An open-source licensing controversy hits Y Combinator

Also: Lockbit member linked to hacking gang with Kremlin ties

View this email online in your browser By Rebecca Bellan Tuesday, October 1, 2024 Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we have the deets on drama at a YC-backed startup, an investigation linking Lockbit with a Russia-backed hacking gang, and funding for a startup that's raised $50M to build AI sales reps. We've also got news on the dangers of social media, funding for infra cloud backup tools, Meta's silence on data training policies, and more. Let's jump in!  — Rebecca TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto / Getty Images 1. An open-source No-No: Y Combinator-backed PearAI caused a stir after admitting that its AI coding tool was a clone of an open-source tool called Continue. That became a problem when it also came to light that PearAI slapped its own made-up closed license on it. Read More 2. 11x.ai has secured $50 million in Series B funding, TC has exclusively learned. Andreessen Horowitz led the investment in the startup, which develops AI-powered sales development bots. Maybe they can use the funding for a new name because there are too many companies with "x" in their name these days. Read More 3. From one gang to another: U.K. and U.S. authorities have linked a senior member of the prolific ransomware gang, LockBit, to a previously sanctioned group, Evil Corp, which has links to the Kremlin. Read More   Sponsored by Bank of America What's next for tech companies Read the latest insights on how tech companies can manage the challenge of raising capital and what they can do to keep growing. Read Now   Morning Must-Reads Image Credits: Niharika Kulkarni / NurPhoto / Getty Images 🥐 Swiggy gets a raise: Invesco has raised the estimated worth of its stake in Indian food delivery and quick-commerce startup Swiggy, implying a valuation of about $13.3 billion. Swiggy is on the fast track to go public, and the markup comes at a time when many investors are actually cutting the value of their holdings. Read More  ☁️ Calling for backup: A team of founders who sold their previous company to Amazon is back with a new startup, Eon, aimed at reinventing cloud infrastructure backups. And they've raised a total of $127 million across three rounds at a $750 million valuation. Read More 📊 Structured data: U.K.-based Pydantic, known for its open-source, data-validation framework, has launched its first commercial product with the backing of Sequoia, which led its $12.5 million Series A. Read More 🛴 Tier becomes Dott: The two leading European scooter- and bike-sharing services are officially becoming one. Their goal as a combined company is to scale to offset razor-thin margins, so they'll merge into one app, one tech stack, and a single fleet of vehicles. Read More 🕶️ The thing about Meta's Ray Bans is that they have a discreet camera on the front for taking photos, which can be triggered inadvertently with certain keywords. Meta isn't committing to keeping these images private, nor is it saying whether it's training AI models with them. Read More   A Message from Radar The #1 Geolocation Platform | Geofencing & Maps Geofencing, maps, and geolocation compliance, all in a modern, cost-effective platform. Thousands of companies trust Radar's APIs and SDKs to power location-based experiences across hundreds of millions of devices globally. Learn why Radar is the preferred location solution for forward-thinking product, digital and engineering teams. Learn More   Around the Web 🥔 Competition is coming for Nvidia: AI chip startup Cerebras Systems has taken its first steps towards becoming a public company, reports CNBC. The company recorded sales of $136.4 million and a net loss of $66.6 million in the first half of 2024. Read More 📱 Has social media fueled teen suicide? A New Yorker report explores how mental health struggles have risen sharply among young Americans, and what parents and lawmakers are doing to try to regulate social media companies. Read More 💍 One ring to rule them all: Oura expects to see its annual sales double to about $500 million this year and sees "healthy" growth in 2025, according to Bloomberg. The Finnish company is gearing up to release its new, slimmer ring with an improved battery life. Read More Before You Go Image Credits: KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP / Getty Images 👻 Snap Map: TC got the scoop about a new feature Snapchat is quietly rolling out called "Footsteps" that uses Snap Map to show you where you've been. The map is Snap's key differentiator from competitors, but is it one the kids are asking for? Read More Featured jobs from Crunchboard Senior Data Scientist, IEEE (Piscataway, NJ) IT Director, the Quaker School at Horsham (Horsham, PA) General Manager, airSlate (Brookline, MA) Data Manager, Murmuration (Remote) Director of Marketing and Communications, AidKit (Remote) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $349 per month.   Check out some of our other newsletters: Startups Weekly TechCrunch AI TechCrunch Mobility Got a tip? tips@techcrunch.com Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. Update your preferences here at any time Copyright © 2024 TechCrunch, All rights reserved.Yahoo Inc. 110 5th St,San Francisco,CA Privacy Policy

Everything you need to know about VPNs

Plus: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket grounded again

View this email online in your browser By Rebecca Szkutak Monday, September 30, 2024 Welcome to TC PM! I hope you had a lovely weekend. Today we have a handful of stories, including everything you need to know about VPNs (and we even show you how to build one). We also dig into why SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is grounded, and we found the tech angle to Oasis's upcoming tour. Enjoy! TechCrunch Top 3 Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch 🔐VPN corner: What is a VPN beyond being a way to watch reality TV from other countries? TechCrunch's security team offers "a skeptic's guide to VPNs," diving into what VPNs really are, what people should look out for, and how folks can make a VPN for themselves in as little as 15 minutes. Read more  🛰️Grounded again: SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is grounded again; the problem that occurred marks the third time in three months that the rocket has experienced an issue. Past groundings haven't been long, but if this one is, it could hold up space missions scheduled for next month. Read more 📲Swipe down for more: Apple's latest software update, iOS 18, brings changes to the Control Center that allow third-party developers to create controls for their own apps. We've got a list of 18 apps taking advantage of the change that are worth checking out. Read more.    A Message from Carta Closing a funding round is cause for celebration. But once the confetti settles, what's next? Join Carta on Wednesday, October 2 at 10 am PT/1 pm ET for a live panel on how to optimize your funding, plan for the future, and fuel growth. Panelists: Jillian Williams (Partner, Cowboy Ventures), Sam Hodges (CEO, Vouch) and Pankaj Patel (CEO, Nile). Register Now   Afternoon must-reads 🎸Don't look back in anger: The band Oasis announced a few months ago that the Gallagher brothers put aside their differences, getting back together, and going on tour. But because this newsletter comes from TechCrunch, you know there's a tech angle: The band is now taking on Ticketmaster and not using its dynamic pricing for its U.S. shows. Read more  🚀Expanding EVTOLs: Beta Technologies today released a vertical take off and landing vehicle (EVTOL) that carries passengers. EVTOLs fascinate me because they seem like moonshot tech that's not actually that far off. Read more  👀Keeping a close eye: Today, Germany's Federal Cartel Office confirmed that Microsoft is now subject to a special abuse control regime in Germany, which means the German government will have more access to the company for at least the next five years. Read more  📖AI reading help: Ello is an AI reading companion that helps kids who are struggling with reading fix mistakes. The company is now rolling out a new feature, "Storytime," which lets kids create their own stories to read out loud. Read more  🛻Cybertruck cruise control: Have you seen a cybertruck in the wild yet? You truly can't miss them. The next time you see one, though, it may be driving itself. Certain users have started getting access to Tesla's supervised self-driving tech. Read more  🤨Reddit rethinks moderator controls: Reddit announced today that community moderators will have to submit a request to change their communities between private and public, and between safe and unsafe for work. Read more    A Message from TechCrunch Attending Disrupt 2024? Don't miss our exclusive hotel deals! Exclusive hotel savings are available only for Disrupt 2024 attendees. Stay at top hotels like Intercontinental and Hyatt Regency San Francisco, enjoying free Wi-Fi and waived facility fees. Plus, book now, pay later! Discounts end this Friday, October 4. Book Now   Money, Money, Money Image Credits: Christina Sinkevich 🌬️Helping HVAC contractors: Airship is building point-of-sale tools for HVAC contractors. The company is emerging from stealth today with $4 million in pre-seed funding with plans to launch to the public later this year. Read more 💵Cash for code: Qodo, formerly known as CodiumAI, just raised a fresh $40 million in funding. The company helps people generate code but differentiates itself by helping those same users test the code, too. Read more 🎮Video game AI: Series, the company behind full-stack AI video game generator Rho Engine, raised a $28 million Series A round. The company is led by Pany Haritatos, who has had multiple successful exits in the video game space already. Read more Around the web 🙏Tech testament: Organized religion is one of the oldest traditions humankind has kept going. Today, technology is changing people's relationships with their religion. The team at Rest of World has a beautiful digital package out today about how, and how quickly, things are changing. Read more 💰Son invests in OpenAI: While the news regarding OpenAI's blockbuster funding round hasn't dropped yet, we keep getting fun nuggets about the deal. The Information reports that SoftBank cut a huge check into this round. We are so back, baby. Read more  Featured jobs from Crunchboard Senior Data Scientist, IEEE (Piscataway, NJ) IT Director, the Quaker School at Horsham (Horsham, PA) General Manager, airSlate (Brookline, MA) Data Manager, Murmuration (Remote) Director of Marketing and Communications, AidKit (Remote) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $349 per month.   Check out some of our other newsletters: Startups Weekly TechCrunch AI TechCrunch Mobility Got a tip? tips@techcrunch.com Want to advertise on TechCrunch? advertise@techcrunch.com Has this been forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe to this newsletter. 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