Salesforce just closed a $28 billion mega-deal to buy Slack, generating significant debt along the way, but it’s not through spending big money. Today the CRM giant announced it was taking a leap into streaming media with Salesforce+, a forthcoming digital media network with a focus on video that, in the words of the company, […]
Amazon today is making a significant change to its returns policy, known as the A-to-Z guarantee, to address issues with defective products sold through Amazon’s marketplace of third-party sellers. In the past, Amazon directed consumers to the sellers in the case where a defective product caused property damage or personal injury. Now, Amazon says it […]
Last week, Apple announced a series of new features targeted at child safety on its devices. Though not live yet, the features will arrive later this year for users. Though the goals of these features are universally accepted to be good ones — the protection of minors and the limit of the spread of Child […]
Just months after raising $28 million, Jerry announced today that it has raised $75 million in a Series C round that values the company at $450 million. Existing backer Goodwater Capital doubled down on its investment in Jerry, leading the “oversubscribed” round. Bow Capital, Kamerra, Highland Capital Partners and Park West Asset Management also participated […]
Motional, the autonomous vehicle company born out of a $4 billion joint venture with Aptiv and Hyundai, is expanding its presence in California by opening a new operations facility in Los Angeles to support testing on public roads, hiring more engineers and adding an office in Silicon Valley. The investment into the area follows a […]
Xiaomi just announced the CyberDog, an open-source quadruped robot intended for developers to create applications for. The machine resembles a beefier version of Boston Dynamics’ infamous Spot.
We deserve meaningful privacy protections that no company can afford to omit from their products. We deserve a both/and approach: Privacy that is both meaningful and widely available.
The deal is notable because it is Robinhood's first major purchase since going public in July, and because it illustrates where Robinhood may look to invest some of its newly liquid equity wealth.
PayPal-owned Venmo is expanding its support for cryptocurrency with today’s launch of a new feature that will allow users to automatically buy cryptocurrency using the cash back they earned from their Venmo credit card purchases. Unlike when buying cryptocurrency directly, these automated purchases will have no transaction fees associated with them — a feature Venmo […]
Surfside, a data and marketing platform aimed directly at the cannabis industry, has today announced the close of a $4 million seed round led by Casa Verde. The firm’s managing partner, Karan Wadhera, will join the Surfside board. The startup is relatively new, but helmed by two founders experienced in the marketing and data space. […]
As the use of AI has grown and developed over the last several years, companies like Salesforce have tried to tap into it to improve their software and help customers operate faster and more efficiently. Kathy Baxter, principal architect for the ethical AI practice at Salesforce, will be joining us at TechCrunch Sessions: SaaS on […]
African e-commerce giant Jumia today reported its second-quarter financial performance. In the wake of its earnings reports, Jumia’s shares climbed 3.38% to $21.99 per share with a market cap of $2.168 billion. Before we get into the company’s results, Jumia has historically reported its financial data in euros. This was the case until April 1, […]
Twitter is now complying with India’s new IT rules, New Delhi told a court Tuesday, in a move that is expected to ease months-long tension between the American social media network and the government of the key overseas market. A lawyer representing the Indian government told the Delhi High Court that Twitter’s recent steps — appointment […]
Despite the prevalence of shopping malls and the emergence of VC-backed e-commerce companies like Jumia, informal retail in Africa is still king. A 2016 study by PwC states that 90% of sales in Africa’s major economies come through informal channels — markets and kiosks. This presents a large market ripe for digitization, and over the […]
Robosoft Technologies, an India-headquartered app development studio, said on Tuesday it has reached a definitive agreement to sell the business to Japan’s IT services firm TechnoPro for $108 million. Founded in 1996 in Udupi, a small town in the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka, Robosoft Technologies started its journey as a software development firm. It […]
FreshBooks, a Toronto-based cloud accounting software company focused on SMBs, announced today it has secured $80.75 million in a Series E round of funding, as well as $50 million in debt financing. Existing backer Accomplice led the equity financing, which the company described as “an inside round” that propelled FreshBooks to unicorn status with a […]
Roughly a year ago, Latent AI, a now three-year-old, Menlo Park, Ca.-based startup, pitched a handful of investors during TechCrunch’s Battlefield competition. It didn’t win that contest, but that hasn’t kept it from winning the interest of investors elsewhere. It just closed on $19 million in Series A funding in a round co-led by Future […]
AI is not a magic wand that will right all the world’s wrongs. But it can help businesses plan for problems in advance and respond to them appropriately if they happen.
