Don’t celebrate the demise of non-competes quite yet

A slew of lawsuits are heading the FTC's way after it voted to kill non-competes

View this email online in your browser By Alex Wilhelm Friday, April 26, 2024 Welcome to TechCrunch AM! I love this era of tech news because there's always something popping off. Today we have an IPO update that portends good things for startups looking to exit, notes on a multi-billion-dollar venture fund, how hard it is to kill non-competes, space news, Google Cloud results, and more. Dig in, let's go! — Alex TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: a-image / Getty Images 1. Rubrik rises after debut, indicating IPO window's open: Rubrik is the latest tech company to IPO in the United States and be received warmly. After pricing above its target range, the data management and cybersecurity company traded higher on its first day as a public company. What more do unicorns want to see before they start listing themselves? Read More 2. Norwest Ventures bags $3 billion: What venture slowdown? Norwest is now sitting on a cushy $3 billion, which is the same amount as its last fund raised in late 2021. The venture market has compressed and retracted since its last fundraise, so Norwest's capital base is now effectively much larger. That means it can throw its weight around if it chooses to do so. Read More 3. Non-competes may live on: Many hailed the surprise death of non-compete agreements for employees following a recent FTC vote, but don't bust out the champagne yet: Legal challenges to the decision are looming, and some folks are going to fight the new rules tooth and nail. Read More A MESSAGE FROM DELINEA Beyond Passwords: IT Talks on Authentication's Next Wave Learn how modern workplaces are adapting to passwordless technologies while addressing security and compliance concerns. Read More Morning Must Reads Image Credits:  NASA Boeing's Starliner is a go for launch: What do we love? Going to space! What do we love more? A functioning and competitive market for space launch methods! Boeing's Starliner is going to bring two astronauts to the ISS in May, and that's great news for the market and Yours Truly. Read More Can you acqui-hire a venture firm? Apparently, yes. Berlin-based venture firm Global Founders Capital and Rocket Internet have had close ties for some time. It turns out the ties are so close that instead of raising a new fund, GFC is going to invest off Rocket's balance sheet moving forward. It's the Microsoft-Inflection AI of the VC-startup studio world! Read More Meta loves the fediverse: Meta's work to integrate Threads with the fediverse is raising eyebrows, and some concerns. But thanks to other work in the open-source world, there's a general belief that Meta won't be a jerk when it comes to federated social media platforms. Read More Iterative improvements in humanoid robots are a good thing: When we think about the companies developing humanoid robots, there's one name we shouldn't forget: Sanctuary AI. The company has been in the game for a while, and now has an updated model that features faster learning. Not quick learning compared to humans, of course, but this is the sort of upgrade that really adds up over time. Read More Why did Kaiser share patient data with advertisers? The medical giant is blaming the mess on "certain online technologies, previously installed on its websites and mobile applications" that "may have transmitted personal information to third-party vendors." Sure, OK, but why the hell did the people who served my therapist have that tech to begin with? Read More Google Cloud is going strong: Search revenue increased 14.4% at Google in its most recent quarter, but Google Cloud stole the show, reporting a 28% improvement in revenue. That's nearly double Search's result and it's therefore an important differential. I am not sure how much worse Google search could become to allow for greater monetization, but the cloud market clearly has lots of room to grow. Read More Snap soars: Shares of Snapchat's parent company only do two things on earnings days: rise sharply or plummet deep underground. It was the former this time 'round, and Snap's stock is up about 25% in pre-market trading today. Part of the reason is that its short-form video service, Spotlight, saw a 125% rise in total watch time, which indicates it could be a big winner if TikTok does exit the U.S. market. Read More Around the Web Thoma Bravo snaps up Darktrace: The Financial Times reports that PE outfit Thoma Bravo – not, sadly, the name of a plucky superhero from the '50s – is buying cybersecurity firm Darktrace for 4.3 billion pounds. That is far above Darktrace's IPO price, which may make this a great deal for its investors. Read More Jeff Lawson gets into publishing: And he's going to be printing satire. After leaving Twilio, the company's former founder and CEO has purchased the illustrious and very serious journalism outlet, The Onion, from G/O Media. The saga of wealthy tech types buying media properties continues, but I've met Jeff a number of times and I can see this working out. Read More The crypto reverse-Uno card: The SEC has been busy suing crypto companies for not following the law as it understands it. Now, Consensys is suing the SEC for not following the law as it understands it. I did not see that coming! Read More A MESSAGE FROM BRAINDATE Transforming Connections: The Braindate Impact at Tech Conferences Conferences, particularly in the tech industry, are large gatherings that can generate important opportunities for learning and networking. However, amidst all of the sessions and activities, attendees often miss out on making meaningful connections. This is where Braindate steps in—offering a solution that helps all participants engage more deeply and find the value they're looking for!  Learn More Before You Go Image Credits: Shein Shein gets the VLOP treatment: A VLOP is a company designated in the EU as a very large online platform, and they can come under extra scrutiny for their reach and effects on the masses. And such is the case with fast-fashion company, Shein, which will now have to "identify and mitigate systemic risks, such as related to the sale of counterfeit or illegal goods or other types of content which could pose harms to consumers' well-being." Read More Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. 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Stripe makes more changes

TikTok is in trouble, and net neutrality is back

View this email online in your browser By Christine Hall Thursday, April 25, 2024 Welcome back to TechCrunch PM, your home for all things startups, venture capital and Big Tech. Today, we get into a return to cryptocurrency for Stripe and then enjoy a breakout section on your favorite streaming media app. We've also got some net neutrality news and a handful of venture capital rounds. Enjoy! TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: SOPA Images / Contributor / Getty Images Stripe changes more of its stripes: Following a bunch of launches Wednesday, Stripe said it was getting back into cryptocurrency after taking a six-year hiatus. Back then, the company was into Bitcoin but will go with stablecoins for this round. Read More Protecting that iPhone: Two security veterans came together to start a new company called DoubleYou that aims to help other makers of cybersecurity products up their game in protecting Apple devices. Read More Rubrik starts trading: Speaking of cybersecurity, Rubrik's shares hit the New York Stock Exchange today and had that pop, climbing 20% in early trading. More good news for the public markets. Read More TikTok on the clock So much TikTok news that we gave it its own section:  Breaking down TikTok's legal arguments around free speech, national security claims Is TikTok getting banned? Not yet, but you should explore alternatives The impact of TikTok's ban in other countries could signal what's ahead for the US Gen Z is losing its political voice on social media Afternoon must-reads Net neutrality is back: The Federal Communications Commission voted to reinstate net neutrality. With it comes some changes and protections to the rules originally passed back in 2015. Read More Nothing but Bluesky that I see: Everything's better with friends, and that's exactly what Bluesky is doing with Mastodon. A new decentralized social network is backing a project that would connect — or "bridge" — Mastodon requests into Bluesky requests so that consumer apps would be compatible with Bluesky, too. Read More Threads strings up new features: One called Hidden Words lets users filter out words and phrases from their feeds and mentions. They can also add their own custom words and phrases in the settings. Read More Paystand acquires Teampay: The move gives Paystand, which was previously on the accounts receivables side, entrance into products for the account payables side. And the ability to add the blockchain to both. Read More I second that AI emotion: Synthesia AI's generative AI technology is working to better replicate the facial movements and emotions of humans. Read More Money, money, money RevenueCat raises a $12 million Series C as it expands its subscription management to the web. Read More Carv raises a $10 million Series A to help gamers monetize their data. Read More Chilean instant payments API startup Fintoc raises $7 million to turn Mexico into its main market. Read More Gravitics grabs a $1.7 million contract to develop "tactically responsive" orbital platforms for the Space Force. Read More Around the web U.S. pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb announced that it would lay off 2,200 employees as part of a cost-cutting measure aimed at saving $1.5 billion by 2025. The Wall Street Journal has more. Speaking of cuts, shares of Southwest Airlines took a tumble following a first-quarter loss. This prompted the Dallas-based airline to announce plans to exit four airports around the country and Mexico, along with cutting 2,000 jobs by the end of the year, MarketWatch reports. And Japanese automaker Honda intends to invest around $11 million in new electric vehicle and battery production plants alongside its existing facilities in Ontario, Reuters reports. A MESSAGE FROM BRAINDATE Unlocking Success: A Deep Dive into Top 3 of the Most Successful Events in Braindate History What does it take to connect thousands of participants at large-scale events on a deep, meaningful level? It starts with Braindate! Check out some of Braindate's most successful implementations at tech events.  Read More TechCrunch Minute FTC bans noncompetes, court challenge incoming: Now that the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban non-compete agreements, it's time to talk about what this means for Silicon Valley. Anthony Ha steps in for Alex Wilhelm today. Hit play, and let's chat! Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Got a tip? tips@techcrunch.com Question about our events? events@techcrunch.com Want to advertise on TechCrunch.com? advertise@techcrunch.com Interested in sponsoring live events? sponsors@techcrunch.com Update your preferences here at any time Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 110 5th St,San Francisco,CA Privacy Policy