In 2016, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states signed the Value Added Tax (VAT) agreement paving way for the introduction of the general levy on consumption across the region. The United Arabs Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia became the first member states to adopt the treaty in 2018, and its implementation meant that for
Meet Oneleaf, a new startup that wants to make hypnosis mainstream. The startup has designed an app that helps you get started with hypnosis and follow various programs to quit smoking, reduce anxiety or lose weight. Oneleaf raised $4.6 million (€4.2 million) from Frst, Kima Ventures, Raise Ventures and several business angels. Bpifrance also contributed
Netflix received 15 Oscar nominations this year, putting the streaming service ahead of most other media companies. Warner Bros. was close behind with 13 nominations, and Disney+ earned 12. Combined with Disney-owned Searchlight, which had 10 nominations, Disney received 22 total noms. Netflix’s German war movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” was nominated nine
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is calling an electric-vehicle battery plant planned by Ford Motor Co. and a Chinese partner a “Trojan horse” for China that would undermine policy efforts to strengthen the US auto industry. He speaks to Bloomberg’s Ed Ludlow. Like this video? Subscribe to Bloomberg Technology on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrM7B7SL_g1edFOnmj-SDKg Watch the latest full episodes of “Bloomberg Technology”
One of the most remarkable things about construction robotics is the sheer breadth of tasks that can potentially be automated. As I’ve noted before, the entire category is a prime target for robotics startups, given that it fills all of the big Ds of automation — dull, dirty and (quite often) dangerous. It’s also one
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PST, subscribe here. What’s up, Crunchers? Good to see you again! We’re so glad to have you with us. It’s been a really busy day on the site today, and Haje has been busy getting
Welcome back to Found, where we get the stories behind the startups. In this week’s episode Darrell and Becca are joined by Sebastian Siemiatkowski, the co-founder and CEO of Klarna. Sebastian talks about what led him to found the startup and how it has navigated multiple market cycles since. He also dives into how Klarna
“May I suggest respectfully that Ticketmaster ought to look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the problem, it’s me,’” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on the Senate floor Tuesday, referencing Taylor Swift’s latest hit “Anti-Hero.” In a hearing on consumer protection and competition in live entertainment, senators grilled Live Nation CFO and president Joe Berchtold
The software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry is facing budget constraints and reductions in headcount as a result of the pandemic and the broader slowdown in tech. Companies have tightened up their budgets for SaaS purchases, looking to keep cash on hand while growing more efficiently. That’s why Kush Kella and Ahmed Sharif founded Vartana (which my colleague
Paris Heymann Contributor For the tech community, the rallying cry in 2022 was about moving from the growth-at-all-costs mindset toward emphasizing profitability. We believe that in turbulent times, startups and scaleups alike need to ensure: They have sufficient runway to ride out a downturn without relying on large amounts of external funding. They are developing
Karthee Madasamy Contributor Karthee Madasamy is the managing partner at MFV Partners, a deep tech-focused venture firm. Like nearly every other sector, deep tech faced significant headwinds in 2022. As interest rates skyrocketed, deep tech deals, which inherently take more capital than other kinds of software businesses, became less attractive to many VCs and their
Another penalty for Spain’s homegrown on-demand delivery app and dark store operator, Glovo — which has been fined close to €57 million (~$62M) for breaching local labor laws by falsely classifying 7,800+ of its delivery couriers in Madrid as self-employed, per local newspaper El Diario. Citing sources familiar with the Labor department’s investigation of Glovo,
Electric vehicles accounted for nearly 6% of all new cars sold in the U.S. in 2022, an increase from 3.1% the year before, and that number will continue to grow over the coming years. While it’s still a young industry, the ecosystem surrounding EVs — from EV charging and installation to insurance products and parking
Solar-powered electric vehicle maker Lightyear said it’s halting production on its flagship Lightyear 0, its premium EV with a sticker price of €250,000. Despite only starting production on the vehicle three months ago, Lightyear is restructuring to focus on building a more affordable model, the Lightyear 2 for around €40,000, reports Electrek. The news comes
Pasqal, a Paris-based quantum computing startup, today announced that it has raised a $100 million Series B funding round let by Singapore’s Temasek. In addition to Temasek, existing investors Quantonation, the Defense Innovation Fund, Daphni and Eni Next, as well as new investors European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Wa’ed Ventures and Bpifrance (through its Large
Bumble is putting the phrase “Netflix and Chill?” to the test with the launch of a weekly in-app Netflix-themed question game called “Netflix Nights In” that asks users questions about a popular Netflix show. Users can play against their match to see who can answer all the questions correctly. According to a recent Bumble survey,
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow to discuss Apple’s plan to unveil its first mixed-reality headset this year, and how its lightweight augmented-reality glasses have been postponed due to technical challenges. #apple #amazon #gadgets #technology
The same day Microsoft invested billions in OpenAI, McKinsey snatched up an enterprise-focused AI firm, Iguazio, for a relative steal. The consulting giant reportedly paid around $50 million for Iguazio, a Tel Aviv-based company offering an MLOps platform for large-scale businesses — “MLOps” referring to a set of tools to deploy and maintain machine learning
Today, baby registry and product discovery platform Babylist announced that it has acquired health and wellness tool Expectful for an undisclosed price. The deal, announced today, brings together two companies focused on parental support, now helping people navigate everything from eco-friendly diapers to mental wellness around fertility. The overlap, however, is in more than the mission.
The M2 Air is as close as Apple has ever come to the perfect MacBook. It’s a kind of platonic ideal for the category, and the culmination of key updates to the product line, including the arrival (and upgrade) of Apple silicon and the company’s acceptance that some things (bad keyboards, Touch Bar) simply weren’t
Meta is expanding its partnership with the NBA and WNBA to offer more than 50 live games in VR on Meta Quest, the company announced on Monday. The Meta Quest is the official headset of the NBA, as the company signed a deal with the league back in 2020. The company will deliver a package
Eugene Y. Mar Contributor Eugene Y. Mar is a partner with Farella Braun + Martel LLP in San Francisco, leading the firm’s Technology Industry Group. Thomas J. Pardini Contributor Thomas J. Pardini is a senior associate with Farella Braun + Martel LLP in San Francisco, representing clients in intellectual property litigation. Tech companies and startups
Microsoft today announced that it’s extending its partnership with OpenAI, the startup behind art- and text-generating AI systems like ChatGPT, DALL-E 2 and GPT-3, with a “multi-year, multi-billion-dollar” investment. OpenAI says the infusion of new capital — the exact amount of which wasn’t disclosed — will be used to continue its research and “develop AI that
Veteran tech giant PayPal is facing an antitrust investigation in Germany — where the Federal Cartel Office (FCO) has announced it’s looking into its rules on surcharges. The regulator is concerned that restrictions PayPal imposes on merchants could be harming competitors and inflating costs for consumers by restricting price competition. Clauses in PayPal’s terms the
Apple’s latest silicon innovations shine in the Mac Mini. The tiny desktop computer is the latest Apple computer fitted with the M2 chipset. For $599, buyers can opt for the M2 or spend $1299 for the impressive M2 Pro, which features unique benefits. For the last several days, my M1 Mac Mini sat on the
Music streaming service Spotify has announced that it will be conducting a round of layoffs that will impact around 6% of its global workforce. In its most recent earnings release, the company said that there were 9,808 full-time employees working for Spotify. Today’s move will impact around 600 employees. “Like many other leaders, I hoped
Compound Investor Michael Dempsey joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow to discuss the booming VC interest in generative AI and machine learning, what are the trends he is looking at, and why some of the hype around generative AI has sometimes gotten ahead of reality.
Welcome to The Interchange! If you received this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and your vote of confidence. If you’re reading this as a post on our site, sign up here so you can receive it directly in the future. Every week, I’ll take a look at the hottest fintech news of the previous week.
Welcome back, climate tech readers! Like last week, we’ve got a full slate once more, from food waste to wastewater and more. Let’s dive in. Image Credits: Mill Industries After selling Nest to Google for $3.2 billion, Matt Rogers is no stranger to scaling fast. But unlike last time, Rogers isn’t interested in selling so
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. Buy now, pay later is an alluring option for consumers, perhaps even more so in a recession. But with rising debt and inflation,