Daily Crunch - Amazon lets you pay with your palm

TechCrunch Newsletter

Tuesday, September 29, 2020 • By Anthony Ha

Amazon unveils a new biometric ID technology, the Biden campaign takes aim at Facebook and iRobot’s co-founder joins a robotic gardening startup. This is your Daily Crunch for September 29, 2020.

The big story: Amazon lets you pay with your palm The company announced a new biometric device for Amazon Go stores. Called Amazon One, the first time you use it, you insert your credit card and scan your palm; after that, you can just hold your palm over the device when entering the store and Amazon can automatically charge you for the items you purchase. If you’re worried about privacy and security, Amazon said the images are encrypted and stored securely in the cloud, and it also argued that palms are more private than other forms of biometric identification, since you can’t determine someone’s identity just by looking at their palm. The technology is being tested in two Seattle-area Amazon Go stores. The company suggested that the technology could eventually be used by third parties, for example at stadiums and office buildings. Read more Image Credits: Amazon

New org for Product + Engineering teams propels Postmates' future Sponsored by Postmates Careers Postmates is merging its Product + Engineering teams into one cohesive organization. Our "flywheel" model focuses on customer experience and intensifies each team's collaboration & momentum toward innovation. New roles are open—check them out. Read more

The tech giants Ringing alarm bells, Biden campaign calls Facebook 'foremost propagator' of voting disinformation — In a new letter to Mark Zuckerberg on the eve of the first presidential debate, the Biden campaign slammed Facebook for its failure to act on false claims about voting in the U.S. election. Serious injuries at Amazon fulfillment centers topped 14,000, despite the company's safety claims — More than 14,000 serious injuries (requiring days off or job restrictions) were reported in fulfillment centers in 2019, according to a story in Reveal. Pivoting during a pandemic — Facebook’s vice president of Messenger discusses how his team has responded to the new normal. Image Credits: Anadolu Agency / Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital Starlink puts towns devastated by wildfires online for disaster relief workers — A couple small towns in Washington have received Starlink connections to help locals and emergency workers. iRobot cofounder Helen Greiner named CEO of robotic gardening startup, Tertill — Launched as a 2017 Kickstarter, the product is essentially a solar-powered robotic weed whacker designed to live in the user's garden and do routine maintenance. Online course platform Thinkific raises $22 million — Thinkific is different from businesses such as MasterClass and Skillshare because it doesn't create, distribute or monetize online classes itself. Image Credits: SpaceX

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Duolingo CEO explains language app's surge in bookings — Luis von Ahn tells TechCrunch that Duolingo has hit 42 million monthly active users, up from 30 million in December 2019. Healthcare entrepreneurs should prepare for an upcoming VC/PE bubble — Patientco CEO Bird Blitch has a warning for entrepreneurs. 9 VCs in Madrid and Barcelona discuss the COVID-19 era and look to the future — Part one of a two-part survey that polled 18 active investors in the region. (Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: Bryce Durbin /

Everything else Disney+ adds a co-watching feature called GroupWatch — Disney’s experience has some advantages (like the fact that it works on internet-connected TVs), but it lacks one of the hallmarks of co-watching, namely a chat that runs alongside the video. Polaris and Zero Motorcycles reach deal to bring electric off-roaders to market — Polaris is a name synonymous with powersports. Image Credits: Disney

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Daily Crunch - Judge delays TikTok ban

TechCrunch Newsletter

Monday, September 28, 2020 • By Anthony Ha

Americans can continue using TikTok for now, Google updates its developer policies and Uber gets approval to resume operations in London. This is your Daily Crunch for September 28, 2020.

The big story: Judge delays TikTok ban The saga continues! The Trump administration’s ban on TikTok was scheduled to take effect today — but over the weekend, a federal court ruled that Americans can continue using the app while a legal challenge over the ban’s legality moves forward. A federal judge had already put a similar injunction in place to prevent a ban on WeChat from moving forward. Meanwhile, Oracle, Walmart and TikTok’s owner ByteDance have also reached a deal that’s been approved by the U.S. government and would allow the app to continue operating here. However, it seems like the various companies and governments involved in the deal aren’t exactly on the same page. Read more Image Credits: TechCrunch

How low-code is ending the user-builder divide Sponsored by Airtable Software users are becoming software builders — no technical skills required. Here's how teams are creating customized applications that perfectly fit their needs. Read more

The tech giants Google to better enforce Play Store in-app purchase policies, ease use of third-party app stores — Under threat of regulation, Google announced that it's updating its Google Play billing policies to better clarify which types of transactions will be subject to Google's commissions on in-app purchases. Uber wins latest London licence appeal, but renewal is only for 18 months — The ride-sharing giant has faced a multi-year battle to have its license reinstated after the city's transport regulator decided not to issue a renewal in 2017. Roku introduces a new Ultra player, a 2-in-1 'Streambar' and a new OS with support for AirPlay 2 — The Streambar combines 4K HDR streaming and premium audio into one product. Image Credits: Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital SoftBank will bring Bear's serving robots to Japan, amid restaurant labor shortages — The investor detailed plans to bring Bear's Servi robot to Japan in an effort to address restaurant labor issues. GV bets on young team behind high school social app HAGS — The team is building an old-school social play focused on Gen Z high school socialization. N26 hires Adrienne Gormley as its new chief operating officer — Gormley has spent the last six years working for Dropbox in Dublin.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch 2 strategies for creating top-of-funnel marketing content — Even when you're excellent at making the sale, you still need people to know you exist in the first place. Deep Science: Robot perception, acoustic monitoring, using ML to detect arthritis — Devin Coldewey rounds up the latest research and discoveries. (Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)

Everything else Healthcare giant UHS hit by ransomware attack, sources say — The attack hit UHS systems early on Sunday morning, according to two people with direct knowledge of the incident. Cannabis vape companies are experiencing a sales boom during the pandemic — From startups to major players, several leading manufacturers told TechCrunch that their companies are seeing a boom in sales since the start of the crisis. Image Credits: Bloomberg Creative / Getty Images

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Daily Crunch - Reviewing the new Apple Watch

TechCrunch Newsletter

Friday, September 25, 2020 • By Anthony Ha

We’ve got an in-depth review of the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple gives Facebook a temporary break on App Store fees and Alexis Ohanian is raising a new fund. This is your Daily Crunch for September 25, 2020.

The big story: Reviewing the new Apple Watch Brian Heater has already been writing about the Apple Watch Series 6, but now he’s published his full review. His verdict? Well, the core product hasn’t changed dramatically, but he notes that the biggest new feature, blood oxygen monitoring, requires a good fit, which makes sizing issues with the Solo Loop extra awkward. He also suggests that what we’re seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to monitoring functionality. The verdict: Taken as a whole, the Series 6 isn't a huge leap forward over the Series 5 — and not really worth the upgrade for those who already own that recent vintage. But there are nice improvements throughout, augmented by good upgrades to watchOS that make the best-selling smartwatch that much better, while clearly laying the groundwork for Apple Watches of the future. Read more Image Credits: Brian Heater

Top 4 CX insights for startups, by startups Sponsored by TTEC Starting a company is hard, but growing it strategically is harder. Many emerging companies use outsourcing partners to gain CX expertise and innovative ideas for smart business growth. But not all outsourcing partners are the same. Here are top 4 pro-tips for finding a diamond in the ruff. Read more

The tech giants Apple is (temporarily) waiving its App Store fee for Facebook's online events — This arrangement will last until December 31 and will not apply to gaming creators. Twitter warns developers that their private keys and account tokens may have been exposed — Twitter has emailed developers warning of a bug that may have exposed sensitive data. Google Meet and other Google services go down — Yesterday was a rough day for Google’s engineers. Image Credits: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto / Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital Alexis Ohanian files for a new $150M fund, with a nod to his Olympian family — According to an SEC filing, Ohanian is raising a new fund, named 776 (the first Olympics were supposedly held in 776 B.C.E.). Indonesian cloud kitchen startup Yummy gets $12 million Series B led by SoftBank Ventures Asia — Launched in June 2019, Yummy Corporation's network of cloud kitchens now includes more than 70 facilities in Jakarta, Bandung and Medan. HumanForest suspends London e-bike sharing service, cuts jobs after customer accident — The service suspension comes only a few months after HumanForest started the trial in North London.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Want to hire and retain high-quality developers? Give them stimulating work — With demand for developers on the rise, companies are under pressure to do everything they can to attract and retain talent. Privacy data management innovations reduce risk, create new revenue channels — A new generation of infosec tools is needed to address the unique risks associated with the management of privacy data. 4 things to remember when adapting AI/ML learning models during a pandemic — New machine learning and AI-powered tools highlight a few pervasive challenges faced by both machines and the humans that create them. (Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: RapidEye / Getty Images

Everything else Cambridge Analytica's former boss gets 7-year ban on being a business director — Alexander Nix signed a disqualification undertaking earlier this month, which the U.K. government said yesterday it had accepted. NASA commissions report to show its economic impact: $64B and 312K jobs — Perhaps anticipating budget pushback from the federal government, NASA has released its first-ever agency-wide economic report. Image Credits: Matthew Chattle / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

A correction Yesterday’s Daily Crunch stated there are more than 50 games available in Amazon’s cloud gaming service Luna during the early access period. An Amazon spokesperson informs us that the number is actually more than 100.

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