You’ll never be lost again if Google has anything to say about it

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall Thursday, October 26, 2023

Seek and you shall find. In today's top story, Aisha writes about Google unleashing a slew of new features for Google Maps. Of course they are AI-powered. And it appears the search giant doesn't want you to be bored, or be without a charge for your car, or not know where you’re going for too long. Get the scoop. Meanwhile, Rita reports on XPeng, often called the Chinese challenger to Tesla, becoming even closer to a competitor after removing high-definition mapping from its XNGP-assisted driving feature. Find out the driver of that decision. And in the pursuit of being an influencer, Lauren reports that 1337, pronounced "Leet," is tapping into generative AI to create a community of AI-driven influencers. Here's how. Image Credits: NurPhoto / Getty Images

More top reads All hail the driverless car: Cruise may be having a tough time, but Waymo has its foot firmly on the gas as its driverless vehicles are now available through Uber, starting first in Phoenix. Here's how to get one. No unraveling here: Threads has a "good chance" of reaching 1 billion users in a few years, according to Mark Zuckerberg. How does he know? He took a poll. Oh, and now Meta says users and businesses have 600 million chats on its platforms every day. Extending the runway: AgentSync raises $50 million more in a massive Series B extension. Find out how this insurtech shook up its business. (TC+) This will get a charge out of you: Inlyte Energy reels in $8 million in a seed round to revive a 50-year-old battery technology. Read more. (TC+) The glue holding social media together: Despite usage declines, X remains "stickier" than first thought. Here's where X is succeeding. Contracts need love too: GGV Capital U.S. backs Arteria AI's digital makeover for financial document creation. Finally, all that unstructured data will have a home. There's always a catch: African VCs and startups are eyeing the Middle East for new capital. However, there might be some requirements. How to make that next decision: Now with $3.8 million in new funding, Outset is using GPT-4 to make user surveys better. Research that. Scooting into the future: Temasek and SBI pour $384 million into India's Ola Electric. Read more. Amazon is your new doctor: The delivery giant's virtual health clinic can now treat patients for a cough, cold or flu. Here's how. Even more for your Thursday: Memory chip maker SK Hynix, a shareholder of Kioxia, opposes a merger with Western Digital There could be a simple reason why seed deals are so expensive today (TC+) Spam is about to get even more terrible (TC+) EU lawmakers agree on key detection limits in controversial CSAM-scanning file Image Credits: Uber

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Bitcoin’s price is the highest it’s been all year — can it keep that momentum?

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Today's top story comes to us from TechCrunch+ land where Jacquelyn reports on bitcoin's price rise to nearly $35,000. Here's why it shot up and whether that can hold. (TC+) Meanwhile, you all had your eyes on the review of the DJI Osmo Pocket 3, which Darrell writes will make you consider having an extra external camera just for vlogging. And Kyle has a story on CentML, a company developing tools to make AI models run more efficiently. It picked up a rather large seed round. Speaking of big AI, Alex reports that AI is finally resulting in real growth for Big Tech. (TC+) Image Credits: Jirapong Manustrong / Getty Images

More top reads We have another gaggle of Google news: The search engine giant is actively looking to insert different types of ads in its generative AI search. Also ad-related, Google launched AR beauty ads for lip and eye products. Then there are some tools to help users fact-check images. And finally, Google Play's policy update cracks down on “offensive” AI apps and disruptive notifications. We're not going to leave out Amazon: First, AWS announces "Sovereign Cloud" to support data residency in Europe. Then we looked at Amazon's eero Max 7 mesh Wi-Fi router. And get the kiddos ready for the launch of "Explore with Alexa." WhatsApp, Doc?: Sukhiba is building a conversational commerce tool for WhatsApp in Africa. Now with $1.5 million in new funding, the startup eyes expansion. Let’s talk shopping. Don't object: Eve, a new startup, wants to shake up the legal profession with some large language models to help lawyers be more productive. Court's in recess. If you're looking for capital: We have three new funds to show you. Flourish Ventures, a "fintech venture fund with a purpose," secures $350 million in new capital. Then for you B2B-focused software companies, Garuda Ventures unveiled its first fund. And if you went to UC Berkeley and started a company, The House Fund's third fund wants to invest $115 million in your startup. It's you, but better: Grammarly's new generative AI feature learns your style — and applies it to any text. Give your voice a profile. Leather without the moo: Gozen raises $3.3 million from Happiness Capital, SoSV and others to scale its lab-grown leather. Read more. Go go gadget everything: In gadget news, find out why C1 webcam maker Opal is still committed to hardware. Meanwhile, Apple Watch's best new feature is now live. Know where you stand: Coach's knitwear supplier is betting that fashion is predictable and makes a $1 million investment in Jellibeans' fashion prediction technology. Try it on. SBF will take the stand: As Sam Bankman-Fried plans to testify, a former SDNY federal prosecutor sees the move as a Hail Mary. But will his testimony fumble or score a goal with jurors? Even more for your Wednesday: Blackbird backs Heidi Health's AI platform for overworked doctors GM and Honda punt on plan to build millions of affordable EVs together As SBF plans to testify, former SDNY federal prosecutor sees it as a 'Hail Mary' (TC+) Viso eyes no-code for the future of computer vision and scores funding to scale Raising without a deck is more common than you think (TC+) Image Credits: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

On the pods This week on Equity, Alex talked to Theory Ventures founder Tomasz Tunguz on the show. As longtime readers of his work, we felt that having the former Redpoint investor on the show was a no-brainer. They got into why Tunguz left Redpoint and started his own fund, the thesis that underpins Theory Ventures' investments, and the future of machine learning. They also discussed why Tunguz is bullish on Ethereum, as well as the value of software, the health of software companies, and why venture math still holds up at lower valuation multiples. Listen here. Read More Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

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Two companies get caught up in hack web that hit Okta

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall Tuesday, October 24, 2023

In today's top story, Cloudflare and 1Password say after hackers hit Okta last week, some hackers also tried to compromise their systems. Good news — the incidents did not affect their customer systems or data, according to Zack's report. Get the scoop. Meanwhile, as you know, dear Daily Crunchers, the investment world is a risky one. Not every company gets an exit and some don't even make it far past their first cash infusion. However, when this starts happening frequently, it's time to get to the bottom of it, and Tage does just that by talking to five investors about due diligence in Africa. Read more. And just in time for the holiday shopping season, Mary Ann writes about I Own My Data. Now with $2.75 million, the startup is unleashing Node, an app that lets consumers manage, retrieve and save all of their online interactions and purchases on their own devices. Take control of your own shopping data. Image Credits: Michael Vi / Getty Images

More top reads You can do magic: Well, WorkMagic will do it for you. The company, which recently raised $2 million, wants to automate all the marketing tasks for Shopify sellers. Wands at the ready. M&A action: WordPress.com owner buys all-in-one messaging app Texts.com for $50 million. Read how that will be integrated. First look: Walmart and Outlier Ventures' web3 accelerator launches with five startups targeting tech to improve retail and commerce. Time to shop. Orange won't be the new black for these folks: An ex-SDNY prosecutor says the lead witnesses in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried — Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh — probably won't get jail time. Here's why. That Pebble didn't bounce: Pebble, the Twitter alternative previously known as T2, is shutting down. Get the scoop. And just like that . . . : California's Department of Motor Vehicles immediately suspends Cruise's robotaxi permit. Find out what happened. Light 'em up: New solar mini-grids in Africa to be powered by Husk Power Systems' $103 million Series D. Here's what this means for Husk. No touch-up for you: Anti-Instagram photo-sharing app Daylyy has no vanity metrics, filters or algorithm. It's just you and your authentic self. Scary good time: Apple sends out invites for its "Scary Fast" event where, rumor has it, new Macs could be on the way. Prepare to scream. The heat (pump) is on: Harvest Thermal taps into a $4 million seed round to make heat pumps cheaper to run. See how it works.  (TC+) Let's get engaged: Oxolo bags €13 million for a generative AI–driven video platform that can optimize engagement on the fly. Never have a bored employee again. Speaking of AI-powered videos: D-ID's newest app uses AI to make videos from photographs. No production needed. Even more for your Tuesday: As Databricks touts demand for AI services, all eyes are on Microsoft’s and Alphabet's Q3 results (TC+) France wants to boost angel investment by copying UK's investment schemes Europe's CSAM-scanning plan is a tipping point for democratic rights, experts warn Censys lands new cash to grow its threat-detecting cybersecurity service Instagram is testing a dedicated feed for posts from Verified users Image Credits: WorkMagic

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On the pods This week on Found, our hosts Becca Szkutak and Dominic-Madori Davis talk with Jonas Torland from 7Analytics, a Norwegian company that has built a data platform that powers tools and products for sustainable risk management. Their models predict the paths of floodwater, which allows them to predict and map the damage. Listen here. Chain Reaction had such a good episode this week, we published it two days early! Jacquelyn interviewed Josh Naftalis, partner at law firm Pallas Partners. He's a longtime attorney who represents companies, boards and executives in cases for white-collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement matters, internal investigations, crisis management and more. With his experience in corporate fraud, there’s no one better to walk you through the SBF trial so far and let you know what to look out for as we head into the last days of the trial. Listen here. Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

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