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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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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