The runaway success of Axie Infinity and StepN has convinced a flurry of entrepreneurs that web3 gaming, where the ownership of in-game assets is in the hands of users via blockchain adoption rather than a centralized platform, is the future. Some of the biggest hits in the space to date reward users with tokens that
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Welcome 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. Several startups want to make it easier and friendlier for individuals to buy stocks. But isn’t pandemic-era stock picking just a bad habit that’d
New numbers from Counterpoint Research paint a rough picture for China’s smartphone market. Things show a steady climb, dating back to the iPhone 5’s 2012 launch, before peaking in December 2016 and beginning their descent back down to Earth. Sales in China dropped sharply in Q2 at 14.2%, year over year. The numbers are now
Clearco, a Toronto-based fintech capital provider for online companies, tells TechCrunch that it has laid off 125 people, or 25% of its entire staff. Those impacted will receive severance pay, a two-year window to exercise equity and job transition support from the leadership team, according to Clearco. The company did not say which teams and
Despite the ongoing correction in the public markets, mass layoffs in the tech sector and high inflation, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says we’re not yet in a recession. At the same time, it’s taking a lot longer to secure startup funding than it did just a few months ago, which means many companies are
It’s been nearly a year since satellite Internet-of-Things connectivity provider Swarm was acquired by SpaceX, and Swarm co-founder and CEO Sara Spangelo (now senior director of Satellite Engineering at SpaceX) is ready to talk about what Swarm’s been up to in that time. SpaceX is not known to be a super acquisitive company, so I
When the Big 3 cloud infrastructure vendors – Amazon, Microsoft and Google – reported their earnings this week, it was clear that the cloud is helping keep their overall numbers up. But perhaps what was most surprising was that after years of sitting at 33% market share, AWS was up a tick to 34% in
The healthcare crisis — more evident now as summer heatwaves put pressure on hospitals — is resulting in a staffing boom. But healthcare professionals in Europe can end up with bad terms and pay due to the many hiring agencies offering medical staff on short-term contracts. As you can imagine, this means this area is
TikTok wants to determine its users’ appetite for mobile gaming with the launch of “mini-games” that can be played inside the social video app and discovered through creators’ videos. TechCrunch learned and has now confirmed TikTok’s new gaming pilot quietly launched just weeks ago with a variety of new partners, including game developers Vodoo, Nitro
Volkswagen dropped a bombshell announcement late last week: Herbert Diess was out as CEO. As a manager, Diess was controversial, with a style that chafed both executives and labor leaders alike. But as a strategist, he was on firmer ground, deftly steering Volkswagen out of the Dieselgate scandal and setting it on a path toward
Yousuf Khan Contributor Yousuf Khan is a partner at Ridge Ventures. Prior to joining Ridge, he was the first CIO of Automation Anywhere, CIO and vice president of Customer Success at cloud-based AI platform Moveworks, as well as CIO of Pure Storage, Qualys and Hult International Business School. More posts by this contributor 10 tips
Like a groundhog and its shadow, many venture capitalists see a shrinking economy and burrow away, resting their check-signing hand for better days. But climate-focused VCs are on a tear lately, pumping well over a billion dollars per quarter into startups that strive to mitigate emissions as the Earth bakes. Buoyant Ventures is one such firm
A day after Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Kenya’s monetary authority, said that Chipper Cash and Flutterwave were not licensed to operate in the East African country, the regulator has directed all financial institutions to cease doing business with the two fintechs. The CBK’s bank supervision deputy director, Matu Mugo, directed all regulated banks, microfinance
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here. Good morning, you wonderful specimens of humanity! It’s Friday, and I’m writing this from the hammock in my sunny North Oakland garden, so life ain’t all that bad. (I can only assume
All is not well with the proposed acquisition of UK start bus platform Zeelo by Mass transit group Swvl. Back in April, we covered how a possible $100 million acquisition was on the cards, and, indeed, both companies confirmed it was, though not the price. Swvl, an Egyptian-born startup that provides shared transportation services for
Amazon’s consumer-focused storage service, Amazon Drive, will wind down over the next year, Amazon announced today. In an email to users, the company said that it was taking the opportunity to “more fully focus” its efforts on Amazon Photos, Amazon’s answer to iCloud Photos and Google Photos. Amazon Drive customers have until December 31, 2023
The U.S. Senate earlier this week approved the CHIPS Act, which includes $52 billion to subsidize domestic semiconductor production. It still has to struggle its way through the bureaucracy (here’s a quick refresher), but clearing the Senate is a huge and important step toward the American chip fabrication industry getting a serious chunk of cash.
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann got together with Grace once again this week for our weekly roundup show, and hot dang was there a lot to talk about. So much so that we actually had to
More smartphone struggles, as reports trickle in for Q2. Per Canalys, global shipments dropped 9% for the quarter, reversing a brief recovery for the category, whose woes have only been amplified by the pandemic, ensuing shutdowns, supply chain issues and persistent economic uncertainty. The 287 million units represent the lowest figure since Q2 2020, when
Twitter’s bid to get Elon Musk to follow through with his multi-billion-dollar bid to buy the social network will officially go to trial on October 17, a Delaware judge has confirmed. As Bloomberg reported earlier today, the ongoing feud between Twitter and the world’s wealthiest man will come to a head in the Delaware Court
Twitter is starting a new test that allows users to post images, videos, and GIFs in one multimedia tweet. Until now, users could post only one form of media per tweet. But this new format will shake things up and let people combine multiple formats in one tweet. The company confirmed the test and said
Kristen Corpion Contributor Kristen Corpion is the founder of CORPlaw, a Miami-based law firm serving fast-growing technology companies and entrepreneurs as fractional general counsel. More posts by this contributor When should an early-stage startup hire a full-time lawyer? Non-fungible tokens may be revolutionizing the way we own and transact with digital assets in the 21st
Sari-saris are small neighborhood stores in the Philippines that are often run on pen and paper ledgers. Inspired by a motorcycle journey, Packworks is on a mission to change that, with a mobile enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform that just raised $2 million led by logistics group Fast Group and CVC Capital Partners, with participation
In this current climate, Roku needed a win. Despite the company reporting total net revenue growth of 18% year over year to $764 million– a nice increase from $737.7 million last quarter — the company missed Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts expected revenue of $805 million, which would have reflected 25% year-over-year growth. What is to
Twitter is increasing the price of its subscription service, Twitter Blue, from $2.99 to $4.99 per month. Starting in October, existing subscribers will have to pay more. New users will currently have to pay the hiked rate. Apart from the U.S., the price hike is also applicable to other countries like Australia, Canada and New
Snapchat’s recent move into premium subscriptions has gained a bit of traction in its first weeks on the market. Though the social app maker just last week reported a disappointing second quarter with an earnings miss amid a weak advertising landscape, its brand-new subscription Snapchat+ has already helped the app rake in over $5 million
A compromise in Congress is forming among Democrats to tinker with the tax code, generate revenue by other means and apply those revenues to climate-change-related investments and deficit reduction. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, if it passes, would institute a minimum tax rate for large companies and close the carried interest loophole. TechCrunch explored
Paragon, a startup building a platform that integrates and aggregates various software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps for enterprise clients, has raised $13 million in a series A round led by Inspired Capital, alongside previous investors FundersClub and Garuda Ventures. CEO and co-founder Brandon Foo said that the tranche will be put toward “scaling” and expanding Paragon’s team
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here. Why, hello there, and welcome back to another installment of the Daily Crunch! It’s lovely to have you here with me. Also, give Freelance Whales a listen. I discovered the band when
Apple released its third-quarter earnings on Thursday and reported $19.6 billion in services revenue, marking a 12% year-over-year increase, but narrowly falling short of Wall Street predictions of about $19.7 billion. The tech giant’s third-quarter services revenue also falls short of last quarter’s record-breaking $19.8 billion and is also down from the 27% growth it