Latest and Hotest Technology Updates

With almost a hundred new stories on the site since the last Daily Crunch, we're having a hard time picking the cream of the crop, but that's what we dooooo. It's been an Amazon and Google extravaganza over the past 24 hours, in addition to all the regular news stories our crack team of tech news sleuths have been ferreting out from the underbrush. There shall be no further ado — let's do this! — Christine and Haje

The TechCrunch Top 3

• News you don't want to use: Apple News users got some interesting — read "offensive" — notifications thanks to a hacker that breached Fast Company's systems. Carly has more.
• Well, that went downhill fast: We feel like we were just hyping all things Apple iPhone 14, but now Ivan reports that the tech giant is "readjusting its production targets" after not seeing as much rah-rah from customers.
• Fewer fees please: Ingrid covers payment network Satispay's €320 million funding round that values the company at over €1 billion and also puts it in the hearts and minds of customers in Europe seeking better budget control.

Startups and VC

First up is Romain, who invites you to meet Roundtable. It's a new startup backed by eFounders that wants to bring community-driven, AngelList-style angel investments to European startups. The company has built a platform that simplifies the administrative, legal and financial challenges that come with angel investments.

Money continues to flow into new venture capital funds. In the past month, Runa Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Razor's Edge Ventures, First Star, OurCrowd, Northzone, Janngo Capital and Kapor Capital all announced new funds. Now it's Scale Venture Partners' turn, announcing it secured $900 million in committed capital for its eighth fund, also its largest since forming in 2000, Christine reports. The fund was raised in 120 days over the summer, partner Rory O'Driscoll said.

More more more, always more:

• Keeping an eye on the worker bees: Kyle reports that Invisible AI raised $15 million to stick worker-monitoring cameras in factories.
• More cash for crypto: Jacquelyn reports that crypto trading–focused blockchain Sei launches a $50 million ecosystem fund.
• Exoskeleton for humans: Cionic gets $12.5 million to accelerate its assistive mobility wearable, Brian reports.
• Come fly away with me: Devin reports that Firehawk's rocket engines and 3D-printed fuel hit testing milestones ahead of first launch.
• Reaching beyond the home market: Annie reports that YC-backed fintech Numida raised $12.3 million, led by Serena Ventures, to extend loans to MSMEs beyond Uganda.

The unbearable lightness of being asset-light

Investors have embraced “asset-light” companies like Rent the Runway, Uber and Airbnb that don’t own the hardware that generates their revenue.

Companies that generate billions from assets they don’t own “typically require less capital — and therefore less dilution for their investors,” writes Daniel Hoffer, managing director of Autotech Ventures.

“But some asset-light marketplaces struggle to satisfy their customers because not all the assets they can make available are equally appreciated by their demand-side customers.”

Three more from the TC+ team:

• Shh, keep it down over there: Moxion nails a $100 million Series B to replace noxious diesel generators with silent batteries, by Tim.
• To visit or not to visit: Our resident immigration lawyer Sophie Alcorn answers whether it is okay to use a visitor visa while holding an H-1B.
• Fasten your ETH-belt: Cardano founder claims the Ethereum community is in for a “rough time” following the Merge by Jacquelyn.

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

Big Tech Inc.

Boy, do we have a treat for you today: Our team was busy covering both Google's Search On event and Amazon's fall event, which means we have all the Amazon and Google news that's fit to print, er, post. There's a lot to choose from, but here are some of our favorites:

• Amazon's latest Halo device is a bedside sleep tracker; Kindle Scribe brings writing to Amazon's popular e-reader; and Amazon's Astro robot gets pet detection, home security updates and an SDK, by Brian.
• Google revamps shopping with 3D images, shoppable looks, buying guides, and more personalization and Google unveils a more visual search experience for the TikTok generation, by Sarah.
• Google's upcoming Maps feature will let you check out the 'vibe' of a neighborhood, by Aisha.
• The new Echo Dot is also an Eero, by Devin.
• Amazon debuts new Echo devices, including Echo Studio with spatial audio, by Kyle.

And we have four more for you:

• Don't want to be muzzled anymore: Rebecca reports that Elon Musk doesn't want to have to think before he tweets anymore. 
• Freeze, this is a bitcoin stickup!: South Korean prosecutors confirm that they want to freeze bitcoin assets linked to Terraform Labs' Do Kwon, Kate writes.
• Nothing to see here: Tumblr has a new "community labels" feature, but as Amanda reports, this does not mean it is bringing back porn.
• Starting fresh: Brian reports on Kickstarter's new CEO, Everette Taylor.

• Senior Business Intelligence Developer at AAOS (Rosemont, IL, USA)
• Senior Software Engineer - Java at Veeva (Columbus, OH, USA)
• IT Data Architect at Veeva (Columbus, OH, USA)
• Communications Associate at Catalyst California (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
• Senior IT Technician at Techmenity (New York, NY, USA)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

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

With almost a hundred new stories on the site since the last Daily Crunch, we're having a hard time picking the cream of the crop, but that's what we dooooo. It's been an Amazon and Google extravaganza over the past 24 hours, in addition to all the regular news stories our crack team of tech news sleuths have been ferreting out from the underbrush. There shall be no further ado — let's do this! — Christine and Haje

The TechCrunch Top 3

• News you don't want to use: Apple News users got some interesting — read "offensive" — notifications thanks to a hacker that breached Fast Company's systems. Carly has more.
• Well, that went downhill fast: We feel like we were just hyping all things Apple iPhone 14, but now Ivan reports that the tech giant is "readjusting its production targets" after not seeing as much rah-rah from customers.
• Fewer fees please: Ingrid covers payment network Satispay's €320 million funding round that values the company at over €1 billion and also puts it in the hearts and minds of customers in Europe seeking better budget control.

Startups and VC

First up is Romain, who invites you to meet Roundtable. It's a new startup backed by eFounders that wants to bring community-driven, AngelList-style angel investments to European startups. The company has built a platform that simplifies the administrative, legal and financial challenges that come with angel investments.

Money continues to flow into new venture capital funds. In the past month, Runa Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Razor's Edge Ventures, First Star, OurCrowd, Northzone, Janngo Capital and Kapor Capital all announced new funds. Now it's Scale Venture Partners' turn, announcing it secured $900 million in committed capital for its eighth fund, also its largest since forming in 2000, Christine reports. The fund was raised in 120 days over the summer, partner Rory O'Driscoll said.

More more more, always more:

• Keeping an eye on the worker bees: Kyle reports that Invisible AI raised $15 million to stick worker-monitoring cameras in factories.
• More cash for crypto: Jacquelyn reports that crypto trading–focused blockchain Sei launches a $50 million ecosystem fund.
• Exoskeleton for humans: Cionic gets $12.5 million to accelerate its assistive mobility wearable, Brian reports.
• Come fly away with me: Devin reports that Firehawk's rocket engines and 3D-printed fuel hit testing milestones ahead of first launch.
• Reaching beyond the home market: Annie reports that YC-backed fintech Numida raised $12.3 million, led by Serena Ventures, to extend loans to MSMEs beyond Uganda.

The unbearable lightness of being asset-light

Investors have embraced “asset-light” companies like Rent the Runway, Uber and Airbnb that don’t own the hardware that generates their revenue.

Companies that generate billions from assets they don’t own “typically require less capital — and therefore less dilution for their investors,” writes Daniel Hoffer, managing director of Autotech Ventures.

“But some asset-light marketplaces struggle to satisfy their customers because not all the assets they can make available are equally appreciated by their demand-side customers.”

Three more from the TC+ team:

• Shh, keep it down over there: Moxion nails a $100 million Series B to replace noxious diesel generators with silent batteries, by Tim.
• To visit or not to visit: Our resident immigration lawyer Sophie Alcorn answers whether it is okay to use a visitor visa while holding an H-1B.
• Fasten your ETH-belt: Cardano founder claims the Ethereum community is in for a “rough time” following the Merge by Jacquelyn.

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

Big Tech Inc.

Boy, do we have a treat for you today: Our team was busy covering both Google's Search On event and Amazon's fall event, which means we have all the Amazon and Google news that's fit to print, er, post. There's a lot to choose from, but here are some of our favorites:

• Amazon's latest Halo device is a bedside sleep tracker; Kindle Scribe brings writing to Amazon's popular e-reader; and Amazon's Astro robot gets pet detection, home security updates and an SDK, by Brian.
• Google revamps shopping with 3D images, shoppable looks, buying guides, and more personalization and Google unveils a more visual search experience for the TikTok generation, by Sarah.
• Google's upcoming Maps feature will let you check out the 'vibe' of a neighborhood, by Aisha.
• The new Echo Dot is also an Eero, by Devin.
• Amazon debuts new Echo devices, including Echo Studio with spatial audio, by Kyle.

And we have four more for you:

• Don't want to be muzzled anymore: Rebecca reports that Elon Musk doesn't want to have to think before he tweets anymore. 
• Freeze, this is a bitcoin stickup!: South Korean prosecutors confirm that they want to freeze bitcoin assets linked to Terraform Labs' Do Kwon, Kate writes.
• Nothing to see here: Tumblr has a new "community labels" feature, but as Amanda reports, this does not mean it is bringing back porn.
• Starting fresh: Brian reports on Kickstarter's new CEO, Everette Taylor.

• Senior Business Intelligence Developer at AAOS (Rosemont, IL, USA)
• Senior Software Engineer - Java at Veeva (Columbus, OH, USA)
• IT Data Architect at Veeva (Columbus, OH, USA)
• Communications Associate at Catalyst California (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
• Senior IT Technician at Techmenity (New York, NY, USA)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

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

At TechCrunch, we love being a conduit for everything that happens in the startup ecosystem. This year, there's been a lot of layoffs, and we got to thinking, how can we help those who are struggling get back into the saddle? Our events team had a great idea: If you got laid off, we are offering a free Expo Pass to TechCrunch Disrupt, no strings attached. Come along, stay on the pulse of what's happening out in startup land, and say hi to a bunch of the TechCrunch crew to boot. We'll see you there! — Christine and Haje

The TechCrunch Top 3

• Arma-gettin outta here: NASA successfully smashed a satellite into an asteroid, Darrell reports. Cool, cool. Don't worry, this is just in case real life tries to imitate "Armageddon" or "Deep Impact."
• Something else you have to clean: Flatfile estimates that data scientists spend a majority of their work time cleansing data, aka getting it ready for use in predictive analysis. It took in $50 million for its approach to automating this dirty task, Kyle reports.
• Here's my recruitment link: Ingrid reports that Calendly, the $3 billion+ scheduling startup, is getting into the recruitment game with its acquisition of Prelude, a startup that automates scheduling around job recruitment.

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Startups and VC

If you're reading this, you almost certainly have a complicated relationship with screens. Every year that passes, they become larger and increasingly present in our lives, Brian writes. Meanwhile, we continue to embrace the technology all while complaining about the hold it has on our lives. The Freewrite Alpha boldly asks: Can a small screen be too small?

We last profiled Cake in April when its line of lubricants, condoms, toys and sexual hygiene products made its debut in Target. The company now has five products in store locations as well as Amazon, Thrive Marketplace and UrbanOutfitters.com. Christine reports that the company's well-lubricated expansion continues this week, with placement in some major retailers, including new space in CVS stores, as it announces $8 million in new Series A funding.

A few more from across the TechCrunch galaxy:

• I've put some comms in your comms so you can comm while you comm: Natasha M writes that Twitter's first comms exec is building a comms network for execs.
• Spicy cloud storage: Cloud storage startup Wasabi raises $250 million to reach unicorn status, reports Kyle.
• Carry the negative two: Anita reports that even amid a crypto winter, Tactic's $11 million raise illustrates that when cryptocurrencies are down, companies still need to count 'em up.
• Austrian company says "g'day mate" to insects as food: Brian reports that Livin Farms' investors are betting $5.8 million on powdered fly larvae. Bon appétit!
• Fertile ground for growth: Ghanaian agtech Farmerline raises $1.5 million from Dutch investor Oikocredit, reports Annie.

What can the 2000 dot-com crash teach us about the 2022 tech downturn?

Many entrepreneurs have been encouraged to believe that smooth storytelling and good social skills are enough to convince investors that things are moving according to plan. They are mistaken.

Instead of instinctively going into survival mode, M13 partner Anna Barber says founders should ask themselves existential questions like, "Why did you start this business? What are the fundamentals? Who are your customers? What problem are you solving?"

"At a time like this, trust is more important than ever," she said, adding that she tells entrepreneurs to stay in close touch, "particularly around bad news."

Before problems arise and between regularly scheduled meetings, entrepreneurs should get comfortable with asking for help and advice. Reaching out to share an update or ask questions sends a strong signal that you're not waiting for someone to give you direction.

"Tell them what you need. This is what we're here for: to roll up our sleeves and help problem-solve with you. Nobody expects any of this to be smooth sailing," said Barber.

Three more from the TC+ team:

• The flow of dollars is finding new paths: Is Silicon Valley really losing its crown? by Alex.
• Fewer dollars, more customers: Use predictive marketing to cut CAC at your PLG B2B startup, by Ido Wiesenberg.
• The creator economy is shrinking: Yeah, funding for creator-focused startups is drying up, by Alex.

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

Big Tech Inc.

Who would have thought a Roomba that both vacuums and mops would be such a necessity? Duh, iRobot did, and Brian has the skinny on why it exists.

People are unhappy with the state of Instagram these days, and the OG app is out to bring Instagram back to its glory days with features like realigning the feed to the user's choice and being ad free, Ivan reports.

And we have five more for you:

• Speaking of Instagram: The social media app is testing out a new home screen that will be minus one shopping tab, Lauren writes.
• The text is coming from inside the phone: Filed under "Why didn't we think of this before?" the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is asking for public feedback on what to do about those pesky robotexts, Kyle reports.
• In beta: Months after announcing a non-custodial crypto wallet, Robinhood has finally rolled it out to 10,000 customers on its waitlist, Anita writes.
• Fed eye for the DeFi: "Significant structural issues" are being cited by the Fed's Jerome Powell as the reason why DeFi regulation is needed, Manish reports.
• Chip off the old semiconductor: Investors are seeing some auto chips they like in China now that Nvidia's aren't allowed, Rita reports.

• Senior Software Engineer - Java at Veeva (Columbus, OH, USA)
• IT Data Architect at Veeva (Columbus, OH, USA)
• Communications Associate at Catalyst California (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
• Senior IT Technician at Techmenity (New York, NY, USA)
• UX Designer at Motionpoint Corp (Coconut Creek, FL, USA)

See more jobs on CrunchBoard

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