The makers of two phone surveillance services appear to have shuttered after the owner agreed to settle state accusations of illegally promoting spyware that his companies developed. PhoneSpector and Highster were consumer-grade phone monitoring apps that facilitated the covert surveillance of a person’s smartphone. Commonly dubbed stalkerware (or spouseware), these apps are typically planted on…
A stealth startup led by ex-Blue Origin leaders, focused on harvesting resources from the moon, has quietly closed a sizable new tranche of funding, according to regulatory documents. Interlune, a startup that’s been around for at least three years but has made almost zero public announcements about its tech, has raised $15.5 million in new…
With thousands of pre-orders for the Vision Pro rolling in, many consumers are curious about Apple’s AR/VR headset and the apps that will arrive alongside the new device. While some are from companies you recognize — Disney+, Max, TikTok, Zoom, Reddit, and others – there are plenty of independent developers launching visionOS-optimized apps on Friday.…
Following months of behind-the-scenes conflict, Byju’s and some of its biggest investors are now airing their complaints about one another publicly. Byju’s, once India’s most valuable startup, said Friday its investors do not have the voting right to seek leadership changes, a day after a group of shareholders called for an extraordinary general meeting to…
Shares of Paytm fell another 20% Friday before hitting the lower circuit that temporarily halts trading as the Indian financial services firm reels from the clampdown by the central bank. Paytm fell to 487 Indian rupees, or $5.88 within minutes of the market opening, the lowest it has hit in 55 weeks. Paytm shares also…
Advanced manufacturing startup Orbital Composites is teaming up with Virtus Solis Technologies to conduct a space-based solar power demonstration as soon as 2027. The two companies say the mission will be a precursor to an in-space “megawatt-class” solar power installation by 2030, which could mark “a new chapter in renewable energy.” Space-based solar power (SBSP) is…
The pace is picking up for the Apple Vison Pro apps ahead of the spatial computing device’s Friday launch as developers ready their apps for the new platform. While just last week, only 150-plus apps had been specifically designed for the Vision Pro so far, according to a third-party analysis of the App Store, Apple…
Planet A Foods, a B2B sustainable ingredients company, announced $15.4 million in Series A funding. The brother-and-sister founding team of Drs. Max and Sara Marquart started the Munich-based company to create a sustainable alternative to cocoa. When TechCrunch initially wrote about the company in 2021, it was going by the name QOA. The idea behind…
Reliance-backed Viacom18 has reached an agreement to buy 60% of Disney’s India unit, WSJ reported Thursday citing unnamed sources, creating a pathway for the Indian conglomerate to form a $10 billion media giant in the South Asian market. The deal, which WSJ says will close this month, values Disney’s India unit at $3.9 billion, the…
Five social media CEOs were sworn in on Wednesday for what could have been the most eventful children’s online safety hearing yet. But even with some of tech’s most powerful figures under oath, the four-hour hearing was anti-climactic. The Senate subpoenaed recently appointed X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Discord’s Jason Citron and Snap’s Evan Spiegel to…
