The Latest
Microsoft is acquiring Nuance Communications for $19.7B
Microsoft agreed today to acquire Nuance Communications, a leader in speech to text software, for $19.7 billion. Bloomberg broke the story over the weekend that the two companies were in talks. In a p
Clim8 raises $8M from 7pc Ventures, launches climate-focused investing app for retail investors
Ethical investing remains something of a confusing maze, with a great deal of ‘greenwashing’ going on. A new UK startup is hoping to fix that with the launch of its new app and platform for retail
Jack Ma’s Ant called to end anti-competition in payments
The details for Ant’s restructuring plan after its IPO was called off have arrived. Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba controlled by Jack Ma, will be restructuring as a financial holding co
Memic raises $96M for its robot-assisted surgery platform
Memic, a startup developing a robotic-assisted surgical platform that recently received marketing authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, today announced that it has closed a $96 mil
Apple said to be developing Apple TV/HomePod combo and iPad-like smart speaker display
Apple is reportedly working on a couple of new options for a renewed entry into the smart home, including a mash-up of the Apple TV with a HomePod speaker, and an integrated camera for video chat, acc
EcoCart raises $3 million for a Honey-like browser extension to offset shoppers’ carbon emissions
EcoCart, a company pitching consumers on ways to offset their carbon emissions for free at select merchants (with a browser extension!) has raised $3 million in financing from Base10 Partners. Brands
Domino’s, Nuro to begin autonomous pizza deliveries in Houston
Starting this week, some Domino’s customers in Houston can have a pizza delivered without ever interacting with a human. The pizza delivery giant said Monday it has partnered with autonomous del
Austin’s newest unicorn: The Zebra raises $150M after doubling revenue in 2020
The Zebra, an Austin-based company that operates an insurance comparison site, has raised $150 million in a Series D round that propels it into unicorn territory. Both the round size and valuation are
The Station: The biggest SPAC ever and reading the micromobility permit tea leaves
The Station is a weekly newsletter dedicated to all things transportation. Sign up here — just click The Station — to receive it every weekend in your inbox. Hi there, new and returning readers.
NGK Spark Plugs launches $100M corporate venture fund, will seek M&A opportunities
NGK Spark Plug, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automative spark plugs, announced a new $100 million fund to invest in startups and find potential merger and acquisition deals. The fund
Cruise strikes deal to launch robotaxi service in Dubai
Cruise has expanded its robotaxi ambitions beyond San Francisco. The autonomous vehicle subsidiary of GM that also has backing from SoftBank Vision Fund, Microsoft and Honda, has struck a deal to laun
Nigerian fintech Appzone raises $10M for expansion and proprietary technology
Africa’s fintech space has gained proper attention over the past few years in investments but it is not news that startups still battle with offering high-quality products. However, they seem to
The 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS stakes its claim on a luxury, electric future
A day spent driving a pre-production 2022 Mercedes Benz EQS provided an up-close look at what the German automaker has been doing with the billions of dollars it has dedicated to electrification. The
Tiger Global goes super aggressive in India
Recent roars from an investment firm, credited to put Indian startups on the global map in the past decade and a half, are turning local young firms into unicorns at a pace never seen before in the wo
A ‘more honest’ stock market
Hello friends, and welcome back to Week in Review! Last week, I talked about Clubhouse’s slowing user growth. Well, this week news broke that they had been in talks with Twitter for a $4 billion
This startup summer could be blistering
Welcome back to The TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter for your weekend enjoyment.
Let’s talk about gaslighting and fundraising
“Most of the startups I give advice to about how to raise venture capital shouldn’t be raising venture capital,” an investor recently told me. While the idea that every startup isn’t venture-b
How one founder identified a huge healthcare gap and acquired the skills necessary to address it
Our new podcast Found is now available, and the first episode features guest Iman Abuzeid, co-founder and CEO of Incredible Health. Abuzeid’s story of founding and building Incredible Health, a
This Week in Apps: Facebook’s other Clubhouse rival, Apple details ATT, App Store trial nears
Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. The app industry is as hot as ever, with a
China gets serious about antitrust, fines Alibaba $2.75B
Chinese regulators have hit Alibaba with a record fine of 18 billion yuan (about $2.75 billion) for violating anti-monopoly rules as the country seeks to rein in the power of its largest internet cong