Friday, September 30, 2022

Google to sunset Stadia in January 2023, will refund hardware purchases

TechCrunch Newsletter
TechCrunch logo
The Daily Crunch logo

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Today we are mostly listening to acoustic covers of songs we love (a surprise Iron and Wine cover, perhaps?), and mentally preparing ourselves for TechCrunch Disrupt. Which reminds us — did you know you can get 15% off passes with the DC discount code for being a Daily Crunch reader? Don't say we never did anything for you, dear reader!  — Christine and Haje

 image

Image Credits: Google

The TechCrunch Top 3

  • Simple crypto: Cryptocurrencies are still complex, or that's the viewpoint of Solvo, a new app that is making crypto investment simpler, Romain reports. What's different is that instead of being offered dozens of currencies to choose from, Solvo has curated a list of 10 so you don't get lost in all the names.
  • Well that didn’t last long: On Monday we brought you news that "the OG app is out to bring Instagram back to its glory days." Today, Ivan has an update that the app was removed from the Apple App Store after Meta said the OG was Instagram in "an unauthorized manner."
  • Long live IPOs!: Travel is back and with it news that TripActions was making a possible play for an initial public offering, which would value the company at $12 billion, Mary Ann reports. Catch Alex's take on the matter down in the TC+ section.

Startups and VC

Eviation's Alice electric aircraft took off for the first time yesterday, teasing a future in which regional flights of hundreds of miles will be done with zero emissions and a lot less noise. It's still a ways off, but today's demonstration shows it's at least just a matter of time and money, Devin reports.

Apropos electric vehicles, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn has (finally!) begun production of Lordstown Motors' electric pickup truck. The news is a milestone for both companies, Rebecca reports. Foxconn as it diversifies from manufacturing consumer electronics like iPhones to electric vehicles, and Lordstown as it finally gets its much-anticipated Endurance truck off production lines and, hopefully, into customers' hands.

We have more, of course. Because that's what we do:

How to make coaching work for your sales team

A strong sales organization is the tip of the spear for every SaaS startup, but because so few founders have meaningful experience in this arena, they don’t know how to set their teams up for success.

In this TC+ article, contributor Kevin Varadian explains how to chart a sales coaching journey that boosts retention and increases revenue.

“It's important to recognize that today's sales teams are more problem-solvers than deal-closers — soft skills are more important here than technical capabilities,” he says.

Three more from the TC+ team:

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

How to make coaching work for your sales team image

Image Credits: Richard Drury / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc.

Google's Stadia is donezo, Brian reports. Stadia, the company's game streaming service, was young, just under three years old, but just wasn't getting the expected traction. However, based on Stadia's remarks, there may be something new brewing.

We had a rather long Big Tech section for you yesterday, so enjoy these five shorter snippets:

Read more stories on TechCrunch.com

Newest Jobs from Crunchboard

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Flipboard

View this email online in your browser

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Unsubscribe

© 2022 Yahoo. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Fast Company hacker sends 2 'obscene and racist' notifications to Apple News users

TechCrunch Newsletter
TechCrunch logo
The Daily Crunch logo

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

With almost a hundred new stories on the site since the last Daily Crunch, we're having a hard time picking the cream of the crop, but that's what we dooooo. It's been an Amazon and Google extravaganza over the past 24 hours, in addition to all the regular news stories our crack team of tech news sleuths have been ferreting out from the underbrush. There shall be no further ado — let's do this! — Christine and Haje

 image

Image Credits: TechCrunch

The TechCrunch Top 3

  • News you don't want to use: Apple News users got some interesting — read "offensive" — notifications thanks to a hacker that breached Fast Company's systems. Carly has more.
  • Well, that went downhill fast: We feel like we were just hyping all things Apple iPhone 14, but now Ivan reports that the tech giant is "readjusting its production targets" after not seeing as much rah-rah from customers.
  • Fewer fees please: Ingrid covers payment network Satispay's €320 million funding round that values the company at over €1 billion and also puts it in the hearts and minds of customers in Europe seeking better budget control.

Startups and VC

First up is Romain, who invites you to meet Roundtable. It's a new startup backed by eFounders that wants to bring community-driven, AngelList-style angel investments to European startups. The company has built a platform that simplifies the administrative, legal and financial challenges that come with angel investments.

Money continues to flow into new venture capital funds. In the past month, Runa Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Razor's Edge Ventures, First Star, OurCrowd, Northzone, Janngo Capital and Kapor Capital all announced new funds. Now it's Scale Venture Partners' turn, announcing it secured $900 million in committed capital for its eighth fund, also its largest since forming in 2000, Christine reports. The fund was raised in 120 days over the summer, partner Rory O'Driscoll said.

More more more, always more:

The unbearable lightness of being asset-light

Investors have embraced “asset-light” companies like Rent the Runway, Uber and Airbnb that don’t own the hardware that generates their revenue.

Companies that generate billions from assets they don’t own “typically require less capital — and therefore less dilution for their investors,” writes Daniel Hoffer, managing director of Autotech Ventures.

“But some asset-light marketplaces struggle to satisfy their customers because not all the assets they can make available are equally appreciated by their demand-side customers.”

Three more from the TC+ team:

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

The unbearable lightness of being asset-light image

Image Credits: Westend61 / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc.

Boy, do we have a treat for you today: Our team was busy covering both Google's Search On event and Amazon's fall event, which means we have all the Amazon and Google news that's fit to print, er, post. There's a lot to choose from, but here are some of our favorites:

And we have four more for you:

Read more stories on TechCrunch.com

Newest Jobs from Crunchboard

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Flipboard

View this email online in your browser

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Unsubscribe

© 2022 Yahoo. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

NASA sings 'I don't want to miss a thing' as DART spacecraft strikes asteroid

TechCrunch Newsletter
TechCrunch logo
The Daily Crunch logo

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

At TechCrunch, we love being a conduit for everything that happens in the startup ecosystem. This year, there's been a lot of layoffs, and we got to thinking, how can we help those who are struggling get back into the saddle? Our events team had a great idea: If you got laid off, we are offering a free Expo Pass to TechCrunch Disrupt, no strings attached. Come along, stay on the pulse of what's happening out in startup land, and say hi to a bunch of the TechCrunch crew to boot. We'll see you there! — Christine and Haje

 image

Image Credits: NASA

The TechCrunch Top 3

  • Arma-gettin outta here: NASA successfully smashed a satellite into an asteroid, Darrell reports. Cool, cool. Don't worry, this is just in case real life tries to imitate "Armageddon" or "Deep Impact."
  • Something else you have to clean: Flatfile estimates that data scientists spend a majority of their work time cleansing data, aka getting it ready for use in predictive analysis. It took in $50 million for its approach to automating this dirty task, Kyle reports.
  • Here's my recruitment link: Ingrid reports that Calendly, the $3 billion+ scheduling startup, is getting into the recruitment game with its acquisition of Prelude, a startup that automates scheduling around job recruitment.

Compliance that won't tank conversions

Sponsored by Persona

KYC/AML compliance isn't optional, but how you approach it can help you stand out. With Persona, you can create tailored identity verification experiences for your end-users — so you can keep both your compliance team and customers happy.

Learn More

Startups and VC

If you're reading this, you almost certainly have a complicated relationship with screens. Every year that passes, they become larger and increasingly present in our lives, Brian writes. Meanwhile, we continue to embrace the technology all while complaining about the hold it has on our lives. The Freewrite Alpha boldly asks: Can a small screen be too small?

We last profiled Cake in April when its line of lubricants, condoms, toys and sexual hygiene products made its debut in Target. The company now has five products in store locations as well as Amazon, Thrive Marketplace and UrbanOutfitters.com. Christine reports that the company's well-lubricated expansion continues this week, with placement in some major retailers, including new space in CVS stores, as it announces $8 million in new Series A funding.

A few more from across the TechCrunch galaxy:

What can the 2000 dot-com crash teach us about the 2022 tech downturn?

Many entrepreneurs have been encouraged to believe that smooth storytelling and good social skills are enough to convince investors that things are moving according to plan. They are mistaken.

Instead of instinctively going into survival mode, M13 partner Anna Barber says founders should ask themselves existential questions like, "Why did you start this business? What are the fundamentals? Who are your customers? What problem are you solving?"

"At a time like this, trust is more important than ever," she said, adding that she tells entrepreneurs to stay in close touch, "particularly around bad news."

Before problems arise and between regularly scheduled meetings, entrepreneurs should get comfortable with asking for help and advice. Reaching out to share an update or ask questions sends a strong signal that you're not waiting for someone to give you direction.

"Tell them what you need. This is what we're here for: to roll up our sleeves and help problem-solve with you. Nobody expects any of this to be smooth sailing," said Barber.

Three more from the TC+ team:

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

What can the 2000 dot-com crash teach us about the 2022 tech downturn? image

Image Credits: Bob Riha Jr. / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc.

Who would have thought a Roomba that both vacuums and mops would be such a necessity? Duh, iRobot did, and Brian has the skinny on why it exists.

People are unhappy with the state of Instagram these days, and the OG app is out to bring Instagram back to its glory days with features like realigning the feed to the user's choice and being ad free, Ivan reports.

And we have five more for you:

Read more stories on TechCrunch.com

Newest Jobs from Crunchboard

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram Flipboard

View this email online in your browser

Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Unsubscribe

© 2022 Yahoo. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103