New Twitter Blue feature will reportedly squelch 50% of ads for paid members

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall Thursday, April 06, 2023

Well, hello there! Haje is getting a head start on the weekend, so it's going to be me and you for the next two days. I've been among the group of TechCrunchers watching pitch after pitch at Y Combinator's Demo Day. Here is part 1 of our favorites, with the second one coming later on today. On with the news! — Christine

The TechCrunch Top 3 Only half?: Twitter is rolling out some new features for Blue subscribers, including one that will show 50% of the ads in their timeline compared to what nonpaid users see, Ivan reports. Sucking up the competition: The U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority is looking more closely at Amazon's $1.7 billion iRobot acquisition to see if there is any threat of less competition, Paul writes. Get your facts straight: That's what the Indian government is saying to Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies about posting any misinformation. That now includes cracking down on online betting games, Manish reports.

Startups and VC Meal replacement startup Yfood did a thing today. Ingrid reports that Nestlé closed on an acquisition of the company in a deal that values Yfood at $469 million. She writes, "Yfood's milestone should give the food tech community something substantial to chew on. The intersection of tech and food has been playing out as a theme in the world of startups for years, with technologists and entrepreneurs bringing a hacking mentality to the field to take new approaches to sourcing, preparing, selling and distributing things to eat and drink." Meanwhile, Canaan closed two new funds — its 12th flagship fund for early-stage tech and healthcare startups and an opportunity fund — that total $850 million. That opportunity fund might be raising some eyebrows, with Connie writing, "Some institutional investors privately grouse that they don't like later-stage funds hosted by early-stage investors, as it complicates their ability to properly diversify their own investments." Connie notes that the market might be slowing, but venture capital firms are continuing to amass big funds, as we also saw S2G Ventures do today. Now here's five more for you: Do you see what we see?: Honeycomb grabs a $50 million investment as the company's observability platform thrives, Ron writes. Fresh catch: Alternative seafood startup Aqua Cultured Foods reeled in $5.5 million to get its long pipeline of products to market, Christine reports. Reducing one bovine burp at a time: Haje writes that cows can't help but burp, and Alga Biosciences wants to fix that with a new feed to reduce the belching, thus reducing the methane gas they produce. Gaining that competitive edge: Mary Ann reports on why SoftBank remains bullish on Latin America. It's more than a feeling: Overall venture capital deal count in the U.S. has fallen more than 25% between the first quarter of last year and this year. Connie tells you why.

Funds offering 'friends and family' checks could bring the change underrepresented founders need America’s long-standing wealth gap between white and Black households contributes to the lack of diversity among startup founders. Median liquid wealth for a Black family in the U.S. is $3,630, but that figure soars to $79,000 for a white family. As a result, “the average Black founder raises less than around $1,000 from family and friends,” reports Dominic-Madori Davis. Since the average friends and family round is $23,000, “they'd need to secure the entire liquid wealth of six Black families," according to a white paper by venture fund Fifth Star. Three more from the TC+ team: "Things are looking grim": Alex writes that if it weren't for the Stripe and OpenAI deals, global VC results would have been even worse in Q1 2023. Pitch Deck Teardown: Haje takes apart Smalls' $19 million Series B deck. "The party might be over": Tim writes that the climate tech venture scene saw a correction in the first quarter. Will the slowdown continue? TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! Read More Image Credits: Overearth / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. No personal data for you! Google is saying it will restrict personal loan apps from accessing user photos and contacts amid increased predatory behavior from some lenders toward borrowers, Jagmeet writes. You all have proven to be car enthusiasts, so here's Patrick's take on everything that stood out at the 2023 New York Auto Show. Oh wait, there's more: Everything's better together: Messenger now has multiplayer games you can play during video calls, Aisha reports. That, my friends, is what you call exposure: Law firm Proskauer is mopping up after exposing clients' confidential M&A data. Carly has more. Hail to the EV: Lyft relaunches its electric vehicle service, starting with business travelers, Rebecca reports. Meanwhile, over at Twitter: Germany could fine Twitter over illegal hate speech, Natasha L reports. Also, in case you missed it, Taylor reports on Twitter labeling NPR a state-backed media.

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MobileCoin CPO and Cash App creator Bob Lee fatally stabbed in San Francisco

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Wednesday, April 05, 2023

Happy Wednesday Crunch, our crunchiest of friends. It's been a busy morning of tech news, so let's hop right to it! — Christine and Haje Image Credits: MobileCoin

The TechCrunch Top 3 Seized: Carly reports that the FBI took down Genesis Market, a notorious hacker marketplace for stolen logins. They arrested about 120 people and conducted 200 searches. In case you don't remember, Genesis Market has been around since 2017 and has sold stolen credentials, cookies and digital browser fingerprints gathered from compromised systems. In mourning: The tech world is reeling after finding out that a fatal stabbing victim in San Francisco turned out to be Bob Lee, creator of Cash App and former CTO of Square. Romain includes some heartfelt responses, including this one by Block CEO Jack Dorsey, who wrote, "It's real. Getting calls. Heartbreaking. Bob was instrumental to Square and Cash App. STL guy." Car porn: Our audience really liked cars today. Mainly because of Patrick's report on the 2024 Hyundai Kona, which looks to "be one the most affordable cars with over-the-air updates." Its dashboard interface looks really cool, in case you are into that kind of thing. Meanwhile, if trucks are your thing, Kirsten goes over all the things to drool over on the 2025 all-electric Ram 1500 Rev, including its "absolutely massive battery."

Startups and VC Y Combinator, the startup accelerator that has launched the likes of Instacart, Stripe and Airbnb, has broadened its investing lens in recent years, backing companies all over Africa and India, and beyond. As the tech downturn has continued, though, Y Combinator has shrunk its cohort size, stepped back from late-stage investing, and brought on a new chief executive: entrepreneur and co-founder of Initialized Capital, Garry Tan. Natasha M takes a look at the status of YC. Brian found a clever new bit of kitchen tech. Sepura recently introduced its eponymous home appliance, which sits under a sink in place of a garbage disposal, turning your under-sink situation into a composter. Six more! It sees right through you: OXOS Medical just raised $23 million in Series A funding with the intention of delivering a "radiology department in a box," Haje reports. Tough as (upcycled) leather: Gen Phoenix's upcycled leather woos luxury brand investors, reports Harri. Moar dry powder for climate tech: Tage reports that Equator secures $40 million in commitments for fund targeting climate tech startups in Africa. Building on initial success: Dominic-Madori reports that construction insurance company Billy raises additional $2.5 million. But where will they put their $10 million?: Ronbow nabs $10 million to deliver custom cabinets in as short as 3 weeks, Rita reports. Shedding talent (TC+): The US is losing crypto talent as blockchain devs seek safer havens, Jacquelyn reports on TechCrunch+, our membership site.

As YC launches new batch, here's how the early-stage venture market is faring today Drawing on data from Carta’s “First Cut — State of Private Markets: Q1 2023” report, Anna Heim and Alex Wilhelm crunched the numbers to get a feel for the early-stage VC landscape. Taking into account “median round sizes and deal values,” they found that pre-money valuations for seed-stage startups fell slightly, but Series A, B and C rounds “seem to be showing signs of recovery.” TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! Read More Image Credits: Viaframe / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. Guess who's using generative AI now? Meta says it wants to use generative AI to create ads, Ivan reports. You might remember that the Facebook parent created a new team specifically to make tools for that feature. "While Meta's metaverse efforts haven't panned out as expected, it still seems to be pushing on the idea of creating virtual worlds through generative AI," Ivan writes. If you chose not to get HBO Max but are dying to watch "Westworld," you can now do it from your Roku. Aisha reports that Roku is where many canceled HBO shows are finding a second home. And we have five more for you: Be safe: Snapchat is creating some new safeguards around its AI chatbot, Ivan reports. Stripe seeing stars: Ingrid read through Stripe's annual letter so you don't have to. Some highlights: It processed $817 billion in transactions in 2022, but growth has definitely slowed. Power user: Apple is the latest Big Tech company to meet Germany's test for antitrust abuse controls. Natasha L explains what this means. AI gets the OK: Manish reports that India is going to let AI do its thing there, calling the technology "significant and strategic." Everything's better with friends: Blockchain builder Ava Labs partners with SK Planet to expand the web3 infrastructure in Asia, Kate reports.

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AWS now accepting applications for its new 10-week generative AI accelerator

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Tuesday, April 04, 2023

Happy Tuesday Crunch, our crunchy compatriots. Today, there's a ton of fun events-based updates for you. If you're coming to Early Stage in Boston, Pitch to VCs there. Also, if you want to speak at Disrupt later this summer, you can apply now. Oh, and sustainability is getting a whole stage all to itself at Disrupt. It's gonna be rad. See you there? Also! Darrell is arguing that “not only is generative AI already here — it’s already dealing killing blows,” in his latest piece, “A knife so sharp you don't feel it cut.” — Christine and Haje Image Credits: Ron Miller/TechCrunch

The TechCrunch Top 3 Accelerating generative AI: Amazon is jumping into startup accelerators with both feet again and will boost generative AI startups around the globe with a 10-week program, Natasha M writes. Ten startups will receive $300,000 in AWS credits and will debut their tech at a demo day. A "not-quite open source startup": That's how Paul described Dozer, a startup that came out of stealth today with $3 million in the bank and technology to help any developer build real-time data apps in no time flat. All in the startup: Yes, startup founders matter when it comes to securing funding, but Ensemble amassed $100 million in capital commitments for its debut fund on the premise that behind every founder is a team that also matters when it comes to a company being successful. Becca tells you how.

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Startups and VC The hype around ChatGPT, OpenAI's viral AI-powered chatbot, hasn't reached a peak yet, Kyle reports. That's the vibe one gets from Y Combinator's Winter 2023 batch, which features no fewer than four startups that claim to be trying to build “ChatGPT for X.” Today we are keeping an eye on the legal case of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Charlie Javice, the founder of student financial aid startup Frank. The SEC is charging Javice with defrauding JPMorgan in connection with the $175 million sale of the company to JPMorgan Chase Bank in 2021, Mary Ann reports. In between refreshing the news re: what's happening with Trump’s indictment, here's a few more stories to keep you entertained: That seems ethical: Alcohol recovery startups Monument and Tempest shared patients' private data with advertisers, Zack reports. Well that covers things: Jagmeet reports that Lightspeed backs Indian startup Zyod aiming to make apparel manufacturing more efficient. To da stock exchange: Ron and Alex report that Klaviyo may be sniffing around looking to IPO later this year. Off the chain: Blockchain messaging protocol LayerZero raises $120 million at a $3 billion valuation, Jacquelyn reports. It's all gone to the dogs: Twitter's new homepage logo is very doge-y, Amanda notes.

What's a fair price premium for startup shares? A new market update report from Redpoint Ventures contains insights for Series B and C founders who are planning to fundraise this year, reports Alex Wilhelm. “Middle-stage startups today still look rather expensive,” he writes. “Either the stock market needs to recover some of its juice, or startup prices need to fall more for things to get back to ‘normal.'” Three more from the TC+ team: Can mobile gaming survive?: Haje writes that spiraling costs are killing the mobile gaming space. I'm available: Should you post that you're #OpenToWork? Aline Lerner and Maxim Massenkoff explore a tale of two labor markets. Cool cool cool: Magnets and water net Magnotherm a $6.9 million seed round to kill hazardous refrigerants, Tim reports. TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! Read More Image Credits: Javier Ghersi / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. Today we bring you Twitter: everything, everywhere, all at once. Amanda and Alyssa give us a month-by-month rundown of Elon Musk's Twitter, from the layoffs to the verification drama, where changes meant to take effect on April 1 came and went, leaving us all feeling like it was an April Fools' joke gone wrong. Meanwhile, just as NASA named its new moon crew, or "Moon Unit" if we may, Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy. Darrell writes, "The bankruptcy filing follows weeks of bad news for the company, including a pause on all operations, a brief hunt for more money to continue as a going concern and massive layoffs to try to right-size to the company's actual available budget, which today's news essentially confirms was nonexistent." And we have five more for you: Security!: Kate has been following the search for more memory chips and reports that China launched a probe into Micron for cybersecurity risks while also urging Japan to stay out of U.S. chip export curbs. TikTok has a clock: TikTok is not having a good day. First, Ivan writes that Australia bans TikTok on official devices; then the social media giant is hit with a $15.7 million fine in the United Kingdom for misusing children's data. Natasha L has more. The latest in Israel: Mike covers Israel's political crisis and writes that reforms proposed by the government "[have] activated its apolitical tech industry, and there's no turning back." I don't want to see that anymore: If you're using Facebook in the EU, Natasha L tells you how to opt out of its creepy ads. Leaving on a space transporter: Satellite bus startup Apex Space will hitch a ride into space aboard SpaceX's Transporter-10, Aria reports.

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Newest Jobs from Crunchboard Information Technology Manager at Alameda County Water District (Fremont, CA, USA) Information Services Support Specialist at Administration South (Toppenish, WA 98948, USA) Lead Software Developer at AWE Learning (Chester, PA, USA) IT Support Specialist at Human Rights Watch (New York, NY, USA) Head of Engineering at Qblox (Delft, Netherlands) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

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