With iMessage thanks to Beeper Mini, the OnePlus Open is my new favorite phone
Multi-platform messaging startup Beeper, founded by YC and Pebble alum Eric Migicovsky, delivered an iMessage experience for Android that doesn’t use any intermediaries and as-such, should be (always a big caveat here since we’re relying on the company’s word) private and secure. It has the potential to illuminate just how
Read moreGoldman Sachs-backed ZestMoney, once valued at $450M, to shut down
ZestMoney, a buy now pay later startup whose ability to underwrite small ticket loans to first-time internet customers attracted many high-profile investors including Goldman Sachs, is shutting down following unsuccessful efforts to find a buyer. The Bengaluru-headquartered startup — which also identified PayU, Quona, Zip, Omidyar Network and Ribbit Capital among
Read moreMetrics that matter: 3 practical observations on valuation from an Index Ventures partner
Paris Heymann Contributor Share on X Paris Heymann is a partner at Index Ventures, where he invests primarily in B2B SaaS and data. More posts by this contributor Vertical AI: The next logical iteration of vertical SaaS Acquisition, retention, expansion: Why SaaS founders must understand GDR and NDR As part
Read moreAnother blow for self-driving trucks as former industry leader abandons the US
When TuSimple went public in 2021 it was flying high as the leading self-driving trucks developer in the United States. Now — after a string of internal controversies and the loss of a critical partnership with truck manufacturer Navistar — TuSimple is exiting the U.S. altogether. The publicly traded company
Read moreAnalytics can solve generative AI apps’ product problem
Technology alone isn’t a sustainable moat for AI products, especially with the barrier to entry only continuing to go down. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Read moreCanadian law regulating social media platforms is needed fast, Parliament told
Canada must quickly pass legislation to oversee social media platforms, says an expert in cybersecurity law, including appointing an independent regulator who can levy “hefty” financial penalties. “It is time to act now,” Emily Laidlaw, Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity Law at the University of Calgary, told a Parliamentary committee
Read moreToday’s AI funding rush reminds me of the fintech investing hype of 2021
We're seeing a lot of folks push their capital into just a few squares on the betting table. One way or another, the result is going to be notable. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Read moreVeteran life sciences firm RA Capital spins up ‘planetary health’ team to ride climate tech wave
Partners at RA Capital realized that if they didn't try to address climate change and its health effects, their life science investments wouldn't be as impactful. © 2023 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.
Read moreKyron Learning secures $14.6M to expand its conversational AI technology
Kyron Learning, an AI-based learning startup, announced today its $14.6 million Series A funding round plus a $850,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The new capital will further develop the platform’s generative AI capabilities and build out its K-12 math curriculum. Today, the company is opening the
Read moreMeta and IBM form an AI Alliance, but to what end?
Meta, on an open source tear, wants to spread its influence further and wider in the ongoing battle for AI mindshare. This morning, the social network announced that it’s teaming up with IBM, whose audience is decidedly more corporate and enterprise, to launch the AI Alliance, a industry body to
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