2018
Chris Hays and Mark Jeffrey wanted to create a way for everyone to be able to tell their loved ones if they were in trouble. Their first product, Guardian Circle,…
The UK’s privacy watchdog has asked Facebook’s lead EU regulator to look into ongoing data protection concerns about its ad platform — including how its platform is being used to…
Alexa’s path to AI global domination continues apace with the addition of Mexico to its growing list of markets. Amazon today opened up pre-orders for the Echo, Dot, Plus, Spot…
Meet the speakers in Q&A Sessions at Disrupt Berlin 2018
Disrupt Berlin 2018 (29-30 November) will be here before you know it and we’re excited to announce a few of the participants in the Q&A Sessions at the event. If…
Spotify Connect speakers will soon work with its free tier
Spotify’s ad-supported tier has long been one of the service’s differentiators. Naturally, the model’s not nearly as feature-rich as its paid counterpart, though the company’s removing one of those key…
Sling TV’s growth further slows in Q3, but still leads rivals in terms of subscribers
It appears Dish’s live TV streaming service, Sling TV, has been impacted by the increased competition from rivals like YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T’s DirecTV Now and others.…
We are experimenting with new content forms at TechCrunch. This is a rough draft of something new — provide your feedback directly to the authors: Danny at danny@techcrunch.com or Arman…
The cost of energy storage has stalled adoption of renewable power. Energy Vault has a solution.
Because solar and wind power are now cheaper to produce than energy from fossil fuels, the only obstacle that remains to the mass adoption of renewable power is the amount of…
Instacart expands a pickup option for grocery orders across the US
Online grocery delivery service Instacart has expanded the availability of a ‘click and collect’ pickup service it’s been trialing for a few months in the U.S. — now offering it…
Tiny houses are all the rage, but once you put more than a few people in one you have a problem: Where can you go from there? Nowhere. Exactly. What…
Brooklinen, the direct-to-consumer bed linens brand, has today announced the opening of a four-month pop-up shop in NYC. The company has been around for four years thus far, and recently…
Fraugster, the Berlin-based startup that uses artificial intelligence to prevent fraud for online retailers, has raised $14 million in a Series B funding. The round is led by CommerzVentures, the…
Storyblocks makes it easier for developers to integrate its stock media services
Storyblocks, formerly known as Videoblocks, is a stock media service that offers videos, images and audio for creatives. One feature that always made it stand out from the competition is…
WeChat reaches 1M mini programs, half the size of Apple’s App Store
They may not be widely known outside of China, but Tencent’s mini program initiative to develop “apps” that live outside of app stores is bearing fruit after it clocked two…
Monashees raises $150 million for its eighth Latin American fund
As technology investment and exits continue to rise across Brazil, early-stage venture capital firm monashees today announced that it has closed on $150 million for its eighth investment fund. Commitments…
Social media content and analytics startup PressLogic raises $10M from popular Chinese selfie app Meitu
PressLogic, a Hong Kong-based social media content and data analytics startup, announced today that it has raised a $10 million Series A+ round from Meitu, developer of the popular Chinese selfie…
China can apparently now identify citizens based on the way they walk
China is home to the world’s largest network of CCTV cameras — more than 170 million — and its police have adopted Google Glass-like “smart specs” to seek out suspects in…
Meet TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher at #WebSummit at 4PM today
One Minute TechCrunch! Since it’s impossible, as a journalist, to crawl around all the stands at Web Summit in Lisbon, I thought it would be easier to stand in one…
Facebook has yet again declined an invitation for its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to answer international politicians’ questions about how disinformation spreads on his platform and undermines democratic processes.…
Volunteer at Disrupt Berlin 2018 and score a free Innovator pass
Looking for a way to experience Disrupt Berlin 2018, but your budget simply won’t cooperate? Sign up as a volunteer, and we’ll thank you with a complimentary Innovator pass good…
Portify raises £1.3M to help gig economy workers improve their financial well-being
Portify, a London fintech startup that offers an app and various financial products to help gig economy workers better manage their finances and in turn improve financial well-being, has raised…
TechCrunch returns to Shenzhen for our latest China event from November 19-20
We’re excited to announce our return to Shenzhen, which will host our next event in China later this month. Once again organized with our longtime local partner TechNode, the two-day…
Home Made raises further £2M for its premium online lettings agency
Home Made, the London premium online lettings agency, has raised a further £2 million in funding. The round is led by Athens-based venture capital firm VentureFriends, and follows the proptech…
Facebook connects Russia to 100+ accounts it removed ahead of mid-terms
The 115 accounts Facebook took down yesterday for inauthentic behavior ahead of the mid-term elections may indeed have been linked to the Russia-based Internet Research Agency, according to a new…
Alibaba rival JD.com plays the long-game on technology investment
China’s JD.com has made it clear recently that it’s venturing into artificial intelligence and automation. Every few months over the past year, the online retailer – China’s second-largest by transactions…
China’s obsession with short videos has its internet giants worried
Take a subway ride in China and expect to see a lot of commuters’ eyes glued to TikTok videos on their phones. Video clips like TikTok’s are now consuming nearly…
Grab pulls in $250M from Hyundai as ongoing round reaches $2.7B
Grab, the Singapore startup that bought Uber’s Southeast Asia business earlier this year, continues to announce strategic investors for its ongoing Series H funding round. The latest edition revealed today…
Tinder now has 4.1M paying users, expects $800M in revenue this year
Tinder is leading growth for Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH), which posted third-quarter earnings of 44 cents per share on Tuesday.
TWIICE One Exoskeleton furthers the promise of robotic mobility aids
Few things in the world of technology can really ever be said to be “done,” and certainly exoskeletons are not among their number. They exist, but they are all works…
At this moment in history it’s impossible not to see the problems that arise from human bias. Now magnify that by compute and you start to get a sense for just…
