Latest and Hotest Technology Updates

Oh hey and happy Tuesday, the very last day of May 2022! Tomorrow, for our City Spotlight series, we're putting the limelight on Columbus, Ohio. We're also doing a pitch-off with Columbus-area startups. If you want to register for the event, here's the handy linky-link that will give you all the info you need! — Haje and Christine

The TechCrunch Top 3

• Amazon retires Cloud Cam to the big electronic home in the sky: It was a Big Tech kind of day today, and first up is Amazon, which informed Cloud Cam users that it will no longer support the device. You might remember that Cloud Cam was one of Amazon's first home security devices in 2017 — that is until it acquired both Ring and Blink within a year later. Amazon is winding down the service this year, and "Cloud Cammers" will get a complimentary Blink mini and a one-year subscription for their troubles.
• Apple's iOS 16 leak: Our other Big Tech story involves some Apple news ahead of its WWDC event on June 6. Not sure how much people think about their iPhone's lockscreen, but Apple does, and a report says the tech giant is about to unleash a significant upgrade that may involve widgets. And Sarah hopes Apple also does something about Focus Mode.
• Crypto may have a remittance payment problem: Could there be a disconnect between Andreessen Horowitz's views about cryptocurrency's current usefulness and the low-tech way people still get paid in emerging countries? Anna lays out her argument for why a16z's crypto bullishness may be a bit premature in these regions.  

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Startups and VC

Two new funds got announced this morning; Haje covered Hannah Grey's $52 million debut fund, focusing on customer-centric founders, and Christine took a look at Bonfire Ventures, which raised a pair of funds, totaling $230 million, targeting B2B software startups. 

Apart from a couple of new funds, it's been a lively few days on the site over the long weekend, so let's make like a truffle-hunting pig and dig our snouts in: 

• Hello, world (it says Hello World): I'm pretty intrigued by the startup Kyle covered this morning; Mintlify uses AI to auto-generate documentation based on source code, raising $2.8 million to do so.  
• Go, go, go: Also from Kyle, Railway raised $20 million to make software deployment for apps and services smoother. 
• (data) sharing is (data) caring: Vendia, a blockchain-based platform that makes it easier for businesses to share their code and data, today announced that it has raised a $30 million Series B, Frederic reports. 
• Didn't see that one coming: Seemplicity is emerging from stealth with $32 million in funding for a platform that it believes will help security teams assess and respond to security threats, Ingrid reports. 
• They totally bought it: Onramp Funds, an Austin-based company providing financing to e-commerce sellers, secured $42 million in equity and credit to expand its working capital offering, Christine reports. 
• So fast it'll make your head swvl: Swvl went public a couple of months ago, and today announced it's laying off almost a third of its workforce, Tage writes. 
• You need your can of Coke how fast?!: Seems like Indonesia is enjoying life in the fast lane, with Rita reporting that 15-minute grocery delivery startup Astro just closed a $60 million round. 

8 IT spending trends for the post-pandemic enterprise in 2022

Market research firm ETR contacted 1,200 IT leaders who oversee a yearly collective IT budget of approximately $570 billion to learn more about their planned spending over the coming year.

Although year-over-year spending is projected to rise just 6.7%, “the need for experienced IT personnel has accelerated, and hiring demand in the space has reached the highest level we have ever seen,” writes Erik Bradley, ETR’s chief analyst.

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

Read More

Big Tech Inc.

• Payment installments are ‘in’: If you didn't already know, and thanks to a new partnership between Affirm and Stripe, consumers will see more "buy now, pay later" options when they check out. Though no specific number was written, Mary Ann reports the new offering applies to "businesses that use Stripe's payments tech" — meaning, millions. And, with the BNPL space as competitive as it is, that certainly gives Affirm a new revenue stream to work with.
• Netflix’s password woes or 'whoas,' both apply: There seems to be some confusion in Peru around Netflix's new policy on account sharing. For Netflix, that meant anyone using someone's account in the same building. However, a recent survey brought to light two things: one, some subscribers in Peru weren't notified of the extra charges before being charged them, and two, Netflix's own customer service agents reported not quite understanding the new policy and helped subscribers get around it. Netflix hopes to roll out the policy this year, but maybe it needs to clarify some things first.
• TikTok secretly created a new feature; let's see what happens: For those of you who dislike all of the words on top of your TikTok videos, relief is coming in the way of a new feature being tested called "clear mode." When engaged, it eliminates those pesky usernames, captions and audio information, and in some cases the like, comments and share buttons, too, for what Aisha noted would be "a completely distraction-free viewing experience."

• Product Support Engineer at Veeva (Dublin, OH, USA)
• Software Engineer II at Schellman (Anywhere)
• Digital Service Director at City of San Rafael (San Rafael, CA, USA)
• IT Director at Wisconsin Public Media (Madison, WI, USA)
• Chief Financial Officer CFO at Established FinTech company Manhattan (New York, NY, USA)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

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Oh hey and happy Tuesday, the very last day of May 2022! Tomorrow, for our City Spotlight series, we're putting the limelight on Columbus, Ohio. We're also doing a pitch-off with Columbus-area startups. If you want to register for the event, here's the handy linky-link that will give you all the info you need! — Haje and Christine

The TechCrunch Top 3

• Amazon retires Cloud Cam to the big electronic home in the sky: It was a Big Tech kind of day today, and first up is Amazon, which informed Cloud Cam users that it will no longer support the device. You might remember that Cloud Cam was one of Amazon's first home security devices in 2017 — that is until it acquired both Ring and Blink within a year later. Amazon is winding down the service this year, and "Cloud Cammers" will get a complimentary Blink mini and a one-year subscription for their troubles.
• Apple's iOS 16 leak: Our other Big Tech story involves some Apple news ahead of its WWDC event on June 6. Not sure how much people think about their iPhone's lockscreen, but Apple does, and a report says the tech giant is about to unleash a significant upgrade that may involve widgets. And Sarah hopes Apple also does something about Focus Mode.
• Crypto may have a remittance payment problem: Could there be a disconnect between Andreessen Horowitz's views about cryptocurrency's current usefulness and the low-tech way people still get paid in emerging countries? Anna lays out her argument for why a16z's crypto bullishness may be a bit premature in these regions.  

Guide: What is SOC 2 and Why Do Startups Need It

Sponsored by Laika

To close deals, your business needs SOC 2. But getting compliant is complicated, time-consuming, and costly. Uncomplicate SOC 2 with our guide for growth-minded founders. Learn how to turn compliance from a pain point into a competitive advantage.

Download Here

Startups and VC

Two new funds got announced this morning; Haje covered Hannah Grey's $52 million debut fund, focusing on customer-centric founders, and Christine took a look at Bonfire Ventures, which raised a pair of funds, totaling $230 million, targeting B2B software startups. 

Apart from a couple of new funds, it's been a lively few days on the site over the long weekend, so let's make like a truffle-hunting pig and dig our snouts in: 

• Hello, world (it says Hello World): I'm pretty intrigued by the startup Kyle covered this morning; Mintlify uses AI to auto-generate documentation based on source code, raising $2.8 million to do so.  
• Go, go, go: Also from Kyle, Railway raised $20 million to make software deployment for apps and services smoother. 
• (data) sharing is (data) caring: Vendia, a blockchain-based platform that makes it easier for businesses to share their code and data, today announced that it has raised a $30 million Series B, Frederic reports. 
• Didn't see that one coming: Seemplicity is emerging from stealth with $32 million in funding for a platform that it believes will help security teams assess and respond to security threats, Ingrid reports. 
• They totally bought it: Onramp Funds, an Austin-based company providing financing to e-commerce sellers, secured $42 million in equity and credit to expand its working capital offering, Christine reports. 
• So fast it'll make your head swvl: Swvl went public a couple of months ago, and today announced it's laying off almost a third of its workforce, Tage writes. 
• You need your can of Coke how fast?!: Seems like Indonesia is enjoying life in the fast lane, with Rita reporting that 15-minute grocery delivery startup Astro just closed a $60 million round. 

8 IT spending trends for the post-pandemic enterprise in 2022

Market research firm ETR contacted 1,200 IT leaders who oversee a yearly collective IT budget of approximately $570 billion to learn more about their planned spending over the coming year.

Although year-over-year spending is projected to rise just 6.7%, “the need for experienced IT personnel has accelerated, and hiring demand in the space has reached the highest level we have ever seen,” writes Erik Bradley, ETR’s chief analyst.

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

Read More

Big Tech Inc.

• Payment installments are ‘in’: If you didn't already know, and thanks to a new partnership between Affirm and Stripe, consumers will see more "buy now, pay later" options when they check out. Though no specific number was written, Mary Ann reports the new offering applies to "businesses that use Stripe's payments tech" — meaning, millions. And, with the BNPL space as competitive as it is, that certainly gives Affirm a new revenue stream to work with.
• Netflix’s password woes or 'whoas,' both apply: There seems to be some confusion in Peru around Netflix's new policy on account sharing. For Netflix, that meant anyone using someone's account in the same building. However, a recent survey brought to light two things: one, some subscribers in Peru weren't notified of the extra charges before being charged them, and two, Netflix's own customer service agents reported not quite understanding the new policy and helped subscribers get around it. Netflix hopes to roll out the policy this year, but maybe it needs to clarify some things first.
• TikTok secretly created a new feature; let's see what happens: For those of you who dislike all of the words on top of your TikTok videos, relief is coming in the way of a new feature being tested called "clear mode." When engaged, it eliminates those pesky usernames, captions and audio information, and in some cases the like, comments and share buttons, too, for what Aisha noted would be "a completely distraction-free viewing experience."

• Product Support Engineer at Veeva (Dublin, OH, USA)
• Software Engineer II at Schellman (Anywhere)
• Digital Service Director at City of San Rafael (San Rafael, CA, USA)
• IT Director at Wisconsin Public Media (Madison, WI, USA)
• Chief Financial Officer CFO at Established FinTech company Manhattan (New York, NY, USA)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

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

Happy Friday, Crunchers! It's 27 May 2022, and we are slinking into a long weekend because it's Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S. There's no newsletter on Monday — Haje is going 🍷 wine tasting in Sonoma, and Christine is planning to spend Monday 🛋️ sitting on the sofa doing absolutely nothing, which we celebrate wholeheartedly. We'll see you back here on Tuesday!

Not sure what to do this weekend? Check out this roundup of all the amazing podcasts we published this week. It'll keep you busy for a few hours at least.  — Haje and Christine

The TechCrunch Top 3

• Golden goose: Manish was on fire today, writing not one, but two of our top stories of the day. The first is about Jar, an Indian fintech company that is looking at a $50 million Series B round. The country's citizens have bank accounts to save money, but Jar helps them do something they may not be as familiar with — invest. And the company has chosen to start with something Indians are known to love, gold.
• Revolving door: Manish's second story has to do with another Manish — Manish Maheshwari, the former head of Twitter India, who left a startup he co-founded after just 6 months. Our Manish reported in December that Maheshwari left his post at Twitter to start edtech company Invact Metaversity with Tanay Pratap. The arrangement didn't seem to work out as planned, with some company hiccups involving getting product out the door and some leadership disagreements.
• Sometimes it's not meant to be: In Substack's case, a fresh round of capital. Connie went over the details yesterday of them attempting to raise a Series C, but then calling it off when favorable terms with investors didn't transpire. Today, Alex peels away some of the onion layers to explain why Substack's goals, based on its Series B raise in 2021, didn't translate well in 2022's investment environment.

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Startups and VC

Earlier this week, Anita reported that Adam “WeWork” Neumann is back with a new startup, and raised backing from a16z. In today's Chain Reaction podcast, Anita and Lucas discuss whether Neumann truly deserves $70 million and another chance. We're comprehensively confused why anyone would place another bet on him, and we'll no doubt be following his new startup closely.

A few more gems for ya:

• Hot germ summer: Harri covers the story of Colorfix's $23 million Series B round, and its mission to dye fabrics with bacteria.
• Sweet protein: Joywell uses a proprietary microbial fermentation process to produce sweet proteins that taste like sugars, but with none of the downsides. It just raised $25 million, Christine reports.
• Mystery startup o’clock: Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley is on the co-founding team of a new startup called LivingCities. The founding team doesn't have an awful lot to say about what exactly they're building, Lucas writes.
• Be pear, or be square: Connie takes a look at the 9 teams that just presented at Pear's demo day.

Ride or die-sel

Diesel prices alone are driving about 17% of the inflation we're seeing today, and Tim writes a rousing piece about how gasoline and diesel are perhaps not the greatest, especially given that the economy is peeking over the cliff into an abyss whose depth equals our general optimism around climate at the moment.

Perhaps that's exactly what's needed: Maybe when economic and climate interests align, we find the pot of “yay we can live on this planet for a few more years” at the end of the rainbow.

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

Read More

Big Tech Inc.

• Sony's live service plans: Sony is going all in on its live service offerings. This follows the company's acquisition of Bungie earlier this year. Sony laid out plans this week for its company life after the acquisition, which includes investing heavily into the live service gaming sector, though it did not go into specifics on which of its franchises would get the treatment.
• Snap to it: We thought Snapchat was just individuals pushing out small "snaps" to other individuals, but the social media giant has bigger plans than that. Its snappy new feature, "Shared Stories," is a riff on its "Custom Stories" feature to enable users to, well, you can see where we are going with this. Here's how it works: Users added to a group can add their friends, too, to make it easier to share their stories. Don't worry, if someone in the friend group is not your cup of tea, your stories won't be shared with them.
• Database debacle: Voto Consulting, a New Jersey talent-acquisition firm, learned the hard way what happens when you don't password-protect a database and leave it on the internet. The résumés and personal information from some 30,000 workers was exposed. As Zack reports, the story gets way more interesting — something that you really need to check out for yourself.
• Drive time: In today's transportation news, Rivian opened up its hood and rearranged some things with the company's engine (yes, we know it’s an electric vehicle) in the way of hiring new COO Frank Klein. This comes amid some other leadership changes as its head of manufacturing said goodbye. Meanwhile, Tesla says it won't open a manufacturing plant in India until it can first sell and service vehicles in the country. Manish lays out the back-and-forth going on between country and company: Country officials want cars to be built locally and for Tesla to follow its high import duties. Tesla doesn't want to pay higher fees yet if the market doesn't test well. Thus a superfun standstill.

• Software Engineer II at Schellman (Anywhere)
• Digital Service Director at City of San Rafael (San Rafael, CA, USA)
• IT Director at Wisconsin Public Media (Madison, WI, USA)
• Chief Financial Officer CFO at Established FinTech company Manhattan (New York, NY, USA)
• Chief Information Officer LAFD at la city (Los Angeles, CA, USA)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

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