Latest and Hotest Technology Updates

Welcome back to your daily digest of TechCrunch goodness. It is my last day with you (you're welcome!), so Christine will be back in the Daily Crunch seat on Tuesday. Haje will not be back just yet because he is heading to Vegas as part of the team covering CES. Speaking of CES, Brian raised the curtain on what we can expect from its first full-fledged production since before COVID.

Bye for now, folks. Safe and Happy New Year to you all. — Henry

At the top

• Into the Matrix: No, not that Matrix. We’re talking about the open standards-based comms protocol called Matrix that Paul went deep on. Its network doubled thanks in part to increased use by enterprises and government. Reddit is also having a go, experimenting with it for its chat feature.
• For the fusion: Tim took a look at five startups primed to benefit from the recent breakthroughs in fusion. [TC+]
• Alt-ChatGPT: In the wake of the response to OpenAI's ChatGPT comes an open source equivalent. It's called PaLM + RLHF (rolls right off the tongue, eh?), but Kyle writes that it isn't pre-trained, which means good luck running it.
• The Meta eyes have it: Amanda writes that Meta is getting into the eyewear business with its purchase of the Netherlands-based, smart eyewear company Luxexcel.
• Book tracking: Aisha rounded up a list of five apps that you can use to track all that reading you're planning to do once the clock strikes 2023.
• Netflix vs. Hulu: Perhaps you've decided to cut a streaming service or two from your lineup in light of their continued price hikes. Lauren took a look at the features of Netflix and Hulu to help you make a decision.

What to look for in a term sheet as a first-time founder

Silicon Valley reporter Connie Loizos interviewed three seasoned VCs to get their best advice for novice entrepreneurs. She asked them:

• Why should you know what's going to be in a term sheet before you see it?
• Which mechanism is best to use at the outset?
• How much equity is distributed at each level of early-stage fundraising?
• What's a red flag in a term sheet?
• How should founders think about valuation when it comes to that first term sheet?

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!

Read More

Looking back and looking ahead

We rounded up TC+ venture capital stories from a year that unfortunately saw a lot of downs. And here are a few more favorites for good measure:

• Some new venture firms are going really, really (really) niche, by Connie
• A love letter to micro funds, the backbone and future of venture capital, by Rebecca
• Every startup wants an extension round, but there aren't enough to go around, also by Rebecca

Zack and Carly took a look back at how law enforcement cracked down on cybercriminals this year. They examine the efforts of both breachers and cops to bring justice.

Indian startups were flush with cash with record investments. Now, Manish writes, the ecosystem is struggling with tightening funding purses, layoffs and disappointing public debuts.

• IT Technology Analyst II at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• Business Process Specialist - Procurement at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• IT Technology Analyst I at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• Information Security Officer at Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (Pasadena, CA, USA)
• Chief, Information Technology at Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (Pasadena, CA, USA)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

Welcome back to your daily digest of TechCrunch goodness. It is my last day with you (you're welcome!), so Christine will be back in the Daily Crunch seat on Tuesday. Haje will not be back just yet because he is heading to Vegas as part of the team covering CES. Speaking of CES, Brian raised the curtain on what we can expect from its first full-fledged production since before COVID.

Bye for now, folks. Safe and Happy New Year to you all. — Henry

At the top

• Into the Matrix: No, not that Matrix. We’re talking about the open standards-based comms protocol called Matrix that Paul went deep on. Its network doubled thanks in part to increased use by enterprises and government. Reddit is also having a go, experimenting with it for its chat feature.
• For the fusion: Tim took a look at five startups primed to benefit from the recent breakthroughs in fusion. [TC+]
• Alt-ChatGPT: In the wake of the response to OpenAI's ChatGPT comes an open source equivalent. It's called PaLM + RLHF (rolls right off the tongue, eh?), but Kyle writes that it isn't pre-trained, which means good luck running it.
• The Meta eyes have it: Amanda writes that Meta is getting into the eyewear business with its purchase of the Netherlands-based, smart eyewear company Luxexcel.
• Book tracking: Aisha rounded up a list of five apps that you can use to track all that reading you're planning to do once the clock strikes 2023.
• Netflix vs. Hulu: Perhaps you've decided to cut a streaming service or two from your lineup in light of their continued price hikes. Lauren took a look at the features of Netflix and Hulu to help you make a decision.

What to look for in a term sheet as a first-time founder

Silicon Valley reporter Connie Loizos interviewed three seasoned VCs to get their best advice for novice entrepreneurs. She asked them:

• Why should you know what's going to be in a term sheet before you see it?
• Which mechanism is best to use at the outset?
• How much equity is distributed at each level of early-stage fundraising?
• What's a red flag in a term sheet?
• How should founders think about valuation when it comes to that first term sheet?

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!

Read More

Looking back and looking ahead

We rounded up TC+ venture capital stories from a year that unfortunately saw a lot of downs. And here are a few more favorites for good measure:

• Some new venture firms are going really, really (really) niche, by Connie
• A love letter to micro funds, the backbone and future of venture capital, by Rebecca
• Every startup wants an extension round, but there aren't enough to go around, also by Rebecca

Zack and Carly took a look back at how law enforcement cracked down on cybercriminals this year. They examine the efforts of both breachers and cops to bring justice.

Indian startups were flush with cash with record investments. Now, Manish writes, the ecosystem is struggling with tightening funding purses, layoffs and disappointing public debuts.

• IT Technology Analyst II at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• Business Process Specialist - Procurement at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• IT Technology Analyst I at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• Information Security Officer at Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (Pasadena, CA, USA)
• Chief, Information Technology at Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (Pasadena, CA, USA)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

We're almost there, folks. It's the last Thursday of 2022, and today we have some news for you out of Alibaba and Spotify, as well as some crypto news out of India. And as always, we give you some goodness from TC+, our premium membership program. Read on, dear readers, and we'll be back again tomorrow to bring you the final moments of 2022 in tech. — HP

The TechCrunch Top 3

• Alibaba's cloud move: Alibaba Cloud has a new president, Rita reports. The third-largest public cloud infrastructure provider in the world only after AWS and Microsoft has appointed Daniel Zhang, the company's CEO, as acting president.
• Ring it in with Spotify: Aisha writes that the platform wants to help you welcome 2023 in style with what it thinks you might enjoy. Such playlists as "Party Hits," "Floor Fillers," "Pop Party" and "Rock Party" will usher you up to and past midnight. The hub also gives you some DJ mixes from the likes of TT the Artist, Carlita, AMÉMÉ, Coco & Breezy, &ME and Austin Millz. Get down!
• Indian crypto regulation: Under its G20 presidency, India has said it will look to prioritize the development of a framework for the global regulation of unbacked crypto assets, stablecoins and decentralized finance, writes Manish.

Startups and VC

• Recall this: Catherine writes that Recall.ai raised $2.7 million in a seed funding round to help with a unified API that works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams to help customers build apps for a number of use cases.
• Down rounds: Mary Ann spoke with GGV's Hans Tung and Robin Li about the firm's position in a challenging venture environment. (Requires TC+ subscription.)

Redefining 'founder-friendly' capital in the post-FTX era

Could the FTX debacle have been avoided if investors had taken a more active interest in the company’s operations?

Given the chilly climate for late-stage fundraising and widespread economic uncertainty, “it's time for the startup community to redefine what ‘founder-friendly’ capital means and balance both the source and cost of that capital,” writes Blair Silverberg, co-founder and CEO of Hum Capital.

In a TC+ guest post, he weighs the relative benefits of active versus passive investors, breaks down the basics of debt startup financing, and shares advice “for founders seeking a better balance of capital and external expertise for their businesses.”

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!

Read More

Looking back and looking ahead

We rounded up the best of our TC+ coverage from the roller-coaster year in crypto. Not enough? Jacquie provided us with a couple extra in order to squeeze more pulp out of the crypto juice:

• Terra's founder plans to back its stablecoin with a ‘basket’ of cryptocurrencies
• FTX exposure hits market makers and funds

Ron took a look at the private equity that dominated the top 10 enterprise M&A deals this year. The deals totaled nearly $154 billion. (Requires TC+ subscription.)

Rebecca has some ideas about what is in store for the micromobility market in 2023 — after what she said was a "tumultuous" year.

• IT Technology Analyst II at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• Business Process Specialist - Procurement at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• IT Technology Analyst I at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• Information Security Officer at Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (Pasadena, CA, USA)
• Chief, Information Technology at Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (Pasadena, CA, USA)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.