Iconiq Capital has raised $5.15 billion across two funds associated with the seventh growth fund family, according to SEC filings. The firm, which launched in 2011 as a private office managing capital of some of the most prominent and wealthiest people in tech, including Mark Zuckerburg and Jack Dorsey, originally targeted $5.75 billion, according to [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Lidar company Luminar is slashing its workforce by 20% and will lean harder on its contract manufacturing partner as part of a restructuring that will shift the company to a more asset-light business model, as it aims to scale production. The cuts will affect around 140 employees, and are starting immediately. Luminar is also cutting [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

X's Premium subscribers will be able to read a summary of posts on X associated with each trending story featured on the For You tab in Explore. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

With Match and other online dating companies facing a downturn, Archers growth is certainly notable. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Welcome to Startups Weekly Hajes weekly recap of everything you cant miss from the world of startups. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. Musks 10-month-old baby, xAI, is closing in on a whoppin $6 billion funding round. The social network X, ne Twitter also part of Elons tech [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Despite spending more than $100 billion on R&D over the last five years, Apple isn't planning to spin up too many new data centers to run or train AI models. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Henrik Fisker stood on a stage last August and proudly debuted two prototypes designed to catapult his eponymous EV startup Fisker into the mainstream. There was the Pear, a low-cost EV meant for the masses, and the Alaska, Fiskers entry into the red-hot pickup truck market. In the weeks that followed, Fisker stopped paying the [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Instagram is adding a handful of new features for Stories to give users more creative ways to share content and engage with each other, the company announced on Friday. Most notably, the social network is introducing a new Reveal feature that lets you post a hidden Story for your followers to uncover by sending you [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The new job cuts come over a year after the company cut about 4% of its headcount in February last year. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Experts say macroeconomic factors including the upcoming election and the current state of the economy will deter too many IPOs this year. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

WSO2, a company that provides API and identity management services for enterprises, has been acquired by EQT for more than $600M. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Apple finally updated its App Store guidelines to allow global developers to host retro game emulators on iOS. Now, you dont need to jailbreak your iPhone or download any sketchy software you can get a sophisticated emulator right in the palm of your hand for free on the App Store. No one is more [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Video game emulator Deltas decade-long struggle against the iOS app store began with a school-issued TI-84 calculator. When Riley Testut was a sophomore in high school, he showed his friends how to load illicit software onto their bulky graphing calculators. Such behavior was generally discouraged at school, but he wasnt plotting to cheat on a [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Allozymes uses a method in which millions of enzymes can be tested per day, rather than just a few hundred. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The numbers are in, and the cloud infrastructure market grew at a brisk pace this quarter driven by increasing interest in generative AI. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The ransomware attack that has engulfed U.S. health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group and its tech subsidiary Change Healthcare is a data privacy nightmare for millions of U.S. patients, with CEO Andrew Witty confirming this week that it may impact as much as one-third of the country. But it should also serve as a wakeup call [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

NASA is kicking off a formal environmental assessment of its facilities on Wallops Island, Virginia, to increase the number of authorized rocket launches at the site by almost 200%, according to slides and recordings of an April 29 internal meeting viewed by TechCrunch. The proposed changes could help ease congestion at the countrys other spaceports, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

It's hard for early-stage founders to say no to revenue from a large customer, whose needs might not align with the broader customer base. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Y Combinator's founder matching tool has quietly become one of most powerful offerings. That's how medical records AI startup Hona was founded. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The new filing, along with Epic's proposal, will help to inform Judge James Donato in a hearing scheduled on May 23 about what actions to take next to put Googles power in check. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Apples chief financial officer Luca Maestri challenged investor worries over an 8% drop in China revenue, by noting that sales in other emerging markets are growing. When we start looking at places like India, like Saudi, like Mexico, Turkey, Braziland Indonesia, the numbers are getting large, and were very happy because these are markets where [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

So far, the biggest surprise about May 7s Let Loose event is that its happening at all. Were just over a month out from Apples annual Worldwide Developer Conference, and yet the company determined there was enough news to warrant a stand-alone event. iPads (including the iPad Pro and iPad Air) will be the focus, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Microsoft has changed its policy to ban U.S. police departments from using generative AI for facial recognition through the Azure OpenAI Service, the companys fully managed, enterprise-focused wrapper around OpenAI technologies. Language added Wednesday to the terms of service for Azure OpenAI Service prohibits integrations with Azure OpenAI Service from being used by or for [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Apple on Thursday reported a 10% drop in iPhone sales for the second fiscal quarter, dropping from $51.33 billion to $45.96 billion, year-over-year. The slowdown was fueled, in part, by an 8% drop in China. Apples slow adoption of AI versus competitors like Google and Microsoft likely played a role in consumers decision to hold [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Hubble Network has become the first company in history to establish a Bluetooth connection directly to a satellite a critical technology validation for the company, potentially opening the door to connecting millions more devices anywhere in the world. The Seattle-based startup launched its first two satellites to orbit on SpaceXs Transporter-10 ride-share mission in [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The graduates of Alliance DAO are often useful indicators of investor appetite and user adaption trends within the crypto space. The latest batch of the stage-agnostic crypto accelerator, unveiled today, comes at a moment of great excitement for the recovering market. Just two months ago, Bitcoin hit its all-time high; though the value of the [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Rivian is getting $827 million in incentives from the state of Illinois to support building its next-generation electric vehicle, known as the R2. Rivian announced Thursday that the State of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will dole out the funds, which will be used to expand the automakers existing factory in Normal, Illinois, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Microsoft has changed its policy to ban U.S. police departments from using generative AI through the Azure OpenAI Service, the companys fully managed, enterprise-focused wrapper around OpenAI technologies. Language added Wednesday to the terms of service for Azure OpenAI Service prohibits integrations with Azure OpenAI Service from being used by or for police departments in [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

A controversial push by European Union lawmakers to legally require messaging platforms to scan citizens private communications for child sexual abuse material (CSAM) could lead to millions of false positives per day, hundreds of security and privacy experts warned in an open letter Thursday. Concern over the EU proposal has been building since the Commission [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Lacey Hunter thought all was well as she put her startup through the three-month Newchip accelerator. Then the organization filed for bankruptcy in May 2023. Things went from bad to worse later that year when she discovered warrants of her company rights to buy an ownership stake had become part of the proceedings, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

It's not building any startup, but building a defensible AI startup presents its own set of unique challenges. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Hyundai has agreed to spend nearly $1 billion on Motional, an investment that will give the automaker a majority stake while providing the self-driving startup with the necessary capital to keep operating. The Korean automaker invested $475 million directly into Motional as part of a broader deal that includes buying out joint venture partner Aptiv. [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

After months of testing, Google is today rolling out labels in the Play Store to denote official state and federal government apps in more than 14 countries. This new label will help users rule out apps that masquerade as official apps to steal money or data. The company said that these badges currently cover more [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Heres your shot across the bow theres a little over one month left to nominate your startup for Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt. Join this elite group for a new and awesome opportunity at TechCrunch Disrupt. Its positively packed with perks and possibilities to get your company to the next level. Dont delay:Apply to [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Following various reports citing frustrated posts from users on Reddit, Spotify is quietly confirming the change. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, Google is bringing passkey support to its Advanced Protection Program (APP), which is used by people who are at high risk of targeted attacks, such as campaign workers, candidates, journalists, human rights workers, and more. APP traditionally required the use of hardware security keys, but soon users can enroll [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

TikTok is adding new ad products that will allow marketers to better control what sort of content their ads appear against. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Kajabi, the video and web hosting platform for content creators to sell online courses, announced Thursday the official launch of its no-code branded mobile app offering, letting users host their own customized native app through the App Store and Google Play. Kajabi already has a mobile app for hosting online courses, however, this new product [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Lamini, a new startup with funding from Andrew Ng, has emerged from stealth with a generative AI platform aimed at enterprises. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The Walmart heir, worth $28 billion, is bringing on new limited partners to expand S2G's investment reach. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

SoundCloud has launched a new set of playlists under the Buzzing Playlists moniker to highlight up-and-coming tracks from artists. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Danti, an artificial intelligence company building a superpower search engine for Earth data, has brought on prominent defensive tech investor Shield Capital as it looks to scale its technology for government customers. Founded by Jesse Kallman in early 2023, Danti has developed a natural language search engine for data that has historically been highly siloed, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The first electric vehicle I ever drove was a Tesla Roadster in 2011. I will never forget the feeling of the instant torque provided by the electric motor, propelling me to 60 miles per hour in less than four seconds a feat my little Miata daily driver couldnt even dream of doing. Ive had [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Peloton, the exercise equipment maker and creator of online fitness classes, has announced that its laying off 15 percent of its workforce 400 people as CEO, president, and board director Barry McCarthy steps down after two years in the role. McCarthy, who was previously CFO at Spotify and Netflix, was coerced out of [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The logistics industry in Nigeria, like any informal sector, struggles with poor infrastructure and other inefficiencies, making it difficult for businesses both large and small to move and store goods. Many startups have tackled middle-mile and last-mile delivery challenges, but one untapped area is providing an end-to-end fulfillment solution. Renda, a three-year-old startup, [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Digital fraud detection company BioCatch has a new majority shareholder in the form of U.K private equity firm Permira. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Butcherbox is known for grinding its way forward, bootstrapping to more than $600,000 worth of revenue. The company hasnt traditionally been on the M&A path, but it today announced it is acquiring Truffle Shuffle who you may remember from a Shark Tank episode back in 2021 (or, perhaps, The Goonies). The acquisition helps Butcher [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Freshworks, the publicly listed SaaS firm, is acquiring U.S.-based startup Device42 for $230 million, the company disclosed in an SEC filing. Alongside the acquisition disclosure, Freshworks revealed that founder Girish Mathrubootham has stepped down as CEO. Dennis Woodside, who joined Freshworks as president in September 2022 and previously served as CEO of Motorola Mobility, will [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Users on TikTok can once again create music clips using tracks from UMGs catalog, a list featuring some of the biggest names in music today: Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Ariana Grande. Thats because, after months of fighting, the social media platform and Universal Music Group (UMG) have finally called a truce with a new [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Haun Ventures has made 48 investments, including some of its token positions, across its early-stage $500 million and $1 billion later-stage acceleration funds. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.