KTM City Posts

via https://ift.tt/zsSynjW Welcome to Startups Weekly. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. This week, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about how some of the biggest companies in the world have as much — if not more — power than entire countries. Most countries, at least, have some level of democratic oversight, but that isn’t true in the same way for companies. My question, then: In a world where the policies of, say, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter become de facto standards all around the world, should we have a greater degree of say (TC+) in what those policies are? The other thing that’s kept me busy this week is fundraising. Alex talked with 11 VCs (TC+) about how hard it was for their companies to raise so far this year. Meanwhile, I talked with a number of founders who were really struggling to raise money. The truth is, the founders struggling the most have three things in common (TC+). Now let’s take a look at what happened in the world of startups this week. Not...

via https://ift.tt/P4g5zVn An Indian court has dismissed Twitter’s lawsuit against the Indian government that sought to challenge New Delhi’s block orders on tweets and accounts. The Karnataka High Court dismissed the plea, filed last year, and also fined the Elon Musk-owned firm 5 million Indian rupees ($61,000). “Your client (Twitter) was given notices and your client did not comply. Punishment for non-compliance is 7 years imprisonment and unlimited fine. That also did not deter your client. So you have not given any reason why you delayed compliance, more than a year of delay… then all of sudden you comply and approach the Court. You are not a farmer but a billon dollar company,” a single judge bench said in scathing verdict Friday. Twitter filed the plea against the Indian government in Karnataka High Court in Bengaluru last year, before the takeover by Musk, alleging that New Delhi had abused its power by ordering it to arbitrarily and disproportionately remove several tweets fr...

via https://ift.tt/tjo5dgV Seoul-based e-commerce company Levit, an operator of the shopping app Alwayz, wants to make the shopping experience more entertaining and affordable. The two-year-old startup has recently raised $46 million in a Series B round of funding led by DST Global Partners with participation from new investor BOND and existing backers KB Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, Korea Investment Partners, GS Ventures, and Klim Ventures. With the latest round, Levit has raised a total of $67 million since its inception. Alwayz offers a wide range of products, from daily groceries to home appliances and apparel to cosmetics. But it deviates from typical e-commerce platforms by incorporating social features like short videos and gamification into online shopping to draw customers.  For example, users can earn rewards by playing games nurturing the pig character Don-Don-E, or receive crops in real life after successfully cultivating crops by playing a game called AI-Farm in i...

via https://ift.tt/rRl97Lf Just over one year ago, spend management decacorn Brex declared that it was “less suited to meet the needs of smaller customers” in an announcement that caused shock waves in the startup community. While Brex soon clarified that by smaller customers it meant small to medium-sized businesses and non-funded startups, the move still felt like a stunning reversal, considering the company had started its life as a credit card company for startups. The announcement came about two months after Brex announced a “big push into software” and that it was placing greater emphasis on moving upmarket to serve larger, enterprise customers. But then in March, Silicon Valley Bank imploded.  Brex was one of the bidders for the early-stage and growth portfolios of the bank, which was known for providing a swath of financial services to the startup community. Ultimately, First Citizens Bank took over, but some of those former clients shunned the idea of working with such a ...

via https://ift.tt/aT5IqKO ChatGPT, OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot, has taken the world by storm. Capable of writing emails, essays and more given a few short prompts, ChatGPT has become one of the fastest-growing apps in history. Beyond that, it’s begun to find a place in the enterprise, particularly with the launch of plugins that connect the chatbot to third-party apps, websites and services. Most recently, ChatGPT Plus subscribers now have access to a new feature called Browsing, which allows ChatGPT to search Bing for answers to prompts and questions. But ChatGPT isn’t always the most cooperative assistant. Getting it to output something specific requires careful fine-tuning of the prompts. A number of resources and guides for ChatGPT prompt writing have sprung up since the tool’s launch. But not all of them are especially easy to follow — or intuitive. To help folks both new to ChatGPT and looking to learn new tricks, we’ve compiled a list of the best ChatGPT prompts for different ...

via https://ift.tt/wKSTaLP As if the pessimism around crypto wasn’t enough, the industry has historically been hounded by hackers and scammers looking to make a quick buck. To make things worse, it appears tracing and recovering lost funds is now getting harder than ever as attackers use increasingly sophisticated methods. According to a new report, only $4.9 million was recovered of the $204.3 million the industry lost to hacks, scams and rug pulls in Q2 2023, and that was significantly less than the $6.9 million recovered in Q2 2022. However, the good news is that losses in the second quarter were 55% narrower than in Q1 2023, when the industry lost a whopping $462.3 million to hacks and scams, with the Euler Finance flash loan attack accounting for 42.4% of the first quarter’s losses, REKT’s database showed. The report, by web3 “super app” and antivirus solution De.Fi with supporting data from the REKT database, detailed that so far this year, the industry had recovered about $183 ...

via https://ift.tt/UVSoaHJ Earlier this year we wrote that the “the $100 million venture round is going extinct.” Often our predictions wind up sideways. This time we were on the right track. According to new data from PitchBook, the U.S. venture market is continuing to endure lackluster velocity for nine-figure investments into private companies, colloquially referred to as “mega-rounds.” The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. Read it every morning on TechCrunch+ or get The Exchange newsletter every Saturday. In the first half of 2023, PitchBook counted just 108 mega-rounds in the United States. If we presumed that this rate will hold throughout the year, we’re looking at just over 200 nine-figure deals in the U.S. in 2023. That’s a dramatic decline from prior levels. Starting in Q4 2020 through Q3 2022, there were more than 100 mega-rounds recorded per quarter. In 2021, the average was more than 200 per quarter. To see perhaps 200 this year implies that the number of lat...

via https://ift.tt/2uUVBp9 The United States Department of Homeland Security caused a stir last February when it revealed that it was exploring deploying robot dogs on the U.S./Mexico border. “The southern border can be an inhospitable place for man and beast, and that is exactly why a machine may excel there,” the DHS’s Brenda Long said at the time. “This [Science and Technology Directorate]-led initiative focuses on Automated Ground Surveillance Vehicles, or what we call ‘AGSVs.’ Essentially, the AGSV program is all about…robot dogs.” The story raised the ire of several Democratic politicians, including New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who tweeted, “It’s shameful how both parties fight tooth + nail to defend their ability to pump endless public money into militarization. From tanks in police depts to corrupt military contracts, funding this violence is bipartisan + non-controversial, yet healthcare + housing isn’t. It’s BS.” It’s shameful how both parties fight tooth...

via https://ift.tt/xQoMhCc Paris Heymann Contributor Share on Twitter Paris Heymann is a partner at Index Ventures, where he invests primarily in B2B SaaS and data. More posts by this contributor Acquisition, retention, expansion: Why SaaS founders must understand GDR and NDR Metrics that matter: 3 KPIs to track on the path to profitability At Index Ventures, we view the emergence of vertical SaaS (vSaaS) — cloud-based software tailor-made for specific industries — as part of a broader trend of end users increasingly demanding superior technology products. Consumers want solutions-oriented software made specifically to solve their exact business problems. In an environment where we are inundated with software, narrow and specific is well-positioned versus broad and generalized. The concept is not new: Even the largest horizontal tech companies verticalize their sales organizations and product features when they have enough scale within each vertical for that to be a sensible appro...

via https://ift.tt/IqhTfkb Apple Arcade is a getting a trio of notable indie games in July, including Stardew Valley, Slay the Spire and Ridiculous Fishing. Launched in 2016, Stardew Valley is an open-ended country-life RPG that gained popularity for its gentle art style and calm vibes. Apple Arcade’s version of the game will include recent updates, including new town upgrades, dating events, crops, fishing ponds, hats, clothing and pets. The game will launch on Apple Arcade on July 21. As for Ridiculous Fishing, the tech giant says the Apple Arcade version is a full and expanded remaster of the original game and is now in 3D. The remastered version of the game, called Ridiculous Fishing EX, includes a competitive mode and game plus mode. The idea behind the game is to catch as many fish as possible, then flick them up into the sky and shoot them with your shotgun. Ridiculous Fishing EX will launch on Apple Arcade on July 14. Image Credits: Vlambeer Slay the Spire, which is a roguelik...

via https://ift.tt/qdQUZ3R When you run big real-life industrial operations, there’s always a gauge or readout somewhere deep in the facility that your engineers or field teams need to check in person. Lilz is a Japanese startup that builds devices you can set up to read these meters remotely, and the company just raised $4.1 million as they enter the North American market. Lilz’s devices are basically battery-powered smart cameras that can last for years between charges, while monitoring something like a pressure gauge 24/7. It may sound a little odd in this modern era — why not just have a smart steam gauge in the first place? The simple truth is much infrastructure and heavy industry doesn’t have that option, or retrofitting may be prohibitively expensive. Yet for safety or efficiency reasons, some simple readout needs to be looked at regularly. Sending a human down is the simplest solution, or was until Lilz made its devices available a couple years ago. Their robust but low-power...

via https://ift.tt/ny5qx40 Asus is stretching the boundaries of what’s possible with thin and light portable PCs, and the 2023 Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED sets a high bar for what’s possible in an ultraportable. The computer weighs in at just 2.2 lbs, and it’s only 0.39 inches thick — small enough that it’s a negligible addition to any backpack or travel bag, while offering a lot of power to help satisfy the workload requirements of a vast majority of people. Basics The Zenbook S 13 OLED for this year resembles the one that Asus released in 2022, but comes with enough significant differences that they’re really fairly distinct machines. The biggest difference is arguably the processor, since the 2023 version uses a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor and last year’s version sports an AMD Ryzen 7 6800 CPU. The other major difference comes in the case, which has a slimmer bottom half, which necessitated a keyboard switch. The display on the 2023 version also doesn’t support pen or touch input, ...

via https://ift.tt/nBPWu0H Welcome back to The Interchange! If you want this in your inbox, sign up here. We’re back after a brief hiatus, with lots of fintech news, including Robinhood’s latest acquisition, Plaid’s newest product and a ChatGPT-powered AI tool that aims to help you save money on bills. Robinhood’s motives When Robinhood announced on June 22 that it was acquiring credit card startup X1 for $95 million, it caused all sorts of chatter in the fintech world. Why would Robinhood want to buy a credit card startup? Did it get a good deal, considering that X1 has raised only $62 million over its lifetime? Did its investors get a good deal or just a return on their investment? Why X1 in particular over the many other credit card startups out there? Let’s talk about that last point first. When we talked to X1 in December at the time of its last fundraise, founder and CEO Deepak Rao told us the company was launching a new trading platform that would give its cardhol...

via https://ift.tt/mavMgnH Hello, lovelies, and welcome to Week in Review (WiR), TechCrunch’s regular newsletter that recaps the week in tech. For many folks, this workweek was a day shorter, thanks to the Juneteenth observance on Monday. But plenty happened. We’ve got coverage on the OceanGate tragedy, and we’ve continued to closely track the Reddit API controversy — which shows no signs of abating. Elsewhere, TC has a full review of the new Google Pixel Tablet (spoiler alert: the bundled dock is a major highlight), and we have the skinny on Microsoft’s quantum plans and more. If you haven’t already, sign up here to get WiR in your inbox every Saturday. Then read on for the week’s digest. Most read OceanGate fired a whistleblower: The director of marine operations at OceanGate, the company whose submersible went missing Sunday on an expedition to the Titanic in the North Atlantic, was fired after raising concerns about its first-of-a-kind carbon fiber hull and other systems before it...

via https://ift.tt/k0FzYGO You don’t need a $1,050 home vacuum. Nobody does. No one spends $1,050 on a vacuum because it’s the only way to get the job done. But that doesn’t mean you don’t want one. I don’t blame you if you don’t, however. I never particularly wanted a Dyson vacuum. I always saw them as over-engineered and wildly expensive. And then I tried one. Now I find them over-engineered, wildly expensive and extremely cool. It was a bit like the first time I ever drove a sports car. Pressing that gas pedal, you suddenly get it. It just feels different from other cars. It feels like power. Now I’m not a car guy (which you likely already surmised). I live in New York City. I haven’t driven one in several years, and I haven’t owned one for much longer than that. I am, however, a human being with an apartment whose floors can sometimes get dirty (hopefully some of you can relate). I’ve owned many vacuums, with a varying degree of success. My apartment may be small, but I have some ...

via https://ift.tt/AIeUcRf The promise of DevOps is often frustrated by the reality of having to stitch together a bunch of products. System Initiative‘s co-founders believe that in order for DevOps to live up to its promises, it’ll take a wholesale reimagining of what this toolchain looks like. At the core of System Initiative is tooling that lets DevOps teams build simulations of their infrastructure that then lets them quickly update their production environments. This new platform is now available in private beta and the company plans to open-source many of its core tools. The company today announced that it has raised a total of $18 million, including a $3 million seed round led by Amplify Partners, with participation from Storm Ventures and Battery Ventures, and a $15 million Series A round led by Scale Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors. “The DevOps pioneers aspired to bring world-class agility, reliability, and security to everyone in the industry. Un...

via https://ift.tt/VLB1PSD Dating app Bumble said that it is testing a separate BFF app in select markets to let people find friends. The company added that it plans to release this app in the U.S. this year. Earlier this week, Mashable reported that Bumble is trying out a new app in select geographies. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it is testing the app in the UK and select other Asian markets. While it didn’t specify the countries, TechCrunch found out that the app is available in Australia, New Zealand, and Philipines both on Android and iOS. “With Bumble For Friends, you can chat, meet new people, and make friends in a community focused on kindness and safety. Whether you’re new to your area or just looking to expand your circle, Bumble For Friends is the easiest way to make new friends and find community,” the App Store description of Bumble’s new app reads. Image Credits: Bumble Bumble also has a new landing page for the app, but the download button will likely take y...

via https://ift.tt/OSaDpH5 Marvel’s latest series, “Secret Invasion,” made its debut on Disney+ today, sparking tons of backlash after it was confirmed the intro sequence was AI-generated. “Secret Invasion” director Ali Selim admitted to Polygon that the opening credits were designed by VFX company Method Studios using artificial intelligence. Selim didn’t say which AI tool was used. Method Studios was not immediately available to comment to TechCrunch. We will update this story if we hear back. Selim described the generative AI tool to Polygon, however, confessed that he didn’t “really understand” how it works. He said the team would feed the system “ideas and themes and words,” which would then “Go off and do something. And then we could change it a little bit by using words, and it would change,” Selim added. Image Credits: Marvel Studios Artists are increasingly worried that AI creations will not only discredit their work but also threaten their livelihoods. Generative AI takes mi...

via https://ift.tt/wA3dqRa Vimeo, the video hosting and sharing platform, is embracing AI in a major way. This week, Vimeo announced a suite of AI-powered tools designed to help users create scripts, record footage using a built-in teleprompter and remove long pauses and unwanted disfluencies like “ahs” and “ums” from the recordings. They’ll be available starting July 17 as a part of Vimeo’s Standard plan, which costs $20 per month (billed annually). Ashraf Alkarmi, Vimeo’s chief product officer, says that the new capabilities are aimed at entry-level video creators — like CEOs, employees and social media managers — who lack the skills, time and resources to achieve the effects that they want to achieve. According to Vimeo’s internal research, 50% of its customers do multiple takes while creating a video, and — of those who reshoot — 25% do over five takes. “Despite being the most effective way to communicate powerful messages, video production inherently creates a barrier to this pre...

via https://ift.tt/dOhJvYo Autonomous trucking company TuSimple last week successfully completed a fully autonomous semi-truck run on public roads in China without a human present in the vehicle and without human intervention. The company claims to have completed China’s first so-called “driver-out” run. This is the second time TuSimple has pulled the driver out of operations on public roads. The first time was back in December 2021 and took place along 80-miles of surface streets and highways between a railyard in Tuscon, Arizona and a distribution center in Phoenix. Despite the success of that run, TuSimple didn’t attempt to recreate the test in the U.S. The run in China was completed by one of TuSimple’s autonomous trucks on public roads approved by Shanghai’s government, including Yangshan Deep-water Port Logistics Park and Donghai Bridge, according to the company. It was a 40-mile stretch, during which the truck had to navigate both urban and highway environments and a range of w...

via https://ift.tt/i6VJCPl Shoppable Business Chris Blanquera, Sam Blanquera and Carlo Silva Shoppable Business wants to make it easier for businesses in the Philippines to source and procure branded products and other inventory, with an emphasis on making sure products are authentic. The B2B e-commerce marketplace announced it has closed what it says was an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round of $1.15 million. The round was co-led by Foxmont Capital Partners and Seedstars International Ventures, along with angel investors. Shoppable Business previously got backing from AHG Lab. Shoppable Business was founded in 2022 by a team including Carlo Silva, who previously started and exited e-commerce business process outsourcing company 2ndOffice. The founders also include Sam Blanquera and Chris Blanquera, who co-founded and existed Openovate Labs and Galleon.ph. Silva told TechCrunch that after working at startups and conglomerates in the Philippines since 2013, Shoppable Business’ found...