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.

At the 2024 IAB NewFronts event on Wednesday, Snapchat announced a series of new augmented reality (AR) and machine learning (ML) tools designed to help brands and advertisers reach users on the social network with interactive experiences. The company said that its been investing in ML and automation to make it faster and easier for [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

When Keith Rabois announced he was leaving Founders Fund to return to Khosla Ventures in January, it came as a shock to many in the venture capital ecosystem and not just because Rabois is a big name in the industry. It was surprising because unlike in many other fields, venture capitalists dont traditionally move [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Mars exploration has always been the exclusive purview of national space agencies, but NASA is trying to change that, awarding a dozen research tasks to private companies as a prelude to commercial support for future missions to the Red Planet. Its the second time in a month that the agency has shown its desire for [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Two months after hackers broke into Change Healthcare systems stealing and then encrypting company data, its still unclear how many Americans were impacted by the cyberattack. Last month, Andrew Witty, the CEO of Change Healthcares parent company UnitedHealth Group, said that the stolen files include the personal health information of a substantial proportion of people [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The newer format allows users to curate content from around the web and from Pinterest combined with images they optionally snap using their phone's camera to express their style, interests or tastes. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Innovaccer, a health tech startup that aggregates patient data across systems and care settings, is in advanced stages of talks with investors to raise as much as $250 million in a new financing round, three sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. The deliberation for the new funding round is ongoing, and the current talks [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Airbnb is introducing summer update with new features for group booking as the company experiments with AI in customer service. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Snapchat is launching the ability for users to set in-app reminders with the help of its My AI chatbot, the company announced on Wednesday. The social network is also rolling out editable chats, AI-powered custom Bitmoji looks, map reactions, emoji reactions, and more. With the new AI reminders feature, Snapchat is hoping users will use [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Microsoft, it seems, is hedging its bets when it comes to general-purpose robotics AI. At the end of February, the Windows maker spearheaded a massive $675 million Series B in Bay Area-based Figure. Today, the tech giant announced a collaboration with Figure competitor Sanctuary AI, best known for its humanoid robot, Phoenix. The Sanctuary partnership [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Substack is launching the ability for writers to paywall their entire Chat or specific threads to paid or founding members only, the company announced on Wednesday. The rollout of the new feature comes 18 months after Substack launched Chat as a way for writers to communicate directly with their loyal readers. The company believes paywalled [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

During its Team 24 conference in Las Vegas, Atlassian today launched Rovo, its new AI assistant. Rovo can take data from first- and third-party tools and make it easily accessible through a new AI-powered search tool and other integrations into Atlassians products. The most interesting part, though, may be the new Rovo Agents, which can [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Razer is in trouble with the FTC over masks it made and sold during the COVID pandemic. The matter is going to cost it around $1.1 million, and some bad press. Yeah, masks. Not what comes to mind when you think of the word Razer, right? You probably associate the brand with gaming keyboards and [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

At its Team 24 event in Las Vegas, Atlassian today announced that it is combining Jira Software with Jira Service Management into a single product under the Jira brand. The origins of Jira, Atlassians flagship project management tool, are in software development and issue tracking for developers, but throughout the past few years, the company [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

WhatsApp is introducing a new way for people to organize events in Communities, the company announced on Wednesday. The feature makes it easier to plan get-togethers and events directly in WhatsApp, whether its setting up a PTA meeting or a birthday dinner. Anyone can create an event that others can respond to, so everyone else [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Startups are not shying away from big projects. Thats my takeaway from news that The Browser Companys Arc browser is now generally available for Windows users, just as Island raised a massive grip of capital for its enterprise-focused browser tool. Its very encouraging to see startups going after core pieces of technology and not just [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

UnitedHealth Group chief executive officer Andrew Witty told senators on Wednesday that the company has now enabled multi-factor authentication on all the companys systems exposed to the internet in response to the recent cyberattack against its subsidiary Change Healthcare. The lack of multi-factor authentication was at the center of the ransomware attack that hit Change [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter in the fall of 2022, the market for Twitter alternatives has been saturated with would-be competitors ranging from smaller startups to open source apps to well-funded efforts like Threads from Instagram. But theres one overlooked Twitter/X alternative thats been growing right under our collective noses: LinkedIn. As of March, LinkedIns [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Anthropic, the generative AI startup backed by Amazon and Google, is launching a new paid plan aimed at business customers. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Exciting news for those who want to experience the buzz of TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 in San Francisco without breaking the bank or needing an extensive schedule! Weve just released our Expo+ passes, offering a fantastic opportunity to dive into the innovation and networking scene. The Expo+ pass is perfect for those keen on exploring the [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

A harsh truth: as bad as North American wildfires have grown over the past several years, things are only going to get worse. Climate change continues to accelerate the issue, putting people, property, nature and animals at risk. Drones have been a fixture in the fight for over a decade now, and the Fire Apparatus [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Developers have a problem. It used to be the case that only large enterprises needed to worry themselves with security, but today, every startup is capable of holding huge amounts of customer data. That means developers across the board have to worry about how secure their platform is, and they often find themselves grappling with [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

In an effort to attract more users and increase engagement, LinkedIn is launching three games: Queens, Crossclimb and Pinpoint. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Ofcom is investigating OnlyFans for failing to prevent children from accessing pornography through the platform. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Amazon has historically operated audiobook marketplace Audible as a separate entity, unconnected to the retailers broader goals and ambitions. Today, thats changing a bit with the launch of a test that will allow Audible users to receive recommendations about what to listen to next based on their Prime Video viewing behavior. The company says this [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Appointment scheduling service Calendly has redesigned its browser extension in a bid to improve schedule management and make scheduling faster. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

In 2017, Jyoti Bansal co-founded San Francisco-based security company Traceable alongside Sanjay Nagaraj, a former investor. With Traceable, Bansal who previously co-launched app performance management startup AppDynamics, acquired by Cisco in 2017 sought to build a platform to protect customers APIs from cyberattacks. Attacks on APIs the sets of protocols that establish [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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 out of San Francisco to pay $750 out of pocket, to get that diagnosis and proper treatment. That feeling of wow, Ive really been suffering [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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 certified as N95-grade. These businesses falsely claimed, in the midst of a global pandemic, that their face mask was the equivalent of an N95 certified [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

When a company raises $175M at a $3B valuation, it gets your attention. When that startup is a browser company, all the more. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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 the Twitch iOS and Android apps, allows viewers to scroll through bite-sized bits of content to discover new streamers. The official launch follows Twitchs earlier [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Pour one out for CodeWhisperer, Amazons AI-powered assistive coding tool. As of today, its kaput sort of. CodeWhisperer is now Q Developer, a part of Amazons Q family of business-oriented generative AI chatbots that also extends to the newly-announced Q Business. Available through AWS, Q Developer helps with some of the tasks developers do [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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 could see a law mandate the scanning of European Union citizens private messages in a bid to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The issue [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Making life better for people with disabilities is a laudable goal, but accessibility tech hasnt traditionally been popular among VCs. In 2022, disability tech companies attracted around $4 billion in early-stage investments, which was a fraction of fintechs intake, for example. One reason is that disability tech startups are often considered too niche to attain [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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 defacto standard in North America. CEO Elon Musk announced the new layoffs in an overnight email to executives, first reported by The Information, in which he said [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

A bipartisan bill designed to protect children from online sexual exploitation is headed to President Bidens desk. Proposed by Senators Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-SC), the bill aims to strengthen the National Center for Missing and Exploited Childrens (NCMEC) CyberTipline. When an online service provider detects child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the platform [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

After many users complained about their alarms ringing silently on iPhones, Apple said that it is aware of the issue and is working on a fix. Wall Street Journal reporter Joanna Stern and NBC correspondent Emilie Ikeda said that Apple confirmed that it is working on an issue of some users alarms not playing a [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Samsung Electronicssaid 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 in AI applications. The company, which struggled in 2023 as the macroeconomic slowdown hurt demand for its products, said its memory chip business returned to [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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 teaming up a bit more deeply. Look to see FT.com links in ChaptGPT in the future. But the FT-OpenAI tie-up tells us a bit more [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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 the global off-grid solar sector. The global association for the off-grid solar energy industry, GOGLA, says PURE technologies raised $65 million in 2023, double the [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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. 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

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 early stage startup, experienced the need to make data more accessible first hand when they were at Okta, and decided to launch a company [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Monday that it is fining the four U.S. major wireless carriers around $200 million in total for illegally sharing and selling customers real-time location data without their consent. AT&Ts fine is more than $57 million, Verizons is almost $47 million, T-Mobiles is more than $80 million, and Sprints [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Hans Tung, a managing partner at Notable Capital, formerly GGV Capital, has a lot of thoughts on the state of venture today. Notable Capital is a venture firm with $4.2 billion in assets under management, focusing on investments in the U.S., Latin America, Israel, and Europe. Tung, whose portfolio includes the likes of Airbnb, StockX [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

The Browser Company, makers of the Arc web browser, released its Windows version today. The company started testing the Windows client in December, and it said that more than 150,000 people have been using it. The startup, which aims to replace your current browser, recently raised $50 million at a $550 million valuation. Today, The [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

You know that mildly jarring experience whenever that well-known celebrity shows up in an entirely different context e.g. a musician making a horror flick cameo; an NFL player rearing their head in a comedy series; or a Hollywood movie icon selling mobile phone plans on TV? Well, its starting to feel like that with [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

When Julie Trias and Elizabeth Nammour were working together at Airbnb on the companys data team, they had to deal with data spread across a variety of sources, and that growing sprawl led to challenges in keeping data safe. The founders own frustration with the existing crop of data protection options motivated them to launch [] 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.