Friday, April 7, 2023

'Copy-from-China' social media app Lemon8 squeezes its way into US top 10

TechCrunch Newsletter
TechCrunch logo
The Daily Crunch logo

By Christine Hall

Friday, April 07, 2023

Hello, and welcome to your Friday. Did the week drag on, or did it go by quickly for you? Or maybe you had today off. No matter, I'm here to bring you all of today's techy goodness. The lesson for today: "Don't ever leak data."

Oh, and support our colleagues over at the Chain Reaction and Found podcasts: They were nominated for a Webby, so please support them with a vote by April 20. — Christine

 image

Image Credits: Peter Dazeley / Getty Images

The TechCrunch Top 3

  • That's one a-spicy application: ByteDance's latest hit, Lemon8, which some describe as a cross between Instagram, Pinterest and Amazon, is now sitting among the top 10 apps in the U.S. However, Rita says Lemon8 is more like another app called Xiaohongshu and discusses why ByteDance may have taken another page from the China playbook.
  • Get your unicorn horn ready: You're going to need a TechCrunch+ subscription to read this next one, but I promise, it's worth it. Alex went unicorn IPO hunting and came back with a list of names, saying, "The first group of upcoming potential unicorn IPOs is shaping up well."
  • In a galaxy far, far away: If you're a Star Wars fan, Disney+ will debut a new series called "The Acolyte" in 2024. Aisha writes that this storyline takes place at the end of the High Republic era before the events of the main Star Wars films.

Startups and VC

Everyone needs some good competition to get the creativity flowing. Kyle, Devin and Manish teamed up to look at Anthropic's $5 billion, four-year plan to take on OpenAI. Going through the company's pitch deck, the trio describe the business model that will take Anthropic there and the investors behind it.

Wrapping up the week, as mentioned yesterday, there was a group of us watching Y Combinator’s Winter 2023 Demo Day. Artificial intelligence and open source were big buzzwords on Day 1, while Day 2 had us wondering if crypto is back and why accountants are suddenly getting a lot of love.

VCs to recommerce startups: Let's pop some tags

Thanks in large part to Gen Z’s interest in sustainable shopping, recommerce is soaring to new heights, and VCs are looking for the come up.

Since Etsy went public in 2015, companies like Poshmark, The RealReal and thredUP followed suit, attracting even more investors to the sector. Last year, VCs flowed approximately $6 billion to resale platforms, writes Brian Schwarzbach, an investor with Cathay Innovation.

In a post for TC+, he explores three recommerce areas attracting VC funds and shares “some food for thought for founders building startups in this (re)emerging space.”

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

VCs to recommerce startups: Let's pop some tags image

Image Credits: Kinga Krzeminska / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc.

Sometimes things don't go as planned. In India, its central bank decided to press pause on plans it had for a rival to the nation's dominant payment system, Unified Payments Interface. Manish writes that the project, called New Umbrella Entity, had made some traction, attracting interest from large companies and financial institutions, and inviting bids in 2021 for licenses to operate new retail payment and settlement systems across India. However, the project just failed to have that sizzle and pop that the Reserve Bank of India was looking for.

Catch a falling iPod and put it in your pocket…Harri reports on Apple's patent application for what looks to be a teeny, tiny iPod that can do it all: music, videos and books, no smartphone or smartwatch needed. Though not sure how you can read on something that small. I guess we'll see.

And we have five more for you:

Read more stories on TechCrunch.com

Newest Jobs from Crunchboard

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Flipboard

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

Thursday, April 6, 2023

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

TechCrunch Newsletter
TechCrunch logo
The Daily Crunch logo

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

 image

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:

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:

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

Funds offering 'friends and family' checks could bring the change underrepresented founders need image

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:

Read more stories on TechCrunch.com

Newest Jobs from Crunchboard

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Flipboard

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

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

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

TechCrunch Newsletter
TechCrunch logo
The Daily Crunch logo

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

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!

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

As YC launches new batch, here's how the early-stage venture market is faring today image

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:

Read more stories on TechCrunch.com

Newest Jobs from Crunchboard

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Flipboard

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