Daily Crunch - Samsung unveils Galaxy S21 line

TechCrunch Newsletter

Thursday, January 14, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

Samsung lowers prices with its latest Galaxy S phones, Google completes its Fitbit acquisition and Beyond Meat is coming to Taco Bell. This is your Daily Crunch for January 14, 2021.

The big story: Samsung unveils Galaxy S21 line Samsung’s new line of phones includes the S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra, priced at $799, $999 and $1,119 respectively, an across-the-board price cut of $200. Brian Heater writes that the Ultra, in particular, “has one very important trick up its sleeve” — namely compatibility with the S Pen. All three phones are available for pre-order now and start shipping on January 29. In addition, Samsung announced the Galaxy Buds Pro, which cost $199 and come with a stated five hours of battery life. And it’s launching a Bluetooth locator, dubbed the Galaxy SmartTag. Read more Image Credits: Samsung

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The tech giants Google's Fitbit acquisition is official — This follows regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the pond. Amazon's Ring Neighbors app exposed users' precise locations and home addresses — The bug made it possible to retrieve the location data on users who posted to the app. Beyond Meat shares soar after inking deal with Taco Bell on new menu items — Taco Bell announced that it would work with Beyond Meat to come up with new menu items due to be tested in the next year. Image Credits: Kimberly White / Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital Medium acquires social book reading app Glose — Glose has been building iOS, Android and web apps that let you buy, download and read books on your devices. Tiger Global is raising a new $3.75B venture fund, one year after closing its last — Despite being named Tiger Private Investment Partners XIV, this is actually the firm’s thirteenth fund. Carbyne raises $25M for a next-generation platform to improve emergency 911 responses — The Israeli startup aims to help emergency services get more complete information about callers, and to provide additional telemedicine services. Image Credits: Glose

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Five consumer hardware VCs share their 2021 investment strategies — Investors are generally bullish on at-home fitness startups. Poshmark prices IPO above range as public markets continue to YOLO startups — This is the late-2020, early-2021 IPO market in action. Twelve 'flexible VCs' who operate where equity meets revenue share — Founders seeking non-dilutive funding: start here. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: Ezra Shaw

Everything else Tech and health companies including Microsoft and Salesforce team up on digital COVID-19 vaccination records — The so-called "Vaccination Credential Initiative" includes a range of big-name companies from both the healthcare and tech industries. 2020 was one of the warmest years in history and indicates mounting risks of climate change — 2020 either edged out or came in just behind 2016 as the warmest year in recorded history, according to data from U.S. government agencies. Image Credits: Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

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Daily Crunch - Airbnb cancels all DC bookings during inauguration week

TechCrunch Newsletter

Wednesday, January 13, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

Airbnb takes a big step to avoid violence at the inauguration, Intel gets a new CEO and Affirm goes public. This is your Daily Crunch for January 13, 2021.

The big story: Airbnb cancels all DC bookings during inauguration week Airbnb said today that “in response to various local, state and federal officials asking people not to travel to Washington, D.C.” it will be canceling all reservations in the area for next week, which is the week of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. This will apply to all reservations on Airbnb-owned HotelTonight as well. The company had already said that it would ban anyone who was involved in last week’s riot in the U.S. Capitol, but it’s now taking a much more aggressive step to avoid housing anyone who might have violent plans during the inauguration. They also said guests will be given a full refund, while hosts will still receive full compensation for these reservations. Read more Image Credits: Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images

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The tech giants Pat Gelsinger stepping down as VMware CEO to replace Bob Swan at Intel — Gelsinger would be replacing Intel’s interim CEO Bob Swan on February 15. Affirm doubles after starting to trade despite strong IPO pricing — Affirm's explosive debut comes on the heels of similarly strong results from DoorDash, C3.ai and Airbnb. Apple announces new projects related to its $100 million pledge for racial equity and justice — For starters, the company will contribute $25 million to the Propel Center, an innovation and learning hub for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Image Credits: Horacio Villalobos / Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital Rapyd raises $300M on a $2.5B valuation to boost its fintech-as-a-service API — Rapyd's customer base now includes about 5,000 businesses. Flo gets FTC slap for sharing user data when it promised privacy — The FTC has reached a settlement with Flo, a period and fertility tracking app with 100 million+ users. E-commerce optimization startup Tradeswell raises $15.5M — The key goal is to allow e-commerce businesses to improve their net margins. Image Credits: MirageC / Getty Images

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Venture capitalists react to Visa-Plaid deal meltdown — The leading sentiment seems to be, “Congratulations, you're no longer selling your company for billions of dollars!” Will startup valuations change given rising antitrust concerns? — Even a few smoke signals is enough to start raising concerns. Dear Sophie: What's the new minimum salary required for H-1B visa applicants? — The latest edition of “Dear Sophie,” the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies. Image Credits: Ana Maria Serrano / Getty Images

Everything else These robo-fish autonomously form schools and work as search parties — Researchers at Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have created a set of fish-shaped underwater robots that can autonomously navigate and find each other. Survey: Help shape the future of TechCrunch — We're always looking to make TechCrunch better, and part of that is regularly gathering feedback from the people who matter most: You! Image Credits: Berlinger et al., Science Robotics

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Daily Crunch - Visa calls off Plaid acquisition

TechCrunch Newsletter

Tuesday, January 12, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

Regulatory action prompts Visa to back off a fintech acquisition, Uber and Moderna partner and Checkout.com is valued at $15 billion. This is your Daily Crunch for January 12, 2021.

The big story: Visa calls off Plaid acquisition The deal, valued at $5.3 billion, was first announced just over a year ago. However, the Department of Justice filed suit to block the acquisition in November, arguing that it would “eliminate a nascent competitive threat.” In today’s announcement, Visa said it could still have made things work, but the threat of “protracted and complex litigation” ultimately prompted it to call things off. What remains to be seen, however, is whether this might cool financial giants’ interest in acquiring fintech startups and unicorns. Read more Image Credits: Sarah Wardlaw / Unsplash

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The tech giants Uber and Moderna partner on COVID-19 vaccine access and information — The only confirmed component involves providing users with credible, factual information about COVID-19 vaccine safety through Uber's consumer app. Facebook revamps 'Access Your Information' tool to better break down, explain data usage — The new version of the tool has been visually redesigned, and now further breaks down the viewable information across eight categories instead of just two. GM targets delivery companies with new EV business unit BrightDrop — GM has launched a new business unit to offer commercial customers an ecosystem of electric and connected products. Image Credits: JOSH EDELSON/AFP / Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital Checkout.com raises $450M and reaches $15B valuation — Checkout.com wants to build a one-stop shop for all things related to payments. Cockroach Labs scores $160M Series E on $2B valuation — Co-founder and CEO Spencer Kimball says the company's revenue more than doubled in 2020 in spite of COVID. Weber acquires smart cooking startup June — June will continue to operate as its own brand. Image Credits: Checkout.com

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch These five VCs have high hopes for cannabis in 2021 — Despite remaining headwinds, the future is looking up for most cannabis businesses. Is there still room in the cloud-security market? — While the initial shock of the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided for businesses, one of its main legacies is how it ushered in a tidal wave of accelerated digital transformation. 2021: A SPAC odyssey — A closer look at blank-check offerings for Bakkt and SoFi. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: Anton Petrus / Getty Images

Everything else Rollables are the new foldables — On day one of CES, both LG and TCL have offered their take on yet another form factor designed to offer more screen real estate. Nielsen says 'The Office' was the most popular streaming series of 2020 — Netflix and Disney+ dominated the rankings. Image Credits: TCL

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