レベル3 (1,000〜5,000語)

Funding sources for tech startups in Ukraine have gone off a cliff this year, with investors (and their LPs) wary of taking on the risk of backing potentially promising ideas and people who have stayed in the country amid the sustained, persistent and increasingly ugly onslaught from Russia. But just as there are glimmers that […] IFC and other impact investors return to backing Ukraine startups, with new $250M fund aimed at founders under the gun by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch

When Vendease launched in January 2020, it wanted to solve the challenges and inefficiencies in Nigeria’s highly fragmented food sector using a marketplace model that connected suppliers and farms to restaurants and food businesses, with deliveries facilitated within 24 hours. But over the next couple of months, Vendease switched from its middleman role — after […] Vendease, a food procurement platform for African restaurants, nabs $30M led by Partech Africa and TLcom by Tage Kene-Okafor originally published on TechCrunch

Welcome to The Interchange! If you received this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and your vote of confidence. If you’re reading this as a post on our site, sign up here so you can receive it directly in the future. Every week, I’ll take a look at the hottest fintech news of the previous […] Insurtech goes niche by Mary Ann Azevedo originally published on TechCrunch

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. Global app spending reached $65 billion in the first half of 2022, up only slightly from the $64.4 billion during the same period in 2021, as hypergrowth fueled by […] This Week in Apps: YouTube takes on TikTok, Spotify adds audiobooks, BeReal takes a dive by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

The Dobbs decision affected more than healthcare and privacy:will capital and talent flee U.S. states that restrict reproductive rights? TechCrunch+ roundup: LatAm startup strength, global chip shortage, Visa Bulletin update by Walter Thompson originally published on TechCrunch

Erik Torenberg is no longer the co-CEO of On Deck, a tech company that is trying to productize the community in a way that helps founders secure capital and advice. Torenberg, an early Product Hunt employee and the founder of investment firm Village Global, assumed the role only a year ago. But now, as On […] On Deck tried to do it all. Now, it’s trying to do less, better by Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on TechCrunch

Investors are spending 24% less time looking at pitch decks in 2022, compared to 2021. On average, you have just under three minutes to convince them to take a meeting with you. In fact, for decks that fail to raise funding, investors give up in just 2 minutes and 13 seconds. That’s not a lot […] Looking at 320 pitch decks, here’s what science tells us works best by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

We posted a pair of Apple Watch reviews this time last week. Both the Series 8 and second gen SE received high marks for their categories — flagship and budget, respectively. Were Apple to stick to those two products, it’s easy to imagine the company maintaining roughly a third of the smartwatch market share it […] Apple Watch Ultra first impressions by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Anyone who has to use a wheelchair regularly runs the risk of incurring injury from poor circulation. Kalogon believes it can mitigate this common but potentially life-threatening condition with a smart cushion that prevents any one part of the body from being compressed for too long — and it has already caught the eye of […] Kalogon’s smart cushion for wheelchairs keeps the pressure off and brings in $3.3M by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch

While other e-commerce aggregators announced layoffs, OpenStore “grew substantially, increased brands and tripled its team,” Rabois said. Keith Rabois’ OpenStore bags new funding as valuation soars to $970M by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

Market share analyses aren’t an exact science, exactly. Different firms take different factors into account, though more often than not, the numbers more or less line up among the bigger players. We discussed these figures in our recent review of the Apple Watch Series 8, noting that the line had captured roughly one-third of the […] AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) review: Welcome updates to Apple’s best buds by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

In recent years there has been a flurry of startup activity aimed at commercializing blood glucose biosensors — aka, wearable tech that was originally developed for diabetes management. These continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) transmit near real-time data on glucose levels, providing instant feedback (via a companion mobile app) on how the body metabolizes different foods […] Limbo is tackling obesity with a pair of wearables and decades of physiology by Natasha Lomas originally published on TechCrunch

The chess world is currently consumed by a drama as lurid and compelling, in its way, as the Don’t Worry Darling fracas. Involving implications of cheating at the highest levels of play, the feud between the world champion and an upstart challenger has prompted speculation on the existential threat to chess posed by an AI […] Tech is at the heart of the biggest chess drama in years by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch

A new startup wants to make it easier for any company to sell phone and data plans as part of their own branded mobile network subscriptions — and to help, it has secured the backing of big-name investors including Google’s early-stage venture capital arm Gradient Ventures and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Gigs, which was founded […] A ‘Stripe for phone plans’: Gigs raises $20M to help any company be an MVNO by Paul Sawers originally published on TechCrunch

Synthetic speech tech startup Murf gives a voice, literally, to content creators of all sizes. Murf, which now has a library of more than 120 human-parity AI voices across 20 languages, announced today it has raised $10 million Series A funding led by Matrix partners. Participation came from returning investors Elevation Capital and several prominent […] Synthetic speech startup Murf lends a voice to content creators of all sizes  by Catherine Shu originally published on TechCrunch

The crypto industry seemed to age several decades over the past bull run, maturing in some places while barreling ahead in ambitious new pursuits, including DeFi, NFTs and web3. And while scams continued to proliferate and hacker heists became a weekly occurrence, the space onboarded an onslaught of retail investors and fostered feverish excitement among […] Announcing the agenda for TechCrunch Sessions: Crypto 2022 by Lucas Matney originally published on TechCrunch

If you’re having trouble tracking your work and personal life as it spreads over 20 different apps and productivity suites, to the point where you have a meeting in 5 minutes you don’t even remember making, you’re not alone. We can’t all have a PA to keep track for us, but Augment hopes that a […] Augment’s personal AI assistant could help you keep track of a scattered digital life by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch

Spotify is today launching support for audiobooks on its streaming service, offering a third type of audio content for its customers beyond music and podcasts. Initially, audiobooks will be made available to U.S. users who will be able to access a selection of some 300,000 titles, recommended by Spotify editors. But over time, the company […] Spotify brings audiobooks to U.S. users with a catalog of 300,000 titles to start by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

Managing partners Ben Lerer and Eric Hippeau discuss the new funds, VC dry power and the current funding environment. Lerer Hippeau closes $230M across two new funds; Ben Lerer is back by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

The ways in which we live and get around have evolved over the past few decades. For example, sales of e-bikes are outpacing sales of electric cars in the U.S., according to recent research. And, pre-fabricated and manufactured homes are gaining in popularity as housing shortages persist globally. It appears that their popularity is no […] Investors prove that insurtech isn’t dead, thanks to e-bikes and pre-fab homes by Mary Ann Azevedo originally published on TechCrunch

There’s never a dull moment in the cryptoverse. Blockchain, DeFi and web3 technologies continue to evolve rapidly in a world of wild extremes. How extreme? Consider these two examples. The Terra ecosystem disappears in a multi-billion-dollar crash-and-burn while traditional investment firm Andreessen Horowitz closes a $4.5 billion crypto megafund. Then you have crypto’s ongoing regulatory […] TC editors weigh in: Tech, trends and controversy in the cryptoverse by Lauren Simonds originally published on TechCrunch

Welcome to The Interchange! If you received this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and your vote of confidence. If you’re reading this as a post on our site, sign up here so you can receive it directly in the future. Every week, I’ll take a look at the hottest fintech news of […] Varo’s bank charter milestone, more corporate cards and BNPL under a microscope by Mary Ann Azevedo originally published on TechCrunch

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the weekly TechCrunch series that recaps the latest in mobile OS news, mobile applications and the overall app economy. Global app spending reached $65 billion in the first half of 2022, up only slightly from the $64.4 billion during the same period in 2021, as hypergrowth fueled by […] This Week in Apps: iOS 16 takes off, TikTok clones BeReal, social cos go to Congress by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

The biggest open secret in short form video has nothing to do with the algorithm. The secret is that you can’t get rich on TikTok, because even the most viral creators earn a negligible portion of their income from the platform itself. TikTok remains hugely dominant over the copycat short form video feeds that competing […] YouTube Shorts could steal TikTok’s thunder with a better deal for creators by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch

One could probably argue that Floodgate, the Bay Area-based seed-stage venture firm, punches above its weight. The roughly 15-year-old firm has just around $500 million in assets under management — including a $150 million fund that it quietly closed in January — and it makes just a handful of new investments each year. Yet with […] VC Ann Miura-Ko is looking to help more students answer the question: Is this idea big enough? by Connie Loizos originally published on TechCrunch

Last month, Varo Bank celebrated the two-year anniversary of obtaining its national bank charter. The move made Varo the first-ever all-digital nationally chartered U.S. consumer bank. The startup launched its banking services aimed at younger consumers comfortable doing all their banking online in 2017. It has raised nearly $1 billion since its 2015 inception and […] Most fintechs partner with banks. Varo became one, and says it’s paying off by Mary Ann Azevedo originally published on TechCrunch

It may surprise the casual reader to learn that I don’t run a trillion-dollar multinational corporation. Like any decent tech writer, however, I’m more than happy to offer all my opinions on the matter in a very public forum. Having most closely followed hardware makers over the years, I’m often struck by one specific subject […] The Apple Watch SE isn’t as much of a compromise as you might think by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Can Austrian startup Helu.io, which completed a €9.8 million round in July and focuses on financial planning and analysis, show the rest of us how a pitch deck should be done? Pitch Deck Teardown: Helu.io’s $9.8M Series A deck by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

Let’s pretend, for a minute, that you’re Apple. You didn’t create the smartwatch market, but you currently control more than one-third of it. You’re caught up in a yearly refresh cycle (of your own design). It’s not easy, but you’re used to it. That’s how your hardware — and pretty much everyone else’s — operates. […] Apple Watch Series 8 review: Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

AI Dungeon realized the dream many gamers have had since the ’80s: an evolving storyline that players themselves create and direct. Now, it’s going further with a new feature that enables players to generate images that illustrate those stories. Developed by indie game studio Latitude, which was initially a one-person operation, AI Dungeon writes dialogue […] Latitude brings AI-generated artwork to AI Dungeon by Kyle Wiggers originally published on TechCrunch