Only Products and Other Stuff

“I suggest reaching out right before Labor Day to set up a meeting in September or wait and start your outreach altogether next month.”

An institutional investor is suing Amazon and its board, including founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, over hefty launch contracts they awarded to Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin. The suit, filed by Amazon shareholders the Cleveland Bakers and Teamsters Pension Fund, alleges that the board spent less than 40 minutes approving the launch agreements for […]

EV startup Fisker revealed more details about its $29,900 Pear electric urban lifestyle crossover vehicle Thursday at the company’s Product Vision Day. Included in that reveal was confirmation that Foxconn, the consumer electronics manufacturer most well-known for making Apple iPhones, would be producing the vehicle at its Lordstown, Ohio, manufacturing facility. In early August, Henrik […]

The United States Department of Energy is dedicating $15.5 billion to support the transition to electric vehicles. As part of President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda, most of the money will go to automakers and suppliers to retool their plants to produce electric, hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles, the agency said Thursday. […]

Sooner or later, the numbers were going to contract. Broadly speaking, the pandemic has been a gamechanger for automation broadly and robotics specifically. But not even those categories are immune from macro trends. Per new numbers from the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) — whose job it is to track such things — North American […]

A Texas judge issued an injunction today to stall the enforcement of an online age verification bill. The Free Speech Coalition, along with adult video sites like Pornhub, led the legal challenge against Texas’ HB 1181, arguing that the bill violates the First Amendment and infringes on rights guaranteed by Section 230. “The Court agrees […]

YouTube Music redesigned its “Now Playing” screen recently, with the most notable update being a new comments section, which allows users to read and write comments directly from the app. The latest upgrade also includes easily accessible buttons, larger cover art and more. The redesign is rolling out to iOS and Android devices today, per […]

Back in 2018, the Cato Institute estimated it would take 151 years for a person born in India to get a green card in the EB-2 category.

We have customized our 'people-first' framework to apply to AI companies and are using it to guide our investment decisions.

Instagram is internally testing the ability to create Reels that are up to 10 minutes in length, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Wednesday. The social media giant says it is not testing the capability externally. The feature was first uncovered by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who shared screenshots of the internal prototype on X. […]

India’s PhonePe is getting into stock and mutual fund investment, the latest in a series of expansion by Walmart-backed payments app as it looks to leverage its 450 million-plus user base to win in new categories. The Bengaluru-headquartered startup, which has raised $850 million in recent quarters, launched an app called Share.Market on Wednesday that […]

After months of vetting thousands of applications, the Startup Battlefield 200 (SB 200) cohort for TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 is complete. You do not want to miss this incredible, curated collection of early-stage startups you’ll find exhibiting on the expo floor. We want to highlight them, but listing all of them at once would be, well, […]

In partnership with Google Cloud, Google Deepmind, Google’s AI research division, is launching a tool for watermarking and identifying AI-generated images. But only images created by Google’s own image-generating model. The tool, called SnythID and available in beta for select users of Vertex AI, Google’s platform for building AI apps and models, embeds a digital […]

Once again, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is requesting more information from Tesla regarding the safety of Autopilot. In a special order dated July 26, the regulator shared concerns about a change to Tesla’s advanced driver assistance system that allows drivers to use the system for extended periods of time without prompting the […]

Against all odds, Starfish Space has managed to pull its first orbital mission back from the brink of catastrophe, with the startup saying Tuesday that it has re-gained control over the Otter Pup spacecraft that had been rapidly tumbling through space. The Kent, Washington-based startup said it will now move ahead with an “extensive checkout” […]

A massive social media disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement is no more, according to Meta. In its latest report on what Facebook and Instagram’s parent company calls “coordinated inauthentic behavior” — usually covert state-sponsored social media campaigns designed to shape public opinion — Meta detailed the discovery of a huge network of fake […]

It’s time to beta test Meta’s greatest technological innovation since the News Feed: legs. Now on Meta Quest headsets, you can download an update that lets you walk on two feet, just like our ancient ancestor, the Ardipithecus ramidus, an early hominid that achieved bipedality 4.4 million years ago. Now, it comes full circle. When […]

AI — the tech that’s everywhere and touching everything — keeps evolving at a pace that’s surprising even in an industry where change is just about the only constant. It’s complicated, unregulated, thrilling and unnerving all at once. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2023, we’re dedicating a day and a stage to this galloping industry — and […]

The gamers behind the Gray Lady have a new game to add into our morning rotations: Connections, which invites the player to categorize 16 words or phrases into four distinct groups of four. The daily puzzle game debuted in beta on June 12, and according to The New York Times, it’s now the paper’s second […]

Amazon is increasing its free shipping minimum to $35 for customers who don’t have a Prime membership in some regions, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Monday. Up until now, the free shipping minimum was $25. Amazon says it’s testing the new free shipping threshold randomly by zip code-grouped regions and that everyone in the same region will see the same free shipping threshold. The news was first reported by CNBC. “We continually evaluate our offerings and make adjustments based on those assessments,” an Amazon spokesperson told TechCrunch in an email. “We’re currently testing a $35 minimum for non-Prime customers to qualify for free shipping. Prime members continue to enjoy free delivery on over 300 million items, with tens of millions of items available for free Same or One-Day Delivery.” The company is looking to push more customers towards it Prime offering with this new change. The change does not impact Prime members, who pay $139 annually or $15 per month for free ship...

Last Friday, two venture-backed companies filed to go public. Grocery delivery service Instacart dropped its Form S-1 filing along with Klaviyo, a marketing software company from Boston. We dug into Instacart’s filing on Friday  but didn’t have time to also spelunk into Klaviyo’s IPO filing . We’re going to do that today, because Klaviyo’s IPO moment perhaps matters more than it would in another time. Here’s an inside look at Klaviyo’s origins, how it’s grown over the years, the trade-offs it made, how email marketing is evolving, and more: The Klaviyo EC-1 Sure, Klaviyo has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and was last valued at nearly $10 billion, but what this IPO does for other companies could prove more important than the money it raises for Klaviyo itself. The American IPO market has been moribund and generally stuck in a quagmire for about 18 months now. Declining tech valuations on the stock market and changing investor sentiment put IPOs on hold. Meanwhile, t...

With the explosion of e-commerce during the global pandemic, companies not only had to adopt Amazon-like shipping skills, but also how to coordinate and manage returns. In Latin America, the reverse logistics process “is a mess,” according to Agustin Shutte, founder and CEO of Devolut , which provides an end-to-end returns solution for e-commerce sellers. “It’s dominated by traditional carriers who are not reliable, are super expensive and take forever to take the product back to the merchant,” Shutte told TechCrunch. “This leads to refunds taking 40 to 50 days. Developing a network of return points, like Happy Returns did in the U.S., is something completely unique that no one is doing.” He started the Mexico-based company earlier this year with Emiliano Monge. This is their second startup together, having previously founded another logistics startup where they saw firsthand how inefficient the return process was. Devolut is still very much in its early stages, having launched ju...

Jio Financial Services, the financial services unit of Mukesh Ambani-run Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, plans to expand to merchant lending and insurance, Ambani said at Reliance’s annual general meeting in a speech that is likely to have a repercussions for countless startups. “JFS will massively increase financial services penetration by transforming and modernising them with a digital-first approach that simplifies financial products, reduces cost of service, and expands reach to every citizen through easily accessible digital channels,” he said. “For tens of thousands of SMEs, merchants, and self-employed entrepreneurs, ease of doing business must mean ease in borrowing, investments, and payment solutions. JFS plans to democratise financial services for 1.42 billion Indians, giving them access to simple, affordable, innovative, and intuitive products and services.” TechCrunch reported last week that Reliance was testing a sound box payment system at its campus. Analys...

Reliance Industries said Monday it has appointed the three children of billionaire Mukesh Ambani — Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani — as the directors to its board, the latest in the succession plan at the country’s largest company, which operates the nation’s largest telecom operator and retail chain. Nita, Ambani’s wife, has resigned from the board, said the $202 billion oil-to-retail giant in a statement, published on the local stock exchange. The early signs of the succession planning has been apparent in recent years with 66-year-old Ambani promoting his children to lead many of the empire’s businesses. Akash leads the digital business, Jio Platforms, whereas his twin sister Isha helms Reliance Retail. Anant leads the new energy business. “Isha Ambani, Akash Ambani and Anant Ambani have been closely involved with and are leading and managing key businesses of RIL over the last few years including retail, digital services and energy and materials businesses,” the c...

Bluesky introduced a bunch of updates on Friday to its mobile apps and website including a new tab to see your own likes, notification support for apps, and an emoji picker for the web composer. Earlier this month, Bluesky’s rival Threads added a new tab in settings , called “Your Likes,” to let users look at their own liked posts. In contrast, Bluesky has added a “Likes” tab to users’ profiles. The placement of the tab is similar to X (formerly Twitter), but unlike the Elon Musk-owned social network, Bluesky doesn’t let you see liked posts of other people. Bluesky has added a new likes tab The platform specified in a post that the likes of a user can be accessed through the API as they are public. While the native client doesn’t show them, other apps can choose to include functionality to display the likes of other users. Additionally, the social network has also added the ability to suggest people to mention when someone types an “@” in the composer. This update is available a...

Chinese electric vehicle upstart Xpeng is acquiring the smart EV assets of ride hailing giant Didi for $744 million, marking another significant alliance that the Tesla challenger has struck in recent months. In an announcement on Monday, Didi said the duo is forming a strategic partnership to “promote the global application of smart electric vehicles and technologies.” Notably, the Didi assets will become a new sub-brand called “Mona” under Xpeng, which is scheduled to launch in 2024. The partnership also extends to areas including marketing, financial insurance services, charging and international expansion. The news followed on the heels of Volkswagen’s $700 million investment in Xpeng which would see the production of two new models under the Volkswagen brand utilizing XPeng’s key ADAS technologies. More to come — this is a developing story…

The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here —  just click The Station  — to receive the newsletter every weekend in your inbox. Subscribe for free.  Welcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B. We have a lot to cover so let’s jump in. But wait! One note to share: These days, I’m a semi-regular guest on TechCrunch’s Equity Podcast , including an episode that aired Friday that covers robotaxis, Nvidia’s earning, plus Better.com and startups that are full of shit (you’ll get the joke if you listen). Vamos. Want to reach out with a tip, comment or complaint? Email Kirsten at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com . Reminder that you can drop us a note at  tips@techcrunch.com .  If you prefer to remain anonymous ,  click here to contact us , which includes SecureDrop ( instructions here ) and various encrypted messagi...

When investors look at a startup slide deck, they are looking for something very specific. Yes, they want to know if the team is great and the market is huge and the problem is worth solving and the solution makes sense. Of course. But another thing they are looking for is whether the founders understand the journey they are on. If you step on the VC treadmill, you’re signing up for rapid, explosive growth. You have to: If you don’t, you don’t fit into the models of how VC works . And that’s OK — not every company is suitable for VC funding. The other truth is that your funding amount includes a very literal deadline: If you run out of money, that’s the end of your company. So, before you run out of money, one of three things needs to happen: You have an exit event, which usually means getting acquired or going public through an IPO. The latter is more predictable than the former, and early-stage companies usually don’t have that as an option. You reach break-even and are able to ...

What’s the hardest part of reading? More often than not, it’s picking a good book. “L’embarras du choix,” as we say in French: Presented with infinite options, it becomes very hard to make a decision. That’s why recommendations are so helpful. And who’s best placed to recommend books than people who, you know, write books? With this in mind, TechCrunch+ contacted a handful of authors whose work is closely tied to tech and startups. We asked them a simple question: “What book have you read this summer that you think others might enjoy?” We heard back from: Adam DuVander, author of “ Technical Content Strategy Decoded ” Phil Rosen, author of “ Life Between Moments: New York Stories ” Adi Polak, author of “ Scaling Machine Learning with Spark: Distributed ML with MLlib, TensorFlow, and PyTorch ” Andrew Lee Miller, author of “ The Startup Growth Book: 50+ Proven Ways to Scale Your Business Without a Marketing Budget ” David Kadavy, author of “ Mind Management, Not Time Management: ...

Welcome back to The Interchange, where we take a look at the hottest fintech news of the previous week.  Better.com finally went public last week, and the stock’s performance was worse than expected. Affirm, on the other hand, saw its shares get a boost on the back of a better-than-expected earnings report. There was also a mega-raise, and an acquisition too. On another note, if you want to receive The Interchange directly in your inbox every Sunday, head  here  to sign up! Better.com finally went public The biggest fintech news of the week centered around Better.com’s no good, very bad public market debut. Or as my friend and colleague Alex Wilhelm described it, Better.com had a Miserable.com week . To sum it up, digital mortgage lender Better.com made its public debut on August 24. To no one’s surprise, the stock wasn’t exactly a hit with public investors. In fact, it was a resounding bomb. As of Friday, August 25, the stock had closed a mere $1.19. Shares of SPAC...

Hello, folks, and welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter that covers the biggest happenings in tech over the past few days. Haven’t been able to follow the news closely? Don’t sweat it. WiR will get you up to speed. In this edition of WiR, we cover Microsoft bringing Python to Excel, Cruise being forced to reduce its robotaxi fleet following a crash, and Amazon launching its new Fire TV Channels app. We also recap Twitter competitor Bluesky buckling under load, influencer MrBeast’s poorly timed Olympics video, IBM building a code translator for COBOL, and Snapchat expanding further into generative AI. If you haven’t already, sign up here to get WiR in your inbox every Saturday. Now, without further ado, here’s the week’s news! Most read Microsoft brings Python to Excel: Microsoft this week announced the public preview of Python in Excel, which will allow advanced spreadsheet users to combine scripts in the popular Python language and their usual Excel ...

A Portuguese-language spyware called WebDetetive has been used to compromise more than 76,000 Android phones in recent years across South America, largely in Brazil. WebDetetive is also the latest phone spyware company in recent months to have been hacked. In an undated note seen by TechCrunch, the unnamed hackers described how they found and exploited several security vulnerabilities that allowed them to compromise WebDetetive’s servers and access to its user databases. By exploiting other flaws in the spyware maker’s web dashboard — used by abusers to access the stolen phone data of their victims — the hackers said they enumerated and downloaded every dashboard record, including every customer’s email address. The hackers said that dashboard access also allowed them to delete victim devices from the spyware network altogether, effectively severing the connection at the server level to prevent the device from uploading new data. “Which we definitely did. Because we could. Because #f...

W elcome to the TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It’s inspired by the daily TechCrunch+ column where it gets its name. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here . Can startups help solve the U.S. housing crisis? BuildCasa thinks so. It raised a $3.5 million round of pre-seed funding to let California homeowners build new homes in their backyards. — Anna Leveraging new zoning laws There aren’t enough homes in the U.S., which would need another 3.8 million units of housing to fill the gap, Axios recently noted, citing data from Freddie Mac. And while causes and consequences are open to debate, it shouldn’t be too controversial to say that increasing housing supply is part of the solution. What does this have to do with startups, you may ask? Quite a bit, it turns out: New business models have emerged as a result of recent laws that aim to solve the housing shortage.

Listen here  or wherever you get your podcasts . Hello and welcome back to  Equity , a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Welcome to an old-school Equity tradition: the bonus show! Despite getting through our regular episodes this week, we have one more for you. Why the extra edition? Because Battery Ventures dropped an interesting report on Gen-Z and I wanted to talk about it. So, I got Courtney Chow , a vice president at Battery and one of the report’s authors to chat with me about it. You can read the report itself here . This is what we got into: The fracturing of culture: Gen-Z is large, and very diverse. The trend away from monolithic cultural primacy that began years ago has accelerated with the generation, making culture itself more personal, and more distinct. For startups, this means branding will become a different challenge if they want to reach this demographic slice. Everything is short-fo...

Memes can happen in the blink of an eye, like a Jeopardy! contestant who accidentally makes a sexual innuendo under the pressure of stage lights, or a kid who randomly gets interviewed on a playground and professes his undying love for America’s most plentiful crop, corn . But as soon as we knew former President Donald Trump would be processed at Fulton County Jail for his fourth indictment , we knew that the resulting mugshot would be all over the place for years to come, from novelty t-shirt stands to our hypothetical future childrens’ history textbooks. We waited for it, knowing that as soon as the image was released to the public, it would become unavoidable. “This will break Etsy,” Jesse Case wrote in a now-viral tweet (or X post, whatever). And sure enough, less than 24 four hours after Trump’s mugshot was released, Etsy already turns up 5,290 results to the search “trump mugshot.” What the chicken nuggets in my microwave see at 3AM: pic.twitter.com/4nzuueZwuS — Kristi Y...