Daily Crunch - Trump pardons Anthony Levandowski

TechCrunch Newsletter

Wednesday, January 20, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

On his way out the door, President Donald Trump pardons a former Googler, Jack Ma reappears and Wattpad gets acquired. This is your Daily Crunch for January 20, 2021.

The big story: Trump pardons Anthony Levandowski Although Donald Trump is no longer president of the United States as I write this, he still held the role on Tuesday evening, when he included former Googler Anthony Levandowski (who had been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing trade secrets) in his final set of 73 pardons. The pardon had been supported by Founders Fund’s Peter Thiel and Oculus founder Palmer Luckey, among others. Today, of course, Joe Biden was inaugurated, prompting immediate changes to the White House website. And Amazon wasted no time offering the new president help with rolling out the COVID-19 vaccines. Also, we have a piece from former White House deputy chief of staff Jim Messina about the relationship between the Biden administration and Silicon Valley. Read more Image Credits: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

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The tech giants Alibaba shares jump on Jack Ma's first appearance in 3 months — Alibaba's billionaire founder resurfaced as he spoke to 100 rural teachers through a video call. Valve and five PC games publishers fined $9.4M for illegal geo-blocking — In addition to Valve, the five sanctioned games publishers are: Bandai Namco, Capcom, Focus Home, Koch Media and ZeniMax. TikTok's new Q&A feature lets creators respond to fan questions using text or video — The feature is currently only available to select creators who have opted into the test. Image Credits: Jack Ma / Source: ZJOL

Startups, funding and venture capital Wattpad, the storytelling platform, is selling to South Korea's Naver for $600M — Naver plans to incorporate at least part of the business into another of its holdings, the publishing platform Webtoon. SpaceX delivers 60 more Starlink satellites in first launch of 2021, and sets new Falcon 9 rocket reusability record — This puts the total Starlink constellation size at almost 1,000. Landbot closes $8M Series A for its 'no code' chatbot builder — The startup has grown to around 2,200 paying customers.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Fintech startups and unicorns had a stellar Q4 2020 — The fourth quarter of 2020 was as busy as you imagined. Dear Sophie: What are Biden's immigration changes? — The latest edition of Dear Sophie, the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies. Hello, Extra Crunch community! — Tell us what else you want from Extra Crunch. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: Nigel Sussman

Everything else MIT develops method for lab-grown plants that eventually lead to alternatives to forestry and farming — The process would be able to produce wood and fibre in a lab environment. Reflections on the first all-virtual CES — We’ve long questioned whether in-person trade shows are a thing of the past. This year, we put it to the test. Remote workers are greener, but their tech still has a real carbon cost — A new study examines tentative carbon costs on the connectivity and data infrastructure that make working from home possible. Image Credits: Getty Images

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Daily Crunch - Microsoft backs Cruise

TechCrunch Newsletter

Tuesday, January 19, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

Autonomous vehicle company Cruise raises a $2 billion new round, Netflix keeps growing and WhatsApp faces more privacy concerns. This is your Daily Crunch for January 19, 2021.

The big story: Microsoft backs Cruise Cruise announced today that it has raised $2 billion in new funding at a $30 billion valuation, with Microsoft joining as a new investor. (Previous backers GM and Honda also participated.) This includes a long-term strategic partnership between the two companies, with Cruise using Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform for its yet-to-launch autonomous vehicle ride-hailing service. Microsoft is also becoming the preferred cloud provider for GM as part of the deal. "As Cruise and GM's preferred cloud, we will apply the power of Azure to help them scale and make autonomous transportation mainstream,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in a statement. Read more

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The tech giants Netflix shares soar as it passes 200M paying subscribers — Netflix capped off a year of impressive streaming growth by adding 8.5 million net new paying subscribers during the fourth quarter. India asks WhatsApp to withdraw new privacy policy over 'grave concerns' — India’s IT ministry said the upcoming update to the app's data-sharing policy has raised "grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens.” Apple's new editorial franchise, Apple Podcasts Spotlight, to highlight interesting creators — The editorial team at Apple will select new podcast creators to feature every month. Image Credits: Sam Wasson / Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital Rivian raises $2.65B as it pushes toward production of its electric pickup — Rivian is now valued at $27.6 billion. PPRO nabs $180M at a $1B+ valuation to bring together the fragmented world of payments — The London startup has built a platform to make it easier for marketplaces, payment providers and other e-commerce players to enable localized payments. Google backs India's Dunzo in $40M funding round — Last year, Google unveiled a $10 billion fund to invest in the world's second-largest internet market. Image Credits: SOPA Images / Getty Images

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch In 2020, VCs invested $428M into US-based startups every day — That’s according to data shared by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. Six investors on 2021's mobile gaming trends and opportunities — “We are definitely fearful of Apple's ability to completely disrupt/affect the growth of a game," said Bessemer's Ethan Kurzweil and Sakib Dadi. Bustle CEO Bryan Goldberg explains his plans for taking the company public — Bustle could eventually join the ranks of startups going public via SPAC. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: MOHD RASFAN / AFP / Getty Images

Everything else Europe is working on a common framework for 'vaccine passports' —  A common approach for mutual recognition of vaccination documentation is of the "utmost importance," the European Commission said today. Paramount+, the successor to CBS All Access, launches March 4 in the US, Canada and Latin America — The company had been touting its plans for the rebranded service since earlier last year. Image Credits: Dogukan Keskinkilic / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

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Daily Crunch - WhatsApp responds to privacy backlash

TechCrunch Newsletter

Friday, January 15, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

WhatsApp delays enforcement of a controversial privacy change, Apple may get rid of the Touch Bar in future MacBooks and Bumble files to go public. This is your Daily Crunch for January 15, 2021.

The big story: WhatsApp responds to privacy backlash Earlier this month, WhatsApp sent users a notification asking them to consent to sharing some of their personal data — such as phone number and location — with Facebook (which owns WhatsApp). The alert also said users would have to agree to the terms by February 8 if they wanted to continue using the app. This change prompted legal threats and an investigation from the Turkish government. Now the company is pushing the enforcement date back three months. “No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8. We're also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp,” the company said in a post. “We'll then go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15." Read more Image Credits: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

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The tech giants Uber planning to spin out Postmates' delivery robot arm — Postmates X is seeking investors in its bid to become a separate company. Apple said to be planning new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros with MagSafe and Apple processors — This could be the end for the Touch Bar. Amazon's newest product lets companies build their own Alexa assistant for cars, apps and video games — Yes, that means your next car could have two Alexas. Image Credits: Aaron Bauer-Griffin / Getty Images (Image has been modified)

Startups, funding and venture capital Bumble files to go public — The company plans to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange, using the ticker symbol "BMBL." Tracy Chou launches Block Party to combat online harassment and abuse — Currently available for Twitter, Block Party helps people filter out the content they don't want to see. Everlywell raises $75M from HealthQuest Capital following its recent $175M Series D round — Everlywell develops at-home testing kits for a range of health concerns, and it added a COVID-19 home collection test kit last year. Image Credits: Bumble

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Fifteen steps to fundraising a new VC or private equity fund — Launching is easy; fundraising is harder. Lessons from Top Hat's acquisition spree — The acquisition of Fountainhead Press marks Top Hat's third purchase of a publishing company in the past 12 months. Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson says wisdom lies with your developers — Takeaways from Lawson’s new book "Ask Your Developer.” (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: Cristian Bortes/EyeEm / Getty Images

Everything else Video game spending increased 27% in 2020 — According to the latest figures from NPD, spending on gaming hardware, software and accessories was up 25% in December and 27% for the full year. DOT evaluated 11 GPS replacements and found only one that worked across use cases —  The government wants to create additional redundancy and resiliency in the sector. Image Credits: Taylor Hatmaker/TechCrunch

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