'Network issue' causes cloud outage that takes down multiple Microsoft services for 4+ hours

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Hello, Crunchers! We're pretty excited about Matt's TechCrunch Live, where he talks to Cambly about how the company found profits after failing to raise a Series A. Mark your calendar for February 1!  — Christine and Haje Image Credits: Drew Angerer

The TechCrunch Top 3 And we're back!: That's what Microsoft is saying after some of its services, like Outlook, Xbox Live and Teams, went down during a "change made to the Microsoft Wide Area Network," Ivan reports. What you text is what you'll see: We've been hearing about text-to-image lately, and today is no different. Remember in October when Shutterstock and OpenAI paired up to add some artificial intelligence to Shutterstock's libraries? Well, today the stock photo giant is showing us the fruits of that labor with a generative AI toolkit to create images based on text prompts. Ingrid has more. Plugged in: BMW i Ventures gets a renewed charge from one of its newest investments, infusing $13 million into Bulgaria-based Ampeco, a company providing an electric vehicle charging management platform, Mike reports. As he notes, you might recall that BMW was an early investor in exited companies ChargePoint and ChargeMaster.

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Startups and VC Injective, a layer-1 blockchain focused on building financial applications, has launched a $150 million fund ecosystem initiative, the platform's CEO and co-founder, Eric Chen, told Jacquelyn in her article, Injective launches $150M ecosystem fund to accelerate interoperable infra and DeFi adoption. One of the most remarkable things about construction robotics is the sheer breadth of tasks that can potentially be automated, Brian writes. He believes the entire category is a prime target for robotics startups, given that it addresses the three big Ds of automation — dull, dirty and (quite often) dangerous. It makes sense, then, that Built buys fellow construction robotics firm, Roin. Fun stuff. There's five more, too: All Raise loses another CEO: Natasha M reports that another All Raise CEO steps down. Scooters heading to Madrid: Madrid selects Dott, Lime and Tier for scooter licenses, Romain reports. Harry Stamper would be proud: Asteroid mining startup AstroForge will test its metal refinery tech in space this year, reports Aria. Atomic brings R&D to RNA for drug discovery: Devin writes that, with new funding, Atomic AI envisions RNA as the next frontier in drug discovery. Training in VR: Paul reports that Gemba, a corporate VR training platform used by Coca-Cola and Pfizer, raises $18 million.

When it comes to large language models, should you build or buy? Americans spent nearly $20 billion on pizza deliveries in 2021. Most people could probably bake one at home, but speed and convenience are powerful incentives at dinnertime. The same holds true for machine learning algorithms: Should companies select open source models, license large language models without modifications, or customize them and pay much higher usage rates? “While building looks extremely attractive in the long run, it requires leadership with a strong appetite for risk over an extended time period,” writes ML engineer Tanmay Chopra. Three more from the TC+ team: Unflushing nutrients: We flush valuable nutrients down the toilet. Wasted wants to save them, Tim reports. Hiring plans under the microscope: Becca writes that startups should expect more scrutiny from VCs on their hiring plans. From L to H: Dear Sophie: How do I change my L-1B to an H-1B through the lottery? by Sophie Alcorn. 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! Read More Image Credits: Jenny Dettrick / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. Frederic took a look at what Google was doing at this year's Flutter Forward event and found that the open source framework got some new graphics capabilities, and is launching its first efforts to compile Flutter to WebAssembly and is working on some RISC-V support. He writes, "Virtually all of these capabilities still sit in canary branches and behind experiment flags, but they do show where Google plans to take this project in the months ahead." Now here's five more for you: Roadblocks ahead: Jagmeet speaks to some gig workers in India about their daily working conditions, writing that "drivers face bust in the country's digital boom." Way mo' layoffs: Alphabet's self-driving technology unit Waymo was not immune to the umbrella company's recent job cuts and quietly made its own layoffs. Rebecca has more. Naps over apps: Sarah reports that app downloads were stagnant in the fourth quarter on both the App Store and Play Store — usually it isn't, she points out. The magic is in the ad targeting: Disney Advertising announced at its Tech and Data Showcase today that Disney+ advertisers will soon be able to take advantage of some of Hulu's ad targeting capabilities, Lauren writes. It's that time again: Rebecca has some details on what we might expect to see in Tesla's Q4 earnings.

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Hackers pinched LastPass customers' encrypted password vaults, parent company admits

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Tuesday, January 24, 2023

What's up, Crunchers? Good to see you again! We're so glad to have you with us. It's been a really busy day on the site today, and Haje has been busy getting real grumpy at Tesla for not recording the car crash he was in today. (He's fine. Or at least, as fine as he was before the car crash.)  — Christine and Haje Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

The TechCrunch Top 3 Apparently the hacker's LastPass wasn't truly the last one: Two months after LastPass experienced a breach, we are now learning more about what the hackers got. Carly writes that the company's owner, GoTo, says hackers stole customers' encrypted backups. If you like the great outdoors: Strava, the activity tracking and social community platform, acquired Fatmap, a 3D mapping platform for the great outdoors, to make that next hike a doozy, Paul reports. What's up with WhatApp: Ivan is following a developing story about WhatsApp releasing its native macOS client in public beta. He writes that "until now, Mac users had to rely on either WhatsApp for the web or its web-based WhatsApp client. Both are not ideal in terms of performance or getting a full-featured experience."

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Startups and VC It's a tough time to be a richly priced company that didn't go public when the getting was good. Not only are there fewer later-stage players with the resources and appetite to support such companies (e.g., SoftBank and Tiger Global have pulled back dramatically), but also secondary investors have even lost interest. At least, that's Connie's read of a new report, in her excellent article Opportunistic investors are giving up on aging pre-IPO companies. Connie also reported that Cowboy Ventures closed two new funds totaling $260 million in capital commitments. The outfit garnered $140 million in commitments for its fourth flagship fund and another $120 million for its first opportunity-type fund (its "Mustang Fund"). And we have five more for you: Staff out, money in: SoundHound, the voice AI company, raises $25 million after laying off 40% of staff earlier this month, Ingrid reports. Blockchain infrastructure galore: Jacquelyn writes that QuickNode raises $60 million at a $800 million valuation to become the “AWS of blockchain.” It's electrifying: Haje wrote about Orange and its fundraise targeted at making it easier to get EV charging in your building. The Trim Reaper: Brian reports that Scythe raises $42 million for its electric robotic mower. You can't do that: Spain's delivery platform Glovo fined again for breaching labor laws, reports Natasha L.

A VC's perspective on deep tech fundraising in Q1 2023 Successful deep tech startups and SaaS companies generally reach billion-dollar valuations in the same time frame. “The median deep tech startup took $115 million and 5.2 years to become a unicorn,” says Karthee Madasamy, managing partner at MFV Partners. New companies in this sector raised around $600 million last year, a steep decline from $800 million in 2021. But Madasamy says recent climate regulation, automation and space are just a few factors stirring investors’ interest during this downturn. “As it becomes increasingly difficult to realize big exits in the years ahead, the technologies within deep tech that are transforming entire industries offer some of the only paths to ’10x exits.'” Three more from the TC+ team: Web3 needs to be more sustainable: Web3 gaming needs to focus on sustainable economies, Immutable co-founder says, reports Jacquelyn. A long time ago in a land far away: Can Korean digital storytelling platforms captivate North American and European audiences? wonders Kate. Track this on your path to profit: Paris Heymann summarizes the metrics that matter in 3 KPIs to track on the path to profitability. 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! Read More Image Credits: Xi Huo / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. Selling or renting a home comes with all sorts of fun, including having to vacate at a moment's notice and strangers walking around your home. If there could be a rainbow amid the rainstorm, it’s Zillow wanting to make booking a home tour for rentals easier. Enter its Calendly-like instant booking feature that can be used without having to get in contact with anyone. Ivan writes that the feature is already available for thousands of properties and will eventually include the ability to choose between a virtual, in-person or self-guided tour. Now here's five more: Nothing but net: Kyle attended a Niantic event about NBA All-World to give you an inside look at why the Pokémon GO maker is trying its hand at sports. Money management, but juicier: Plum's money management app is now in five more countries, Romain writes. Waiting will cost you: You better be ready when the Lyft driver arrives. The ride-hailing app Lyft added wait-time fees, nearly seven years after Uber, Darrell writes. Google sued: Darrell and Devin report that the U.S. Department of Justice officially sued Google on claims that the search engine giant has a digital ad monopoly. On to the next adventure: Tapbots launches a new Mastodon client, Ivory, after Twitter kills its Tweetbot app. Sarah has more.

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Days after announcing plans to cut 10K jobs, Microsoft invests billions more in OpenAI

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Monday, January 23, 2023

Happy new week! Did you know that TechCrunch has a bunch of amazing newsletters that aren't this one? If you're into transportation, don't miss Kirsten's The Station. Greg writes our weekly Week in Review (with Kyle currently filling in while Greg is on paternity leave); Sarah does the This Week in Apps newsletter; Mary Ann writes The Interchange, which is our fintech newsletter; and Darrell does the TechCrunch Podcast, which is kind of like a weekly newsletter, but for the holes on the side of your head, rather than the front ones. And there are even more than that, so go get 'em! — Christine and Haje Image Credits: OpenAI

The TechCrunch Top 3 Brian may have found the perfect MacBook: Brian gives us the ins and outs of the new Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M2 Max, in which he writes, "It's a reaffirmation of the 'Pro' in MacBook Pro: chunky, heavy, blazingly fast, full of ports and packed with the best the company has to offer." This might be the 2023 version of "Mikey likes it!" Meanwhile, Matt reviews the 2023 Mac Mini, what he calls "a serious contender with the M2 Pro. Sounds like more layoffs: Another tech company reveals that its eyes were bigger than its stomach when it comes to hiring. This time, Spotify is the one cutting jobs, Romain reports. The music streaming company will lay off about 600 people, or 6% of its workforce. Give 'em something to ChatGPT about: After much speculation, Microsoft confirmed that it will invest an undisclosed number of billions in OpenAI, thus extending the companies' partnership. Kyle has more.

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Startups and VC TechCrunch Live is entering its third season, and Matt is, frankly, ludicrously psyched to be leading the events again this year. The first event is on February 1, 2023, and will feature a timely discussion on what to do if your company can't raise a Series A. Cambly's Sameer Shariff and Benchmark's Sarah Tavel are speaking at the first one — stay tuned for what's coming down the pike! And we have five more for you: That's a big deel, y'all: Remote work revolution is rolling along, and helping Deel reach $295 million in ARR, Mary Ann writes. That’s reinsuring: Christine reports that Bling Capital–backed Coverdash unveils its embedded, digital insurance for small businesses. Om nom nom: Anna reports how, with a focus on patients with chronic illness, Nourish hopes to help Americans eat better. I wonder what the due diligence was on that deal: Thoma Bravo agrees to acquire digital forensics firm Magnet Forensics for over $1 billion, reports Kyle. Selecting the cream of the crop: GoodOnes raises money to help make sense of your mess of a camera roll, Haje reports.

Failures are valuable IP: Protect your startup's negative trade secrets Patent applications and GitHub codespaces are obvious pieces of intellectual property, but so are the embarrassing mistakes and dead ends that every company encounters. Rivals can learn a lot from competitors’ failed A/B tests, unsuccessful email campaigns and wasted engineering cycles, writes Eugene Y. Mar and Thomas J. Pardini, attorneys with Farella Braun + Martel LLP in San Francisco. In this post, they offer advice for safeguarding your “negative know-how,” along with general tips for defining and managing trade secrets. Three more from the TC+ team: Raindrops keep falling on my SaaS: Tech forgot its umbrella, writes Natasha M. It's not quite that simple: Dominic-Madori is debunking the myths of why venture investors don't fund diverse startups. Quite a catch: Christine spoke with four investors about the next big wave for alternative seafood startups. 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! Read More Image Credits: dem10 / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. Just when Salesforce thought it was safe to go back in the water, the company now has an activist investor coming in and taking a multibillion-dollar stake. Ron writes that while Elliott Management is looking forward to working with Salesforce, there could be something else behind it: "Elliott typically takes a stake in a company to make changes in the way the company operates with the goal of cutting costs and increasing shareholder value. In some cases, it tries to push CEO changes or even sell the company, although that seems less likely in this case." You be the judge. And we have five more for you: No remittance for you: SBM Bank India was told by the India central bank to stop outward remittance transactions, Manish reports. Find love while binge-watching "Emily in Paris”: Netflix and Bumble are working together to help users bond over popular TV shows, Lauren writes. Game on: Devin tells us his experience playing Forspoken. Sinking its clause into payment terms: An antitrust investigation in Germany has it looking into PayPal's terms for merchants. Natasha L has more. Don't throw anything away: Tim rounds up all the climate tech news that's fit to post, including food waste, wastewater and the UK's troubled battery industry.

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Newest Jobs from Crunchboard SaaS Product Designer (full-time remote, America & Europe) at Baymard Institute (Anywhere) Epic BI Developer (Remote) at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (Toppenish, WA, USA) Senior Data Center Infrastructure Engineer at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (New Stanton, PA, USA) FOUNDATION RELATIONS ASSOCIATE at Catalyst California (Los Angeles, CA, USA) Principal software engineer (SQL API) at Cube Dev (San Francisco, CA, USA) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

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