SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule has been docked at the International Space Station (ISS) since its historic first crewed launch in May, but it’s getting ready to make its return trip. NASA had planned to keep the spacecraft and astronauts at ISS for a while, depending on station mission needs, but they’re zeroing in on the […]
As Zoom and Microsoft and Google hammer it out for video-chat hegemony, startups are developing apps and services that either add on or compete with the major players. There hasn’t been enough activity — yet — to call it a boom, but there’s enough going on to warrant our attention. Call it a boomlet, if […]
Contrary to popular belief, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to success in Silicon Valley. Beyond raising traditional venture capital and beyond the pursuing-growth-at-all-costs strategy, there are people in the startup ecosystem that are finding success through less mainstream avenues. At TechCrunch Disrupt on September 14-18, I’ll be chatting with Conductor CEO Seth Besmertnik, Driver’s Seat […]
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week was full of news of all sorts, but as we recorded, both Danny and Natasha “not Tash” Mascarenhas were still locked out of their Twitter accounts after a proletariat revolution on the social platform saw the […]
Podcasts are becoming big business — in part because of how well they can attract and keep audiences at a time when so many other media formats are finding it hard to pin down that elusive metric of engagement. Now a podcast host who has built out a popular series around the world of startup […]
Western intelligence agencies say they’ve found evidence that Russian cyber espionage is targeting efforts to develop a coronavirus vaccine in a number of countries. In an advisory report, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said the Russia-linked cyber espionage group commonly known as ‘APT29’ — which is also sometimes referred to as ‘the Dukes’ […]
Carolina Brochado, the former Atomico partner and most recently a partner at SoftBank Vision Fund’s London office, has joined EQT to help launch a new fund dedicated to growth-stage investments, TechCrunch has learned. According to multiple sources, Brochado is part of a new growth fund team at EQT that will sit between its existing earlier-stage […]
Apple flexes its muscles in China with another megastore that unveiled on Friday. Located in Beijing’s upscale shopping district Sanlitun, the outlet replaces and more than doubles the size of Apple’s first store in China in the same location, which instantly caused a sensation back in 2008. The landmark building reopened in the heat of […]
A U.S. federal court judge ruled on Thursday that WhatsApp and parent company Facebook’s lawsuit against Israeli mobile surveillance software company NSO Group can go forward. Phyllis Hamilton, Chief Judge of the United States District Court of the Northern District of California, denied most of the arguments NSO Group made when it filed a motion […]
As you may have heard, we’re taking our entire events lineup fully virtual in 2020. This is of course in response to COVID-19. We’re working hard to make sure that, despite limitations, this year’s events will be some of the best we’ve ever produced. To make that happen, we’re partnering with virtual event masterminds like […]
A Twitter hack hits the platform’s most famous users, Netflix gets a co-CEO and Revel’s mopeds are coming to San Francisco. Here’s your Daily Crunch for July 16, 2020. The big story: High-profile Twitter accounts hacked in crypto scam This was a crazy one: The Twitter accounts of Apple, Elon Musk, Joe Biden and many, […]
Today after the bell, Netflix reported its Q2 financial performance. After its second-quarter numbers were out, the popular video streaming service saw its value drop sharply, with its shares off 10% in after-hours trading as of the time of writing. What happened to the high-flying Netflix, a company that you might have expected to report […]
Meditation apps have been a nice tech-centric respite for many, as the world continues to fall apart at the seams. HBO Max is hoping to build on that success with the launch of a new show based on the wildly popular Calm app. It is, thankfully, neither drama nor workplace comedy (HBO’s already done the […]
What happens when startups look to build on the trendiness of podcasting and social audio platforms while injecting them with some of virtual reality’s weirdness? Turns out, plenty of founders are already experimenting with that strange question. As audio-centric platforms garner investor interest, virtual reality founders of old are trying to push 3D audio as […]
Ted Sarandos, the longtime leader of Netflix’s content efforts, has been named co-CEO with co-founder and current CEO Reed Hastings. Sarandos will continue to serve as the company’s chief content officer, and he’s joining the board of directors as well. Meanwhile, Chief Product Officer Greg Peters is taking on the additional role of chief operating […]
CRV, the early-stage venture firm that is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary, has just closed its newest fund with $600 million in capital commitments. The firm asserts that it garnered the pledges entirely during the pandemic, saying it kicked off its fundraising efforts in April. Just as notably, says general partner Jon Auerbach — […]
Can one minute really make a difference in your startup success? If we’re talking about your 60-second pitch (and we are), then heck yeah! A crisp, concise and compelling pitch opens doors to opportunity, and we’re here to help you pump up your pitch. Join us online for the next Pitchers & Pitches competition on […]
The U.S. App Store’s downloads have surpassed China’s downloads for the first time since 2014. According to data from Sensor Tower’s Q2 2020 report, out today, the U.S. App Store saw 27.4% year-over-year growth in the quarter, compared to the 2.1% growth for the China App Store. During the quarter, the U.S. App Store generated […]
Twitter has said that there is “no evidence” that attackers obtained user account passwords after its security breach on Wednesday, which forced the company to lock down user accounts to prevent verified users from tweeting. In a series of tweets on Thursday — almost exactly a day after the mass account hijacking started — the […]
The Trump campaign’s unlikely digital marketing whiz is on the outs. Brad Parscale made headlines for his social media savvy in 2016, a strategy still credited for giving the then-candidate a major boost by flooding social platforms, most notably Facebook, with targeted advertising. Parscale was named the Trump campaign’s digital director in 2016 and in […]
