Pitching a startup to investors without a personal recommendation isn’t a terrible idea — as long as you’ve done your research first. Tetra Insights co-founders Michael Bamberger and Panos Rigopoulos raised a $5 million Series A last year, and the duo said cold outreach was a key part of their strategy. “When I changed my
Ann Lai Contributor Ann Lai joined Bullpen Capital in 2020 as a general partner and has invested in and advised more than 30 early- to late-stage companies. Among all the buzzwords startups use when pitching investors and in their marketing, “data-driven” is nearly at the top of the pile. But what does being data-driven really
The UK’s antitrust watchdog has moved to deepen its scrutiny of the Apple and Google mobile duopoly — kicking off an in-depth investigation into elements of the pair’s mobile ecosystem dominance by probing their approach toward rival mobile browsers and cloud gaming services which it’s concerned could be restricting competition and harming consumers. The move
Aura, a startup founded by early Twitter employees that makes digital frames and photo sharing apps that can also be used to update those frames, has pulled in some funding to expand its business as it closes in on three million users of its app and 1 million frames sold (it’s now at 997k). The
Fans of Apple TV+’s popular sci-fi workplace drama, “Severance,” can have their very own Lumon music-dance experience—maracas not included. Starting Wednesday, November 23, online store Mondo will have exclusive “Severance” vinyl records on sale, which contain the official soundtrack, artwork, themed packaging, and other bonus merch. Like in the show, Mondo created two variations of
Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook says the company is preparing to begin sourcing chips for its devices from a plant under construction in Arizona. Mark Gurman reports on Bloomberg Television. ——– 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” with Emily Chang here: Get the
Leta, a Kenyan B2B supply chain and logistics SaaS provider launched last year to optimize fleet management, is looking for growth opportunities in West Africa, even as it scales operations in its existing five markets. Leta’s proprietary route and load optimization technology is designed to boost efficiency in the delivery of goods to customers, and
The logic behind many fintech companies’ automated decisions — decisions that determine whether a customer is approved for a credit line, for example — is hard-coded into their app’s backend. This means that if a head of credit, for example, wants to make a change to the lending criteria, they have to raise a ticket
All eyes are currently on the collapse of FTX in the crypto industry. That’s why today’s news from Bitpanda is an important signal for the Austrian unicorn company. Bitpanda has received a crypto license from Germany’s financial regulator (BaFin). Its German subsidiary is now officially allowed to process cryptocurrencies for German customers under its Crypto
Let’s start with the supposition that the venture-founder compact is built almost entirely on trust, especially early on. Sure, due diligence matters in the investment process, but lying about your capabilities can undercut the founder-investor relationship — and in extreme cases, to the detriment of the larger, global startup market. In the wake of Elizabeth
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. What’s up, Crunchers! Haje is back from his away-ness, and we are chomping at the bit to bring you a wall of amazing stories from our dastardly team of TC wordcraftspeople. Let’s
This post was published (November 21, 2022 @ 08:37:07) and was updated with new information at (November 21, 2022 @ 11:54:08) San Francisco time. Immigram — a talent immigration platform founded by two Russian passport holders — has been removed from a $1 million startup competition that it won last week at the high-profile Slush
If you follow NASA’s many interplanetary and orbital missions, you’re no doubt familiar with Thomas Zurbuchen, the agency’s associate administrator of science. He also oversees NASA’s science program with a total budget approaching $7 billion a year. That’s a mighty big number, but there’s an even bigger reason why we’re thrilled that Dr. Zurbuchen will
In the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, users have been fleeing to other social apps like open-source microblogging platform Mastodon and niche communities like CounterSocial. Now, another social app called Hive is seeing a boost in sign-ups in response to the upheaval at Twitter. The app today finds itself in the top 20
This past weekend, the world’s nations wrapped a meeting where they tried to figure out how to deal with climate change. It was the 27th time they’ve done it in as many years. Think about that. We’ve been at this for nearly three decades, and we’re still burning more fossil fuels than ever before. COP27,
A German law requiring social media platforms to promptly respond to reports of hate speech — and in some cases remove illegal speech within 24 hours of it being brought to their attention — looks like it will provide an early test for whether Elon Musk-owned Twitter will face meaningful legal consequences over how recklessly
Sponsorships are a multibillion-dollar industry. But data on sponsorships, like who’s sponsoring who, can be tough to come by because of the various forms they take — and channels on which those sponsorships take place (think not only websites and social media posts but also physical signage and even sports team jerseys). For both brands
Bloomberg’s Sonali Basak joins Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow to discuss how BlockFi is preparing a potential bankruptcy filing after halting withdrawals of customer deposits, according to the Wall Street Journal. ——– 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” with Emily Chang here: Get
The funding winter for the startup ecosystem may continue for another 12 to 18 months and the industry might have to grapple with a “lot of turmoil and volatility,” e-commerce giant Flipkart chief executive Kalyan Krishnamurthy has warned executives. “This is going to be tough next year. My estimate is that a lot of startup
French startup Fairmat closed a $35 million Series A funding round (€34 million) last month. It wants to turn carbon fiber composite that is no longer in use into a new material that can be used in new products. Temasek and CNP (Compagnie Nationale à Portefeuille) are leading the round with Pictet Group, Singular, The
The Walt Disney Co. said today that Bob Iger is returning to head the company as Bob Chapek is stepping down from the CEO post. Iger, who officially left the company last year, is set to take the command immediately. The company said that he will serve as the CEO for two years. “We thank
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.
For much of the 20th century, oil dominated foreign policy. Countries spent the better part of the century scrambling to secure supply. Sometimes it happened through negotiations and diplomacy. All too often it resulted in the overthrow of governments or outright invasions. But with fossil fuels on the wane, we’re starting to get a glimpse
Swedish startup Einride was founded in 2016 with a mission to electrify freight transport. Today, that means designing electric trucks and an underlying operating system to help overland shippers make the transition to electric. In the future, it will mean deploying electric autonomous freight — more specifically, Einride’s autonomous pods, which are purpose-built for self-driving
Fans across the globe will be tuning in to the most-watched sporting spectacle — the 2022 FIFA World Cup— set to kick off on Sunday, November 20, with host nation Qatar facing off against Ecuador. FIFA expects 5 billion people worldwide to watch this year’s tournament. If you’re planning on streaming the 2022 World Cup,
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. Well, that didn’t take long. In late October, I wrote about how the tide is shifting on tech layoffs, highlighting that 70% of layoffs that
Rapid grocery deliver startups like Getir, Gopuff and Gorillas, once heralded as the next big thing in on-demand ordering, are running up against logistical challenges that might very well be insurmountable. Even faced with competition and sky-high operating costs, though, they’re taking what steps they can to stick around. Case in point, Gopuff today launched
Hello again! Time for another edition of Week in Review, the newsletter where we recap the week’s most read TechCrunch stories in one quick and easy-to-skim blast. Get it in your inbox every Saturday AM by signing up here. (There won’t be a newsletter next Saturday because I’ll be off being thankful/eating leftovers/being thankful for
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. For SaaS companies, net dollar retention is on investor radar more than ever. But it shouldn’t eclipse gross dollar retention: If you are not