Citing 'global market uncertainties,' Sea flatlines Shopee India

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Alex Wilhelm, Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Monday, March 28, 2022

Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for Monday, March 28, 2022! Alas, I knew this day was coming, and here it is. Christine and Haje are taking over my bits of Daily Crunch from here on out, though I will be back occasionally to fill in when they are on break. Not that I am leaving TechCrunch. Not a bit of it. I'm off to work on TechCrunch+ as my main project, so am leaving you in their very capable hands. As an addendum, Walter will keep writing the TechCrunch+ section, which I am very thankful for. It's been a super huge treat to write for you here for so many months. Hugs, and good luck! — Alex Image Credits: Andre Malerba / Bloomberg / Getty Images

The TechCrunch Top 3 Sea's Shopee closes India operations: Singapore's Sea is closing down its Shopee e-commerce business in India, but not for the reason you may think. While the announcement follows India's decision to ban Sea's popular title "Free Fire" in the country last month, TechCrunch reports that the company is insisting the reason is "global market uncertainties." The Shopee site was not even a year old. Apple wins an Oscar: If you watched the Oscars last night, you surely walked away with one takeaway: that AppleTV+ was the first streaming service to win best picture. Nothing else from the event stood out at all, no sir. Nothing. There are no tweets, takes, or other content discussing any other Oscar happenings. Just that Apple beat Netflix to the pinnacle of Oscar-dom. Is the startup slowdown here? We are a few days removed from a deluge of Q1 2021 startup data, but there are some vibrations that we can feel indicating that, yes, the funding market is slowing down. A lot? It's too soon to say. Even more, a slowdown from all-time records doesn't indicate a correction, let alone a startup recession. There's still money flowing, and funds that raised huge capital pools still have to allocate it, slowdown or not.

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Startups and VC Elon Musk may be threatening to spool up his own social media platform, but Amanda today eloquently argues why it's too early to whine about it on Twitter. "When it comes to Musk actually following through on his wacky Twitter ideas, his track record isn't great," she drily concludes. It looks like French accelerator The Family is going through a bitter family feud, suing one of its co-founders for alleged forgery and "diverting €3 million that was supposed to be invested in several startups" Latitud is aiming to become "the operating system for every venture-backed company in Latin America," and just raised $11.5 million from Andreesen Horowitz and NfX to continue working toward that vision. Egyptian platform Eksab raised $3 million to scale its fantasy football — that's ⚽ — platform across MENA and Africa. Freelancer marketplace Malt expanded its appeal and geographic reach by acquiring consulting marketplace Comatch. Longtime DCM partner Kyle Lui joins Bling Capital as its second general partner. That buzzing you can hear in the treetops might just be Treeswift, which is using drones to keep an eye on forests and raised a $4.8 million round of financing to do so. Keeping abreast of what's happening in the brain, brain.space remakes the EEG, aiming to make brain-wave measuring as easy as putting on a VR headset. Healthcare continues to be a challenge – and staffing of a rapidly evolving workforce is part of that. Lantum got a $15 million injection to help ease that particular pain. Oh, and don't miss Natasha's Startups Weekly newsletter, where, this week, she's digging into how we're trying to re-invent startup accelerators again and again.

Use RevOps to develop a customer-led approach to B2B sales Employees are hired to do one specific job, which is why even early-stage startups can become siloed. Companies that find ways to integrate their sales flow and customer success operations have an advantage, writes Erol Toker, founder and CEO of Truly.co. “Optimizing your unique path to better connect with customers requires having a cross-discipline team that's focused solely on that objective and sees the client as their guiding star,” Toker says. “We call that RevOps." (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Read More Image Credits: malamus-UK / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. Pinterest adds $1.2M to its creator fund: Compiling a creator fund is a move that platforms make to engender more users to fashion stuff for their website or app. That's the basics. Pinterest has a smaller creator fund than some rivals, but it has had a welcome focus on getting money to underrepresented folks. TechCrunch reports that the former startup has earmarked an "additional $1.2 million in a combination of cash grants, ad credits and other creator resources for underrepresented groups." More of this, please. Spotify makes finding new podcasts easier: Spotify is in the news a bit at the moment, rolling out a new podcast discovery tool – tied to its $50 million acquisition of Podz last summer – and shutting down its services in Russia over the country's draconian "false news" laws, which bans takes on Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine that contradict Russian narratives. Apple's Netherlands fine reaches max: Not sure if Apple is sighing in relief as its penalty fines, following an antitrust order about payment technology for dating apps, reached the maximum of $55 million. This is after Apple adjusted its most recent offer, with TechCrunch reporting the amended proposal "should result in definitive conditions for dating-app providers." The company could face more fines if regulators don't agree. SpaceX halts manufacture of Crew Dragon capsules: For those of you worried that SpaceX was going to continue to make new Crew Dragon capsules, you need not fear. Instead, the company says four is enough and will concentrate on refurbishing its current fleet, which we report is "the only reusable vehicle used by NASA to shuttle astronauts to and from ISS." PayPal's Happy Returns service now free: PayPal Checkout merchants can now take advantage of the Happy Returns return and exchange portal software for free. Ulta Beauty is spearheading the move by rolling out Return Bars at its 1,300 locations. Since PayPal's 2021 acquisition of the software and logistics service, the number of Return Bars has grown to over 5,000. TikTok testing a feature so you never lose a video again: Sometimes you are just not ready to watch a video, but when you go to find it, you can't. This has been such a problem that users have posted their own workarounds. Well, TikTok hears you and is now testing a "watch history" feature for your "For You" page so you can recover any of the antics you missed.

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EU, US reach ‘agreement in principle’ on trans-Atlantic data flows

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Alex Wilhelm and Haje Jan Kamps Friday, March 25, 2022

Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for Friday, March 25, 2022! This is one of the last Daily Crunch intros that I will write for you. I will miss our daily chats and hellos. But there's no time on a Friday for relaxing. We have work to do! Let's go! – Alex Image Credits: Suebsiri / Getty Images

The TechCrunch Top 3 EU, US come to tentative data deal: If you aren't following Natasha Lomas, our ace reporter on all things regulatory and privacy-related when it comes to the technology world, it's past time you did so. Lomas reports that the EU and the United States have reached "an agreement in principle … on a revived trans-Atlantic data flows deal," possibly ending a lengthy period of uncertainty regarding moving bits across the Atlantic. And speaking of huge regulatory changes: The EU made news again today for securing agreements for what we called "major competition reform" in the area. On the docket are things like forced messaging interoperability. Which means that the days of closed iMessage could be heading for their end? It's not clear what impact the rule changes will have in the United States, but big things are brewing across the pond. Instacart looks to make its equity more competitive: There's nuance to the mechanics at play, but after raising at an equity valuation of nearly $40 billion last year, Instacart has repriced the value of its equity for purposes of employee compensation. To a much lower price. TechCrunch was curious if we're seeing the start of a trend for the year, as other unicorns might choose to make a similar move to ensure their ability to hire.

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Startups and VC The creator economy is :chart-up-and-to-the-right: like there's no tomorrow, and everybody wants a slice of the action. Marketing automation stalwart HubSpot launched a new podcasting program aimed at advanced marketers looking to up their content production game, including paying the creators for their following, depending on the number of content consumers. Of course, the creator economy has a downside, too; content moderation continues to be a challenge, and a couple of ex-TikTok moderators are trying to scrape together enough support to put together a class-action lawsuit against the social media belle de jour for the psychological trauma they claim they experienced in the course of their roles as moderators. Meanwhile, the work-from-home trend seems to stretch into the space beyond "avoiding offices like the plague during a literal plague." Firstbase raised a $50 million round to further smooth out remote employee onboarding and logistics. Other noteworthy things on this fine Friday: Indie games developer Boss Fight was acquired by Netflix as the streaming giant continues to bolster its interactive content. Media and entertainment platform Glance was also on the acquisition path, picking up the gaming platform Gambit to bring NFT-based incentives to its users. French e-commerce startup Bigblue raised $15 million to help direct-to-consumer brands with order fulfillment logistics — famously one of the greatest challenges with shipping parcels around. Pakistan-based Colabs raised $3 million to help offices figure out their back-office needs, including hiring, payroll, legal and tax compliance

Cloud providers' default retention policies are not enough: You better back your SaaS up A lot of work today has moved to the cloud as SaaS tools replace traditional on-prem software in the enterprise. But while SaaS tools make life easier, the nature of cloud businesses and their data retention policies mean that in the event of a cyber attack or failure, you're responsible for backing up all the data used by those tools, not your cloud provider, points out Brian Spanswick, CISO and head of IT at Cohesity. To safeguard their data, companies must proactively put in place mechanisms to protect, back up and recover all data being used by SaaS tools within the enterprise, Spanswick writes. "Relying on providers' default retention and recovery policies is just not enough." (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Read More Image Credits: Eoneren / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. Spotify testing new car mode: If you are heading back out on a commute in the dwindling period of COVID restrictions that we live in, you might have noticed that Spotify looks a bit different in your car. Well, consider it confirmed: Spotify is experimenting with new Car Mode versions. Though they remain just that for now: experiments. US charges Russian spies for domestic hacking: A small note here regarding the nation-stage aspect of hacking. It's a big business. And the United States is charging four Russian hackers for a "years-long hacking campaign targeting critical infrastructure, including a U.S. nuclear power operator and a Saudi petrochemical facility." Yoof.

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Wearable health tracker Oura has sold more than a million rings

TechCrunch Newsletter

Thursday, March 24, 2022 • By Alex Wilhelm and Haje Jan Kamps

Hello and welcome to Daily Crunch for Thursday, March 24, 2022! I am happy to report that Haje is taking on the day's startups section, as he will be sharing the Daily Crunch writing load starting next week (along with Christine)! A big thanks to the two of them for jumping in and taking on this lovely letter. Before we start the news rundown, a few house announcements. Our newest podcast, Chain Reaction, is now live! It's focused on the crypto world and features Lucas Matney and Anita Ramaswamy. And from the events world, early-bird pricing on TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility is coming to a close soon, and you can register for our upcoming Austin shindig here. Now, to work! – Alex Image Credits: Brian Heater

The TechCrunch Top 3 Lapsus$ hacking group hit with arrests: After it became news that a minor might be at the center of the Lapsus$ hacker group, U.K. police made seven arrests. The world of cybercrime is lucrative, but the arrests underscore that governments do find some of the malefactors trying to extort money from companies and individuals alike. Instacart turns to software: Few companies had a better pandemic than Instacart. The company posted rocket-ship growth during COVID-19's opening year as consumers turned to its service to get groceries brought to their homes while under lockdown. Then in 2021, the company's growth moderated. To reignite growth, and generate perhaps higher-margin revenues, Instacart released a software suite this week. Our first read is that the news makes a lot of sense. Russia is blocking Google News: Search giant Google confirmed that "Russians are having problems accessing its news aggregator service, Google News, in the country." The move comes after the Russian government blocked other non-Russian tech companies inside its borders. Given that internet access restrictions and authoritarianism go hand-in-hand, the news is not a massive surprise. But it does underscore the widening digital fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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Startups and VC The startup ecosystem has traditionally been less-than-friendly to women founders and investors, but Mimi Aboubaker argues things aren't as dire as the common narrative seems to indicate. We still have a ways to go, but a deep dive into the data shows that we're making a smidge of progress. Valuations are valuable – there's a trend going around where people are sharing their salaries with their co-workers, in part to keep the bosses honest about gender pay gaps. We are seeing a similar trend among startups sharing their valuations. Simetrik raising at a $100 million valuation, Digits raising at half a billion, and RapidAPI raising at a billion are some recent examples. Trust me; your competitors will know what valuation you raised at anyway, and you may help along some of your fellow entrepreneurs by sharing the valuations of your fundraise with reporters. (And journalists love it!) As a fan of circular hardware, it pleases me that Oura is continuing its quest toward creating a ring to rule them all, a ring to find them, a ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie, the company today announced it has shipped its millionth ring. My precious. Other awesome things happening across the startup ecosystem: Ola is planning to acquire blue-collar workforce fintech company Avail Finance at undisclosed terms. Reddit is exploring whether video reactions – think TikTok for Comments – is the future of how people interact on the interwebs If you're a Twitter fiend (I sure am…) you'll be delighted that Twitter now lets you search your DMs, at long last. EV chassis maker PIX just closed an $11 million round to start building its own vehicles. It raised the round from a single investor, a "major sanitation solution provider." Gotta love the intrigue. Mozilla today launched a paid subscription to its Mozilla Developer Network, offering additional features starting at $5 per month. Oh, and don't miss Brian's excellent Actuator newsletter, released today, which scans the world of robotics for signs of self-awareness, just in case we have to start gearing up for a Skynet invasion. Subscribe to that – and all other TC newsletters – here!

Using data to solve key pain points for today's banking customers Banks and fintechs have access to more data than ever, but many of the benefits have flowed in one direction. Inflation and stagnant wages limit consumers' ability to save, but services like buy now, pay later make it much easier to spend. To give customers more financial support, “modern banks can use data and build trust to improve consumer financial health,” writes Uday Akkaraju, CEO of fintech firm Bond.ai. (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Read More Image Credits: Malte Mueller / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. We often begin our startup coverage with a group, so why not do the same with our Big Tech notes today? Let's talk about mobility. First up, Uber has landed a deal of sorts to list taxis in its app in New York City. The Uber-versus-taxi saga has been long, winding and complex. But I did not see this bit of news coming, frankly. Next up, LG is going to boost battery production in the United States with a $1.4 billion investment, which seems like good news. And Bird, the recently public e-scooter company, is testing solutions for folks who need other options for getting around. Which we are more than here for. You can't stop apps: While Apple argues with some countries (like Holland) and companies (like Epic Games) about access to its own application marketplace and payments thereof, the larger app economy has kept on growing. TechCrunch reports that Q1 2022 saw some 37 billion downloads and $33 billion worth of consumer spending. That's a lot — and why Apple wants to hold onto its rents. Coinbase pushes further into India: While the Indian government works to figure out how to tax the crypto world, companies are not slowing their roll. U.S. crypto trading giant Coinbase, TechCrunch writes, "is beginning to add support for payment instruments UPI and IMPS in India." Why does that matter? It means that the company's "crypto exchange [is] broadly functional in the world's second largest internet market for the first time in years," according to our own Manish Singh. Weibo added to delisting watchlist: A scrap over accounting standards regarding Chinese companies listed in the United States could lead to the delisting of Weibo, TechCrunch reports. Weibo, which is often called China's Twitter, is worth around $6 billion today, or $26 per share, more or less. It was worth nearly $140 per share back in 2018. The saga of Chinese companies on U.S. exchanges is one of ebullience later replaced with uncertainty.

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