News Headline: Cybersecurity firm Rapid7 will close some offices and lay off 18% of staff in restructuring plan

Wednesday, August 09, 2023

Today, Rapid7 announced plans to lay off 18% of its workforce and close some offices. The cybersecurity company is staying mum on the details for now. However, this particular piece of news came while Rapid7 was discussing its second-quarter earnings results, which included a deeper net loss. Get the scoop.

Next, Microsoft partners with the Aptos blockchain to marry AI and web3. Find out more. (TC+)

Meanwhile, check out Slack now that it has undergone a major makeover to help users see what's most relevant to them. See the new and improved Slack.

And, machine learning operations seems to be something all of you are very eager to read about today. Weights & Biases, which counts OpenAI as a customer, landed $50 million in new funding. Read more.

Image Credits: andresr / Getty Images

More top reads

A good review: Goodnotes' biggest update in four years brings AI-powered handwriting features and a digital marketplace. Get the scoop.

Lukewarm about semiconductors: As Tim De Chant reports, the room-temperature semiconductor claim was fun while it lasted. Read more. (TC+)

Where do you want to eat?: Atmosfy, an app that helps you discover local businesses through short-from video, raises $12 million. So much to eat, so little time?

First close, best close: Pretiosum Ventures hits a first close on its second fund. Find out what kind of companies the firm backs.

Sweet treat: Sweet Security raises a $12 million seed round for its cloud security suite. Learn more.

Shop till you drop: E-commerce company Coupang will ramp up its investment in Taiwan after four quarters of profits. Read more.

You'll want to subscribe to TechCrunch+ for this: Alex Wilhelm dives into WeWork's fallen market cap to discuss why VC and a low-margin business don't mix. (TC+) If you missed the story from yesterday, here it is: WeWork goes from a $47 billion valuation to "substantial doubts" about its ability to continue.

When voting gets hacked: Following yesterday's story on 40 million voter accounts being hacked in the United Kingdom, let's see if we can figure out what happened, shall we? Go inside the cyberattack.

I hope this comes with a bow: The all-electric 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ is loaded with tech and wrapped up in a big ol' package. Unwrap it.

Overworked and overburdened: Deepset secures $30 million to expand its large language model–focused machine learning operations offerings. Read more.

A cup of coffee worth $100 in savings: Going into Target for one thing usually means coming out with lots of other items you didn't intend to buy. If you're one of those who skirts temptation by doing order pickup, you can now get your caffeine fix at the same time. Get the scoop.

That's music to our ears: Duolingo is not just for learning how to speak another language anymore. The company was spotted developing a music learning app. Find out more.

More for your Wednesday:

Spotify integrates with Patreon to stream subscriber-only content

South African VC Knife Capital closes $50M Series B fund for startups with high exit potential

A conversation with Visa's head of fintech

Matter filters out microplastics, one washer at a time — and raises $10M to go industrial

BlueJeans folds

Image Credits: MirageC / Getty Images

Supercomputers: A new asset class

So your startup's runway is dwindling and fundraising is hard. What's next?

According to Crunchbase, web3 startups raised $3.6 billion in the first half of 2023. Given that funding is down 78% from the same period last year, Jacquelyn Melinek asked several investors about how startups should proceed — and adjust their expectations.

“If you are down to just two to three months, you're out of options,” advised Kelly Brewster, CEO of bitcoin-focused accelerator Wolf.

“You should pay employees severance, [your remaining] tax bill, and shut down the company. Or, you may find yourself in a bad situation.”

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So your startup's runway is dwindling and fundraising is hard. What's next? image

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