TechCrunch

Venture capital and venture debt have continued to grow in the country, although the angel scene remains low-key.

Venture funds have historically counted on several types of limited partners — or LPs — for their own investing capital. One of these groups is institutional investors — think pension funds, university endowments, hospital systems and the like. Another is corporations. A third bucket centers on wealthy individuals and often their family offices. It’s a […]

Myanmar’s government extends its internet crackdown, Microsoft’s lobbying arm blacklists presidential election objectors and Dublin’s Frontline Ventures raises a new fund. This is your Daily Crunch for February 5, 2021. The big story: Myanmar blocks Twitter and Instagram The military government in Myanmar recently told telecom operators and internet service providers to block access to […]

I've never used "stonkathon" in a headline before, but it's been that kind of week.

This week, flexible workspace operator (and one-time unicorn) Knotel announced it had filed for bankruptcy and that its assets were being acquired by investor and commercial real estate brokerage Newmark for a reported $70 million. Knotel designed, built and ran custom headquarters for companies. It then managed the spaces with “flexible” terms. In March 2020, […]

The first major Section 230 reform proposal of the Biden era is out. In a new bill, Senate Democrats Mark Warner (D-VA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) propose changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that would fundamentally change the 1996 law widely credited with cultivating the modern internet. Section 230 […]

The Founder Institute isn’t just trying to help entrepreneurs launch new startups — with its new VC Lab, the accelerator says it’s also hoping to fuel the launch of 1,000 new venture capital funds. FI co-founder Jonathan Greechan described this as an attempt to bring more “alignment” to the startup ecosystem.” “The thinking here is […]

After “pausing” political giving to any politician who voted to overturn the 2020 election, Microsoft has clarified changes to the lobbying policy of its employee-funded PAC, doubling down on its original intention and changing gears with an eye toward funding impactful organizations. Microsoft, along with most other major companies in the tech sector and plenty […]

A legal challenge was heard today in Europe’s Court of Justice in relation to a controversial EU-funded research project using artificial intelligence for facial “lie detection” with the aim of speeding up immigration checks. The transparency lawsuit against the EU’s Research Executive Agency (REA), which oversees the bloc’s funding programs, was filed in March 2019 […]

When Laura Wittig and Liza Moiseeva met as guests on a podcast about sustainable fashion, they jibed so well together that they began one of their own: Good Together. Their show’s goal was to provide listeners with a place to learn how to be eco-conscious consumers, but with baby steps. Wittig thinks the non-judgmental environment […]

BeGreatTV, an online education platform featuring Black and brown instructors, recently closed a $450K pre-seed round from Stand Together Ventures Lab, Arlan Hamilton, Tiffany Haddish and others. The goal with BeGreatTV is to enable anyone to learn from talented Black and brown innovators and leaders, founder and CEO Cortney Woodruff told TechCrunch. “When you think […]

Updated at 1.46AM PT February 6: Telenor says Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) has directed all mobile operators to temporarily shut down the data network in Myanmar. Voice and SMS services remain open. “In the directive, the MoTC cites legal basis in Myanmar’s Telecommunication Law, and references circulation of fake news, stability of […]

This week on Extra Crunch Live, the duo explained how they came together for Grafana's Series A — and eventually, its Series B. We've included highlights as well as the full video of our conversation.

When you are able to navigate a world that is designed for you, it’s easy to avoid thinking about how the world is designed for you. But it can be different if you are disabled. At TechCrunch Sessions: Justice on March 3, we will examine the importance of ensuring accessible product design from the beginning. […]

In a single week, Robinhood raised more money than all startups in Spain, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Russia combined last year.

Tickr, an app that allows U.K. consumers to make financial investments based on their impact on society and the environment, has secured £2.5 million ($3.4 million) in funding lead by Ada Ventures, a VC which focuses on “impact” startups. The cash will be used for product development, expanding the user base, and eventually taking Tickr […]

India is restoring 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior government official said Friday evening, 18 months after imposing a sweeping communications blackout in the Muslim-majority region in an attempt to curb the spread of potential backlash over New Delhi’s decision to revoke Kashmir’s semiautonomous status in August of 2019. Rohit Kansal, principal […]

Dublin-based Frontline Ventures has released details of its new €70 million ($83.8 million) Frontline Seed Fund III, which will be aimed at European B2B startups. The new fund will bring Frontline’s total funds under management to €250 million, deployed out of its offices in London, Dublin and San Francisco. Backers of the fund include the […]

Djamo, a financial super app for consumers in Francophone Africa, is the first startup from Ivory Coast to get backing from Y Combinator. While there has been a huge profusion of financial services that have emerged in recent years in Africa, Djamo’s mission is to try to plug one specific and very underserved gap in […]

Twinco Capital, a Madrid and Amsterdam-based startup making it easier to access supply chain finance, has raised €3 million in funding. Leading the round is Spanish VC fund Mundi Ventures, with participation from previous backer Finch Capital and several unnamed angels. Twinco Capital also has a debt facility with the Spanish investment bank EBN Banco […]