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Instacart reverses course, re-introducing tips for shoppers
Under pressure from shoppers complaining about losing the ability to receive tips last month as the company looked to smooth out the earnings curve, Instacart said it is re-introducing customer tipping. “After announcing this change, we heard a lot of feedback from our shopper community,” the company said in a blog post. “While our shoppers liked most of the changes, they did… Read More
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PayPal mulled buying GoFundMe
PayPal, the giant digital payments company that was spun off from eBay last year, has had an up-and-down relationship with the business of crowdfunding over the years, but there are some indications that this could change. We’ve been hearing that PayPal was interested in buying GoFundMe — the crowdfunding site that lets people raise money for both serious causes and lighter… Read More
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Uber hits another roadblock
Uber, the ridesharing behemoth that recently began operating driverless cars and exploring self-flying drone taxis, can’t seem to catch a break these days in the legal arena. The New York State Department of Labor has ruled that two Uber drivers, Jakir Hossain and Levon Alesanian, are indeed employees — not contractors — and therefore eligible to receive unemployment… Read More
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Crunch Network
From the distributed workforce to the partnered economy
Most won’t have noticed a recent $6.5M Series A for a company called Mobilize, but it’s indicative of a major change occurring in businesses today. Companies’ growing reliance on a distributed workforce have been occupying headlines and podcasts for the past couple of years. However, these conversations must now turn to how companies increasingly depend on partnerships as… Read More
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A test flight with Zipline, makers of humanitarian delivery drones
A maker of delivery drones called Zipline began nationwide delivery of blood and other critical medical supplies in Rwanda today, through a partnership with the Rwandan government. The program strikes a hopeful note about drones, following news earlier this week that ISIS fighters had packed a hobbyist drone with explosives in Iraq, killing two Kurdish fighters who captured and disassembled it. Read More
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Pinterest hits 150M monthly users, missing earlier leaked projections in 2015
Today, Pinterest said it hit 150 million monthly active users, up from the 100 million it announced in September 2015. However, as TechCrunch previously reported, Pinterest in 2015 was targeting that it would hit 151 million monthly active users by the end of 2015. We reported the story in October last year, and the information was used by Andreessen Horowitz to solicit limited partners to… Read More
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Hyperloop One gains $50 million in funding from DP World Group of Dubai
Hyperloop One is getting even cozier with its partners in the United Arab Emirates. The futuristic transportation system that aims to ship things and people faster than a speeding plane just pulled in $50 million in strategic investment led by DP World Group of Dubai, bringing up the total raised to $160 million. DP World Group is the third-largest ports operator in the world and has… Read More
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Speakable lets you take action on news articles that move you
It’s not uncommon to feel a bit helpless at the end of a news binge. Oftentimes, the news leans toward the negative side and doesn’t offer much in the way of a solution. But Speakable, a startup founded by Jordan Hewson, wants to give people the opportunity to do something at the exact time and place that they feel called to take action. The year-old startup today introduced the… Read More
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Soylent Bars recalled after some customers get sick
The digestive tract of the ‘future of food’ does not always run smooth… The startup behind drink-your-dinner powder Soylent has issued a product recall. Not for its mainstay meal replacement powder — but rather for a $2 snack bar which you do still have to chew. Read More
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Thrillist, NowThis, The Dodo and Seeker form a new, Discovery-backed holding company
Four digital media organizations are coming together to form a new holding company — and they’ve also raised $100 million in additional funding from Discovery Communications. Those four companies are Thrillist (lifestyle), NowThis Media (video news), The Dodo (animals) and Discovery’s digital network Seeker (including its production studio SourceFed). Thrillist’s Ben… Read More
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Pluto TV, a free streaming service for cord cutters, raises $30 million more
Pluto TV, a video streaming service targeting cord cutters by offering a TV-guide like experience that connects you to hundreds of online channels, has raised $30 million in Series B funding, valuing the business at $140 million. The new funding comes from ProSieben of Germany, one of Europe’s largest independent media companies, and lifestyle media company Scripps Networks Interactive. Read More
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Tinder’s new Smart Photos show just how well the app knows you
Ever wonder which of your selfies is best? Tinder wants to help you figure it out, with the launch of a new feature called Smart Photos. And Smart Photos, in turn, show us just how much Tinder is a big data company, meticulously collecting information about what (and who) you like and don’t like. Smart Photos is a single toggle in the Profile section of the app. When toggled on… Read More
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ComplyAdvantage raises $8.2M Series A to help firms manage compliance
ComplyAdvantage is a London-based startup that claims to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to help firms manage compliance obligations and at reduced cost. Read More
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Alibaba backs PlaceIQ, a provider of location tools and data
PlaceIQ has a new, big-name investor — Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The companies aren’t disclosing the size of the deal; they’ll only say that it’s a strategic, minority investment, and that it’s an addition to the $25 million round that PlaceIQ announced at the beginning of this year. Co-founder and CEO Duncan McCall told me this is part of a larger… Read More
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Crunch Network
What regulation crowdfunding in the JOBS Act means to entrepreneurs and startups
The JOBS Act was signed into law by President Obama in 2012, allowing companies to acquire funding through online portals from non-accredited investors, which roughly accounts for 97 percent of the population in the United States. On May 16, 2016, Title III of the JOBS Act, also known as regulation crowdfunding, or equity crowdfunding, was the last section to be implemented by the SEC. Read More
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Shine is rolling out on-demand life coaching via text message
A startup called Shine is rolling out a new service offering on-demand life coaching via text messages as a paid tier to its free, daily texting service. While a number of today’s chatbots and SMS-based concierge services have been focused on helping people shop via text message, Shine to date has instead focused on helping you become a better person. Through automated texts… Read More
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Ozlo AI assistant is the new underdog filling the void left by Viv
On the heels of Samsung’s acquisition of Viv just a week ago, a new AI assistant has risen into the spotlight and is jockeying to fill the shoes of its now well-known rival. Ozlo, the Greylock- and Jerry Yang-backed independent entrant to the personal assistant race, is launching today on iOS and the web in an effort to give stalwarts like Siri, Alexa and Cortana a run for their… Read More
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Estonia’s Funderbeam is building a blockchain-based “stock exchange” for startups
Headed up by Kaidi Ruusalepp, who was previously CEO of the Nasdaq Tallinn stock exchange, Estonia’s Funderbeam is on a mission to build what she calls a “funding and trading engine for growth companies”. Read More
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Noodle Partners raises $4 million to help colleges deliver degrees online
Noodle Partners Inc., a new education venture from the founder of The Princeton Review and 2U Inc., John Katzman, has raised $4 million in venture funding to help colleges and universities deliver high-quality certificate and degree programs online. Philadelphia-based Osage Venture Partners led the investment in Noodle Partners and was joined by New Markets Venture Partners, 500 Startups… Read More
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