TechCrunch Startup News

Tech layoffs have hit almost every region in the world, and Southeast Asia is no exception, with companies like Sea, Crypto.com and JD.ID among those affected. In particular, fintech startups—BNPL, credit and lending, and inventory-holding businesses—are vulnerable, like in other parts of the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Company founders pivoted when customers wanted their fintech data engine over their budgeting app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since departing his role as Casper CEO in 2021, Philip Krim has spent the majority of his time investing and incubating companies via Montauk Ventures. The latest is an insurance company called Ranger, which aims to elevate the agents in the insurance industry, rather than replace them. Most of the new-wave insurance platforms out there […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.co...

If you haven’t heard yet, there’s a new and awesome opportunity available for early-stage startup founders at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco on October 18-20. It’s called the Startup Battlefield 200, and it’s packed with perks and possibility. Here’s the thing — it’s a time-sensitive application process, and you only have until July 31 to […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

A number of crypto gaming firms have ramped up production in the past year with hopes of revolutionizing the growing industry. Adding to the list is London-based gaming firm Cauldron, which plans on becoming the “Pixar of web3” through a key element: storytelling. The company just closed a $6.6 million seed round and plans to […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deep tech and D2C have very little in common, except Noah Kraft. The Doppler Labs founder, who first came into the spotlight in 2014 with the launch of a wireless earbuds company, is teaming up with his brother to start something brand new. Well, for clarity’s sake, the brother duo are actually disrupting something relatively […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finli’s platform was developed so owners could send invoices, look up customer information and check on payment status in between gigs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

IBM today announced that it acquired Databand, a startup developing an observability platform for data and machine learning pipelines. Details of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Tel Aviv-based Databand had raised $14.5 million prior to the acquisition. Databand employees will join IBM’s data and AI division, with the purchase expected to close on June 27. […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visi...

The company identifies and extracts functional proteins from bovine colostrum and uses them to make milk protein mixtures that could be used for different immune-boosting applications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a stock photographer, taking great photos is often only just a tiny part of the job. To run a successful business, keywording, categorizing, captioning, and all the other admin that goes with it can take up almost as much time. That’s the problem Wirestock is solving, and the company just landed an important deal […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Consumer packaged goods companies — think PepsiCo or Nabisco — face steep challenges from the rising cost of living and distribution. As inflation continues unabated, consumers’ disposable income isn’t going as far as it used to while products are becoming more expensive to ship. The pressure is on businesses to place their bets on the […] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

TikTok rival Triller has confidentially submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission paperwork for an initial public offering of its Class A common stock. The announcement comes as the company ended its $5 billion merger with video-tech company SeaChange International two weeks ago. Similar to TikTok, Triller allows users to create and share short-form […] Learn more about your ad choi...

Medical diagnostics company Visby Medical raised $100 million in a Series E round earlier this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For many marketplaces, those search, recommendation and ad functions are typically siloed, but Promoted has them all under one umbrella. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most Americans dread doing their taxes. Surveys show as much. But as many as 40% rely on money from tax refunds to satisfy some financial obligation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Retail Rocket, a retention management platform for brands, today announced that it raised $24 million in a Series A round led by Cyprus-based private equity fund Flintera. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The company is boiling down the time it takes for businesses to create an e-commerce marketplace from two to three years to about 90 days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Walmart is expanding its array of virtual try-on services for shoppers with today’s news that it’s planning to acquire Memomi, an AR optical tech company and current Walmart partner offering virtual try-on experience for eyewear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sharebite, a startup that partners with restaurants to deliver food to corporate clients, today announced that it raised $39 million in a Series B round led by Prosus with participation from Fiserv, Contour Venture Partners, Reign Ventures, London Technology Club and Not Boring Fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Edtech up-skilling platform Degreed has acquired Learn In, which creates talent resource hubs for employers to better spin up education services for their teams. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The founders of ConductorOne, an identity and access control startup, both came from Okta, which is itself a single sign-on vendor based on the zero trust model. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Zomato has acquired Blinkit, a struggling 10-minute grocery delivery startup, in a $568.1 million all-stock deal as the loss-making food delivery firm looks to broaden its offerings at a time when its shares are trading far below last year’s debut price. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The past several months haven’t been entirely kind to the NFT market — while transaction volume hasn’t stuttered too significantly, the dollar amount invested in the space has been in free fall as cryptocurrency prices have taken a historic dive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The space industry is evolving, as are the tools it uses; Epsilon3 is a startup trying to make launches, satellite design, rocket manufacturing, and other complex processes easier and more collaborative. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Social commerce — the process of buying and selling products or services directly through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok — is becoming the most natural way for consumers to make purchases since people use social media and messaging apps almost every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices