In 1996, two companies, Patersons HR and Payroll Solutions, formed a venture called CloudPay to provide payroll and payments services to enterprise clients. CloudPay grew quietly over the next several decades, adding workflow automation features to maintain pace with upstart rivals. It’s still growing, CFO Andy Thomson assures TechCrunch. Thomson claims that CloudPay is handling
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AI companies are gobbling up investor money and securing sky-high valuations early in their life cycle. This dynamic has many calling the AI industry a bubble. Nick Frosst, a co-founder of Cohere, which builds custom AI models for enterprise customers, recently said on TechCrunch’s Found podcast that he doesn’t think the AI industry is in
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Slag is the molten runoff created while producing steel in a traditional blast furnace. The material has been prized as greener cement alternative for creating concrete, the Earth’s most abundant human-made material. The runoff is facing supply chain issues, however, as the steel industry looks to greener methods of production. Increasingly, steel producers in the
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Digital transformation — the process of transforming outdated apps and processes with cloud technologies and digital workflows — can be a risky undertaking. In 2023, Harvard Business Review reported that while 89% of large companies have a digital and AI transformation underway, they’ve only captured 31% of the expected revenue uplift and 25% of anticipated
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New York-based fintech Payoneer has acquired Skuad, a Singapore-based global HR and payroll startup, for $61 million in cash, the company exclusively told TechCrunch.  Payoneer said it could also pay up to another $10 million, contingent on if Skuad meets various performance goals within the first 18 months of the acquisition. Payoneer also committed to
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Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky suggested on Tuesday’s Q2 earnings call with investors that the company will soon expand into new products and services, including co-hosting, a relaunch of Airbnb’s “experiences,” guest services and more. The company positioned the upcoming offerings as a way for Airbnb to grow its revenue by becoming known for doing more
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Decentralized X competitor Bluesky, a startup offering a social network where users can choose their own algorithm and moderation services, announced on Monday the addition of a new board member, Mike Masnick. Best known as the founder of tech blog Techdirt, Masnick is also credited with inspiring the Bluesky project through his paper titled “Protocols,
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Along with a long-awaited update to the Nest Learning Thermostat, Google on Tuesday unveiled its latest set-top streaming box ahead of the company’s Made by Google 2024 event next week. Google TV Streamer’s arrival marks the end of the Chromecast line. With more than a 100 million sold over an 11-year life, it was a
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Groq, a startup developing chips to run generative AI models faster than conventional processors, said on Monday that it’s raised $640 million in a new funding round led by Blackrock. Neuberger Berman, Type One Ventures, Cisco, KDDI and Samsung Catalyst Fund also participated. The tranche, which brings Groq’s total raised to over $1 billion and
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