November 2020
Alphabet’s DeepMind achieves historic new milestone in AI-based protein structure prediction
DeepMind, the AI technology company that’s part of Google parent Alphabet, has achieved a significant breakthrough in AI-based protein structure prediction. The company announced today that its AlphaFold system has…
As Slack acquisition rumors swirl, a look at Salesforce’s six biggest deals
The rumors ignited last Thursday that Salesforce had interest in Slack. This morning, CNBC is reporting the deal is all but done and will be announced tomorrow. Chances are this…
Materialize scores $40 million investment for SQL streaming database
Materialize, the SQL streaming database startup built on top of the open-source Timely Dataflow project, announced a $32 million Series B investment led by Kleiner Perkins, with participation from Lightspeed…
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DoorDash aims to add $11 billion to its valuation during public offering
This morning, DoorDash filed a new S-1 document, this time updating the market about the price it expects to command during its public offering. The food-delivery giant gave a range of $75 to $85 per share, which would revalue the company sharply higher than its final private price, set during a June Series H that…
Nikola shares drop as GM pulls plug on investment deal
GM is backing away from an agreement to take a stake in electric automaker Nikola Corp., marking the collapse of a deal that has been problematic since it was announced…
Raspberry Pi Foundation releases case fan to prevent overheating
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has released a new product today. It’s a tiny $5 fan combined with a small heatsink for the Raspberry Pi 4. It works with the official…
EU lawmakers to push audio-visual sector on geoblocking
European Union lawmakers are considering whether current rules aimed at limiting the practice of geoblocking across the bloc should be extended to cover access to streaming audio-visual content. Access to…
ServiceNow is acquiring Element AI, the Canadian startup building AI services for enterprises
ServiceNow, the cloud-based IT services company, is making a significant acquisition today to fill out its longer-term strategy to be a big player in the worlds of automation and artificial…
Moderna claims 94% efficacy for COVID-19 vaccine, will ask FDA for emergency use authorization today
Drugmaker Moderna has completed its initial efficacy analysis of its COVID-19 vaccine from the drug’s Phase 3 clinical study, and determined that it was 94.1% effective in preventing people from…
Apple on the hook for €10M in Italy, accused of misleading users about iPhone water resistance
Apple’s marketing of iPhones as “water resistant” without clarifying the limits of the feature and also having a warranty that excludes cover for damage by liquids has got the company…
UK shrinks timetable for telcos to stop installing 5G kit from Huawei
The U.K. government has squeezed the timetable for domestic telcos to stop installing 5G kit from Chinese suppliers, per the BBC, which reports that the deadline for installation of kit…
HungryPanda raises $70M for a food delivery app aimed at overseas Chinese consumers
Food delivery apps have been a big deal this year both for consumers stuck at home and unable (or unwilling) to go to restaurants or grocery stores, and for investors…
Gartner: Q3 smartphone sales down 5.7% to 366M, slicing COVID-19 declines in Q1, Q2
We are now into the all-important holiday sales period, and new numbers from Gartner point to some recovery underway for the smartphone market as vendors roll out a raft of…
The Trump administration will add SMIC, China’s largest chipmaker, to its defense blacklist: report
SMIC, one of largest chip makers in the world, is among several companies that the Department of Defense plans to designate as being owned or controlled by the Chinese military,…
Primer, the fintech helping merchants consolidate the payments stack, raises £14M Series A
Primer, the U.K. fintech that wants to help merchants consolidate their payments stack and easily support new payment methods in the future, has raised £14 million in Series A funding.…
Gillmor Gang: Electrical Banana
Thanks I’m giving for the start of the first big online season. Yes, the pandemic has put in place a gigantic move to the digital for our immediate and accelerated…
Firstminute Capital launches second $111M fund, featuring a who’s-who of founders as LPs
London HQ’d Firstminute Capital has announced its second early-stage venture fund of $111 million (£87 million). Founded and cornerstoned in 2016 by Brent Hoberman CBE (best known as co-founder of…
This Week in Apps: Snapchat clones TikTok, India bans 43 Chinese apps, more data on App Store commission changes
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications, and the overall app economy. The app industry is as hot as…
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Monday in a case that could lead to sweeping changes to America’s controversial computer hacking laws — and affect how millions use their…
This is The TechCrunch Exchange, a newsletter that goes out on Saturdays, based on the column of the same name. You can sign up for the email here. Welcome to a special…
How Ryan Reynolds and Mint Mobile worked without becoming the joke
In the past decade, celebrity interest and investment in tech companies has significantly increased. But not all celebrity investments are created equally. Some investors, like Ashton Kutcher, have prioritized the…
Original Content podcast: Just don’t watch Netflix’s ‘Holidate’ with your parents
You might think that a new Netflix film called “Holidate” offers holiday-themed romance that’s perfect for a family watch party. You’d be wrong. The film stars Emma Roberts and Luke…
Black Friday online shopping comes in $9B, $3.6B on smartphones
Black Friday — the day that launched 1,000 other shopping holidays — may have lost its place as the “start” of the Christmas shopping season by now (it gets bigger…
Tony Hsieh, iconic Las Vegas tech entrepreneur, dies aged 46
Tony Hsieh, the former head of Zappos who catapulted the shoe company into the big leagues with a sale to Amazon and then used the proceeds of his success in…
According to a report from the Financial Times, Facebook-backed cryptocurrency Libra could launch in January. More interestingly, the Libra Association, the consortium created by Facebook, could scale back its ambitions…
India sets rules for commissions, surge pricing for Uber and Ola
Ride-hailing firms such as Ola and Uber can only draw a fee of up to 20% on ride fares in India, New Delhi said in guidelines on Friday, a new…
There’s no ‘hacker house’ geared toward undergraduate women, so they created one of their own
Hacker houses are making a comeback for entrepreneurs as remote work drags on. While founders are adapting to quarantine in style, a group of college women in their 20s aren’t…
No Google-Fitbit merger without human rights remedies, says Amnesty to EU
Human rights NGO, Amnesty International, has written to the EU’s competition regulator calling for Google’s acquisition of wearable maker Fitbit to be blocked — unless meaningful safeguards can be baked…
Is Slack overpriced now that the market knows Salesforce might buy it?
The Exchange is technically off today, but we’re here anyway because there’s neat stuff in the world of startups and money to talk about. So, let’s yammer this morning about…
Wall Street needs to relax, as startups show remote work is here to stay
We are hearing that a COVID-19 vaccine could be on the way sooner than later, and that means we could be returning to normal life some time in 2021. That’s…
