Ted Schlein’s 2-year-old Ballistic Ventures has already raised a second $360 million fund
After a shakeup at Kleiner Perkins a few years back, one of its star B2B investors, Ted Schlein, started his own firm. Ballistic has already closed a second fund, even bigger than the first.
© 2024 T...
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/14/ted-schlein-ballistic-ventures-venture-capital-fundraising/
India’s Paytm secures third-party app license ahead of bank unit curb
The National Payments Corporation of India, the firm that built the eponymous UPI rail in the country, approved Paytm’s application to participate in the payments ecosystem as a third-party applicatio...
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/14/india-payments-authority-grants-third-party-app-license-to-paytm/
Aethero wants to become the space industry’s Intel or Nvidia
Satellite sensors collect an incredible amount of raw data, but on-orbit compute limitations mean that operators have little way to process this data in space. Aethero, a startup founded 13 months ago...
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/14/aethero-wants-to-become-the-space-industrys-intel-or-nvidia/
EU dials up scrutiny of major platforms over GenAI risks ahead of elections
The European Commission has sent a series of formal requests for information (RFI) to Google, Meta, Microsoft, Snap, TikTok and X about how they’re handling risks related to the use of generative AI. ...
Instagram is working on a feature that would allow you to let others put a ‘Spin’ on your Reel
Instagram is working on a “Spins” feature for Reels, its short-form video TikTok clone, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The feature, which was first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi...
Former web3 gaming founders raise $2.5M for their NFT marketplace to retain users even when there ‘isn’t money to be made’
Even though NFT sales volume is still down 88% from 2022 all time-highs (and down 38% year-to-date), Pallet Exchange is building a new type of NFT marketplace focused on user retention. And it’s doing...
Lightspeed’s Alex Kayyal will talk Series A pitfalls at TechCrunch Early Stage 2024
There is perhaps no bigger jump for a startup to make than from the incubatory seed stage to its Series A round. Given how large a step-up landing a Series A can be, there are many guidelines out ther...
AliExpress is first online marketplace to face DSA investigation by EU
The European Union has opened its third formal investigation of a very large platform under the Digital Services Act (DSA), with China’s AliExpress earning itself the dubious honor of being the first ...
Proton Mail desktop app officially launches, but remains for premium subscribers only
Proton Mail, the end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) email service from Swiss company Proton, is now officially available via a dedicated desktop app some three months after debuting in beta. However, despite...
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/14/proton-mail-desktop-mac-windows-linux-premium-paying-users/
Lago, a Paris-based open source billing platform, banks $22M
A startup out of Paris that began life building marketing tools has raised $22 million after making a successful pivot into billing — a space it discovered was even more broken among potential custome...
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/14/lago-a-paris-based-open-source-billing-platform-banks-22m/
What African B2B e-commerce startups can learn from OmniRetail’s profitable run
Save for fintech and cleantech, B2B e-commerce and retail was the leading destination for venture capital dollars over the last five years. The premise of digitizing the continent’s mom-and-pop conven...
Amazon now lets sellers create listings through a URL by using AI
Amazon launched generative AI-powered features last year to help sellers quickly create listings by entering just a few words about the product. The company is now making it easier for sellers to crea...
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/13/amazon-now-lets-sellers-create-listings-through-a-url-by-using-ai/
Nigeria’s Youverify raises $2.5M to enhance anti-money laundering compliance
Youverify, a Nigerian provider of identity verification and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions for banks and startups, secured a $2.5 million investment from Elm, which specializes in offering read...
As European dynamism gathers momentum, Elaia and partners double down with new deep tech fund
Elaia's third deep tech seed fund, DTS3, is double the size of the two previous funds, and signals the momentum that is forming around an emerging concept: European dynamism.
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https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/13/elaia-deep-tech-european-dynamism/
Behold, TruckBot
One undeniable trend from this year’s Modex conference: suddenly everyone is into truck unloading. The past couple of years have gone from a few select companies to seemingly everyone in and around wa...
Creators are frustrated but energized as TikTok ban gains momentum
The bill that could ban TikTok took one step closer to becoming a law on Wednesday. After being introduced just last week, the bill was fast-tracked through the House of Representatives and will now h...
OpenAI’s deals with publishers could spell trouble for rivals
OpenAI’s legal battle with The New York Times over data to train its AI models might still be brewing. But OpenAI’s forging ahead on deals with other publishers, including some of France’s and Spain’s...
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/13/are-openais-deals-with-publishers-edging-out-the-competition/
Cypher’s inventory drone launches from an autonomous mobile robot base
Doing inventory sucks. I feel the need to reiterate this any time I discuss the topic here. Having performed a bit of it during my years of retail work, I can personally attest to the fact that it’s a...
SpaceX aiming to launch massive Starship for the third time early Thursday
SpaceX will attempt to send the massive Starship rocket to orbit for the third time early Thursday morning after U.S. regulators gave the green light for launch. The company is aiming to complete the ...
Paramount Global to sell stake in India’s Viacom18 to Reliance for over $500M
Paramount Global has reached a binding agreement to sell its stake in Reliance-controlled Indian media house Viacom18 to Reliance for $517 million, both companies said Wednesday. The deal will increas...
https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/13/paramount-global-viacom18-reliance-over-500-million/