercut both […]
https://tcrn.ch/3drtmED

Extra Crunch roundup: UiPath’s IPO filing, predicting revenue, how to pivot properly, much more

Thanks again to Bryce Durbin for creating my favorite TechCrunch illustration of all time.
https://tcrn.ch/32BLa9T

Nelo raises $3M to grow ‘buy now, pay later’ in Mexico

Buy now, pay later is a way of paying for purchases via installment loans that generally have no interest. The concept has grown in popularity in recent years, especially in markets such as the United States, Europe and Australia. Numerous players abound, all fighting for market share — from Affirm to Klarna to Afterpay, among […]
https://tcrn.ch/3edzTlv

Reform the US low-income broadband program by rebuilding Lifeline

The U.S. Lifeline program, a monthly subsidy designed to help low-income families afford telephone services, needs to be polished to ensure all Americans have access to broadband internet.
https://tcrn.ch/3mRlLCj

Facebook’s decision-review body to take ‘weeks’ longer over Trump ban call

Facebook’s self-styled and handpicked “Oversight Board” will make a decision on whether or not to overturn an indefinite suspension of the account of former president Donald Trump within “weeks”, it said in a brief update statement on the matter today. The high-profile case appears to have attracted major public interest, with the FOB tweeting that […]
https://tcrn.ch/3ts2klN

Japanese VC Samurai Incubate closes $18.6M fund for African startups

Samurai Incubate, a Tokyo-based venture capital firm, announced today it has closed its “Samurai Africa 2nd General Partnership” fund, totalling 2.026 billion yen (~$18.6 million). According to the firm, the fund was oversubscribed as it targeted 2 billion (~$18.4 million) and a total of 54 investors joined as LPs. One notable LP is the Toyota […]
https://tcrn.ch/3dk5YbS

Hadrian is building the factories of the future for rocket ships and advanced manufacturing

If the eight person team behind the new startup Hadrian has their way, they’ll have transformed the manufacturing industry within the next decade. At least, that’s the goal for the new San Francisco-based startup, founded only last year, which has set its sights on building out a new model for advanced manufacturing to enable the […]
https://tcrn.ch/3tltFGk

Tamika Butler, Remix’s Tiffany Chu and Revel’s Frank Reig to discuss how to balance equitability and profitability at TC Sessions Mobility

The race among mobility startups to become profitable by controlling market share has produced a string of bad results for cities and the people living in the them. City officials and agencies learned from those early deployments of ride-hailing and shared scooter services and have since pushed back with new rules and tighter control over […]
https://tcrn.ch/3djBlTR

Zeta inching closer to unicorn status with SoftBank-led funding

Bangalore-based banking tech startup Zeta is inching closer to the much sought-after unicorn status as it works to finalize a new financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 is in talks to lead a ~$250 million Series D round in the five-year-old Indian […]
https://tcrn.ch/3diaRlJ

Triller owner gets a new CEO with acquisition of Amplify.AI; also acquires livestreaming service FITE TV

Would be TikTok competitor Triller, operated by parent company TrillerNet, is gaining a new CEO, the company announced today. The short-form video app said it’s acquiring an A.I.-based customer engagement platform, Amplify.AI, whose co-founder Mahi de Silva will now become TrillerNet’s CEO. Existing CEO Mike Lu will transition to president of TrillerNet and will focus […]
https://tcrn.ch/3e1H5kp