Boston Dynamics this morning announced that it’s bringing Spot robot to a number of new markets, following sales in the U.S. Interested parties in the European Union, U.K. and Canada can now purchase the technologically advanced quadrupedal robot. Spot is Boston Dynamics’ first commercially available product, building on a quarter century of pushing the boundaries […]
When we last reported on Snyk in January, eons ago in COVID time, the company announced $150 million investment on a valuation of over $1 billion. Today, barely nine months later, it announced another $200 million and its valuation has expanded to $2.6 billion. The company is obviously drawing some serious investor attention and even […]
Zymergen, one of the companies that’s developing biomanufacturing technologies which could reshape any number of industries, said it has raised $300 million in financing yesterday. It’s part of a wave of biotech companies that TechCrunch covered in depth last month. Synthetic biology startups are giving investors an appetite The investment total, announced yesterday, includes Series […]
Remote working has become the norm for many of us not on the frontlines, and what’s been notable is that this is also changing the mindset for a lot of organizations, which are now hiring from an increasingly global talent pool. Today, a startup called Deel — which provides payroll, compliance tools and other services […]
The UK government has published a national data strategy today, setting out a plan to promote the use and prioritize the reuse of data as a lever for economic growth and digital innovation. It has also opened up a 12-week public consultation on the policy plan. The top-line message from the secretary of state for […]
Sprinklr has been busy the last few years acquiring a dozen companies, then rewriting their code base and incorporating them into the company’s customer experience platform. Today, the late-stage startup went back to the fund raising well for the first time in four years, and it was a doozy, raising $200 million on a $2.7 […]
NotCo, the Chilean food technology company making plant-based milk and meat replacements, has confirmed the close of a new $85 million round of funding to take the company’s products into the US market. The announcement confirms earlier reporting from TechCrunch that the company had raised new capital, but according to people with knowledge of the […]
Yubico, a maker of hardware security keys, has unveiled its newest YubiKey 5C NFC, which the company says offers the strongest defenses against some of the most common cyberattacks. Security keys provide a physical security barrier to your online accounts. Hackers can steal usernames and passwords, and two-factor authentication codes sent to your phone spoofed […]
Swyg, a Dublin-based startup that believes it can reduce bias in recruitment by combining a peer-interview process with its own AI, has picked up $1.2 million in pre-seed funding. Leading the round is Frontline Ventures, alongside angel investors including Charles Bibby (co-founder of Pointy) and Martin Henk (co-founder of Pipedrive). The funding will be used […]
For China’s food delivery workers, life can feel like a constant battle with algorithms, traffic police, and disgruntled customers. An essay detailing the hazardous work conditions of China’s food delivery drivers went viral on the internet on Tuesday, causing a moment of national reckonings on algorithmic harms to people. In China’s populated urban hubs, one […]
Dawn Capital, the London-based VC that focuses on B2B software, has closed its fourth and largest fund: $400 million that it plans to use to continue investing in early stage startups. Oversubscribed and closed (all remotely) within six months of launching in the midst of a global health pandemic, the news underscores how VCs — […]
Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s retail business Reliance Retail said on Wednesday it will raise $1.02 billion from Silver Lake, kickstarting a fundraising spree months after its sister venture Jio Platforms raised $20 billion. The investment in Reliance Retail will grant Silver Lake a 1.75% equity stake in India’s largest retail chain. The deal values Reliance […]
Panasonic is adding another production line to the massive factory it operates with Tesla in Nevada, an expansion that will increase battery cell capacity by 10%. The Sparks facility, dubbed Gigafactory 1, is the centerpiece of Tesla’s plan to expand global battery capacity and reduce the cost of electric vehicles. Panasonic has been its most […]
Disrupt 2020 is mere days away, but we’ve added pre-Disrupt events to help startup founders up their game, increase their ROI and drive their business forward. What’s next on the agenda? If you’re a founder with big ideas, get ready for a rare opportunity designed to help you fund your startup dreams. Thursday, September 10th […]
I quite like the iPad Pro 11 inch with the Magic Keyboard. In the Land of Pandemic, where every day is Saturday, the tablet is king. With no real purchase on the chaotic flow of life, the rules — any rules — of the road are very dear to me. Structure is arbitrary but mandatory. […]
Online advertising is a game of scale, but one attempt to consolidate two competitors to better take on Google and Facebook has fallen apart. Taboola and Outbrain, startups that each provide publishers with ad-based content recommendation platforms, have called off a planned $850 million merger that would have valued the combined company at more than […]
Apple strikes back at Epic Games, Android 11 is here and Microsoft announces a new stripped-down Xbox. This is your Daily Crunch for September 8, 2020. The big story: Apple files countersuit against Epic Apple has made the latest move in a legal battle against Epic Games, filing a lawsuit claiming that the company behind […]
Twitter is working to make its real-time Trending section less confusing. Last week, the company announced it would begin pinning to the trend’s page a representative tweet that gives more insight about a trend and promised more changes would soon be underway. Today, the company says it will begin writing headlines and descriptions for some […]
After months of teasers and announcements, Lucid Motors will finally reveal its first all-electric luxury sedan, the Air, during a live stream on September 9. But of course, the day before the big reveal, a little bit of news has trickled out. Lucid Motors has previously alluded that it will offer a high-end variant of […]
A graphic video of a man committing suicide spread across TikTok early this week, and the company is still working to remove it. Originating on Facebook Live, the clip was uploaded onto TikTok over the weekend and began to take root in users’ algorithmic recommendations. While the video first made the jump from Facebook in […]
