Thursday, July 11, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we're looking at VCs that hire ex-Department of Defense officials, spyware attacks on iPhones and Intel's latest investment. We've also got hydrogen-electric air taxis, an end to the EU's Apple Pay antitrust probe, an AI to detect illnesses, Xiaomi's fully automated factories, the queen of the ride-share mafia and more. To work!

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Beata Zawrzel / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Apple warns of spyware: The iPhone maker has issued a new round of threat notifications to users across 98 countries to warn them of potential mercenary spyware attacks. "This attack is likely targeting you specifically because of who you are or what you do," warned Apple. Users in India have been among those hit the hardest. Last October, many Indian journalists and politicians were targeted. Read more

Dark times, dark patterns: The FTC found that most websites and apps offering subscription services used dark patterns to subtly encourage users to take some sort of action or put their privacy at risk. Could this report signal that the FTC is gearing up to pay more attention to this kind of consumer fraud? I hope so! Read more

VC goes DoD: As Silicon Valley continues to pour money into defense tech startups, they're turning to a new hiring pool: veterans and ex-Department of Defense officials. Startups building consumer tech often go for DoD contracts, too, but those can take years to secure. Startups with connections to ex-military personnel have a major advantage in competitive deals. Read more

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Morning must-reads

Image Credits: Joby Aviation

Will hydrogen ever be a thing? Joby Aviation thinks so. The startup recently fitted out one of its eVTOL aircraft with an electric-hydrogen rig and tested it out. The results? The aircraft flew at 5x the range (or 523 miles), which opens the door to regional air taxis powered by hydrogen. Read more

EU forces Apple to open up contactless payments: The bloc's antitrust probe into Apple Pay has finally come to a close. Apple has agreed to allow developers of rival mobile wallets to offer contactless payment on the iPhone. Apple will also let users set up a third-party wallet app as their default, rather than the Apple wallet. Inviting more competition could breed more innovation in digital wallets. But the question is, with Apple syncing your whole life together, do users even want another wallet or payment method? Read more

Intel searches far afield for traction: Intel's been having a rough go of it as Nvidia dominates the chip industry. But the company's VC arm, Intel Capital, might signal new hope for Intel. The firm is leading a $15 million round into Buildots, a company that uses AI and computer vision to create a digital twin of construction sites. While the companies haven't confirmed they will work together, it would be a good fit as Intel doubles down efforts to increase its manufacturing capacity. Read more

A query a day keeps the doctor away: The WEF says only 3% of patient data is currently used by physicians because they're simply too busy to review every detail in a medical record. Regard, a startup that just raised a $61 million Series B, wants to help doctors use that treasure trove of data to detect health conditions more easily. This is AI I can get behind, as long as Regard spends a heap of that VC money on cybersecurity. Read more

A spinoff in India: Reliance Industries, India's most valuable conglomerate, is considering spinning off its telecom arm Jio for a public listing next year at a $112 billion valuation. Investors like the spinoff idea more than a traditional IPO route because in India, listed subsidiaries often trade at a 20-50% discount when held by a parent company. Read more

The space economy gets a shot in the arm: Alpine Space Ventures, a Munich-based VC founded by a former SpaceX engineer and a long-time space investor, has closed its first fund worth $184 million — the largest first-time VC fund dedicated to space globally. Much of the fund's portfolio feeds on the ecosystem that SpaceX set up. In other words, Alpine is investing in startups that support the satellite sector but that don't directly compete with SpaceX. Read more

Around the Web

Queen of the ride-share mafia: Meet Priscila Barbosa, a migrant from Brazil who defrauded Uber and other apps by building a $10,000-per-month business renting fake accounts to undocumented workers in the United States, exposing an embarrassing blind spot within the gig economy. One tidbit from this great longform piece from Wired: Despite being on a tourist visa, Barbosa was able to get her first Uber account approved using a photo of someone else's license, her own iCloud email and phone number, her own photo, and a made up Social Security number. Read more

There are no more humans on Xiaomi's new production lines: The smartphone maker's new facility outside Beijing is 100% automated and seemingly all-knowing. It's even smart enough to diagnose and fix its own problems and evolve by itself, reports New Atlas. (Meanwhile, Tesla supporters are driving up the cost of the stock after Elon gets *checks notes* two Optimus bots working autonomously in one of its factories.) Read more

Redbox is shutting down: I bet you thought that happened a long time ago, huh? I mean, the DVD vending machines were great for about five years to bridge the gap between Blockbuster and streaming, but I'm genuinely surprised Redbox lasted as long as it did. Anyway, the parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, has filed for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, meaning it'll liquidate its assets. "There is no means to continue to pay employees, pay any bills, otherwise finance this case. It is hopelessly insolvent," the judge said, according to the Lowpass newsletter. Read more

Before you go

"The goal is to make people feel like ninjas": You might have already noticed that anime is going mainstream in the west. A French startup, Sekai, wants to help that along. Sekai noticed that anime and manga haven't branched out to other forms of entertainment, like Marvel and Harry Potter have. But the startup has managed to snag an official global license from TV Tokyo to develop official Naruto consumer apps, social experiences that make people feel like ninjas. Dattebayo! Read more