TechCrunch Startup News

Joby Aviation, a California-based company developing electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOL) for commercial passenger service, announced the acquisition of Avionyx, an aerospace software engineering firm, on the TechCrunch Sessions: Mobility stage on Wednesday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Singapore-based venture firm Jungle Ventures is digging deeper into Southeast Asia and India with the close of its fourth fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Palette, a software-as-a-service startup that is going to be particularly interesting if you’re also running a software-as-a-service startup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The pandemic has majorly affected the global supply chain, with 60% of U.S. adults in an August 2021 Gallup survey saying that they’ve been unable to get a product they wanted in the past two months because of shortages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The gig economy has, to use a well-worn word, disrupted industries from ride-hailing to quick-service restaurants. Contract work has its downsides, namely on the pay and benefits side of the equation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Uber Eats is launching two autonomous delivery pilots in Los Angeles on Monday with Serve Robotics, a robotic sidewalk delivery startup, and Motional, an autonomous vehicle technology company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tel Aviv-based Classiq, a startup that wants to make it easier for developers to build quantum algorithms and applications, today announced that it has raised additional funding for its service by adding HSBC, NTT Finance, and Intesa Sanpaolo as new investors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bubbles, a startup that pitches its platform as the “anti-Zoom” for video messaging, today announced that it closed a $8.5 million funding round led by Khosla Ventures, Craft Ventures, Streamlined Ventures, 468 Ventures, and Bain Capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gusto, an HR technology unicorn worth nearly $10 billion, has raised an extension to its 2021-era Series E funding round. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The coaching world is crowded. There’s BetterUp, a re-skilling platform that wants to bring executive coaching to employees, and Sounding Board, which mixes SaaS and coaching services. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Good Startup, a Singapore-based venture capital firm focused on alternative protein, has closed its latest fund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Berlin-based GetHenry, a startup that provides electric last-mile delivery bikes to couriers and logistics companies, has raised a $17.4 million (€16.5 million) seed round to expand its business across Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Electric vehicle startup Canoo has filed suit against one of its largest shareholders, demanding that the firm pay back more than $61 million in “short-swing profits.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To date, Blueland, fresh off its $20 million fundraise back in February, has mostly been focusing on home cleaning products. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hannah Life Technologies, a startup for couples trying to conceive, announced today it has raised $5.15 million in pre-Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During the worst days of the pandemic, when people were stuck at home and starving for some form of entertainment beyond streaming yet another TV series, many turned to DIY home improvement projects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Spotify cofounder Daniel Ek said on Friday that he’s pouring $50 million into the music streaming service, driving its stock price up by more than 3% to a high of $108.98 per share during regular trading hours. Â Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lucid Group is the latest automaker to up the price of its electric vehicles. The company announced Thursday alongside its first-quarter earnings report that it was raising prices of the variants of its luxury Air sedan, beginning June 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tomorrow Farms is turning the concept of pantry and refrigerator staples on its head to create foods that are better for us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Shopify today announced that it will acquire Deliverr, a San Francisco, California-based ecommerce fulfillment startup, for $2.1 billion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It used to be getting from prototyping to manufacturing meant long, expensive trips to places like Shenzhen and a whole lot of trial and error. Fictiv was founded back in 2013 to address some of the biggest pain points of bringing products to market. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fundid has a three-pronged approach to simplifying access to capital for small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Meet Getlife, a Madrid-based startup that just raised $6.3 million (€6 million) in seed funding. The company wants to make it easier to access life insurance products in Europe. For instance, there’s no medical exams needed to subscribe to Getlife. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For product-led growth companies (PLG), the perennial question is: how do we get non-paying customers to subscribe? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lottie animations are everywhere. The JSON-based file format, first introduced as an open-source library by Airbnb engineers, can now be seen in the top 500 iOS and Android apps, said LottieFiles co-founder Kshitij Minglani. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices