4chan users exploit AI image generator's ability to create realistic nude deepfakes

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Didya know that we've got all sorts of really awesome newsletters on TechCrunch? Robotics, transportation, fintech, crypto, space and much more. You can subscribe here to keep your finger on the pulse of the topics you care the most about. Just, er, please don't unsubscribe from the Daily Crunch, yes? We do ever so enjoy your company every weekday! — Christine and Haje Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

The TechCrunch Top 3 Fake out: Kyle spoke with Stability Diffusion about 4chan getting ahold of its artificial intelligence art model and then to some deepfake experts about what this means and who might be at risk. Peloton rides into Amazon: That Amazon box just became more diverse. Peloton has started selling its equipment on Amazon, which opens up a whole new strategy shift and revenue stream for the beleaguered company, Brian writes. Spammed: A bug caused by a configuration change was to blame for some Facebook users getting strange celebrity fan posts. It's since been fixed, but Ivan and Manish have the skinny on what happened.

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Startups and VC We published a really fascinating piece written by Battery Ventures’ Neeraj Agrawal, Brandon Gleklen, and Jack Mattei on TechCrunch Plus (our premium subscription site) today, about how ARR per employee (APE) is one of the most meaningful efficiency metrics for startups. It makes sense; for a lot startups, the number of employees is one of the biggest cost bases — more, even, than customer acquisition. It's a fresh take on how to measure company success, and well worth a read. Okay, fine, have a few more: Keine Handy für Sie!: Chinese smartphone company Oppo stopped sales in Germany, even though the country is its operational hub. It claims it is still committed to Europe, reports Rita. What's the beef?: Fake or lab-grown meat is sizzlingly hot these days, so it's a rarity to see new startups wanting to improve the “real” meat industry. One of these companies is Lumachain, which is using computer vision to transform meat production. Christine reports the company raised $20 million or so to keep an eye on things. Okay, fine, you can have a mortgage: As more traditional finance products and services find their way into web3, there are some crypto startups emerging with a focus on adding decentralization to old-school practices. Jacquelyn reports that Spectral raised $23 million to bring some web3 juice to credit scoring. Putting writers out of business: Catherine reports that Scalenut raised $3.1 million to get AIs to write a first draft of marketing copy. Stay focused!: Hardware tag Unpluq locks your phone distractions so you can actually get some work done for once, Haje reports.

ARR per employee is the North Star efficiency metric you've been looking for If you want to break even, go APE. Cloud companies generally rely on efficiency metrics like CAC payback and LTV-to-CAC, but “they feel more like financial metrics than operational ones, and it is difficult for employees to execute against these concepts,” according to Neeraj Agrawal, Brandon Gleklen and Jack Mattei of Battery Ventures. Using data from Capital IQ and Battery’s research, this post contains key benchmarks for public companies and privately held SaaS businesses, along with recommended targets for companies with different ARR ranges. “APE is an extremely simple metric we think could serve as your north star as you navigate these volatile times.” (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Read More Image Credits: MirageC / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. It was a Sarah, Brian, Aisha, Zack kind of day. First up, Walmart+ members have a brand-new feature: cash back. Sarah explains that Walmart+ is its "answer to Amazon Prime." Here's how it works: browse the app for offers and clip them for future purchases. Once you make one, you earn cash back in the form of digital rewards that accumulate over time to apply to future purchases. Now over to WhatsApp's new group discussions features, a story Sarah has also been following since April. It looks like more users have access to the feature, which is similar to Facebook, but in a messaging capability, and reduces the amount of single chats that occur. The groups are also not public or discoverable and joining one means you need an invite. Fruit movie: Not sure we can say it better than Brian did, so we won't. Someone made a BlackBerry movie starring Dennis from “It's Always Sunny.” It's settled: Snap told Aisha that it denies that Snapchat's lenses and filters violate Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act, but the company agreed to settle a class action lawsuit with the state for $35 million. The unveiling: Come one, come all to Apple's iPhone 14 debut on September 7. Brian has more.  If you're happy and you know it: Tinder created a ring for quantifying mental health, and Brian was here for it. Change that password: Zack reports about Plex's recent data breach, of which the details are a bit slim still. Shop till you drop: Instacart dropped a new feature that lets users buy big, bulky items, like furniture and electronics, and get same-day delivery, Aisha writes.

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Former Apple employee pleads guilty to stealing autonomous vehicle design details

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall and Haje Jan Kamps Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Goood [time of day] dear [name]. You know what we're psyched about? The agenda for TC Disrupt just dropped, and it's going to be an absolute corker of an event. Aaaah. Check out what's happening on our four (Count 'em! Four!) stages, and check out the incredible lineup of speakers. Then get your tickets and book your flights — it's gonna be awesome. See you there! — Christine and Haje Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

The TechCrunch Top 3 Facetime: While Mark Zuckerberg is promising better metaverse avatars, Estonia-based Ready Player Me is delivering. Andreessen Horowitz led the company's recent $56 million raise into the company that is building dynamic, animated game avatars for virtual worlds, Ingrid writes. Driving away with secrets: Rita wrote a juicy one about a former Apple employee who left with more than just best wishes from his ex-colleagues. Xiaolang Zhang pleaded guilty this week to stealing confidential driving information from the tech giant and then going to work for an electric vehicle company. Light it up: Over at TechCrunch+, Tim reports on U.S. senator Joe Manchin's ultimatum to car manufacturers that they either move more of their lithium-ion battery supply chain out of China or give up on some tax incentives that are part of the Inflation Reduction Act. Tim writes that this could backfire or that "the United States, at long last, is set to become a key player in the battery industry."

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Startups and VC The world has gotten a lot more serious about privacy and data protection, but in many cases business models that rely on personalization of one kind or another have struggled to keep up. Today, a startup out of Paris called Ravel Technologies is emerging from stealth with an approach it believes could be the missing link between those two, Ingrid reports. Though it's typically difficult for new consumer social apps to gain widespread adoption, 9count's apps (friend-finder Wink and dating app Summer) have already seen some early traction — and investors have taken notice, investing an additional $28 million, writes Sarah. Five more we enjoyed today: DAO-ing to invest in you: Anita reports that while they set out to raise $10 million, this set of Y Combinator alums raised $80 million to back crypto startups. It's the cycle of life: Natasha L introduces you to 28: A femtech startup that raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by Thiel Capital to connect women to the hormonal phases of their menstrual cycle for physical and emotional gain. Let your robots talk to my robots, and we'll find a time: Scheduling job candidate interviews can be a logistical nightmare, but Kyle reports that ModernLoop aims to automate the process. The company raised $9 million. Hello, may I take your order? Coming soon to a drive-thru near you: voice-activated virtual assistance. ConverseNow expands its drive-thru ordering tech as it bags another $10 million, reports Christine. High-stakes checkout blazes the way: Weeks after Dutchie announced a payment platform, Dutchie Pay, the company launched a new cannabis point-of-sale platform with its own dual-screen register, reports Matt.

Should founders announce down rounds? This PR expert says you have nothing to hide If your home was damaged in an earthquake, would you feel embarrassed? Similarly, founders need not feel squeamish about accepting funding that lowers their valuation, advises Kate Johnson, VP of PR at BLASTmedia. "Rather than pretending a lower valuation didn't happen, switch your mindset," she writes. "You have nothing to hide, and in terms of PR, no news is not good news. So, focus on adjusting your expectations." (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Read More Image Credits: Ysr Dora / Getty Images

Big Tech Inc. After reading about Apple's ex-employee, we have more ex-employees who were in the news today, including Twitter's former security chief, Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, who blew the whistle on the social media giant's alleged mismanagement of cybersecurity. That one was by Carly, but the team got to work on several different angles, and here were the fruits of their labor: Ingrid reported that Mudge's report, which says "there are 'millions' of accounts that could be spam bots,” may help Elon Musk's legal fight as he tries to end his proposed $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter. Sarah writes about Mudge's claims that the platform was unable to guard against insider threats on January 6. Aisha also reported on Mudge’s claims that Twitter has “deficient moderation” for Spaces. Meanwhile, in streaming land, Lauren writes about both "Thor: Love and Thunder," coming to Disney+ next month, and HBO's "House of the Dragon" series premiere, which snagged 10 million viewers. Also, look out for Netflix's version of the popular "Heads Up" game, Aisha reports. In a rich man's world: Billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani Group wants to buy a majority stake in India's NDTV so badly that it's essentially a hostile takeover, Manish writes. Copycat?: Instagram wants in on the fun that BeReal has started with its candid photos at random times of the day and is testing a feature called "IG Candid Challenges," Ivan reports. Sold!: It looks like Russian search giant Yandex finalized the sale of its media assets to YK, writes Natasha L.

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