Bach to the future: Forthcoming Apple Music Classical app will feature 5M tracks

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Haje Jan Kamps Thursday, March 09, 2023

Hello crunchers! Christine is off for a few days, which means you're stuck with just me. Prepare for awful puns and worse jokes. Oh yes.  But before we start the pun-ishment, let's start with some good news: Devin reports that machine learning may be helping us create a COVID-19 vaccine that could help fight all current and future strains of the pandemic.    — Haje

The TechCrunch Top 3 Expanding into a new aria: Back in 2021, Apple acquired streaming company Primephonic. Today, the company is launching a new Apple Music Classical app that will offer Apple Music subscribers access to more than 5 million classical music tracks, Sarah reports.  Little Brother is watching: Zack argues that, in a world where information is power, the current generation of startups should terrify you – they know everything about you, and there's very little stopping them from using that data for good or for evil.  Discord dives into AI: Discord updates its Clyde chatbot with ChatGPT-like features, including AI-generated conversation summaries. The company says AI will be a fundamental part of its platform, Aisha reports.

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Startups and VC QuantWare, the Dutch startup that builds quantum processors for research and commercial usage, today announced that it has raised a €6 million seed round (~$6.33 million), Frederic reports. The company says it will use this new funding to support development of its 64-qubit Tenor processor.  And we have five more for you: Like a mythical phoenix from the ashes: AI chip startup Mythic rises from the ashes armed with $13 million and a new CEO, Kyle reports. Throwing a classic rager: Bach raises $9 million for its app that is designed for planning bachelorette trips and group travel experiences, Aisha reports. I see what you did there: MentorcliQ raises over $80 million to grow its employee mentoring software and services, Kyle reports. It's all going uphill fast: E-bike maker Cowboy raises new, $16 million funding round and launches AdaptivePower, Romain reports. Bringing data science back to data science: Kyle reports that Y Combinator-backed Patterns is building a platform to abstract away data science busywork.

Building a lean B2B startup growth stack Selecting the right tool for the job is easy when you already know exactly how to proceed. Most B2B growth marketers don’t have a blueprint to work from, however, which is why Primer CEO Keith Putnam-Delaney shared a guest post with TC+ that identifies which tools are most appropriate for early-stage, midstage and late-stage startups. “The current budget-constrained environment should be seen as a net positive by marketers,” he writes. “It will force teams to think deeply about what's absolutely necessary, which tools will add efficiency (or subtract from it).” Three more from the TC+ team: Raisin' hell: In this week's Pitch Deck Teardown, Haje puts MiO Marketplace's $550,000 angel deck under the microscope. We need a crash cart in here: Better.com's SPAC gets a lifeline but remains on life support, Mary Ann reports.  Operator, what's the number for 9-1-1?: It turns out burn reduction at startups is more aspiration than reality, Alex argues TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! Read More Image Credits: Jose Bernat Bacete / Getty Images (Image has been modified)

Big Tech Inc. India is proposing to replace its over two-decades-old IT law, as the world's second-largest internet market pushes for new guidelines to seek broader accountability from tech firms, revaluate who all gets protection from safe harbor and better oversee new technologies and serve "every" connected user in the South Asian market, Jagmeet and Manish report. From the people who brought you credit monitoring services now comes Credit Karma Net Worth, a new product to help people know, grow and protect their wealth, Christine reports. The new feature brings the 16-year-old company closer to becoming an end-to-end personal finance management platform, also offering debt, credit building and checking and savings products, Credit Karma founder and CEO Kenneth Lin said in an interview. And we have five more for you: Gone off the rails(r): UK embedded fintech Railsr was once valued at nearly $1 billion. It is currently on its way into bankruptcy protection under a new consortium owner, Ingrid reports. Running out of runway: Kirsten reports that commercial EV maker Arrival is running out of cash — and fast, while Faraday Future finds itself on track to start production of its FF 91 this month – if funds come through in time, that is.  Closing the silver gates: Rita reports that crypto-friendly bank Silvergate will wind down after the FTX blow-up. Rocket? I barely know'it: Aria is reporting that Relativity is taking a rain check on its first Terran 1 launch attempt. Casting pods and taking names: Sarah reports that Spotify is revamping its podcasting tools, including Anchor, and is partnering with Patreon.

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Newest Jobs from Crunchboard Senior Epic Application Analyst at Administration South (Toppenish, WA, USA) Senior Front End Web Developer (L3) at SalesLabX (Austin, TX, USA) Epic Business Intelligence Developer (Remote) at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (Toppenish, WA, USA) Data Engineer, Product & Innovation at Doctors Without Borders (NY, NY 10006, USA) Director of Infrastructure and Operations at Doctors Without Borders (NY, NY 10006, USA) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

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Twitter CEO expresses regret after using his platform to call disabled employee 'the worst'

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Wednesday, March 08, 2023

Happy International Women's Day! Did you know that the holiday was adopted by the UN 46 years ago? We read the Wikipedia article about IWD, and learned stuff. Try it — you may learn something too! On our Found podcast this week, Darrell and Becca are joined by Matt Rogers, the founder and CEO of Mill, a startup that helps its customers turn their food scraps into farm feed. It's a rad episode. Treat your ears to a gift. Much love, Christine and Haje Image Credits: NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty Images

The TechCrunch Top 3 A mea culpa for the ages: "Say it, forget it; write it, regret it." Never were truer words spoken to explain the recent Twitter exchange between Elon Musk and an employee that involved Musk publicly mocking the employee about their disability. Aisha writes that Musk has apologized. Duck, duck, AI goose: Natasha L writes that DuckDuckGo, a privacy search engine, is the latest to dabble in AI. Called DuckAssist, the feature can directly answer straightforward search queries. Gather around the VC dinner table: Berlin-based venture capital fund La Famiglia closed on €250 million in capital commitments for its third seed fund and first growth co-investment fund. Both funds will invest in business-to-business startups. Mike has more.

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Startups and VC Harri writes, “Local governments in the southwestern U.S. are putting up $150,000 to back what they say is a pioneering effort to ‘turn air into concrete at scale.’" The funds will help cover the cost of the "reference project," a collaboration between two climate tech startups and a masonry firm in Flagstaff, Arizona. Founded by an ex-Apple employee, Humane does work that is shrouded in mystery. Its latest round of funding, a $100 million Series C, attracted a laundry list of notable investors. To date, Humane has raised $230 million from existing and previous investors, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Kyle investigates. And we have five more for you: Cheaper clouds: Frederic reports that Vantage raises a $21 million Series A to help bring down cloud costs. Flying startfish: Starfish Space captures new funding ahead of orbital servicing demo mission, Aria reports. I think I'll use my credit card: Christine explores why taking credit — instead of raising equity funding — made sense for this unicorn. Pay later, buy maybe: Romain reports that Elyn slightly delays online payments so you can try before you pay. AI think you are human: Connie reports that Worldcoin, co-founded by Sam Altman, is betting the next big thing in AI is proving you are human.

7 investors reveal what's hot in fintech in Q1 2023 How are fintech investors adapting during this downturn, and how are they advising the founders in their portfolios? Mary Ann Azevedo interviewed seven VCs to ask how (or if) any have shifted their thesis to fit current macroeconomic trends and learn more about the types of opportunities they’re looking for right now: Charles Birnbaum, partner, Bessemer Venture Partners Aunkur Arya, partner, Menlo Ventures Ansaf Kareem, venture partner, Lightspeed Venture Partners Emmalyn Shaw, managing partner, Flourish Ventures Michael Sidgmore, partner and co-founder, Broadhaven Ventures Ruth Foxe Blader, partner, Anthemis Miguel Armaza, co-founder and general partner, Gilgamesh Ventures Three more from the TC+ team: Make it rain, little rain clouds: The sky isn't falling for cloud software spend, Alex writes. Still room for growth: Jacquelyn writes that Coinbase is 'laser-focused' on growing the developer world and onboarding crypto-curious. A steal at twice the price: Alex and Ron explore whether $12.4 billion is a fair price for Qualtrics. TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code "DC" for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! Read More Image Credits: Alicia Llop / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. Ding dong, Ring now has a higher-resolution, battery-powered doorbell, Ivan reports. Upgrades include being able to see someone's entire body and an easy way to release the battery so it can be recharged. Meanwhile, Blue Origin is probably seeing red after being named in two separate lawsuits alleging ageist hiring practices. Aria writes that one suit involves employees being asked to seek out younger candidates while the other is being brought by a 64-year-old who claims he repeatedly was turned away from jobs even though interviewers said he was qualified. And we have four more for you: More trouble over at Tesla: The electric vehicle maker is under further investigation, this time after steering wheels fall off two Model Y vehicles. Kirsten has more. Spot these new features: Spotify had a sprinkling of news today, including Sarah‘s, Countdown Pages, Stories and Sarah and Aisha‘s TikTok-style discovery feeds. Also, Aisha reports that Spotify has new growth and discovery tools for artists. Google it: Brian reports that Google's developer conference, Google I/O, returns to Mountain View May 10. Meanwhile, Frederic has your look at Google's developer preview of Android 14, while Aisha reports on the company's VPN access expansion to all Google One members and other features. Quantumania: Frederic is at the American Physical Society March Meeting in Las Vegas and caught up with Krysta Svore, Microsoft's VP of Advanced Quantum Development, who told him that the company is making it easier to integrate quantum and classical computing.

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Newest Jobs from Crunchboard Senior Front End Web Developer (L3) at SalesLabX (Austin, TX, USA) Epic Business Intelligence Developer (Remote) at Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (Toppenish, WA, USA) Data Engineer, Product & Innovation at Doctors Without Borders (NY, NY 10006, USA) Director of Infrastructure and Operations at Doctors Without Borders (NY, NY 10006, USA) Security Engineer at Doctors Without Borders (NY, NY 10006, USA) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

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