Matt Burns
Senior Editor
The Latest from Matt Burns
Pitch us, Pittsburgh
We’re getting closer to putting our spotlight on Pittsburgh, and there’s quite a bit going on behind the scenes. We’ve been spending a ton of time chatting with folks who are on the ground in t
Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian is speaking at TechCrunch City Spotlight: Pittsburgh
TechCrunch is thrilled to announce Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian is speaking at our Pittsburgh event on June 29. You can register here. It’s free to participate and hear P
Mint House claims top NYC hotel after COVID changed its hospitality business
What’s the top-rated hotel in New York City? According to TripAdvisor users, it’s Mint House at 70 Pine, and it’s easy to see why as you click through the photos. Throughout NYC, hot
iPadOS 15 announced at WWDC, features improved multitasking and surprising Swift Playgrounds features
Apple today introduced the next version iPadOS, with more widgets and a better multitasking system. The announcement was by Apple SVP Craig Federighi at Apple’s annual developer’s conferen
Amazon to stop screening employees for marijuana
Amazon in a brief blog post announced it will no longer include marijuana on its drug screening program. In short, the company is now treating weed like alcohol, which means off-work employees can par
Calling all Yinzers, TechCrunch is (virtually) headed to Pittsburgh!
We’ve had a blast meeting new folks in different cities this year and we’re keeping the train rolling. We learned quite a bit about what’s happening now in Miami and got up to speed on what’s
Airspace Link raises $10M to make drones safer for both operators and communities
Airspace Link is today announcing it raised a $10 million Series A from Altos Ventures, Thales and others. The Detroit, Michigan-based startup anticipates using the additional funds to expand its dome
Axle raises $10M Series A to advance its freight financing services
Axle recently announced it raised $10 million Series A financing after a stellar year of growth. The round was led by Crosslink Capital with participation from FJ Labs, Flexport, Tribeca Early Stage P
Credit Karma reinvents cash-back rewards with instant payback
Credit Karma Money, a new checking and savings account from the company best known for its credit monitoring service, recently launched a significant new feature. Called Instant Karma, the program rew
Comms expert and VC Caryn Marooney will detail how to get attention at TC Early Stage
We’re thrilled to announce Caryn Marooney is speaking at our upcoming TechCrunch Early Stage virtual event in July. She spoke with us last year and we had to have her back. Just look at her resu
Jim Belushi is chasing the magic in cannabis
I don’t think Jim Belushi was high while we talked on Zoom this week. Instead of a joint, he was puffing on a cigar, but he was still happy and smiling. “I have my brother’s face on
Detroit-based Signal Advisors raises $10M Series A led by General Catalyst
Signal Advisors is building a specialized financial platform for financial advisors, and the company is announcing it raised a $10 million Series A led by Brian Ru and Hemant Taneja at General Catalys
The M1 iMac’s power supply sports magnetic connector, Ethernet port
Apple just announced the new iMac powered by Apple’s own M1 silicon. Among the numerous updates and upgrades is a new power brick that sports something special to Apple’s lineup: an Ethern
Cannabis banking act passes US House with bipartisan support
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a landmark bill aimed at easing restrictions placed on the cannabis industry. The SAFE ACT (Secure and Fair Enforcement) banking act provides safe harbor for f
Cannabis lender Bespoke Financial raises $8M from Casa Verde Capital and Sweat Equity Ventures
Cannabis financing company Bespoke Financial today announced it raised $8 million in a Series A financing round. Through this round, the company brought new, key investors into its corner as it fights
Diet ID wins TechCrunch’s Detroit City Spotlight pitch-off — watch the event here
TechCrunch just hosted its first pitch-off in Detroit and we’re pleased to announce Diet ID won the event. The company, based in Detroit and founded in 2016 by Dr. David Katz, gives users a clin
Detroit VCs weigh in on fundraising and building startups in Michigan and the Midwest
TechCrunch just hosted a small virtual meetup with Detroit startups and venture capitals. Like the one we held last month in Miami, the event was a blast and featured a talk with two local VCs on whic
Hear from Detroit VCs on how to raise cash in the Motor City today at TechCrunch’s free Detroit meetup
We hope you can make our virtual meetup in Detroit today. The event is free, and features a pitch-off with Detroit startups, a talk regarding StockX and a panel with Detroit VCs on best practices when
DJI releases the Air 2S drone that’s packed with an impressive camera and incredible range
DJI just updated one of its most popular drones, and I’m pleased to report the new features improve an already good product. The new $999 Air 2S packs an impressive image sensor, range and objec
Amazon’s latest Echo Buds are a shameless Apple knockoff
This is Amazon’s latest hardware product: The redesigned Alexa earbuds. TechCrunch covered the announcement here, where the specs and capabilities are listed. I’m sure they work fine, too,