Following consumer outrage over YouTube’s handling of disturbing videos aimed at children on its network, the company has now banned one of the more controversial kid channels it hosted, Toy Freaks. The channel, the 68th largest on YouTube with over 8.5 million subscribers, was often criticized for its vile and seemingly exploitive videos featuring a dad and his daughters, which many… Read More
Danish startup Artland is building a social marketplace for the art world and its key players: Galleries and professional collectors, while also hoping an app-based approach helps onboard a new generation of art buyers. Read More
There’s a glimpse of hope in new media as Axios just raised $20 million less than a year after its launch, the Wall Street Journal reported. The company already had a pretty big list of investors, and most of the startup’s existing investors are putting more money into Axios. Existing investors Greycroft Partners and Lerer Hippeau Ventures are co-leading today’s founding… Read More
MoviePass, the subscription service that lets consumers pay a monthly fee to see unlimited movies in theaters across the U.S., is slashing its prices yet again. The company announced today it’s now offering its service for $6.95 per month, down from the current price of $9.95 per month, when customers commit to a one-year subscription plan. That works out to a flat fee of $89.95… Read More
Walmart says that it intends to be among the first companies to pilot Tesla’s new all-electric Semi heavy-duty truck. The retailer told CNBC that it’s “excited to be among the first” to test the new vehicle, and to see how it might help them achieve “long-term sustainability goals” including decreasing their overall emissions footprint. The retailer will… Read More
So much for the holiday rush. Apple announced this morning that its premium HomePod smart speaker won’t be making the company’s initial December ship date. According to a brief statement issued by the company, the production process needs “a little more time” to bake. A spokesperson told TechCrunch, “We can’t wait for people to experience HomePod,… Read More
The food-delivery-on-demand space continues to heat up in Europe. Today, Deliveroo, the London-based startup that at the end of September announced a Series F of $385 million at a valuation of over $2 billion, today announced it is adding another $98 million into the round, led by T. Rowe Price Associates and Fidelity Management & Research Company. The brings the total amount in the round… Read More
Stitch Fix revised where it would price its IPO lower last night ahead of trading, and it looks like it helped approach the right sweet spot as a result when it made its debut today. The company saw around a 15% pop in its stock when it began trading this morning — the benchmark companies tend to look to hit when they go public is around 20% — and fell around the lower bounds of… Read More
Walmart is further expanding into same-day delivery with the help of its existing delivery partner, Deliv. The companies today announced they will now be working together to power same-day grocery delivery in the San Jose area, where users will be able to shop online then schedule deliveries from 8 AM to 8 PM, seven days a week. Deliv and Walmart have been working together for some time,… Read More
Tesla has delivered the ultimate fan car – a revamped version of its original Roadster, with crazy fast acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds, 0 to 100 mph times of only 4.2 seconds, a top speed north of 250 mph and 621 miles of estimated range on a single charge.
There’s nothing quite like seeing the car peel out in person, which I got a chance to do at the Tesla Semi… Read More
Spotify has made another acquisition as it continues to build out the services it offers to artists beyond basic streaming. It has acquired online music studio startup Soundtrap, the company announced via a blog post this morning. The three year-old company, based in Stockholm, is the maker of a freemium (paid and free) cloud-based, collaborative music and podcast recording studio that… Read More
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week, the crew — Katie Roof and Alex Wilhelm — were joined by David Pakman, a partner at Venrock, who helped us dig through the news. And news there was. We first dug into the big Musical.ly deal, working to understand why the company was… Read More
Justice League, the DC cinematic universe’s answer to The Avengers, is finally here. It comes at the end of a terrific year for superhero movies. Logan was genuinely great, while Wonder Woman‘s success should have demolished any lingering Hollywood skepticism about action movies directed by and starring women. Plus, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok were pretty… Read More
(Hint: Free stuff) TechCrunch Disrupt is coming to Arena Berlin on 4-5 December, and we’re looking for a few more rockstar startups to be a part of our massive menagerie of innovation, Startup Alley. If you’ve never been to a Disrupt before, Startup Alley is where hundreds of early-stage companies (who have raised less than $2.5m and are less than 2 years old) showcase their… Read More
Just hours before the full launch of Battlefront II, Electronic Arts has announced that they’re removing in-game micro-transactions entirely from the title for the time being as they look to rethink their pricing strategy. What drove EA to take micro-transactions out of one of the company’s biggest releases this year? A backlash that was rippling through the online gaming community… Read More
Watchmaker Romain-Jerome has announced a new Batman-themed watch that looks like something Bruce Wayne would wear to the club. The watch, which is based on R-J’s Skylab design, features a meticulous reproduction of a map of Gotham City cut into the rear sapphire glass and a glowing Bat Signal that lights up in the dark and/or in times of danger. R-J is famous for making high-end watches… Read More
Tortuga Logic has raised $2 million in seed funding from Eclipse Ventures to help in their effort to maintain chip-level system security. Based in Palo Alto, the company plans to use the cash to build products that will find “lurking vulnerabilities” on computer hardware. The founders, Dr. Jason Oberg, Dr. Jonathan Valamehr, Professor Ryan Kastner of UC San Diego, and Professor… Read More
Tesla founder Elon Musk revealed at the Tesla Semi unveil that the truck can work in a convoy mode, with a three-truck convoy beating not only traditional diesel trucking, but also rail transport in terms of a cost per mile price. It can do $0.85 per mile, with diesel only able to do around $1.25 per mile at today’s gas prices. Convoying involves using a lead car to provide guidance… Read More
Tesla has unveiled a new Roadster, the new version of its original sports car. It’s the fastest production car ever made, according to Elon Musk, with speeds of just 1.9 seconds for 0 to 60 4.2 seconds for 0 to 100. It can handle a quarter-mile in 8.9 seconds. “This is the base model,” Musk said, then went on to mention that its top speed is above 250 mph. and it has a 200… Read More
Tesla’s Semi is an all-electric semi truck, which itself is a major feat, but its powertrain isn’t the only technological innovation that the automaker is applying to trucking. One other key element of the new Semi is that it will automatically avoid one of the most notorious, and dangerous potential safety issues faced by big rigs with trailers: jackknifing.
Even the name is… Read More
