Oct 28th
TechCrunch Disrupt 2024
San Francisco, CA
The Latest
AI
Giskard’s open source framework evaluates AI models before they’re pushed into production
1:53 am PST • November 14, 2023
Giskard is a French startup working on an open source testing framework for large language models. It can alert developers of risks of biases, security holes and a model’s ability…
Government & Policy
Nepal joins a growing list of countries banning TikTok
12:06 am PST • November 14, 2023
Another country is banning TikTok, the ByteDance-owned short video behemoth with over one billion active users around the world. Nepal, which has a population of close to 30 million people,…
Startups
etaily is a ‘one-stop solution’ for consumer brands that want to enter Southeast Asia
5:00 pm PST • November 13, 2023
E-commerce in Southeast Asia grew rapidly during the pandemic, and that momentum is continuing. A McKinsey report found that between now and 2026, the market is expected to triple at…
Apps
Pebble, a startup that tried and failed to take on Twitter, finds new life on Mastodon
2:49 pm PST • November 13, 2023
Pebble, a startup that took on Twitter and failed, has returned from the dead — as a Mastodon instance, it seems. The company announced last month that it was shutting…
Climate
‘Deepwashing’ risks dampening progress in European climate tech investing
2:35 pm PST • November 13, 2023
Today, deep tech companies — companies creating cutting-edge, transformative technologies based on scientific breakthroughs and R&D, and bringing them to market — are finally garnering more attention from the VC…
Climate
Exxon wants to drill enough lithium out of Arkansas to power 1M EVs per year
2:30 pm PST • November 13, 2023
Fossil fuel giant Exxon is betting its U.S. lithium operation will power a new generation of electric vehicles. The U.S. has hundreds of thousands of tons of “recoverable” lithium, which…
Featured Article
Obskur’s Character Creator and marketplace streamlines VTubing
To stream as their ethereal alter ego, Mai, a VTuber known as M41H41, typically had to juggle at least four to seven different programs. Running all of them at once, however, was both mentally exhausting and a burden on their computer, which could overheat mid-stream. If a program crashed, they’d have to break character to…
2:22 pm PST • November 13, 2023
Not every request will result in a new connection, but with patience and consistency, your pool of investors will begin to grow.
Transportation
Joby, Volocopter fly electric air taxis over New York City
10:58 am PST • November 13, 2023
Joby Aviation and Volocopter gave the public a vivid glimpse of what the future of aviation might look like this weekend, with both companies performing brief demonstration flights of their…
Uber is introducing new features geared toward addressing the issues of unfair deactivations that ride-hail and delivery drivers often face. Starting Monday across the U.S., Uber will roll out a…
Where we’ll be next
Jun 11th
StrictlyVC – Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
May 21st
StrictlyVC – London
London
Crypto
After six quarters of falling venture interest, crypto investors see recent price gains as positive signal
10:03 am PST • November 13, 2023
Investors are getting back in the groove of investing in web3, crypto and blockchain technology.
Startups
This VC firm thinks that AI automation could resurrect startup valuations
9:06 am PST • November 13, 2023
If the savings are even half as good as Battery seems to think that they may prove, startups could be in for a more efficient, and more valuable, future.
Apps
Elon Musk says X is changing its algorithm to highlight smaller accounts
8:35 am PST • November 13, 2023
The company formerly known as Twitter is preparing to roll out a “major update” to its algorithm, according to a recent post by X owner Elon Musk. While today the…
Security
Healthcare giant McLaren reveals data on 2.2 million patients stolen during ransomware attack
8:30 am PST • November 13, 2023
Michigan-based McLaren Health Care has confirmed that the sensitive personal and health information of 2.2 million patients was compromised during a cyberattack earlier this year. A ransomware gang later took…
Apps
WhatsApp launches a new Discord-like voice chat feature for large groups
8:18 am PST • November 13, 2023
WhatsApp is rolling out a new Discord-like voice chat feature for large groups, the Meta-owned company announced on Monday. The new feature is designed to be less disruptive than a…
Enterprise
Salesforce names Denise Dresser to succeed Lidiane Jones as CEO of Slack
8:15 am PST • November 13, 2023
As promised last week, Salesforce announced the replacement today for Slack CEO Lidiane Jones, who stepped down last week after 10 months on the job to become CEO at dating…
Apps
Threads now lets users opt out of having their posts appear on Facebook and Instagram
7:15 am PST • November 13, 2023
In response to user feedback, Instagram’s Threads will now let users turn off automatic sharing of their Threads posts to other apps, including Instagram and Facebook — a move that…
Welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. Our Monday show covers news…
Apps
More from the US v Google trial: Vertical search, pre-installs and the case of Firefox/Yahoo
6:37 am PST • November 13, 2023
We’re nearly two months into the Justice Department’s landmark antitrust case against Google — one of the biggest fights in tech antitrust since the U.S. took Microsoft to trial in…
Apps
Dating app Hatched brings its hidden profile concept to the East Coast, launches new paid features
6:30 am PST • November 13, 2023
Sometimes, online dating isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Hatched wants to scramble it up with its unique gamified user experience. Instead of using profile pictures, the dating app…
