Twitter has disclosed it’s facing a potential fine of more than a hundred million dollars as a result of a probe by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which believes the company violated a 2011 consent order by using data provided by users for a security purpose to target them with ads. In an SEC filing, […]
TaxScouts, the U.K. tax preparation startup founded by TransferWise and MarketInvoice alumni, has raised £5 million in Series A funding for European expansion. Leading the round is Octopus Ventures, with previous investors SpeedInvest, Seedcamp and Finch Capital, following on. Also participating is Clocktower Technology Ventures, the U.S. venture capital firm specialising in financial technology. Aiming […]
Grab announced today that its financial unit, which previously focused mainly on services for entrepreneurs and small businesses, is launching a slew of consumer products, including micro-investments, loans, health insurance and a pay-later program. Based in Singapore, Grab began in 2012 as a ride-hailing company before expanding into on-demand deliveries and other services. In January […]
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has decided to ask the public for its thoughts on an attempt initiated in Trump in May to water down certain protections that arguably led to the creation of the modern internet economy. The nakedly retaliatory order seems to be, legally speaking, laughable, and could be resolved without public input — […]
A possible Microsoft -TikTok acquisition is causing plenty of drama, we review Google’s new budget Pixel and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon returns to Earth. Here’s your Daily Crunch for August 3, 2020. Microsoft-TikTok acquisition inches closer to reality This weekend, Microsoft confirmed reports that it’s in talks to acquire TikTok, the popular mobile video app currently […]
EventGeek was a Y Combinator-backed startup that offered tools to help large enterprises manage the logistics of their events. So with the COVID-19 pandemic essentially eliminating large-scale conferences, at least in-person, it’s not exactly surprising that the company had to reinvent itself. Today, EventGeek relaunched as Circa, with a new focus on virtual events. Founder […]
In one of the crazier news stories (and in 2020, that is saying something), President Donald Trump said today during a media availability event that in order for the U.S. government to sign off on a potential Microsoft/TikTok deal, “a very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury […]
We’ve got a great Extra Crunch Live chat coming up on Thursday, August 4, that you won’t want to miss. The one and only Max Levchin, is Silicon Valley icon and entrepreneur extraordinaire, is joining us to talk all things tech and fintech. You might know him as the CEO of Affirm, one of the […]
Few challenges have excited technologists more than building tools to help people who are blind or visually impaired. It was Silicon Valley legend Ray Kurzweil, for example, who in 1976 launched the first commercially available text-to-speech reading device. He unveiled the $50,000 Kurzweil Reading Machine, a boxy device that covered a tabletop, at a press […]
Today the president appeared to bless the budding Microsoft-TikTok deal, continuing his evolution on a possible transaction. After stating last Friday that he’d rather see TikTok banned than sold to a U.S.-based company, Trump changed his tune over the weekend. TikTok is owned by China-based company ByteDance, which owns a portfolio of apps and services. […]
When BigCommerce, the Texas-based Shopify competitor, first announced an IPO price range, the numbers looked a little light. With a range of just $18 to $20 per share, it appeared that the firm was targeting a valuation of around $1.18 billion to $1.31 billion. Given that BigCommerce had revenue of “between $35.5 million and $35.8 […]
SaaS investing has been on fire the past decade and the returns have been gushing in, with IPOs like Datadog, direct listings like Slack and acquisitions like Qualtrics (which is now being spun back out) creating billions of wealth and VC returns. Dozens more SaaS startups are on deck to head toward their exits in […]
Remote-virtual-digital work is going to be a key part of the playbook forever, and the essential revenue software stack is the best way to set up your teams for success.
There’s no better way to expose your early-stage startup to global opportunities — we’re talking thousands of potential investors, customers, tech journalists and other mighty influencers — than by exhibiting in Digital Startup Alley at Disrupt 2020. The Alley may be virtual this year, but the benefits of exhibiting are very real. More on those […]
Google is expanding its plans to offer digital banking services in the U.S. The company announced today it’s partnering with half a dozen more banks to offer digital checking and savings accounts to Google Pay users in the U.S., starting sometime next year. The new partners include Bank Mobile, BBVA USA, BMO Harris, Coastal Community […]
Calling all Extra Crunch annual and two-year members! Did you know that as a part of your membership plan, you can get a 20% discount on a Disrupt 2020 pass? Disrupt is our largest and most ambitious event of the year. While it’s typically held in San Francisco, this year the event will be held […]
Intel and Boeing, two of the pillars of American industry. Intel makes some of the most impressive chips in the world and has for decades, driving high-performance computing to its limits while supporting a company with a market cap today of $200 billion and supporting more than 110,000 employees. Meanwhile, Boeing remains a global leader […]
As COVID-19 infections surge in parts of the U.S., many workplaces remain empty or are operating with skeleton crews. Most agree that the decision to return to the office should involve a combination of business, government and medical officials and scientists who have a deep understanding of COVID-19 and infectious disease in general. The exact […]
Lordstown Motors, the one-year-old Ohio electric automaker that revealed a pickup truck prototype in June, has reached a deal to merge with special-purpose acquisition company DiamondPeak Holdings Corp., with a market value of $1.6 billion. The agreement marks the latest company — and electric automaker — to become a publicly traded company through a merger […]
Virgin Orbit’s first attempt at an orbital launch demo may not have gone entirely to plan (the LauncherOne rocket released as planned but its flight was cut short just after that), but it has booked a payload for its next try — 11 science satellites selected by NASA and primarily designed and built by U.S. […]
