Snap may have flown a bit too close to the sun in its development of the palm-sized selfie drone, Pixy. Following a late-April announcement, the social media firm has already begun pumping the brakes on the project, per a Wall Street Journal report. CEO Evan Spiegel has apparently relayed the message that the hardware is
The dream to find out what actually happened on your favorite show last week, spill the tea with the Real Housewives or learn about your favorite artists’ creative process is now underway as Cameo launches a new feature, Cameo Live. This new 10-minute video calling feature allows users and their friends to have a live
The hearing loss market has long been dominated by a handful of legacy players with little incentive to innovate due to outdated regulations and social stigma. But a new ruling from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could revolutionize the market by driving competition, giving startups a greater chance at success in this sector. On
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. G’day, crunch bunch! We’re both starting to get a little bit excited about TechCrunch Disrupt coming up in October. Would you believe that, even though we’ve been working together for a long
Longevity-focused startups have been proliferating in recent years as we become more focused on our health. However, it’s not just about apps to get you in the gym. Longevity startups can range from biotech-oriented disease prevention to organ regeneration. The Aging Analytics Agency estimates that global investments in longevity-focused startups hit more than $40 billion
Five years ago, the group that approves new emoji rejected one for climate change. It’s time for them to rethink that decision. After a summer of drought, floods, fire and heat waves — one that isn’t even over yet — the consequences of climate change are becoming more apparent, and a growing number of people
A group of more than 600 Google employees is pressing the company to expand worker health benefits, divest itself of some political ties and bolster user privacy in light of the Supreme Court decision to strip federal abortion rights. The Google workers demanded the changes in a petition led by the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU),
Aero Technologies, which describes itself as a “next-generation air travel company” which currently operates on a limited number of routes in the U.S. and Europe, today announced that it has raised $65 million, with $50 million as a Series B funding round co-led by Albacore Capital Group and $15 million in convertible notes. Expa and
I have been carrying both of Samsung’s new foldables on my person when I leave the house for the last few days. It’s mostly for testing purposes, of course, but there’s also a fun game I like to play when I see people I know. I pull them both out, stick them in front of
Facebook this year has been struggling to maintain its position among the Top 10 apps on the U.S. App Store, according to an analysis of iPhone App Store data. As younger consumers shift to newer social networking experiences like TikTok and now BeReal, the tech giant’s big blue app has lost traction in the App
All major social networks including Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat have their own take on how collaborations should work. But most of these features have constraints like time limits and the number of creators included in a clip. A new app called Along wants to remove all these restrictions to allow infinite-length collaboration videos with multiple
Rocketplace, a startup that aims to build a “next-generation asset management platform for crypto,” has raised $9 million in a seed funding round. A few things about this raise stood out. For one, the funding comes at an interesting time in the crypto world — during the so-called “crypto winter” and a period that has
Max Brenner Contributor Max Brenner is part of the founding team at Compound, which specializes in helping tech founders and employees manage their financial lives. It’s the classic startup employee dream. You’ve worked hard for years, finally built your company equity into something big and now you’re finally ready for a payout. Financial institutions struggle
Turning waste into usable products is my jam, so when the Mi Terro team told me what they were working on, I knew I had to write about it. Mi Terro takes agricultural waste and processes it into proteins that can be used as a plastic replacement, fed as food to animals, and much more.
When it all comes down to it, what is a business? You are an organization that has identified a pain point that people are experiencing. In order to remove that pain point, you are offering a product in exchange for money. It sounds so simple. In the startup world, we often talk about painkillers versus
Health information publishing giant WebMD has announced that it’s acquiring Jim.fr, a French-language medical news and information website aimed at healthcare professionals (HCPs). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 1979 as the Journal International de Médecine (JIM) by a hospital intern called Dr. Gilles Haroche, Paris-based Jim.fr collates and presents all manner
The power grid supply in Africa is erratic and inconsistent, affecting rural and urban households and businesses. For restaurants or neighborhood stores dealing with perishables, frozen foods and beverages, having intermittent electricity inhibits the growth of their businesses. Some of them turn to diesel-fueled generators, which are expensive and toxic, to provide electricity. Companies such
Apple today is introducing two new subscription-focused podcast charts today to showcase popular paid shows. The two new charts — Top Subscriber Shows and Top Subscriber Channels — will be available to users in the U.S., UK, Canada, and Australia on iPhone, iPad, and Mac using iOS 15.6, iPadOS 15.6, and macOS 12.5 or later.
Last year, Triller triumphantly announced that it would pay out a total of $14 million in cash and equity to Black creators in 2022. It seemed like a smart move, helping the lesser-known short-form video app to compete with TikTok by uplifting underrepresented talent. But The Washington Post recently reported that most of these creators
Sophie Alcorn Contributor Sophie Alcorn is the founder of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley and 2019 Global Law Experts Awards’ “Law Firm of the Year in California for Entrepreneur Immigration Services.” She connects people with the businesses and opportunities that expand their lives. More posts by this contributor Dear Sophie: Which immigration options are
Kimberly Bryant is officially out from Black Girls Code, eight months after being indefinitely suspended from the organization that she founded. In a statement provided to TechCrunch, a Black Girls Code spokesperson writes that it “believes the decision to remove Ms. Bryant as CEO and as a board member is in the best interests of
In the U.S., most electric vehicle owners say that public chargers are easy to use. That is, when they actually work. A new J.D. Power survey finds that, while public charging stations are a tad easier to come by these days, faulty chargers are souring the experience and hampering EV adoption. That’s no good, because
Dodge revealed Wednesday an EV concept that looks — and even sounds — like the gas-powered Charger muscle car that will be discontinued next year. The two-door Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept — the Daytona name a nod to its gas-powered ancestor’s 200 mph NASCAR track milestone — is not just a design exercise, according
As the U.S. and Europe bake in abnormal summer heat, the climate continues to climb up the world’s agenda. With everyone now talking about energy, how commodities are traded is also becoming a talking point. Creating a “nutrition label” so that it would be possible to track the provenance of a commodity — be it
Some parts of China are suffering from record high temperatures in the past few weeks, prompting local governments to halt industrial power use, including those of battery plants. When news reaches the West, it generates fear-mongering headlines like “China heat wave shuts Tesla suppliers” which have likely rattled investors (because Tesla is all we care
Amazon is the next company in line to try to generate engagement from a TikTok-like social feed. The e-commerce giant joins the a laundry list of companies that have had the same idea: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube, Spotify, Netflix … what’s next, a vertical video feed on the IRS app that tracks
When VCs overlook the U.S. Midwest, it’s not just Chicago they are missing out on. Over time, many cities across the Midwest have been building out bona fide startup ecosystems, as M25’s annual ranking of Midwest startup hubs makes clear. Each year, the Chicago-based VC firm puts together a list of the Midwest’s most active
Sajith Wickramasekara co-founded Benchling to improve laboratory data collection and collaboration. Since its 2012 founding, the company has grown to a valuation of $6.1 billion. Wickramasekara will join TechCrunch Live, along with Benchmark general partner Miles Grimshaw, to discuss its recent acquisition and growth. This TechCrunch Live event opens on August 24 at 11:30 a.m.
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. Hellooo, Crunchy McCrunchface! (What we’re calling the readers of the Daily Crunch is still a work in progress.) Super psyched to share something double-plus-awesome with you: The culmination of months of work
Following Amazon’s $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical, Business Insider reported the company would add mental health services to its portfolio. Although there are skeptics who fear Amazon’s privacy track record in the context of healthcare, some say the company’s moves could be positive for the industry. The tech behemoth originally entered the health sector