Daily Crunch - Biden's labor secretary says gig workers should be reclassified

TechCrunch Newsletter

Thursday, April 29, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

The Biden administration hints at gig economy changes, Blue Origin will be taking passengers and we interview Jim Belushi about weed. This is your Daily Crunch for April 29, 2021.

The big story: Biden's labor secretary says gig workers should be reclassified The Biden administration’s labor secretary Marty Walsh recently said in an interview with Reuters that he’s “looking at” the gig economy. “In a lot of cases gig workers should be classified as employees," Walsh said. "In some cases they are treated respectfully and in some cases they are not and I think it has to be consistent across the board." For now, this is just talk, but it suggests that new regulations and gig work reclassification could be a priority for the new administration. Read More Image Credits: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images

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The tech giants Google Pay update adds grocery offers, transit expansions and spending insights — Through partnerships with Safeway and Target, Google Pay users will now be able to browse their store's weekly circulars showcasing the latest deals. Zynga and Rollic acquire the hyper-casual game studio behind High Heels — The company said High Heels (or, if you insist, High Heels!) has been downloaded more than 60 million times since it launched in January. IBM is acquiring cloud app and network management firm Turbonomic for up to $2B — Turbonomic provides tools to manage application performance, along with Kubernetes and network performance. Image Credits: Smith Collection/Gado / Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital Blue Origin will start selling tickets for New Shepard space tourism flights on May 5 — The "when and how much" are the two burning questions that remain around the Jeff Bezos-backed space company's first commercial passenger flights. TravelPerk raises $160M in equity and debt after a year of derailed business trips — TravelPerk lets users compare, book and invoice trains, cars, flights, hotels and apartments from a range of providers. MoviePass co-founder's PreShow Interactive raises $3M to expand into gaming — The startup will give PC and console gamers a new way to earn in-game currency in exchange for watching ads. Image Credits: Blue Origin

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Healthcare is the next wave of data liberation — David Jegen and Carl Byers of F-Prime Capital argue that the winners of the healthcare data transformation will look different than they did with financial data. Fintech startups set VC records as the 2021 fundraising market continues to impress — New data indicate Q1 2021 was the biggest fintech VC quarter ever. How to fundraise over Zoom more effectively — A year ago, many of us probably thought that virtual fundraising would be impossible. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: PM Images / Getty Images

Everything else Jim Belushi is chasing the magic in cannabis — We interviewed Belushi about his new greenhouses, supplied in part by GrowGeneration. U.S. video game spending increased 30% in Q1 — Content was up 25% for the quarter, accessories jumped 42% and hardware went up 82%, according to NPD. Sequoia's Shaun Maguire and Vise's Samir Vasavada will talk success in fintech on Extra Crunch Live — Join us on May 19 to discuss what brought the pair together, key tips for fundraising and how to be successful in the fintech space. Image Credits:

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Daily Crunch - Uber adds vaccine booking

TechCrunch Newsletter

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

Uber unveils half a dozen new features, Samsung announces a new flagship laptop and Zomato files to go public. This is your Daily Crunch for April 28, 2021.

The big story: Uber adds vaccine booking Uber announced a half dozen new features today, including the ability to make a vaccine appointment at Walgreens and then reserve a ride to get there. Other additions include a valet service to drop off rental cars, reserved rides at airports and the ability to pick up food during a ride. In an interview, CPO Sundeep Jain suggested that these features are part of the company’s key focus for the past year, namely “helping users 'go' and helping users 'get.' “ Read More Image Credits: Uber

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The tech giants Here's Samsung's new flagship laptop series, the Galaxy Book Pro — These Windows machines continue the company's push to blur some of the productivity lines between its Galaxy PC and mobile offerings. Facebook hides posts calling for PM Modi's resignation in India — Facebook temporarily hid all posts with the hashtag "ResignModi" in India, although a spokesperson said those posts have now been restored. Netflix launches its shuffle feature, now called 'Play Something,' to users worldwide — This should make it easier to find something to watch when you can’t make a decision on your own. Image Credits: Samsung

Startups, funding and venture capital Alchemy raises $80M at a $505M valuation to be the 'AWS for blockchain' — The company describes itself as the backend technology behind the blockchain industry. MessageBird acquires SparkPost for $600M using $800M Series C extension — The acquisition enables MessageBird to get a stronger foothold in the U.S. market. Splitwise raises $20M Series A to help everyone in the world divvy expenses — Splitwise aims to reduce the stress and awkwardness that money puts on relationships of all sorts. Image Credits: nanmulti / Getty Images

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Zomato juice: Indian unicorn's proposed IPO could drive regional startup liquidity — Zomato’s debut could lead to a liquidity rush in India. Dear Sophie: What's the latest on DACA? — The latest edition of "Dear Sophie," the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies. Fund managers can leverage ESG-related data to generate insights — Apex Group’s Georges Archibald argues that environmental, social and governance insights can yield treasure in the form of alternative data. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: Nigel Sussman

Everything else CES will return to Las Vegas in 2022 — Per a press release, roughly 1,000 companies have committed to returning. India's entrepreneurs and investors are mobilizing to help the nation fight COVID-19, and you can too — For a week straight, India has reported more than 300,000 daily new infections, about half of all the cases across the globe. Porsche makes its case for an all-electric Taycan wagon — The Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo offers a blend of practicality with a whole lot of power and speed for under $100,000. Image Credits: John Locher / AP

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Daily Crunch - Spotify adds support for paid podcasts

TechCrunch Newsletter

Tuesday, April 27, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

Spotify launches paid podcast support, Amazon announces new tablets and we unveil the agenda for TC Sessions: Mobility. This is your Daily Crunch for April 27, 2021.

The big story: Spotify adds support for paid podcasts As first announced in February, Spotify is now allowing podcasters to offer subscriber-only content, published through its Anchor podcasting software. Creators choose from three subscription tiers — $2.99, $4.99 or $7.99 per month. This comes one week after Apple announced support for paid podcast subscriptions. But where Apple said it would take 30% of first-year subscriptions and 15% after that, Spotify says it will pass 100% of revenue on to podcasters for the first two years, only charging a 5% fee starting in 2023. Read More Image Credits: TechCrunch

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The tech giants Amazon announces new Fire tablets and kids editions — The Fire HD 10 is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, with pricing starting at $150. Tesla wants to make every home a distributed power plant — CEO Elon Musk said he wants to turn every home into a distributed power plant that would generate, store and even deliver energy back into the electricity grid, all using the company's products. Red Hat CEO looks to maintain double-digit growth in second year at helm — Red Hat CEO Paul Cormier runs the centerpiece of IBM's transformation hopes. Image Credits: Amazon

Startups, funding and venture capital Kids-focused fintech Greenlight raises $260M in a16z-led Series D, nearly doubles valuation to $2.3B — Since it launched its debit cards for kids in 2017, the company has set up accounts for more than 3 million parents and children. Kry closes $312M Series D after use of its telehealth tools grows 100% yoy — During the pandemic, Kry quickly stepped in to offer a free service for doctors to conduct web-based consultations. Banana Capital's debut fund is for internet-first founders — You might know him for his viral tweets, but Turner Novak wasn't always a master meme-maker. Image Credits: Yulia Reznikov / Getty Images

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Internal rates of return in emerging US tech hubs are starting to overtake Silicon Valley — AngelList analyzed IRR for almost 2,500 deals dating back to 2013. Fifth Wall's Brendan Wallace and Hippo's Assaf Wand discuss proptech's biggest opportunities — The pair joined us to discuss questions like: How should proptech founders think about competition, strategic investment versus top-tier VC firms and how to build their board? SaaS subscriptions may be short-serving your customers — Adam Riggs argues that software as a service may have become a bit too interchangeable with subscription models. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: petdcat / Getty Images

Everything else Announcing the Agenda for TC Sessions: Mobility 2021 — Our guests will include Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang, Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson, Amy Jones Satrom of Nuro and famed investor Reid Hoffman. Taking stock of the VC industry's progress on diversity, equity and inclusion — A look at the VC Human Capital Survey from the National Venture Capital Association, Venture Forward and Deloitte.

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