The Jonas Brothers help launch Scriber, a creator subscription company

The creator economy is “burning up,” and the Jonas Brothers are cashing in. Launching today with the help of these former teen heartthrobs, Scriber is a creator subscription company geared toward more established figures in entertainment (… like the Jonas Brothers). Joe,...

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Artiphon’s delightful Orba handheld synthesizer gets a sequel

I would love to see more companies like Artiphon in the world. Hardware startups with clever ideas and a knack for bringing them to market. Back in November 2020, I spent a good bit of time with the company’s handheld synth/sampler/instrument. It didn’t turn me into Wendy Carlos,...

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DeLorean reveals Alpha 5, a performance EV with Back to the Future vibes

DeLorean released fresh details and images of its Alpha 5 EV, a gull-winged electric vehicle that the company’s owners hope will resurrect the long defunct brand and possibly set the direction for more electric models. The company’s — and the EV’s — big public moment won’t come until later this summer at the Monterey Car Week. But the brand’s owners,...

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Felt’s $15 million chance to prove that maps are the next big medium

Despite economic turmoil in the tech world, an Oakland-based startup shows that moonshots are still getting funded. Felt, co-founded by Sam Hashemi and Can Duruk, wants to disrupt the role of maps in society, and rethink how we think about the medium. The startup allows users...

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Netflix’s password-sharing test in Peru is confusing subscribers, report suggests

It’s been a bumpy ride for Netflix recently, and the announcement that it will be charging for password sharing hasn’t gone as smoothly as it might have hoped, a new report claims. Subscribers in Peru who were opted in to new password-sharing restrictions have reported confusion over Netflix’s loose definition of “household” and noted the lack of clarity...

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Temasek in talks to invest in Google-backed DotPe

Google-backed DotPe, which helps businesses in India go online and sell digitally, is in advanced stages of talks to raise about $50 million in a new financing round, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. Temasek, the Singapore state-owned investment firm, is finalizing deliberations to lead the investment in the Gurgaon-headquartered...

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HitPay is a one-stop solution for SMEs

HitPay has almost everything SMEs need to run their businesses. In addition to being an online payment gateway, it also offers tools like point-of-sale software with card readers, plugins, payment links and no-code online stores. The Y Combinator alum announced today that it has raised $15.75 million in Series A funding led by Tiger Global, with participation...

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Zinc heads towards new $41M tech-for-good fund to back pre-team talent solving big problems

So-called “tech for good” accelerators addressing such worthy-sounding subjects as ESGs and SDGs have appeared in the last few years. Some observers have dismissed these efforts as scalable only put to a point. However, the evidence is mounting that they are increasingly attracting some of the world’s best talent, because the world’s best talent does...

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Max Q: Mines and metals

Hello and welcome back to Max Q. There is SO much news this week, so let’s dive in. In this issue: Astroforge’s asteroid mining ambitions Boeing’s Starliner comes home News from Virgin Orbit, Rocket Lab and more Don’t forget to sign up to get the free newsletter version of...

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Partner sessions at TC Sessions: Climate offer knowledge and insight

We’re just about two weeks away from our first foray into climate tech at TC Sessions: Climate & The Extreme Tech Challenge 2022 Global Finals on June 14 in Berkeley, California — with an online day to follow on June 16. It’s going to be an epic day all around for many reasons — did you know that Bill Gates is one of the featured speakers? Don’t...

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Perceptron: Risky teleoperation, Rocket League simulation, and zoologist multiplication

Research in the field of machine learning and AI, now a key technology in practically every industry and company, is far too voluminous for anyone to read it all. This column, Perceptron (previously Deep Science), aims to collect some of the most relevant recent discoveries...

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One AI raises $8M to curate business-specific NLP models

Whether to power translation to document summarization, enterprises are increasing their investments in natural language processing (NLP) technologies. According to a 2021 survey from John Snow Labs and Gradient Flow, 60% of tech leaders indicated that their NLP budgets grew...

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Ayoken raises $1.4M to grow its NFT marketplace for creatives

Ayoken, an NFT marketplace for creatives, has raised $1.4 million pre-seed funding to enable users grow their revenue streams through digital collectibles. The startup’s marketplace, Ayokenlabs, will feature digital collectibles from musicians, sports brands and influencers from all-over the world. Ayoken founder and CEO, Joshua King, told TechCrunch...

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Betastore gets $2.5M to solve stock-outs, financing challenges for informal retailers in West and Central Africa

About 80% of household retail in sub-Saharan Africa is delivered through informal channels, which perennially face several challenges like stockouts, leading to an instability in earnings, and a lack of attractiveness to financiers. These challenges befall millions of micro-retailers across the continent, and Betastore, a B2B retail marketplace for...

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Berlin-based B2B BNPL platform Mondu raises $43M Series A led by Valar in the US

Given the likely global recession, small businesses are reaching for new kinds of financing. Thus, the Buy Now Pay Later business model is now expanding into this B2B world at a rate of knots. Playter has raised backing to do this, as has Hokodo, Billie and Tranch, to name a few other players. But in Germany, B2B Payments company Mondu has emerged...

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Indonesia’s Astro raises $60M to work on 15-minute grocery delivery

Indonesia’s sprawling archipelago has long been a headache for logistics companies, but there’s no lack of brave challengers. Jarkata-based Astro, which provides 15-minute grocery delivery, has recently closed a $60 million Series B financing round, lifting its total funding to $90 million since the business launched just nine months ago. The Series...

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