X Gon' Take It From Ya: Company formerly known as Twitter commandeers @x username

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Today's top story answered our question from yesterday about the fate of the person who was using the Twitter @x handle. I'm not going to ruin the surprise, but if you've been following our Twitter coverage this year, chances are you won't be shocked about what actually happened. Read all about it. Next, look who's launching credit cards. Swiggy, India's food delivery giant, now has one, as does Shopify, which is expanding farther into fintech. Over at Stability AI, the company continues to refine its generative AI models in the face of increasing competition — and ethical challenges. Learn about its latest image-generating model. Meanwhile, it looks like another cybersecurity company is poised to be acquired. Find out who. And put your game face on because Mirrorscape's new AR tabletop platform could enhance your D&D campaign. Read more. Image Credits: Guido Rosa

More top reads Today’s top TechCrunch+ story, Don't fall into the toxic workplace trap, looks into some causes for how and why this type of workplace can happen. What's a "novel cobot”?: Investors want to know and are infusing $30 million into Collaborative Robotics to find out. Find your new BFF: Bumble launches a separate BFF app for friend, uh, friending. Harvesting carbon dioxide: Dioxycle raises $17 million for its electrolyzer that turns CO2 into ethylene. Writing your own rules: OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and Anthropic form a body to oversee safe "frontier AI" development. Do you believe in Magic?: Shopify Sidekick is like ChatGPT, but for e-commerce merchants. Investing in India: BlackRock and Reliance's finance unit form a joint venture to tap India's asset management industry. Clearing your head: Dial up a therapist like an Uber? Wangie aims at Gen Zers and the time-poor. All about Samsung: Brian Heater followed the Unpacked in Seoul event to give us the latest on Samsung's new gadgets. First up is Galaxy Z Fold 5, which got an upgraded chip, thinner body and an $1,800 price tag. Next is Galaxy Z Flip 5, which Brian writes finally fixes the foldable's biggest problem. Then read all about the Galaxy Watch. Finally, the Galaxy Tab S9 arrives with a new chip and water resistance. In the fight against climate change: Materials Nexus raises £2 million seed to discover clean climate material. Gather 'round: Graft is building an AI development platform for the masses. Plugged in: Leading automakers partner to create a massive EV charging network. Finding fraud: Two companies with solutions for detecting payment fraud announced funding today, including from Trustmi and Effectiv. Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch+

From the "pod" files In today's Equity podcast, Alex sat down with Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz to chat about her upcoming book, "Extremely Online," on the history of online platforms and the rise of creators. They got into why online work has long been considered "a sideshow," the rise and fall of Vine, and the progression of new formats and platforms. Listen here. Read More Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

How to prevent an 'operational catastrophe' Julia Ivzhenko, head of operations at Futurra, launched a new edtech app with a 20-person team that answered students’ questions in real time. Network effects drew in a growing stream of new users, but “we concentrated on scaling and didn't have time to think if the resources of our team were enough to keep going with such speed,” she writes in TC+. “To prevent the approaching catastrophe,” she developed a five-step plan (shared in the article) that analyzed key processes and highlighted bottlenecks that ultimately generated “a timeline for optimization.” 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: https://www.gettyimages.com/search/photographer?photographer=MirageC / Getty Images

Get your TechCrunch fix IRL. Join us at Disrupt 2023 in San Francisco this September to immerse yourself in all things startup. From headline interviews to intimate roundtables to a jam-packed startup expo floor, there's something for everyone at Disrupt. Save up to $600 when you buy your pass now through August 11, and save 15% on top of that with promo code DC. Learn more. Read More

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@x username owner says he's still waiting to hear from company formerly known as Twitter

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall Tuesday, July 25, 2023

In today's top story, when "X" gon' give it to ya, it really does. The owner of the @x handle on Twitter says no one reached out ahead of Twitter's rebranding to "X," though can we really be surprised? Learn more about the person behind the @x. Meanwhile, there's more drama over at Indian edtech giant Byju’s. This time, a board member from Prosus, one of the company's largest investors, stepped down. In addition, the investor had some choice words for the company, where other key investors previously quit the startup's board. Read more. And if you're on the lookout for the perfect cut, meet the Aura by Glowforge, a laser cutter that is smaller and cheaper than Glowforge's previous models. Find out if it makes the cut. Image Credits: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

More top reads We know you've been on pins and needles waiting for these new Threads features: Meta is finally rolling out a "Following" feed. But wait, there's more — the ability to see posts you've liked in your settings is coming soon. Read more. Sold!: Thales enters app security market with $3.6 billion Imperva acquisition. All are admitted: The Browser Co.'s Arc browser is now available to download for everyone. This one hit a snag: Amazon lowers its iRobot purchase price by 15% amid regulatory scrutiny. Shopper's delight: Stay Ai's tech helps Shopify brands get customers to make that second purchase. Token asset: Avalanche Foundation will invest $50 million in asset tokenization on its blockchain. You need a new couch: Wayfair's new app uses generative AI to transform your space. Moving on: Jeeves expands beyond corporate credit cards as annualized revenue hits over $40 million. Listen up: Spotify reports strong user growth amid subscription price hike. What's up with WhatsApp: WhatsApp expands its Channels feature for broadcasting to more countries. It's the final countdown: Ivanti rushes to patch zero-day used to breach Norway's government. Don’t call it a comeback: As it turns out, General Motors isn't going to kill off the Chevy Bolt EV after all. Add these to your Tuesday reading list: Cloud camera security startup Solink raises $60M African governments are collaborating with innovators to strengthen local health supply chains Akooda is using AI to help companies understand their business with fewer meetings Growth driven by AI will be the metric to watch this earnings cycle (TC+) Image Credits: Patrycja Chociej / Unsplash

From the "pod" files First up, Chain Reaction has a bonus episode today: Jacquelyn interviews Stu Alderoty, chief legal officer of Ripple Labs. Alderoty broke down the debate around whether crypto assets are securities or commodities. He also got into Ripple's recent win in a lawsuit brought on by the SEC, and he shares how he thinks the lack of regulatory clarity in the U.S. will affect innovation in the industry. Listen here. On today's episode of Found: Dominic and Becca talk with Mandy Price from Kanarys, a SaaS startup that helps companies tackle their diversity and inclusion problems with data. Mandy talked about why she started the company after a decade-long career as a lawyer. She also talked about why she didn't want Kanarys to just focus on hiring metrics (as many other DEI platforms are) and discusses when the company started building out its sales team after years of inbound interest. Listen here. Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

Fund of funds could be the perfect vehicle for backing diverse, emerging fund managers A pooled investment fund — better known as a fund of funds (FoF) — gives LPs and investors “a way to enter a market, sometimes to get into early-stage deals,” explains Dominic Madori-Davis. But is the evolving model fostering a more diverse community of investors (and hopefully, founders)? To learn more, she interviewed several FoF managers and found that “as with most debates regarding diversity within venture, the argument always boils down to who is willing to take the risk.” 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: anon-tae / Getty Images

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