Thursday, May 31, 2018

Time for Mary Meeker's latest Internet trends report. It's The Daily Crunch.

THE DAILY CRUNCH
THURSDAY, MAY 31 2018 By Anthony Ha

Mary Meeker breaks down the key Internet trends, GM's self-driving unit raises billions and Google rethinks its strategy in China. All that and more in The Daily Crunch for May 31, 2018.

1. Here's Mary Meeker's essential 2018 Internet Trends report

While it may sound silly to get excited about a trend report, Meeker's work feels like an annual event, thanks to her ability to break down the key trends affecting online businesses.

Highlights include continued growth in Internet adoption, mobile usage and the usage of cryptocurrencies.

2. GM's Cruise gets $2.25b from SoftBank's Vision Fund, $1.1b from GM

Since being acquired by GM, Cruise seems to be cruising. (Sorry!) The company had 30 self-driving test cars on the road in 2016 and later rolled out a high-definition mapping system. In 2017 it started running an autonomous ride-hailing service for its employees in San Francisco, later announcing its self-driving cars would hit New York City.

3. Google is quietly formulating a new strategy for China

The launch of Files Go in China isn't huge news on its own, but the mechanisms behind it provide insight into how Google may be thinking about the country, where it has been absent since 2010.

4. Google launches a Q&A app for neighborhood communities in India

Speaking of Google, the company launched a new app in India aimed at giving local communities an outlet to seek answers to practical questions about local life.

5. China's SenseTime, the world's highest-valued AI startup, closes $620M follow-on round

The company raised $600 million in an Alibaba-led financing round announced last month, and now it's added an additional $620 million.

6. Telegram says Apple has prevented updates on iOS since mid-April, app missed GDPR deadline

According to founder Pavel Durov, updates to the Telegram app are being prevented globally by Apple after Russian regulators ordered the company to remove Telegram from the App Store altogether.

7. Hello Alfred raises $40M to bring hotel-style hospitality to more households

The company won TechCrunch's Startup Battlefield in 2014, back when it was just Alfred.

Get more stories at techcrunch.com 

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Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Snapchat plans to win over developers. It's The Daily Crunch.

THE DAILY CRUNCH
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 2018 By Anthony Ha

Snapchat is building a developer platform, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg talks about past mistakes and Whole Foods is getting more synergy with Amazon. All that and more in The Daily Crunch for May 30, 2018.

1. Snapchat preps Snapkit platform to bring camera, login to other apps

This would be Snapchat's first full-fledged developer platform, allowing other apps to incorporate a "login with Snapchat" option, use Bitmoji avatars and incorporate the Snapchat's camera software.

This could help Snapchat start growing again, but it could also get the company tangled in some of the data privacy issues that Facebook is currently struggling with.

2. Facebook didn't see Cambridge Analytica breach coming because it was focused 'on the old threat'

"If you go back to 2016 and you think about what people were worried about in terms of nations, states or election security, it was largely spam and phishing hacking," according to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

3. Amazon begins nationwide expansion of Whole Foods discounts for Prime members

The Prime Whole Foods discount — one of a number of measures following Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods — has expanded to 12 more states, including northern California, Colorado and Texas, with more to follow soon.

4. GIF lord Imgur caves to video to hasten profitability

It's kind of crazy that Imgur has never supported video before this. Sure, silent GIFs are great for browsing in (say) the classroom or public transit, but sometimes you actually want to hear that cat purring.

5. Ava, maker of a fertility-tracking bracelet, raises $30M to double down on women's health

Ava says it has now enabled 10,000 pregnancies, or "Ava babies" as they have sometimes been called.

6. Scoot launches mopeds and bike-share in Barcelona

These mopeds are designed to not only drive faster than Scoot's original scooter, but also be more durable and carry up to two people.

7. Bird is reportedly raising $150 million at $1 billion valuation

That's according to Bloomberg. Bird isn't commenting.

Get more stories at techcrunch.com 

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