Shopify lays off 20% of staff and sells its logistics arm to Flexport

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Thursday, May 04, 2023

Why, hello, Crunchers! We're excited to tell you that today is Thursday! How fabulously exciting. Over on TC+, Haje has been hard at work trying to create the Perfect Pitch Deck. Oh, and Euro startups: Here's your chance to apply to Startup Battlefield 200! — Christine and Haje Image Credits: Suriyapong Thongsawang / Getty Images

The TechCrunch Top 3 "Side quests are always distracting": That's what Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke had to say today when talking about why Shopify had to reduce its workforce by 20%. He also talked about "main quests," which is another video game analogy in case you were wondering. Oh, and Shopify also sold its logistics business to Flexport. Paul has more of the deets. Meanwhile, Darrell also has some thoughts. A-I knew this was coming: Microsoft is planning its next set of features for Bing, and, no surprise here, they involve AI. However, Kyle writes that, "they don't so much reinvent the wheel as they build on what Microsoft has injected into the Bing experience over the past three months or so." Written in the stars: Kyle also wrote about Hugging Face and ServiceNow releasing StarCoder, a free alternative to DeepMind's AlphaCode, Amazon's CodeWhisperer and OpenAI's Codex code-generating models.

Startups and VC Signaling that investments in the supply chain sector remain robust, Pando, a startup developing fulfillment management technologies, today announced that it raised $30 million in a Series B round, bringing its total raised to $45 million, Kyle reports. Tellus, an Andreessen Horowitz–backed fintech company that claims it can offer people higher yields on their savings balances by using that money to fund certain U.S. single-family home loans, is under scrutiny by the U.S. government. The Senate Banking chair urges the FDIC to look into the company, Mary Ann reports. And we have five more for you: Flying high: Aria reports that satellite imaging and manufacturing company Maxar completes a $6.4 billion sale to private equity. All is accepted here: Mary Ann invites you to meet Liquido, which aims to be the “Stripe of LatAm” — but with even bigger ambitions: The startup says that businesses can accept and process "all forms of payment," from credit and debit cards to bank transfers to digital wallets, and even cash. The Vegas Loop is going places: Rebecca reports that Musk's The Boring Company plans to expand Vegas Loop to 18 new stations. Peeking at Earth: Aria writes that Nuview emerges from stealth with plans to map Earth using lidar. Massive new European fund: HV Capital closes €710M fund amidst the wider European and global funding downturn, reports Mike.

Acquisition, retention, expansion: Why SaaS founders must understand GDR and NDR Investors have raised their expectations around SaaS profitability and growth since the downturn began. As a result, it’s even more important for founders to have a firm handle on the key metrics VCs consider before saying yes or no. In his latest TC+ article, Paris Heymann (partner, Index Ventures) shares formulas for calculating gross dollar retention and net dollar retention, KPIs that provide deep insights into the health of your business. “Predictable businesses are more durable, easier to manage, and typically rewarded with higher valuations than unpredictable ones,” writes Heymann. Three more from the TC+ team: That'll be two imaginary dollars, please: As generative AI finds its footing in enterprise products, how will companies charge for its use? wonders Alex. This is fine: Has the seed stage come back down to earth? It depends where you look, writes Becca. Reminder: Carly reminds us that AI is just someone else's computer. Uh-oh, my passport's expiring: Ask Sophie Alcorn: Will I be allowed into the U.S. if my passport expires in 5 months? 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: ConstantinosZ / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. Ron covered the Salesforce World Tour event this week and found out more details about Slack's plan to put AI at the center of the user experience. He writes that examples include helping someone get the gist of a long thread without having to read each message and generating messages. We can't wait until the technology for telepathy gets better so we can just think and Slack will type out a message. Dallas, Texas, found itself in a pickle, confirming that a ransomware attack forced the city to shut down courts and disrupt some 911 services while the mess got sorted out. Carly has more. And we have five more for you: We've got our drone eye on you: Japan's biggest drone maker ACSL sets its sights on the U.S., reports Brian. Under the microscope: The U.K.'s antitrust watchdog announced it will be doing an initial review of generative AI. Natasha L writes that the agency will be looking at "AI foundational models," like the large language models that OpenAI and Microsoft's New Bing are doing. Into the fold: Oh hey, Google just announced the Pixel Fold. Brian has more. Off the chain: Alibaba Cloud and Avalanche partner to deploy metaverses on the blockchain, Jacquelyn writes. Tuned in: Paramount+ grows to 60 million subscribers as it prepares to integrate with Showtime, reports Lauren.

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Shopify is laying off 20% of its workforce

The company is focusing on "main quests" and cutting back on what it dubs inefficient "side quests."

TRENDING Shopify to reduce workforce by 20%, sells logistics business to Flexport for 13% equity by Paul Sawers Shopify revealed today that it's laying off 20% of its workforce, impacting more than 2,000 people, and is selling its logistics business to Flexport for roughly 13% in stock. The news comes some 10 months after Shopify announced that it was reducing 10% of its workforce — roughly 1,000 people — and follows a trend that has seen many big technology companies engage in several rounds of redundancies in response to economic headwinds. In a blog post today, Tobias Lütke refers to "main quests" and "side quests," the former being the company's core raison d'être which is what it's best known for — e-commerce software for online retailers. However, shipping and logistics always goes hand-in-hand with e-commerce, which is why Shopify has been building up that side of its business too. READ MORE More News Slack updates aim to put AI at the center of the user experience Ransomware attack forces Dallas to shut down courts, disrupts some 911 services Microsoft doubles down on AI with new Bing features View this email online in your browser Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Unsubscribe © 2023 Yahoo. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

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TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Wednesday, May 03, 2023

Wednesday is here, and we're still getting excited about Disrupt later in the year. African startups: We'd love for you to apply to Startup Battlefield 200, and we've also opened our sale on Expo+ passes. — Christine and Haje Image Credits: Pixabay under a Pixabay License license.

The TechCrunch Top 3 What's the password?: Google's passkeys are now rolling out to account users around the world. The passkeys give you access to your account without passwords, and "authentication essentially synchronizes across all devices through the cloud using cryptographic key pairs, allowing sign-in to websites and apps using the same biometrics or screen-lock PIN used to unlock their devices," Paul writes. In the driver's seat: Stripe, a longtime partner of Lyft, has now signed a big deal with Uber. Ingrid has more. Making an impact: Manish asks the question, "Where is India in the generative AI race?" and answers it by taking a look at how Indian entrepreneurs are working to leverage the excitement around this trend.

Pioneers: Startups from Dreams to Reality, a Siemens Podcast Sponsored by Siemens Digital Industries Software Ideas alone can't change the world. It takes grit, and serious funding. In this podcast, Siemens sits down with startup owners to discuss the startup lifestyle- from concept to execution- and the big ideas that fuel these pioneers. From space balloons to flying cars, there's no frontier too far. Listen Now

Startups and VC Plexamp, the music player from Plex, now works with ChatGPT for playlist creation, reports Sarah. That made me curious, and I spent most of the morning using ChatGPT-4 to make playlists. Among other things, I asked it to create a list of top 10 essential heavy metal songs, great music to work to, and most nostalgic songs from 2004. I also asked ChatGPT-4 to create a list of top 5 songs about startups, and…I'll be damned, not only did it make the list of songs, but it also explained why each song made sense in this list. Not gonna lie, this thing keeps surprising me. Below is the list, and I made them into a handy Spotify playlist, an Apple Music playlist and a YouTube playlist for ya as well. “Started from the Bottom” by Drake: This song’s lyrics about starting from scratch and working one’s way up resonate with the journey of many startups as they strive to achieve success. “Lose Yourself” by Eminem: The intensity and drive present in this song’s lyrics can be representative of the dedication and focus required to build a successful startup. “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi: This anthem about taking control of one’s own destiny and seizing opportunities aligns with the mindset of many entrepreneurs starting their own businesses. “Don’t Stop Believin'” by Journey: This classic track serves as a reminder for startup founders to keep believing in their vision, even when the road to success is filled with challenges. “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor: As a symbol of determination and resilience, this song has become an anthem for those who face adversity and push through to achieve their goals, much like the spirit of a startup founder. Okay, enough musically inspired goofiness. Here's some more startup news for ya: From winged horse to unicorn: Kyle reports that Microsoft launches its Pegasus program for startups, awarding up to $350,000 in credits. That's on brand: Ron writes that Nova is building guardrails for generative AI content to protect brand integrity. Train on someone else: Kyle reports on Spawning's plans for letting creators opt out of generative AI training. Bluesky and sex workers: We had a pair of stories today, where Morgan explains that for Bluesky to thrive, it needs sex workers and Black Twitter, and Amanda dove in to explore why blue check stigma and #BlockTheBlue aren't so straightforward. Investing in video: Fandom launches new creator initiative and invests in more original video content, Lauren reports. Lacking PCB manufacturing is a national security risk: Over on TC+, Haje spoke with MacroFab's CEO to dig into nearshoring PCB manufacturing in the U.S.

Ask Sophie: Will I be allowed into the U.S. if my passport expires in 5 months? Dear Sophie, I founded a startup in Zimbabwe a few years ago. I planned to visit the United States for the first time next month to check out the market and applied for a visitor visa. I'm planning to stay in the U.S. for a couple of months, but I just realized that my passport expires in September. I understand that I need to have at least six months left on my passport in order to travel to the United States. Is that (still) true? Do I need to delay my trip? — Hopeful in Harare Three more from the TC+ team: Ethics in AI: Four investors explain why AI ethics can't be an afterthought, by Dominic-Madori. The era of the down round: Down rounds are prevailing as power shifts to VCs again, by Alex. A concrete solution to CO2: Former NBA star Rick Fox's startup gets $12M pre-seed for concrete that removes CO2, by Tim. 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: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

Big Tech Inc. Remember when Airbnb first started as a way to rent a room in a home to avoid staying in a hotel? Now that the platform's average home rental prices have gone up — 36% since 2019, according to the company — it's refocusing on single rooms to give users more affordable alternatives. Ivan has more. Meanwhile, Sarah was on dating app giant Match Group's first-quarter earnings call and reports that Match believes the recent Apple–Epic Games antitrust appeals ruling, though largely in favor of Apple, could result in App Store fee relief for developers. And we have five more for you: Young users at risk: The Federal Trade Commission wants to completely prohibit Meta from monetizing kids, writes Devin. Tweet free: Twitter made its API free for public announcement accounts, reports Ivan. Beware: Meta said hackers are increasingly using ChatGPT lures to spread malware on Facebook, Carly reports. High Fiverr: Fiverr Enterprise is a new product from Fiverr designed to streamline managing large groups of freelancers. Kyle has more. It's your party and you can cry if you want to: Lorenzo and Zack report that Bishop Fox laid off employees days after throwing a conference party.

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