Latest and Hotest Technology Updates

Apple faces an antitrust complaint in Europe, TikTok has a new CEO and YouTube TV disappears from Roku. This is your Daily Crunch for April 30, 2021.

Also, this is my last day at TechCrunch, and therefore my last day writing The Daily Crunch. It’s been a blast rounding up the news for all of you, and thank you to everyone who took the time to tell me they enjoyed the newsletter.

On Monday, TechCrunch will be debuting a more collaborative approach to The Daily Crunch — stay tuned!

The big story: Europe charges Apple with antitrust breach

The European Commission has filed preliminary charges against Apple, focusing on complaints by Spotify that Apple’s App Store policies — particularly its requirements around in-app purchase — are anti-competitive.

“The Commission takes issue with the mandatory use of Apple's own in-app purchase mechanism imposed on music streaming app developers to distribute their apps via Apple's App Store," it wrote. "The Commission is also concerned that Apple applies certain restrictions on app developers preventing them from informing iPhone and iPad users of alternative, cheaper purchasing possibilities."

Apple has 12 weeks to respond to the charges.

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The tech giants

ByteDance CFO assumes role as new TikTok CEO — Eight months after former TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer quit in the midst of a full-court press from the Trump administration, TikTok finally has a new permanent leader.

Roku removes YouTube TV from its channel store following failed negotiations — Earlier this week, Roku warned customers that the YouTube TV app may be removed from its streaming media players and TVs, and it alleged that Google was leveraging its monopoly power during contract negotiations to ask for unfair terms.

Computer vision inches toward 'common sense' with Facebook's latest research — One development Facebook has pursued in particular is what's called "semi-supervised learning."

Startups, funding and venture capital

Developer-focused video platform Mux achieves unicorn status with $105M funding — "I think video's eating software, the same way software was eating the world 10 years ago."

As concerns rise over forest carbon offsets, Pachama's verified offset marketplace gets $15M — The startup is building a marketplace for forest carbon credits that it says is more transparent and verifiable thanks to its use of satellite imagery and machine learning technologies.

Heirlume raises $1.38M to remove the barriers of trademark registration for small businesses — Heirlume’s machine-powered trademark registration platform turns the process into a self-serve affair that won't break the budget.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

Optimism reigns at consumer trading services as fintech VC spikes and Robinhood IPO looms — But services that help consumers trade might need to retool their models over time to ensure long-term income.

Amid the IPO gold rush, how should we value fintech startups? — If there has ever been a golden age for fintech, it surely must be now.

The health data transparency movement is birthing a new generation of startups — Twin struggles seem to be taking place: a push for more transparency on provider and payer data, and another for strict privacy protection for personal patient data.

(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)

Everything else

Cloud infrastructure market keeps rolling in Q1 with almost $40B in revenue — That's up $2 billion from last quarter and up 37% over the same period last year.

The second shot is kicking in — A new episode of the Webby-nominated Equity podcast.

Pitch your startup to seasoned tech leaders, and a live audience, on Extra Crunch Live — We’re bringing the pitch-off format to Extra Crunch Live.

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The Biden administration hints at gig economy changes, Blue Origin will be taking passengers and we interview Jim Belushi about weed. This is your Daily Crunch for April 29, 2021.

The big story: Biden's labor secretary says gig workers should be reclassified

The Biden administration’s labor secretary Marty Walsh recently said in an interview with Reuters that he’s “looking at” the gig economy.

“In a lot of cases gig workers should be classified as employees," Walsh said. "In some cases they are treated respectfully and in some cases they are not and I think it has to be consistent across the board."

For now, this is just talk, but it suggests that new regulations and gig work reclassification could be a priority for the new administration.

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The tech giants

Google Pay update adds grocery offers, transit expansions and spending insights — Through partnerships with Safeway and Target, Google Pay users will now be able to browse their store's weekly circulars showcasing the latest deals.

Zynga and Rollic acquire the hyper-casual game studio behind High Heels — The company said High Heels (or, if you insist, High Heels!) has been downloaded more than 60 million times since it launched in January.

IBM is acquiring cloud app and network management firm Turbonomic for up to $2B — Turbonomic provides tools to manage application performance, along with Kubernetes and network performance.

Startups, funding and venture capital

Blue Origin will start selling tickets for New Shepard space tourism flights on May 5 — The "when and how much" are the two burning questions that remain around the Jeff Bezos-backed space company's first commercial passenger flights.

TravelPerk raises $160M in equity and debt after a year of derailed business trips — TravelPerk lets users compare, book and invoice trains, cars, flights, hotels and apartments from a range of providers.

MoviePass co-founder's PreShow Interactive raises $3M to expand into gaming — The startup will give PC and console gamers a new way to earn in-game currency in exchange for watching ads.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

Healthcare is the next wave of data liberation — David Jegen and Carl Byers of F-Prime Capital argue that the winners of the healthcare data transformation will look different than they did with financial data.

Fintech startups set VC records as the 2021 fundraising market continues to impress — New data indicate Q1 2021 was the biggest fintech VC quarter ever.

How to fundraise over Zoom more effectively — A year ago, many of us probably thought that virtual fundraising would be impossible.

(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)

Everything else

Jim Belushi is chasing the magic in cannabis — We interviewed Belushi about his new greenhouses, supplied in part by GrowGeneration.

U.S. video game spending increased 30% in Q1 — Content was up 25% for the quarter, accessories jumped 42% and hardware went up 82%, according to NPD.

Sequoia's Shaun Maguire and Vise's Samir Vasavada will talk success in fintech on Extra Crunch Live — Join us on May 19 to discuss what brought the pair together, key tips for fundraising and how to be successful in the fintech space.

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Uber unveils half a dozen new features, Samsung announces a new flagship laptop and Zomato files to go public. This is your Daily Crunch for April 28, 2021.

The big story: Uber adds vaccine booking

Uber announced a half dozen new features today, including the ability to make a vaccine appointment at Walgreens and then reserve a ride to get there.

Other additions include a valet service to drop off rental cars, reserved rides at airports and the ability to pick up food during a ride. In an interview, CPO Sundeep Jain suggested that these features are part of the company’s key focus for the past year, namely “helping users 'go' and helping users 'get.' “

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The tech giants

Here's Samsung's new flagship laptop series, the Galaxy Book Pro — These Windows machines continue the company's push to blur some of the productivity lines between its Galaxy PC and mobile offerings.

Facebook hides posts calling for PM Modi's resignation in India — Facebook temporarily hid all posts with the hashtag "ResignModi" in India, although a spokesperson said those posts have now been restored.

Netflix launches its shuffle feature, now called 'Play Something,' to users worldwide — This should make it easier to find something to watch when you can’t make a decision on your own.

Startups, funding and venture capital

Alchemy raises $80M at a $505M valuation to be the 'AWS for blockchain' — The company describes itself as the backend technology behind the blockchain industry.

MessageBird acquires SparkPost for $600M using $800M Series C extension — The acquisition enables MessageBird to get a stronger foothold in the U.S. market.

Splitwise raises $20M Series A to help everyone in the world divvy expenses — Splitwise aims to reduce the stress and awkwardness that money puts on relationships of all sorts.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch

Zomato juice: Indian unicorn's proposed IPO could drive regional startup liquidity — Zomato’s debut could lead to a liquidity rush in India.

Dear Sophie: What's the latest on DACA? — The latest edition of "Dear Sophie," the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies.

Fund managers can leverage ESG-related data to generate insights — Apex Group’s Georges Archibald argues that environmental, social and governance insights can yield treasure in the form of alternative data.

(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)

Everything else

CES will return to Las Vegas in 2022 — Per a press release, roughly 1,000 companies have committed to returning.

India's entrepreneurs and investors are mobilizing to help the nation fight COVID-19, and you can too — For a week straight, India has reported more than 300,000 daily new infections, about half of all the cases across the globe.

Porsche makes its case for an all-electric Taycan wagon — The Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo offers a blend of practicality with a whole lot of power and speed for under $100,000.

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