The Latest from Josh Constine
Facebook appoints Treasury’s Kimmitt as lead independent board director
Facebook has filled the lead independent board director role with former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and U.S. Ambassador to Germany Robert M. Kimmitt. His job will be to serve as the go-between c
Tech giants should let startups defer cloud payments
Google, Amazon and Microsoft are the landlords. Amidst the coronavirus economic crisis, startups need a break from paying rent. They’re in a cash crunch. Revenue has stopped flowing in, capital mark
Control each other’s apps with new screensharing tool Screen
It’s like Google Docs for everything. Screen is a free interactive multiplayer screensharing app that gives everyone a cursor so they can navigate, draw on and even code within the apps of their
Snapchat’s Zenly launches shelter-in-place leaderboard
Snapchat’s location-sharing app acquisition Zenly has gamified shelter-in-place during the COVID-19 outbreak. Today the app launched its Stay At Home challenge that shows a leaderboard of which
Instagram launches Co-Watching of posts during video chat
Now you can scroll Instagram together with friends, turning a typically isolating, passive experience into something more social and active. Today Instagram launched Co-Watching, which lets friends on
Under quarantine, media is actually social
The flood of status symbol content into Instagram Stories has run dry. No one is going out and doing anything cool right now, and if they are, they should be shamed for it. Beyond sharing video chat h
Hospital droid Diligent Robotics raises $10M to assist nurses
Twenty-eight percent of a nurse’s time is wasted on low-skilled tasks like fetching medical tools. We need them focused on the complex and compassionate work of treating patients, especially ami
Instagram founder launches gift card site for quarantined restaurants
Coronavirus quarantines are hurting local businesses, but Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger wants to help them keep revenue rolling in. Krieger and his wife Kaitlyn this week launched SaveOurFaves, a
Instagram prototypes Snapchat-style disappearing text messages
Instagram is finally preparing to copy Snapchat’s most popular feature, and one of the few it hasn’t already cloned. Instagram has prototyped an unreleased ephemeral text messaging feature
Facebook now lets most users opt-in to dark mode & desktop redesign
Facebook today officially rolled out its sweeping desktop redesign that offers dark mode, tabbed home screen and a cleaner profile. Facebook tells TechCrunch that “starting today, the majority o
The 20 best startups from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day
With world events overtaking the tech world’s preferences to meet for coffees and convene at events, Y Combinator skipped its famous two-day live Demo event and went for a radical experiment: no
Around is the new floating head video chat multitasking app
You have to actually get work done, not just video call all day, but apps like Zoom want to take over your screen. Remote workers who need to stay in touch while staying productive are forced to juggl
Beware of ‘ZoomBombing’: screensharing filth to video calls
The world is vulnerable to a new type of trolling as people turn to Zoom video calls to feel connected amidst quarantines. Jerks are using Zoom’s screensharing feature to blast other viewers wit
Facebook wrongly blocked some links, including coronavirus info
Facebook suffered from a massive bug in its News Feed spam filter, causing URLs to legitimate websites including Medium, Buzzfeed, and USA Today to be blocked from being shared as posts or comments. T
All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part IV: Healthcare, Biotech, Fintech and Nonprofits
With YC's W20 Demo Day coming in at nearly 200 companies, we've decided to split our recap into multiple posts for easier reading. These are the Healthcare/Biotech, Fintech, and Non-profit companies.
All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part III: Hardware, Robots, AI and Developer Tools
With YC's W20 Demo Day coming in at nearly 200 companies, we've decided to split our recap into multiple posts for easier reading. These are the hardware, AI/ML, and developer-focused companies
All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part II: Consumer Companies
With YC's W20 Demo Day coming in at nearly 200 companies, we've decided to split our recap into multiple posts for easier reading. Here are this cohort's consumer-focused companies
All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part I: B2B Companies
Y Combinator’s Demo Day was a bit different this time around. As concerns grew over the spread of COVID-19, Y Combinator shifted the event format away from the two-day gathering in San Francisco
Torch & Everwise merge into affordable exec coaching for all
While companies might pay for a CEO coach, lower level employees often get stuck with lame skill-building worksheets or no mentorship at all. Not only does that limit their potential productivity, but
To make locks touchless, Proxy bluetooth ID raises $42M
We need to go hands-off in the age of coronavirus. That means touching fewer doors, elevators, and sign-in iPads. But once a building is using phone-based identity for security, there’s opportun