TechCrunch Master Template TechCrunch Newsletter
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What up, Crunchers! Welcome back to Monday Crunch, where we sift through the seemingly never-ending string of gems posted on TechCrunch on Friday. If you read nothing else today, read The Great Pretender by Devin. Itâs a great piece that looks into AI and how it (sometimes/mostly/theoretically) works: âAll that matters is that these systems do not distinguish between something that is correct and something that looks correct. Once you understand that the AI considers these things more or less interchangeable, everything makes a lot more sense.â Oh, and this gave us a good giggle over the weekend. â Christine and Haje |
| Image Credits: Fanfix |
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Startups and VC In a major blow to shared micromobility companies, Paris has voted to ban rental e-scooters from its streets, Rebecca reports. Many in the industry fear that the move in Paris, where free-floating scooters initially took off in 2018, will have ripple effects in other cities. Connie reports that, despite pressure, Andreessen Horowitz is courting Saudi money. Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz appeared onstage with WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann to talk about their firmâs $350 million investment in Flow, Neumannâs new residential real estate company. Their choice of venue was intentional: The conference was organized by a nonprofit backed by one of Saudi Arabiaâs largest sovereign funds. And we have five more for you: Running in place: Brian reports that, a decade later, this VR treadmill is finally ready to ship. Supplementary security for SaaS: Ingrid reports that Push Security raised $15 million to help SaaS users lower their online vulnerability. Thatâs . . . not actually the problem: Ethicists fire back at “AI Pause” letter they say “ignores the actual harms,” reports Devin. Money flowing to LatAm: Kaszek earmarks nearly $1 billion in new funds for Latin American startups, reports Mary Ann. Who are ya?: AI startup Fourthline locks down $54 million to bring better ID checks and compliance tools to the finance sector, Ingrid reports. |
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Annual recurring revenue is a critical health metric for every subscription-based business. It’s easy to calculate, but it’s a hard number to budge, since ARR indicates how well a startup is doing in terms of product-market fit. In his latest column, Sales Kiwi co-founder and TC+ contributor Jonathan Martinez shared five essential takeaways he learned along the way to leading his startup to $1 million ARR. Lesson one? “I never tested more than two paid channels at a time, which is how I was ultimately able to unlock acquisition for my team,” writes Jonathan. “This applies for all forms of growth, so if youâre trying to unlock lifecycle marketing, donât also put efforts into unlocking four paid channels at the same time.” Three more from the TC+ team: Weathering a crisis: Christine explores how a fintech company handled a fintech crisis. Decks? We donât need no stinkinâ decks: Do you need a deck to raise from VCs? Not always, writes Haje. Investing time, investing dollars: How you invest your time is just as important as how you invest your money, writes Allison Baum Gates. TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code âDCâ for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! Read More |
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Big Tech Inc. Do you like to travel? How about the price, is that important to you? Google is testing some new search features for travel, including a “price guarantee” tool for flights. Aisha writes there will be a little badge next to the price to indicate that Google doesnât think the price will go lower. If it does, Google will give you the difference. Meanwhile, Nintendo Systems, a joint venture between Nintendo and mobile games company DeNA is a go, Lauren reports. Nintendo Systems is meant to more easily deliver entertainment to consumers. Wait! Thereâs more: Take a bite out of that: Apple came out on top of an appeals case in the United Kingdom over mobile market competition. Natasha L has more. Susan Sarandon surfaces: Warner Bros. debuts the official “Blue Beetle” trailer. Lauren has more. Driver acquired: General Motorsâ electric delivery van unit BrightDrop signs up Ryder and has made the first Zevo 600 deliveries, Rebecca reports. Still going: Rivian will stick to its 2023 production goal for EVs, despite a quarterly dip, Kirsten reports. Setting the stage: YouTube will livestream all six Coachella stages, Aisha reports. |
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