You cannot escape conversations about AI no matter how far or fast you run. Hyperbole abounds around what current AI tech will be able to do (revolutionize every industry!) and what current AI tech will be able to do (take over the world!). Closer to the ground, TechCrunch+ is working to understand where startups might…
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Friday show, and we’re talking about the week’s biggest startup and tech news. Mary Ann and Alex were joined by Kirsten once again to parse the week’s news and call…
It has been a long time coming, but Microsoft’s near-two year attempt to buy gaming giant Activision is finally happening, after the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) accepted a restructured proposal that addresses the CMA’s concerns about Microsoft dominating the cloud gaming market. The crux of Microsoft’s concession to get the deal over the…
A security researcher says a bug on an Indian state government website inadvertently revealed documents containing residents’ Aadhaar numbers, identity cards, and copies of their fingerprints. The bug was fixed last week after the security researcher disclosed the bug to local authorities. Sourajeet Majumder found the bug in the West Bengal government’s e-District web portal…
After settling on Thursday with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), bankrupt crypto company Voyager is permanently banned from handling consumers’ assets. But the government agency also announced on Thursday that it’s suing Voyager’s former CEO, Stephen Ehrlich, for falsely claiming that users’ accounts were FDIC insured. When a bank or financial service is FDIC insured,…
Investing apps help anyone access the stock market to make trades. Alpaca, a San Mateo-based startup, offers stock and crypto brokerage trading services via API that enables investing fintech companies and others to embed this functionality into their apps. Today, the startup announced it has secured $15 million in the form of a convertible note…
Access to education in Bangladesh is filled with inequalities, say the founders of edtech 10 Minute School. Many rural areas don’t have good learning centers and as a result, students travel to capital Dhaka to prepare for their university admission exams. That option, however, is only available to families who have the financial means. Originally…
Twitch streamers can finally block banned users from watching their streams, thanks to a recent update to the platform’s anti-harassment features. Twitch first announced the feature in August. Though tools to prevent banned users from participating in a stream’s chat have existed for years, streamers could do little from preventing banned users from actually watching…
Sarah Leary is the co-founder of Nextdoor and is a venture partner at Unusual Ventures, leading investments in early-stage consumer startups. It’s a tough time right now for founders looking to raise their next round, and many are coming to the painful realization that VCs simply aren’t buying what they’re selling. Investors are looking for…
Hello, and welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we sit down with a guest, talk about their work and dive deep into the rest. This week we had Tony Stubblebine, the CEO of Medium.com, a…
