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Starling Bank passports to Europe, first stop Ireland
London-based Starling Bank is continuing to gather momentum. After a staggered launch of its current account kicked off in March, the digital-only bank is announcing imminent expansion to Europe, starting with the Republic of Ireland where it has attained a so-called “banking passport”. Read More
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TechCrunch Tel Aviv Pitch-Off: Here are your startups and judges!
On June 28 in Tel Aviv, we’re hosting the TechCrunch Meetup + Pitch-Off in Tel Aviv — and it’s gonna be a blast! We have a great lineup of judges who are going to listen to the soon-to-be-announced startup pitches and crown the winner of the Tel Aviv Pitch-Off. Tickets are still available, so grab yours today. In addition to a few on-stage interviews, you’ll get to see… Read More
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VC Justin Caldbeck raised funding in email to accuser ahead of scandal breaking
TechCrunch has reviewed an email allegedly sent by VC Justin Caldbeck, of Binary Capital, to one of the female founders who have accused him of inappropriate behavior — which suggests he tried to use his influence as an investor to encourage the woman to drop the allegations against him. Read More
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Houzz raises a huge $400M round at a $4B valuation
If you ask investors in Silicon Valley about Houzz — an app where you browse ridiculously nice homes and check out interesting interior design ideas — they’ll probably quietly mutter that they’re just growing their business. We really don’t hear about Houzz’s business that often. Except now the company says it has raised $400 million led by Iconiq Capital… Read More
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Binary Capital reportedly delays closing new fund amid controversy
In the wake of allegations of sexual harassment and the resignation of Binary Capital co-founder Justin Caldbeck, the firm has delayed closing its second fund, Axios reports. Caldbeck issued a statement saying he would take an indefinite leave of absence after multiple women in the tech industry alleged they faced unwanted and inappropriate advances from him. The Information first reported… Read More
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Headstart wants to better analyze candidates to fit them with the best jobs
Nicholas Shekerdemian has a pretty typical startup story: he dropped out of college, met up with a technical co-founder and then ended up starting a company. But Shekerdemian, who at the time was helping match English teachers with Chinese citizens, wanted to start a company that would solve his own problem: actually getting a job at a cookie cutter company where everyone else applies. So… Read More
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Relevnt launches a publisher-centric news app
Florida startup Relevnt is experimenting with a new approach to online publishing. Founder and CEO Winder Hughes said that it’s become unrealistic to expect readers to download an app for every publication that they follow, or even to type a bunch of URLs into their mobile browser. At the same time, when publishers rely on big platforms like Facebook and Google… Read More
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5 burning questions Blue Apron’s IPO is about to answer
Blue Apron will be going public in short order, kicking off the second big major consumer IPO of 2017. It’s nowhere near as big as Snap, but the company at the top end of its IPO pricing will be valued at around $3.2 billion as it looks to raise nearly $600 million. The company’s IPO comes at an interesting time as we approach the midpoint for 2017, which has seen a big wave of… Read More
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Crunch Network
Not a minimalist? Startups will gladly store, manage and deliver your items
If our civilization collapses and archaeologists return centuries later to excavate our ruins, what will they make of our storage facilities? Will they see these compact cubicles stuffed with old furniture and memorabilia as a testament to our prosperity? Or will they see in our compulsion to store a penchant for procrastination and hoarding? Read More
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Andrew Ng announces Deeplearning.ai, his new venture after leaving Baidu
Andrew Ng, the former chief scientist of Baidu, announced his next venture, Deeplearning.ai, with only a logo, a domain name and a footnote pointing to an August launch date. Read More
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Female founders accuse VC Justin Caldbeck of making unwanted advances
Yesterday The Information reported on allegations made by half a dozen women working in the tech industry who say they have faced unwanted and inappropriate advances from Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Justin Caldbeck, co-founder and managing partner of Binary Capital. Read More
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Crunch Report | Apple Rolls Out Early Version Of Its Safe Driving Feature
Today’s Stories Do Not Disturb While Driving feature rolls out in Apple’s newest iOS 11 beta Sean Parker has left Spotify’s board; Padmasree Warrior, Thomas Staggs join in lead up to IPO Trump might kill next month’s new startup visa before it takes effect Facebook is testing a feature to prevent profile pictures being abused by other users Tantan, China’s… Read More
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HEBI is trying to make building custom robots as easy as playing with LEGO
The X-Series Actuator doesn’t look like much. Actually, if I’m being honest, it kind of looks like a red metal scotch tape dispenser with ribbed sides and a couple of ethernet ports. The product is scattered all over HEBI’s one-room Pittsburgh office in various states of disarray. The palm-sized metal component is the startup’s primary product — its entire reason… Read More
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The company called Blockchain raises $40 million
Blockchain (the company) just raised a $40 million Series B funding round led by Lakestar. Blockchain has been working on the most popular bitcoin wallet in the world. You can open a wallet on the company’s website or through its mobile apps. GV, Nokota Management, Digital Currency Group and existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mosaic Venture Partners, Prudence Holdings… Read More
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Future Family wants to give women a more affordable option in fertility treatments
More women are having kids in their 30s than in their 20s. However, those closer to 40 than 30 face higher risks than their younger counterparts. Add to that 1 in every 8 couples in the U.S. have some type of fertility issue. More couples are looking at IVF and other fertility treatments. But those treatments can be costly. A new Bay Area startup, Future Family, hopes to change that. Read More
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JD.com invests $397M into luxury marketplace Farfetch as part of a new strategic partnership
JD.com, China’s second-largest e-commerce company after Alibaba, is pumping $397 million into Farfetch, a marketplace for luxury brands, as part of a new strategic partnership. JD.com founder and CEO Richard Liu will take a seat on Farfetch’s board as part of the deal, which makes JD.com one of its largest shareholders. Read More
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Mercari hires John Lagerling from Facebook’s management team to guide its U.S. strategy
When Mercari became Japan’s first startup unicorn with a $75 million round last year, the funding was earmarked to fuel its goal of becoming the top secondhand marketplace app in the U.S. Now Mercari is doubling down on its efforts to succeed where no other Asian e-commerce company has. Today it launched a refreshed version of its American app and announced the hiring of John Lagerling… Read More
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Trump might kill next month’s new startup visa before it takes effect
The Trump administration may rescind or indefinitely delay the International Entrepreneur Rule, widely regarded as the U.S. version of a startup visa. Overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, the rule is intended to “increase and enhance entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation in the United States.” Read More
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Snapchat acquires social map app Zenly for $250M to $350M
Snapchat’s newest feature, Snap Map, is based on its latest acquisition, social mapping startup Zenly. TechCrunch has learned that Snapchat has bought Zenly for between $250 million and $350 million in mostly cash and some stock in a deal that closed in late May. Snapchat will keep Zenly running independently, similar to how Facebook lets Instagram run independently. Read More
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