TechCrunch Startup News

Media streamer Plex’s long-delayed plans to launch a marketplace for TV and movie rentals are finally being realized after multiple false starts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Agriculture is poised to be one of the next great robotics categories. Everyone needs to eat, and much of what we eat in this part of the world comes from large farms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week, Artifact, a buzzy news app from Instagram’s co-founders, announced it was shutting down after failing to gain critical mass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

International Battery Company, a startup developing lithium-ion battery cells for electric vehicles, has raised $35 million as it plans to bridge the demand-supply gap in the growing EV market in India. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Orbital operations company Astroscale has revealed new details about its approach to refueling satellites in space, as part of a $25.5 million project exploring the concept with the Space Force. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

London-based notetaking startup Goodnotes said today it is acquiring South Korean startup Dropthebit, which operates a meeting and video summary tool called Traw. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Build a Rocket Boy, a Scotland-headquartered game development company founded by one of the former lead developers behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise,announced it has raised $110 million in a Series D round of funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Argentinian payments infrastructure startup Pomelo has raised $40 million in a Series B round of funding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After using Figma to create user interfaces and experiences, developers are left with the hefty task of coding the designs in order to create functional websites or apps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Low-code dev platforms have gained momentum in recent years, in large part because they promise to shorten what’s otherwise typically a lengthy app development cycle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most humans learn the skill of deceiving other humans. So can AI models learn the same? Yes, the answer seems — and terrifyingly, they’re exceptionally good at it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Historically, vacation rental companies have managed homes for homeowners. While this model has proven popular, it also has its drawbacks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some technologies make so much sense that they just won’t disappear. T9 — the old text input from our trusty Nokia phones from the 1990s — is one of those throwbacks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After years of exploding growth and massive funding rounds, it’s time for consolidation in the micromobility industry. Tier and Dott, two leading European companies in the space, have announced that they plan to merge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Seedstars Africa Ventures has received a $30 million capital commitment from EIB Global, an arm of the European Investment Bank, which becomes the first major institutional investment for its first Pan-African venture capital fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sony is breaking new ground in the ongoing NFTs and content authenticity saga. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You can spend all day long curating custom playlists for every mood, picking tracks based on tempo or intensity, but whether you’re corner-carving or just commuting you’ll never perfectly match the cadence and energy of every drive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Governance, risk management and compliance — GRC for short — remains one of the most active startup areas in terms of VC investments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paris-based startup Nabla just announced that it has raised a $24 million Series B funding round led by Cathay Innovation, with participation from ZEBOX Ventures — the corporate VC fund of CMA CGM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thanks to bans on pay toilets dating back to the 1970s, folks in the U.S. have become accustomed to enjoying free public restroom access pretty much anywhere their travels take them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Indian financial services startup MobiKwik seeks to raise about $84.2 million through issue of new shares in an initial public offering in the home market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fisker remains far from meeting CEO and founder Henrik Fisker’s publicly-stated goal of delivering 300 electric SUVs per day globally Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As search engine incumbents — namely Google — amp up their platforms with gen AI tech, startups are looking to reinvent AI-powered search from the ground up. It might seem like a Sisyphean task, going up against competitors with billions upon billions of users. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intel, intent on making bigger moves in the market for AI-powered enterprise software, is spinning out a new platform company with the backing of Boca Raton, Florida-based asset manager and investor DigitalBridge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another proptech startup has run into trouble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices