Oct 28th
TechCrunch Disrupt 2024
San Francisco, CA
The Latest
In 2019, Jyoti Bansal co-founded San Francisco-based security company Traceable alongside Sanjay Nagaraj. With Traceable, Bansal — who previously co-launched app performance management startup AppDynamics, acquired by Cisco in 2017…
Venture
Chicago-based Hyde Park Venture Partners closes $98M Fund IV with two investments made so far
4:00 am PDT • May 1, 2024
Hyde Park Venture Partners is known for having visibility into more than 90% of mid-continent startups and being early backers of companies like ShipBob, FourKites, G2, LogicGate and Dentologie.
Biotech & Health
Midi is building a digital platform for an oft-overlooked area of women’s health
1:54 pm PDT • April 30, 2024
When Joanna Strober was around 47, she stopped sleeping. While losing sleep is a common symptom of perimenopause, she first had to go to multiple providers, including driving 45 minutes…
Hardware
Razer hit with $1.1M FTC fine over glowing ‘N95’ mask COVID claims
1:53 pm PDT • April 30, 2024
The Federal Trade Commission hit Razer with a $1.1 million fine Tuesday. The order claims that the gaming accessory maker misled consumers by claiming that its flashy Zephyr mask was…
Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” the founder and CEO of crypto exchange Binance, has been sentenced to four months in prison. Six days ago, the US Department of Justice…
Enterprise
With $175M in new funding, Island is putting the browser at the center of enterprise security
12:52 pm PDT • April 30, 2024
When a company raises $175M at a $3B valuation, it gets your attention. When that startup is a browser company, all the more.
Apps
Screenshots suggest TikTok is circumventing Apple App Store commissions
12:46 pm PDT • April 30, 2024
The feature may be hidden from most users, either by design or because it’s only shown to users in a specific group, like testers or high spenders.
Twitch is officially rolling out its new TikTok-like discovery feed to all users this week, the company announced on Tuesday. The new feed, which is launching as a tab within…
AI
Amazon CodeWhisperer is now called Q Developer and is expanding its functions
11:38 am PDT • April 30, 2024
Pour one out for CodeWhisperer, Amazon’s AI-powered assistive coding tool. As of today, it’s kaput — sort of. CodeWhisperer is now Q Developer, a part of Amazon’s Q family of…
Government & Policy
EU watchdog questions secrecy around lawmakers’ encryption-breaking CSAM scanning proposal
10:45 am PDT • April 30, 2024
The European Commission has again been urged to more fully disclose its dealings with private technology companies and other stakeholders, in relation to a controversial piece of tech policy that…
Where we’ll be next
Jun 11th
StrictlyVC – Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
May 21st
StrictlyVC – London
London
Featured Article
How European disability tech startups are leveraging AI
Making life better for people with disabilities is a laudable goal, but accessibility tech hasn’t traditionally been popular among VCs. In 2022, disability tech companies attracted around $4 billion in early-stage investments, which was a fraction of fintech’s intake, for example. One reason is that disability tech startups are often considered too niche to attain…
10:02 am PDT • April 30, 2024
Transportation
Elon Musk guts Tesla’s charging team after winning over major automakers
9:30 am PDT • April 30, 2024
Tesla has gutted its charging team in a new round of layoffs, despite recently winning over major automakers like Ford and General Motors and making its connector the de facto…
Government & Policy
Bill to strengthen national tipline for missing and exploited children heads to Biden’s desk
9:25 am PDT • April 30, 2024
A bipartisan bill designed to protect children from online sexual exploitation is headed to President Biden’s desk. Proposed by Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-SC), the bill aims…
After many users complained about their alarms ringing silently on iPhones, Apple told TechCrunch that it is aware of the issue and is working on a fix. Serpately, Wall Street…
Enterprise
Samsung’s operating profit soars 930% as AI tailwinds drive demand for memory chips
9:05 am PDT • April 30, 2024
Samsung Electronics said on Tuesday that its operating profit surged more than 930% in the first quarter of 2024, driven by soaring demand for its servers, memory chips and storage used…
OpenAI has landed a new content deal with the FT. But instead of being a merely simple deal in which OpenAI gets words, and FT gets money, the two are…
Startups
Productive solar technologies draw investors as global off-grid solar sector funding slumps
8:49 am PDT • April 30, 2024
Productive Use of Renewable Energy (PURE) technologies, especially those in the solar irrigation and cold chain segment, saw increased investor interest last year, despite a 43% funding slump recorded in…
Venture
Shinkei’s humane, quality-preserving fish-harvesting tech could upend the seafood industry
8:41 am PDT • April 30, 2024
Shinkei raised $6 million to help it go from pilot to production, with a goal of 10 machines in actual use by the end of the year.
Sam’s Club customers who pay either at a register or through the Scan & Go mobile app can now walk out of the store without having their purchases double-checked.
Startups
Seam wants to make customer data accessible to every business user
8:19 am PDT • April 30, 2024
As data access becomes increasingly tied to business success, making data available to all business users, regardless of their data-wrangling skills, has grown in importance. The founders of Seam, an…
