Latest and Hotest Technology Updates

Google has some fresh hardware, Facebook Messenger and Instagram get new integrations and Palantir goes public. This is your Daily Crunch for September 30, 2020.

The big story: Google unveils the Pixel 5

Google held its annual hardware event today, and it packed a number of new product announcements into a brisk 30 minutes of pre-recorded promotional videos.

First up, there’s the company’s latest mobile flagship, the Pixel 5, which comes in a 100% recycled aluminum body and offers reverse wireless charging. The whole package costs $699 — if that seems pricey to you, Google also announced the more affordable 5G version of the Pixel 4a.

The company also announced Google TV, a new interface bringing together in one place streaming, live TV and other services, which will be included in the new Chromecast. Lastly, it announced Nest Audio, the successor to the Google Home smart speaker.

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An Inclusive and Diverse Team Starts with your Hiring Process

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The tech giants

Facebook introduces cross-app communication between Messenger and Instagram, plus other features — New functionality will allow Instagram and Messenger users to communicate across apps, while Facebook also brings a host of Messenger-inspired features to the Instagram inbox.

Asana up 37% and Palantir up 50% as both direct listings hit the public markets — Two big direct listings in one day.

Twitch launches a rights-cleared music catalog for streamers, Soundtrack by Twitch — This will allow creators to add licensed music to their streams.

Startups, funding and venture capital

Homer nabs $50M from Lego, Sesame Workshop and Gymboree for its early learning apps — BEGiN, the startup behind the Homer early learning program aimed primarily at kids between the ages of two and eight, has raised a large round from strategic backers.

Aurora Labs ramps 'self-healing' software with $23M from LG Technology Ventures, Porsche SE, Toyota Tsusho — Aurora Labs has developed a platform that can spot problems with software in cars and fix it on the fly.

Golden raises $14.5M to build a wiki-style database of tech knowledge — A16Z led the round, and Marc Andreessen is joining the board of directors.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

The roadmap to startup consolidation in Southeast Asia is becoming clearer — While Southeast Asia's startup ecosystems are still young compared to those in China or India, they have certainly matured over the last five years.

Dear Sophie: Will October 2020 Visa Bulletin changes expedite my immigration case? — Another edition of "Dear Sophie," the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies.

Brands building for scale should look to hypercultural Latinx consumers — As two female investors who identify as hypercultural Latinx, Ilse Calderon and Kathleen Garcia-Manjarres see potential for brands and startups that invest in this demographic.

(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)

Everything else

Applicants say a DC Bar website bug exposed their personal data and background checks — Applicants said the District of Columbia Bar was storing the applications in an unprotected directory on its website.

See what's new from ChargePoint, Wejo, Waymo and Planet M at TechCrunch's mobility event next week — We're in the final run up to TC Sessions: Mobility 2020 on October 6-7.

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Amazon unveils a new biometric ID technology, the Biden campaign takes aim at Facebook and iRobot’s co-founder joins a robotic gardening startup. This is your Daily Crunch for September 29, 2020.

The big story: Amazon lets you pay with your palm

The company announced a new biometric device for Amazon Go stores. Called Amazon One, the first time you use it, you insert your credit card and scan your palm; after that, you can just hold your palm over the device when entering the store and Amazon can automatically charge you for the items you purchase.

If you’re worried about privacy and security, Amazon said the images are encrypted and stored securely in the cloud, and it also argued that palms are more private than other forms of biometric identification, since you can’t determine someone’s identity just by looking at their palm.

The technology is being tested in two Seattle-area Amazon Go stores. The company suggested that the technology could eventually be used by third parties, for example at stadiums and office buildings.

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New org for Product + Engineering teams propels Postmates' future

Sponsored by Postmates Careers

Postmates is merging its Product + Engineering teams into one cohesive organization. Our "flywheel" model focuses on customer experience and intensifies each team's collaboration & momentum toward innovation. New roles are open—check them out.

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The tech giants

Ringing alarm bells, Biden campaign calls Facebook 'foremost propagator' of voting disinformation — In a new letter to Mark Zuckerberg on the eve of the first presidential debate, the Biden campaign slammed Facebook for its failure to act on false claims about voting in the U.S. election.

Serious injuries at Amazon fulfillment centers topped 14,000, despite the company's safety claims — More than 14,000 serious injuries (requiring days off or job restrictions) were reported in fulfillment centers in 2019, according to a story in Reveal.

Pivoting during a pandemic — Facebook’s vice president of Messenger discusses how his team has responded to the new normal.

Startups, funding and venture capital

Starlink puts towns devastated by wildfires online for disaster relief workers — A couple small towns in Washington have received Starlink connections to help locals and emergency workers.

iRobot cofounder Helen Greiner named CEO of robotic gardening startup, Tertill — Launched as a 2017 Kickstarter, the product is essentially a solar-powered robotic weed whacker designed to live in the user's garden and do routine maintenance.

Online course platform Thinkific raises $22 million — Thinkific is different from businesses such as MasterClass and Skillshare because it doesn't create, distribute or monetize online classes itself.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

Duolingo CEO explains language app's surge in bookings — Luis von Ahn tells TechCrunch that Duolingo has hit 42 million monthly active users, up from 30 million in December 2019.

Healthcare entrepreneurs should prepare for an upcoming VC/PE bubble — Patientco CEO Bird Blitch has a warning for entrepreneurs.

9 VCs in Madrid and Barcelona discuss the COVID-19 era and look to the future — Part one of a two-part survey that polled 18 active investors in the region.

(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)

Everything else

Disney+ adds a co-watching feature called GroupWatch — Disney’s experience has some advantages (like the fact that it works on internet-connected TVs), but it lacks one of the hallmarks of co-watching, namely a chat that runs alongside the video.

Polaris and Zero Motorcycles reach deal to bring electric off-roaders to market — Polaris is a name synonymous with powersports.

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• Chief of Staff at Harri (New York, NY, USA)
• Chief Information Officer at Loyola University New Orleans (New Orleans, LA, USA)
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Americans can continue using TikTok for now, Google updates its developer policies and Uber gets approval to resume operations in London. This is your Daily Crunch for September 28, 2020.

The big story: Judge delays TikTok ban

The saga continues! The Trump administration’s ban on TikTok was scheduled to take effect today — but over the weekend, a federal court ruled that Americans can continue using the app while a legal challenge over the ban’s legality moves forward.

A federal judge had already put a similar injunction in place to prevent a ban on WeChat from moving forward.

Meanwhile, Oracle, Walmart and TikTok’s owner ByteDance have also reached a deal that’s been approved by the U.S. government and would allow the app to continue operating here. However, it seems like the various companies and governments involved in the deal aren’t exactly on the same page.

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How low-code is ending the user-builder divide

Sponsored by Airtable

Software users are becoming software builders — no technical skills required. Here's how teams are creating customized applications that perfectly fit their needs.

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The tech giants

Google to better enforce Play Store in-app purchase policies, ease use of third-party app stores — Under threat of regulation, Google announced that it's updating its Google Play billing policies to better clarify which types of transactions will be subject to Google's commissions on in-app purchases.

Uber wins latest London licence appeal, but renewal is only for 18 months — The ride-sharing giant has faced a multi-year battle to have its license reinstated after the city's transport regulator decided not to issue a renewal in 2017.

Roku introduces a new Ultra player, a 2-in-1 'Streambar' and a new OS with support for AirPlay 2 — The Streambar combines 4K HDR streaming and premium audio into one product.

Startups, funding and venture capital

SoftBank will bring Bear's serving robots to Japan, amid restaurant labor shortages — The investor detailed plans to bring Bear's Servi robot to Japan in an effort to address restaurant labor issues.

GV bets on young team behind high school social app HAGS — The team is building an old-school social play focused on Gen Z high school socialization.

N26 hires Adrienne Gormley as its new chief operating officer — Gormley has spent the last six years working for Dropbox in Dublin.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

2 strategies for creating top-of-funnel marketing content — Even when you're excellent at making the sale, you still need people to know you exist in the first place.

Deep Science: Robot perception, acoustic monitoring, using ML to detect arthritis — Devin Coldewey rounds up the latest research and discoveries.

(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)

Everything else

Healthcare giant UHS hit by ransomware attack, sources say — The attack hit UHS systems early on Sunday morning, according to two people with direct knowledge of the incident.

Cannabis vape companies are experiencing a sales boom during the pandemic — From startups to major players, several leading manufacturers told TechCrunch that their companies are seeing a boom in sales since the start of the crisis.

• Chief of Staff at Harri (New York, NY, USA)
• Chief Information Officer at Loyola University New Orleans (New Orleans, LA, USA)
• Chief Operating Officer at Square Roots (New York, NY, USA)
• Chief Product Officer at Square Roots (New York, NY, USA)
• Archive Developer at Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (Cambridge, MA, USA)

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