After the disclosure of two massive data breaches last year, today Yahoo and Verizon finally confirmed new terms for the sale of Yahoo to Verizon: Verizon will pay $350 million less than originally planned, working out to a price of $4.48 billion to acquire Yahoo. The two have also agreed to share legal and regulatory liabilities after two massive data breaches at Yahoo, one estimated to… Read More
Cosmunity is a new social network for people who want to keep the experience of Comic Con (or another geek event of your choosing) going all year long. Co-founder and CEO Cole Egger recalled attending a Dallas Comic Con (now known as Fan Expo Dallas) and being “blown away by the size.” However, he found fans who were “frustrated” by the difficulty of staying connected… Read More
When it launched Android Things back in December, Google announced a handful of hardware partners for its Android-based internet of things operating system, including Intel Edison, NXP Pico and the Raspberry Pi 3. Qualcomm, naturally, wanted in on the action, releasing its own straightforward, if vague, response to the announcement, titled, “Qualcomm Intends to Collaborate with Google… Read More
Selfie app and phone company Meitu has unveiled its latest smartphone, which doubles down its focus on selfie cameras and beautification. Meitu went public in December with a Hong Kong listing that was fairly tepid but nevertheless the country’s largest tech IPO since 2007. It started out making selfie apps but branched into selling ‘selfie-optimized’ smartphones in 2013.… Read More
Meltwater, the self-described ‘media intelligence’ company, has acquired Wrapidity, a U.K.-based AI startup that has built technology to automate the extraction of data from unstructured web-based content. Read More
It’s the beginning of the end for smartphone apps as we have known and tapped on them, reckons Gartner. The analyst is calling the start of a “post-apps” era, based on changes in consumer interactions that appear driven, in large part, by the rise of dominant messaging platforms designed to consume more and more of mobile users’ time and attention. Read More
Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial is making yet another M&A deal. The firm is investing $200 million into a fintech project belonging to Kakao, the $5 billion firm that runs Korea’s dominant messaging service.
Ant Financial, which manages payments service Alipay and Alibaba’s digital banking business, will invest the capital into Kakao Pay, a soon-to-launch Kakao fintech division. Read More
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick sent a memo to employees today following allegations of sexual harassment from former Uber engineer Susan Fowler. In the memo, obtained by TechCrunch, Kalanick said the company has tapped former US Attorney General Eric Holder and Tammy Albarran, partners at law firm Covington & Burling, to independently investigate the workplace issues Fowler spoke about in her… Read More
Last year was rough on just about everyone. Samsung seemed to get it especially bad, as the Note 7 saga stretched out over several months and two separate recalls. Somewhere in there, the electronic giant’s washing machines got caught up in the madness with a recall of their own, while its executives got tangled up in some questionable governmental dealings. To the surprise of many,… Read More
On Sunday, a female former Uber engineer detailed her experiences of sexual harassment at the multibillion-dollar company. The engineer, Susan Fowler, said she experienced sexual harassment and had reported it to Uber’s human resources department but to no avail. Unfortunately, Fowler’s experience with sexual harassment at Uber does not seem to be uncommon in the tech industry, Read More
Leasing commercial space in San Francisco is as expensive as ever, but prices are mostly holding steady for the first time in a long time — not rising. That shift has landlords offering more perks and brokers wondering what’s next. Their obvious concern: that good times can’t last forever, especially for venture-backed companies that aren’t IPO candidates and… Read More
A number of smaller, paid applications scored a spot on the App Store’s Top Grossing chart over the weekend in what may have been either the test of a new App Store algorithm or a fairly significant bug. The issue began on Friday, and only seemed to affect the Top Grossing apps, but not the other charts, like Top Free or Top Paid apps. However, the Top… Read More
Privacy advocates aren’t happy with proposals for enhanced digital prying at U.S. borders, and now that issue could be taken up in the Senate. In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden called for accountability around reports that U.S. Customs and Border agents are obtaining the passwords to locked devices that belong to detainees at the border. Read More
Kim Dotcom, founder of Mega and Megaupload, has suffered another defeat in court. In the latest ruling, New Zealand High Court judge Murray Gilbert upheld an earlier decision finding that Dotcom and business associates could be extradited to the U.S. to face charges. Read More
It takes about 15 minutes to fill out an application for Startup Battlefield and they’re due in a week. Stop procrastinating and submit your startup. Applications for Startup Battlefield at Disrupt NY are now open. We’re searching for new, up-and-coming startups to launch and compete on the TechCrunch Disrupt NY stage. Why Apply? Your team will get to pitch for six minutes and… Read More
Alienware’s latest offering is the smallest powerhouse laptop produced by the company. The 13 R3 is extremely compact for a VR-compatible system, but portability comes at a premium. Even so, the laptop has a lot to offer for gamers and everyday users outside of virtual reality. Especially since its performance is akin to a small gaming desktop rather than a gaming laptop. Read More
By a lucky coincidence, I had a chance to drive both the 2017 Prius Prime and the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq in the same week. The Prius lineup and the Ioniq lineup are competing for the same buyers, so there will be plenty of comparisons in the automotive press. But this is TechCrunch, so let’s take a look at the technology in each. Read More
If you’re trying to build the Instagram for exercise, it helps to have the guy building Instagram for Instagram. That’s why Strava has added Instagram head of product Kevin Weil to its board of directors. Formerly SVP of product for Twitter, Weil has proven his skills through a rapid set of launches at Instagram, including its surprisingly successful Snapchat Stories clone. Read More
When Donald Trump pulled off a stunning victory to win the U.S. presidency, the entire world began to speculate about what a Trump administration will look like. As the chief executive of a native advertising network, I — and many others that work in digital media — am keeping a particularly close eye on how the president will handle net neutrality. Read More
I like Digital Reader editor Nate Hoffelder. He is one of the few bloggers about publishing who doesn’t suck up to the industry, nor does he particularly gild the lily. He basically believes that books are great, publishing is probably doomed and that writing is really important. That’s why I was happy that he surfaced and debunked the claims of Chip McGregor, an agent who… Read More
