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For Binary Capital’s investors, a public apology may fall short
In May of last year, speaking on behalf of his firm, venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck of Binary Capital tweeted: “Big believers in ‘addition by subtraction’ for company culture. Bad apples impact others, and rest of team will thank you when they’re gone.” His messaging seems ironic in light of a detailed report about his own predatory behavior toward at least… Read More
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Woman raped by an Uber driver in India is now suing the company for privacy violations
A woman raped by her Uber driver in India is suing both the company and three current and former top executives after it was revealed Eric Alexander, the company’s president of business in Asia Pacific, had accessed and was carrying around her medical records. The woman, a Texas resident identified as Jane Doe in the case, is suing for intrusion into private affairs, public disclosure… Read More
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No acting CEO at Uber, no problem?
Instead, Kalanick told employees, the company will be run by his direct reports. Meanwhile, owing to the results of a probe led by former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder — who was hired to look into allegations of harassment, bullying, and discrimination at the company — some of Kalanick’s responsibilities will be shared or given outright to other senior executives when he… Read More
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Uber investors who called it “toxic” are satisfied by plans for change
Freada and Mitch Kapor broke rank with typical investor silence in the face of scandals at their portfolio companies by publicly criticizing Uber in February, saying it was “toxic” and had “a culture plagued by disrespect, exclusionary cliques, lack of diversity, and tolerance for bullying and harassment of every form.” But today, the couple who invested in Uber starting… Read More
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Uber delivers letter of sexual harassment probe recommendations
Former Attorney General Eric Holder and his law partner Tammy Albarrán announced some highly anticipated recommendations based on an internal harassment probe to employees in an all-hands meeting this morning. The board agreed, after several hours on Sunday to adopt all 10 recommendations given by law firm Covington & Burling LLP, where Holder and Albarrán are partners. You can read… Read More
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Uber’s board is discussing a leave of absence for Travis Kalanick; will Garrett Camp replace him?
According to a variety of media reports, Uber’s board is meeting in Los Angeles today in what may be the most critical sit-down in the company’s eight-year history. The biggest item on the agenda, according to the New York Times, is whether or not cofounder and embattled CEO Travis Kalanick should take a leave of absence. How strongly the board pushes for this will likely depend on… Read More
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Judge denies Uber’s request for stay in Waymo suit
The lawsuit between Uber and Waymo, the self-driving car subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet, is still on track to go to trial in early October, as the judge in the case denied Uber’s request for a stay pending its appeal for arbitration. Read More
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Uber has fired more than 20 people over harassment probe
Uber has fired more than 20 people involved in a harassment probe, TechCrunch has confirmed. The ride share company began investigating at least 215 employees after the company was hit with sexual harassment claims earlier this year and has so far found at least 20 employees to be at fault in a wide array of discriminatory, bullying and other harassing actions. First reported in Bloomberg… Read More
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Despite recent controversy, Tanium announces a $100 million secondary sale
Tanium hasn’t had the best year, but a new stock sale is telegraphing that while the company may be down, it’s far from out. This morning, the 10-year-old company, whose technology enables organizations to continuously scan all endpoints in a network to detect vulnerabilities and unmanaged devices, is announcing it has raised $100 million led by the private equity firm TPG. Read More
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This venture-backed company just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to resolve a patent dispute
In the world of venture-funded companies, not much surprises industry observers. Yet a new strategy by one privately held company might have founders and venture investors wondering if it’s a maneuver worth replicating. What happened: The U.S. subsidiary of a venture-backed search optimization company called Searchmetrics just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. Read More
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Mayo maker Hampton Creek is shedding execs
Food and beverage startups backed by tech investors are having a rough go of it this season, with Juicero all but melting down and companies like Beyond Meat, Urban Remedy and Soylent recalling products, according to required disclosures on the federal site Foodsafety.gov. Now, Hampton Creek Foods, a packaged goods company backed by the likes of Horizons, Khosla, and AME Cloud Ventures, is… Read More
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Facebook replaces Oculus computer vision head at center of underage sex scandal
The head of computer vision at Facebook’s virtual reality subsidiary, Oculus, has been replaced following his arrest related to an underage sex sting operation, TechCrunch has learned. Dov Katz was arrested in late December after allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover officer who he believed, at the time of meeting, was a 15-year-old girl. Read More
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Theranos reaches settlement with investor Partner Fund Management
Beleaguered blood diagnostics startup Theranos has reached a settlement with hedge fund management firm Partner Fund Management. Terms of the settlement are confidential, but PFM had sought to recoup its investment in the case and was also asking for damages. Read More
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Theranos says it has been mischaracterized in allegations the company faked tests
Theranos secretly bought lab equipment through a shell company, faked tests and inappropriately pumped up its financial outlook to investors, according to allegations in recently unsealed court documents, first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Partner Fund Management LP, a hedge fund management firm which invested $96 million in Theranos filed the claim in Delaware Chancery Court on… Read More
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Lyft head of engineering pens a letter to teammates asking for open communication
Lyft’s head of engineering Jill Wetzler has penned a heartfelt letter to her fellow teammates asking them to chat openly with her about any issues they may be facing in the workplace. The letter, sent on anonymous workplace app Blind and obtained by TechCrunch, pleads with employees to reach out to her. Here’s what she wrote. Read More
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Theranos starts to agree to things
Theranos has been agreeing to a lot of things lately. This new attempt to play nice seems to be an effort to keep the company going. Theranos had to pivot to working on a “miniLab,” which is essentially a lab on a chip in a desktop box, last year, dropping two-thirds of its workforce in the effort. The company also reportedly has just a quarter of its $800 million in funding left. Read More
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Zozi’s ousted CEO sues board following last week’s layoffs
Tour and activities marketplace Zozi fired its CEO earlier this year, but employees were only just informed of this fact last week, when the ousted CEO — who hadn’t been in the office for months — crashed an emergency Town Hall meeting scheduled the day after the company announced a series of layoffs, affecting nearly 40 percent of staff. Read More
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Uber’s Anthony Levandowski invokes Fifth Amendment rights in Waymo suit
Uber executive and Otto co-founder Anthony Levandowski is asserting his Fifth Amendment rights in regard to a lawsuit filed by Waymo against Uber, which accuses the company and Levandowski of stealing technology related to autonomous vehicles from the Google self-driving car project prior to his departure. Read More
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