Saturday, December 31, 2022

To take the friction out of consumer messaging, more companies are entering the Matrix

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By Henry Pickavet

Friday, December 30, 2022

Welcome back to your daily digest of TechCrunch goodness. It is my last day with you (you're welcome!), so Christine will be back in the Daily Crunch seat on Tuesday. Haje will not be back just yet because he is heading to Vegas as part of the team covering CES. Speaking of CES, Brian raised the curtain on what we can expect from its first full-fledged production since before COVID.

Bye for now, folks. Safe and Happy New Year to you all. — Henry

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Image Credits: Image Source / Getty Images

At the top

  • Into the Matrix: No, not that Matrix. We’re talking about the open standards-based comms protocol called Matrix that Paul went deep on. Its network doubled thanks in part to increased use by enterprises and government. Reddit is also having a go, experimenting with it for its chat feature.
  • For the fusion: Tim took a look at five startups primed to benefit from the recent breakthroughs in fusion. [TC+]
  • Alt-ChatGPT: In the wake of the response to OpenAI's ChatGPT comes an open source equivalent. It's called PaLM + RLHF (rolls right off the tongue, eh?), but Kyle writes that it isn't pre-trained, which means good luck running it.
  • The Meta eyes have it: Amanda writes that Meta is getting into the eyewear business with its purchase of the Netherlands-based, smart eyewear company Luxexcel.
  • Book tracking: Aisha rounded up a list of five apps that you can use to track all that reading you're planning to do once the clock strikes 2023.
  • Netflix vs. Hulu: Perhaps you've decided to cut a streaming service or two from your lineup in light of their continued price hikes. Lauren took a look at the features of Netflix and Hulu to help you make a decision.

What to look for in a term sheet as a first-time founder

Silicon Valley reporter Connie Loizos interviewed three seasoned VCs to get their best advice for novice entrepreneurs. She asked them:

  • Why should you know what's going to be in a term sheet before you see it?
  • Which mechanism is best to use at the outset?
  • How much equity is distributed at each level of early-stage fundraising?
  • What's a red flag in a term sheet?
  • How should founders think about valuation when it comes to that first term sheet?

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!

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What to look for in a term sheet as a first-time founder image

Image Credits: syolacan / Getty Images

Looking back and looking ahead

We rounded up TC+ venture capital stories from a year that unfortunately saw a lot of downs. And here are a few more favorites for good measure:

Zack and Carly took a look back at how law enforcement cracked down on cybercriminals this year. They examine the efforts of both breachers and cops to bring justice.

Indian startups were flush with cash with record investments. Now, Manish writes, the ecosystem is struggling with tightening funding purses, layoffs and disappointing public debuts.

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Friday, December 30, 2022

2 weeks after extended system failure, Alibaba CEO takes over company's cloud division

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By Henry Pickavet

Thursday, December 29, 2022

We're almost there, folks. It's the last Thursday of 2022, and today we have some news for you out of Alibaba and Spotify, as well as some crypto news out of India. And as always, we give you some goodness from TC+, our premium membership program. Read on, dear readers, and we'll be back again tomorrow to bring you the final moments of 2022 in tech. — HP

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Image Credits: Jeff Zhang / Alibaba Group

The TechCrunch Top 3

  • Alibaba's cloud move: Alibaba Cloud has a new president, Rita reports. The third-largest public cloud infrastructure provider in the world only after AWS and Microsoft has appointed Daniel Zhang, the company's CEO, as acting president.
  • Ring it in with Spotify: Aisha writes that the platform wants to help you welcome 2023 in style with what it thinks you might enjoy. Such playlists as "Party Hits," "Floor Fillers," "Pop Party" and "Rock Party" will usher you up to and past midnight. The hub also gives you some DJ mixes from the likes of TT the Artist, Carlita, AMÉMÉ, Coco & Breezy, &ME and Austin Millz. Get down!
  • Indian crypto regulation: Under its G20 presidency, India has said it will look to prioritize the development of a framework for the global regulation of unbacked crypto assets, stablecoins and decentralized finance, writes Manish.

Startups and VC

  • Recall this: Catherine writes that Recall.ai raised $2.7 million in a seed funding round to help with a unified API that works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams to help customers build apps for a number of use cases.
  • Down rounds: Mary Ann spoke with GGV's Hans Tung and Robin Li about the firm's position in a challenging venture environment. (Requires TC+ subscription.)

Redefining 'founder-friendly' capital in the post-FTX era

Could the FTX debacle have been avoided if investors had taken a more active interest in the company’s operations?

Given the chilly climate for late-stage fundraising and widespread economic uncertainty, “it's time for the startup community to redefine what ‘founder-friendly’ capital means and balance both the source and cost of that capital,” writes Blair Silverberg, co-founder and CEO of Hum Capital.

In a TC+ guest post, he weighs the relative benefits of active versus passive investors, breaks down the basics of debt startup financing, and shares advice “for founders seeking a better balance of capital and external expertise for their businesses.”

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!

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Redefining 'founder-friendly' capital in the post-FTX era image

Image Credits: stockcam / Getty Images

Looking back and looking ahead

We rounded up the best of our TC+ coverage from the roller-coaster year in crypto. Not enough? Jacquie provided us with a couple extra in order to squeeze more pulp out of the crypto juice:

Ron took a look at the private equity that dominated the top 10 enterprise M&A deals this year. The deals totaled nearly $154 billion. (Requires TC+ subscription.)

Rebecca has some ideas about what is in store for the micromobility market in 2023 — after what she said was a "tumultuous" year.

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Thursday, December 29, 2022

Startup says it has received $1M in preorders for its $60K hydrofoiling personal watercraft

TechCrunch Newsletter
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By Henry Pickavet

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Hey, folks, welcome back! Below we've got some 2022 roundups and even some news. I suspect it'll get even leaner as the week wears on, but no matter! There will always be stories to share. Now, here is your Wednesday edition of the Daily Crunch. — Hank

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Image Credits: Boundary Layer

The TechCrunch Top 3

  • Sports on Amazon: The tech giant wants to continue its march into broadcasting live sports, adding to its current lineup of Thursday Night Football, Premier League soccer and the like, Aisha reports. Pro tip, Amazon: Add cricket to your plans.
  • Ring true: Movano beat the CES rush and launched Evie, a smart ring focused on women's health, Brian reports.
  • In the water: Earlier this month, Boundary Layer pivoted to producing personal watercraft that will run interested parties upward of $60,000 once they're ready. Haje reports that the company has more than $1 million worth of orders.

Dear Sophie: Do employees have to stop working until they get their EAD?

Dear Sophie,

One of our employees is on an H-4 visa and has an Employment Authorization Document. It's been five months since he filed to renew his EAD, which will expire next month. Is there any way to expedite this process? Does he have to stop working if he doesn't receive his new EAD card before his old one expires?

Because it's taking so long to get EAD cards, we're worried about another of our employees, who has an L-2 visa with an EAD scheduled to expire early next year.

In addition, the H-4 visa employee wants to visit his family in India because it's been more than three years since he last went. Will he and his family be able to return to the U.S. after four weeks?

— Mindful Manager

We also rounded up the best of our climate coverage on TC+ this year. And Tim had a couple more favorites:

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!

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Dear Sophie: Do employees have to stop working until they get their EAD? image

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

Big Tech, Inc.

  • Twitter trimming: A Norway-based developer told Ivan that she created a tool to help you cull the list of accounts you follow, because she was reaching the follow limit on the platform.
  • Political … tick tock: The U.S. House of Representatives has ordered all staff and lawmakers to delete TikTok from their gov-issued phones, citing "security issues," Carly writes.
  • Bitcoin mining deal: Galaxy Digital has agreed to acquire Argo Blockchain's bitcoin mining facility, Helios, for $65 million, Jacquie writes.
  • Code-generating AI: Sounds cool, right? Well, Kyle wrote about a study that found code-generating AI can introduce security vulnerabilities.

2022 in Review

  • Good news!: Amanda, Kyle, Tim, Devin and Rebecca have a roundup of some good news in tech for you. This crop of TC reporters put their heads together to mine 2022 for some tech goodness. Climate tech bolstered by the Inflation Reduction Act and the James Webb Space Telescope are on the list.
  • On the move: Rebecca has compiled the biggest transportation stories that drove the year.
  • Surveying investors: And Karan and Ram give you a glimpse of the investor surveys that we ran on TC+ this year.

Read more stories on TechCrunch.com

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