Monzo founder Tom Blomfield is departing the challenger bank and says he’s ‘struggled’ during the pandemic

Monzo founder Tom Blomfield is departing the U.K. challenger bank entirely at the end of the month, staff were informed earlier today. Blomfield held the role of CEO until May last year when he assumed the newly created title of president and resigned from the Monzo board. However, having been given the time and space […]
https://tcrn.ch/3o4fbak

Alibaba shares jump on Jack Ma’s first appearance in 3 months

Alibaba’s billionaire founder resurfaced as he spoke to 100 rural teachers through a video call, three months after his last public appearance in October, sending the e-commerce firm’s shares up more than 8% in Hong Kong. A recording of the call was first posted on a news portal backed by the government of Zhejiang, the […]
https://tcrn.ch/3o55Saa

Landbot closes $8M Series A for its ‘no code’ chatbot builder

Barcelona-based Landbot, a ‘no-code’ chatbot builder, has bagged a $8M Series A led by the Spanish-Israeli VC firm Swanlaab, alongside support from Spain’s innovation-focused public agency, CDTI. Previous investors Nauta Capital, Encomenda and Bankinter also participated in the round. We last chatted to Landbot back in 2018 when it raised a $2.2M seed and had […]
https://tcrn.ch/3qCekzp

Uppbeat launches a freemium music platform aimed at YouTubers

A new music platform, Uppbeat, aims to make it easier for YouTubers and other content creators to find quality free music to use in their videos. The system, which is designed to navigate the complexities of copyright claims while also fairly compensating artists, offers an alternative to existing free music platforms, including YouTube’s own Audio […]
https://tcrn.ch/3nZynpQ

Senator: ‘More transparency is needed’ by exam proctoring tech firms

Three of the leading exam proctoring companies are facing calls to be more transparent, amid continued claims of bias by students forced to take remote exams because of the ongoing pandemic. Exam proctoring tech lets students take remotely invigilated tests from home. Students are told to install their university’s choice of proctoring software, which allows […]
https://tcrn.ch/3nWrOo4

StackPulse announces $28M investment to help developers manage outages

When a system outage happens, chaos can ensue as the team tries to figure out what’s happening and how to fix it. StackPulse, a new startup that wants to help developers manage these crisis situations more efficiently, emerged from stealth today with a $28 million investment. The round actually breaks down to a previously unannounced […]
https://tcrn.ch/3bWz1Sy

It may not be as glamorous as D2C, but beauty tech is big money

Shifting consumer demands within beauty and retail are creating rich opportunities for U.S.-based beauty/consumer tech SaaS companies.
https://tcrn.ch/3iofLi9