Having conquered orbit, SpaceX’s next venue seems to be the high seas, through a special yacht-focused sub-brand of its satellite internet service called Starlink Maritime. The idea of satellite internet on the water isn’t a new one, but the actual service generally isn’t great: you can expect to pay hundreds or thousands per month for…
Despite the name change and metaverse hyperbole, Facebook has always been at the center of the Meta suite of software for users engaging with its wider ecosystem. While that may continue to be the case indefinitely, it’s clear the company is taking steps to ensure that its next swath of users aren’t tied to a…
Fyto wants our plants to work smarter, not harder. The San Francisco–based company is developing both hardware and software to automate and scale the production of aquatic plants, or what founder and CEO Jason Prapas calls “superplants,” in a controlled environment as a more resilient option for feed, food and soil health. Prapas launched Fyto…
YuLife originally made a name for itself in its home market of the U.K. for its new approach to the provisioning of life insurance: yes, sell a policy that provides financial security to your people in the event of your death; but do so with a focus on improving the policyholder’s current life with wellness…
Last month, Insider published an explosive report about a former SpaceX flight attendant who accused SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk of propositioning her for sex in 2016 and to whom the company paid $250,000 to keep quiet. Musk immediately labeled the story “a politically motivated hit piece,” while SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell…
Apple said Wednesday it will bring a new “Lockdown Mode” to its upcoming iPhone and Mac software that will switch off certain features aimed at helping targeted individuals combat government-grade spyware. The technology giant said the new feature is an “extreme optional protection” for device owners who are more likely to be targeted by nation…
Web designers, rejoice! Typekit, the project of noted designer Jeffrey Veen and Small Batch, launched today. Typekit offers web designers a way to use a wide array of fonts on their websites. Most websites today limit their use of fonts to those available on all three of the major operating systems – Windows, Mac OSX…
Amazon tried but then ultimately stepped away from building its own cost-intensive Grubhub and DoorDash competitor in the U.S. back in 2019. Now three years on, it’s taking a different approach to tackling the space to build in one more sweetener to encourage more sign-ups to its Prime subscription service. Today, the e-commerce giant and…
During the most recent Y Combinator startup batch, Peakflo stood out to TechCrunch. The company’s simple pitch — Bill.com for Southeast Asia — fit neatly into the broader narrative of the world increasingly digitizing its workflows and the generally hot market we’d seen for fintech companies. At the time, we noted that “there are huge…
Outschool, a marketplace for kid-friendly, virtual after-school programs, has laid off 31 people or 18% of its workforce, CEO Amir Nathoo confirmed to TechCrunch over text message. The layoff, conducted earlier this month, comes after a period of rapid fundraising for Outschool. The firm raised its Series B, C and D in a 12-month period,…
