Solid Power, one of the leaders in the race to commercialize all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries, has been stumbling of late. But a new deal with BMW might give it the boost it needs. After going public via SPAC in late 2021, Solid Power’s share price followed the all-too-familiar SPAC bump then bust, trading for much of
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park and various other media over the years, have raised $20 million to continue work on their professional deepfake studio for creators, Deep Voodoo. The company got its start during the media shutdown of 2020, when the pandemic prevented most travel and on-set productions. Parker and Stone
Fusion power plants are possible on the electricity grid within the next decade, a potential game changer that could supply a limitless amount of carbon-free power, former US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said Thursday. He spoke with David Westin on “Balance of Power.” ——– Like this video? Subscribe to Bloomberg Technology on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrM7B7SL_g1edFOnmj-SDKg Watch the latest full episodes of
It’s been a year. This roundup is never a particularly fun one to write. No one wants to see startups fail, but we’re all keenly aware that most ultimately do. A commonly cited figure suggest that 90% of these companies will ultimately fail. But even with that in mind, 2022 just hit different. The previous
Wischoff Ventures’ solo GP on tailwinds from the CHIPS Act, the US versus China and more Anna Heim 1 day For many Americans, COVID-19 served as a wake-up call: The U.S. was nowhere nearly as prepared to overcome challenges as it should be, and it was overly dependent on China. Whether the current geopolitical order
In August, Drop announced its first new in-house mechanical keyboard in quite a while: the 75% Drop Sense75. On paper, the $349 gasket-mount keyboard looked like a winner, with an understated but classy design, Drop’s DCX keycaps, in-house stabilizers and its Holy Panda X tactile switches. The final result is a bit of a disappointment,
Amid 2021’s record-breaking funding activity, it wasn’t uncommon to see startups raise rounds composed of numerous small checks from a large number of firms and angel investors. But now that said companies are looking to raise extension financing, they’re realizing that more investors doesn’t always mean more future money. Last year, FOMO was running high,
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. We’ve been working on a series of gift guides over the past month or so. Today, Devin’s guide to gaming headphones is up! If you missed any of our gift guides, here’s
Isn’t it wonderful that there are researchers out there whose job is quite simply to make a robotic bird? That’s certainly the goal of this lab, whose flapping-wing drone, or ornithopter, has now been equipped with a grasping claw to let it take a rest on a nearby branch or perhaps even a finger —
Welcome back to Found, where we get the stories behind the startups. This week Darrell and Becca caught up with Alice Albrecht about her early-stage AI startup re:collect. Alice talked about why she founded the company that uses machine learning algorithms to help creatives brainstorm and recall information without breaking focus. She also talked about
Few startups launch with a coherent content strategy. In the early days, every project is a sprint, and there are times when putting on a show for investors can feel more important than actually serving your customers. Blogs are a great example: Because they’re a cheap way to drive SEO, companies crank them out, then
The European Commission (EC) has announced that it has reached an agreement with Amazon over a duo of antitrust probes, one that will enshrine commitments made by Amazon in European Union (EU) antitrust legislation. The initial probe kicked off back in 2018, when regulators launched enquiries into how Amazon was leveraging non-public data from third-party
Amazon has announced that Fire TV users in the U.S. can now watch tens of thousands of music videos from major and independent labels for free. No downloads, fees or subscriptions are required to watch the music videos. The ad-supported music videos will be available from artists on the Billboard Hot 100, including Taylor Swift,
Amazon unveils a range of new products for the home. Among them is a $1,000 robot called “Astro.” Emily Chang talks to Dave Limp, Amazon senior vice president of devices and services. (Source: Bloomberg)
Do you invest in wine and spirits? Fintech startup Vint thinks everyone should, and is hoping to facilitate this. But don’t expect bottles to be shipped to you: Investments via Vint are fractional. Depending on how deep your pockets are, this is probably for the best: A recent offering that sold out on Vint was
The bad blood between tech boot camp MyTechBestfriend and many of its former students is anything but finished, according to nearly a dozen people who spoke to TechCrunch. In November, TechCrunch detailed the fallout between Mary Awodele, the founder of the Texas-based MTBF, and her students. Students accused Awodele of bullying and harassment while alleging
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. December is getting long in the tooth, there’s Christmas music on every radio station, and the poinsettias are in full bloom. It looks like the year is getting close to the end,
Viva Republica, an operator of South Korean finance super app Toss, has finalized a $405 million Series G funding and it says it is now valued at 9.1 trillion won ( $7 billion), up from 8.5 trillion won in June 2021, when it raised $410 million in pre-Series F funding at a $7.4 billion (8.5 trillion
Good sound is as important to enjoying a game as any other part of the experience, and these days you have your choice of dozens of headsets for every platform. Here are a few of the latest and greatest headsets for your gaming pleasure whether you’re a PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch or even mobile gamer.
According to a survey sent to creators in the Spotify for Podcasters program, the streaming giant might be doing away with the Anchor brand. Anchor, which Spotify acquired for $340 million in a deal that included the studio Gimlet, is a free podcast hosting service. In 2020, Anchor said that its service was used to
Though inflation appears to be dropping, economic conditions remain uncertain, and the overall fundraising climate is reverting to pre-pandemic levels. For Black founders, who have rarely received more than 1% of total venture capital invested in startups, 2022 wasn’t kind, and 2023 doesn’t look promising given how things are going. To find out how Black
Life as a startup founder is never dull. That’s doubly true for Black founders, who routinely struggle to raise funds, be noticed and get their fair share of attention. For the new year, TechCrunch+ conducted a mini-survey to found out what Black founders are expecting in 2023. All three founders brought up the same concerns
Toyota president Akio Toyoda has made it no secret that he really, really dislikes electric vehicles. This weekend, he offered this latest installment: “People involved in the auto industry are largely a silent majority,” Toyoda told reporters in Thailand, according to The Wall Street Journal. “That silent majority is wondering whether EVs are really OK
The European Commission (EC) has confirmed that it’s proceeding with an antitrust investigation into Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta), over the way it ties together its core social network and Marketplace classified ads service. The Commission’s Statement of Objections also points to “unfair trading conditions” related to how it uses data gleaned from rival
ImagenAI, a startup using AI to help professional photographers edit photos and automate post-production work, today announced that it raised $30 million in an all-equity growth investment from Summit Partners. The new capital brings Imagen’s total raised to $34 million, and co-founder and CEO Yotam Gil tells TechCrunch that it’ll be used to expand the
Bloomberg’s Hannah Miller joins Caroline Hyde to discuss how the crypto firm Amber Group has raised $300 million mainly for customers who lost money on the platform’s products due to FTX’s implosion.
For a rapid valuation climb, think, ‘What’s the highest risk right now, and how do I remove it?’ Haje Jan Kamps 16 hours You’ve likely heard of pre-seed, seed, Series A, Series B and so on and so forth. These labels often aren’t super helpful because they aren’t clearly defined — we’ve seen very small
Here are the stories that garnered the most interest from readers Mary Ann Azevedo 12 hours W elcome 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
Social media influencers active in last year’s meme-stock frenzy were charged by federal prosecutors with engaging in an over $100 million “pump and dump” scheme
Welcome to Startups Weekly, a nuanced take on this week’s startup news and trends by Senior Reporter and Equity co-host Natasha Mascarenhas. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. May the earnest among us rise up: Techies, it’s prediction season. It’s my favorite time of the year, not because I’m a glutton for threads