'If you have money, we want it,' MGM cyberattackers tell TechCrunch

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall Thursday, September 14, 2023

It's not every day we get to talk to hackers. In today's top story about MGM Resorts' now fourth day of outages, a representative for the hacking group, known as Scattered Spider, told TechCrunch that it was behind the MGM cyberattack. Here's how it's going. Also, Caesars Entertainment now says a cyberattack resulted in stolen customer data. Scattered Spider is denying involvement in that one. Meanwhile, if you didn't know venture capital rounds went up to Series I, then buckle up. Today, Databricks announced $500 million in a Series I round that values the company at $43 billion. But that's not all: The company did this amid a late-stage venture slump. Get the scoop. And where do you go when your startup-focused bank implodes? Well, if you are some former First Republic employees, you take that show on the road to another bank. Find out what they are doing. Image Credits: Pankaj Kaushal / Flickr under a CC BY-ND 2.0 license.

More top reads It's like riding a credit card with wheels: Well, that's what it looks like, but according to our esteemed managing editor Darrell Etherington, "Honda's new Motocompacto e-scooter is stolen straight from my dreams." See why. It's an AI world after all: Pixis, an AI-powered full-stack marketing platform, raises $85 million. Get your assets in there. The end of the road: LastMile AI closes a $10 million seed round to "operationalize" AI models. Read why the CEO thinks this will be a developer's delight. Here's what's at "stake": Defense AI startup Helsing breaks the record for European AI, raising a $223 million Series B. Here's how Helsing will use it. Taking it overseas: OpenAI to open its first European Union office as it readies for regulatory hurdles. Get the scoop. These are challenging times: Amazon has some new visual search and AR search updates that will give Google and others a run for their money. Read more. Triumphant return: China's Honor returns to the Indian smartphone market. Learn what prompted it. Repair affair: Mecho Autotech raises $2.4 million and ventures into wholesale spare parts distribution. See how they are accelerating. Smooth operator: The U.K.'s deep tech scene gets another boost with new $100 million SCVC fund out of Bristol. Read more. Shop till you drop: Pinterest's Gen Z–focused Shuffles app has now inspired a new Pinterest feature. Get the deets. Charmed, I'm sure: Patronus AI conjures up a large language model evaluation tool for regulated industries. AI at the ready. It keeps going and going: Chromebooks, those released in 2021, will get updates for 10 years. What if you have an older one . . .  More for your Thursday: The very memeable 'Trombone Champ' is coming to Nintendo Switch Former DCG, Blockchain Capital investors launch $20M early-stage fund at crypto advisory firm Reverie Arm after the IPO 8 Latin American VCs share why they're brimming with optimism about the region's startups (TC+) Image Credits: Honda

Your B2B leads are going to waste Everyone wants to be the hero who saves the day, but it's hard to hit a home run in B2B sales. Instead of allowing customer data to gather dust in your CRM (customer relationship management), sales teams should develop a segmented strategy to reach out to lapsed leads, says TC+ columnist Jonathan Martinez. “It's possible to accomplish this goal, even with limited resources, by having automations and a complete strategy in place.” 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: v / Getty Images

On the pods On today’s episode of Chain Reaction, Jacquelyn is sharing a panel she moderated live at Avalanche House while she was in Seoul, South Korea, for Korea Blockchain Week. The panel focused on the biggest opportunities and challenges facing web3 enterprise and included the following speakers: Dan Sun, startup success manager for web3 APAC lead at Google Cloud Gagan Mac, head of product and senior director of web3 services at Circle Johann Eid, chief business officer at Chainlink Labs Lihan Lee, co-CEO and founder of Xangle We discussed the state of web3 enterprise adoption today compared to past quarters and years and dove into the ripple effects that catastrophic events from 2022 had on the space. Read More Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

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You just ordered a new Apple device, but which USB-C is right for thee?

TechCrunch Newsletter

By Christine Hall Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Today's top story is a continuation of the popularity surrounding yesterday's Apple Fall Event, where it was confirmed that the hardware giant is moving to USB-C connectors. While sentiment seems generally positive on the change, iPhone users are concerned that not just any USB-C will do. Here's why Apple needs to label the cables. Meanwhile, WhatsApp announced today that it is expanding its Channels feature globally, aimed at broadcasted messages. Find out what’s new. And a year ago, Stability AI quietly released Dance Diffusion, a model that can generate songs and sound effects given a text description of the songs and sound effects in question. Today it is recommitting to audio in a big way. Learn about its AI-powered music generator. Image Credits: STR / NurPhoto / Getty Images

More top reads Open your wallet: Telegram adds a self-custodial crypto wallet worldwide, but not here. Cooling down sales: A French watchdog group temporarily halts iPhone 12 sales over radiation levels. Find out what happens next. Firefly up the AI: Adobe's Firefly generative AI models are now generally available. Also, Adobe will start paying bonuses to Stock contributors whose content is being used to train Firefly. Missing no more: Ring's new Pet Tag accessory helps reunite lost pets with their owners. Reunited, and it feels so good. A leg up: Tesla is making a $1.9 billion investment in India with plans to almost double component sourcing from the country. Find out what's driving the deal. Captivated: Amazon debuts some generative AI tools that help sellers write product descriptions. Meanwhile, Amazon Prime video is coming to the Polestar 2 and Volvo cars. Get my good side: iPhone 15 proves the key battleground in smartphone photography is character. Are you ready for your close-up? Prized "Port"al: Developer portal startup Port is aging well as tool concept takes shape. Read more. Across the border: Alza emerges from stealth to offer affordable and inclusive financial tools to immigrants. Get the scoop. It's embedded in our minds: Swan secures $40 million to bring embedded banking to Europe. Read on. More for your Wednesday: This startup has 12 co-founders (TC+) Sapphire Partners is now managing all of CalSTRs’ emerging manager portfolios Kolors acquires Urbvan to transform corporate bus travel in Mexico Slingshot's playful new app lets you 'sling' quick photos to friends Olivia Rodrigo releases 'get him back!' video, filmed on iPhone 15 Pro Image Credits: Carl Court / Getty Images

Can the quick grocery delivery model only work in emerging markets? Closures and consolidations hit the quick grocery delivery sector in the U.S. last year, but in Latin America, positive unit economics make these companies more viable, reports Rebecca Szkutak. Lower labor costs and direct relationships with food producers are just two factors giving these startups wider margins in emerging markets, she found. “In Western Europe, and the U.S., it's all about average order value,” said Larry Aschebrook, a managing partner at G Squared. “It just doesn't work otherwise." 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: Bet_Noire / Getty Images

On the pods This week, Equity brought TechCrunch+ senior climate reporter Tim De Chant on the show to talk about all things climate tech, including hardware breakthroughs and why we have a whole stage this year at Disrupt focused on sustainability. Read More Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

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Newest Jobs from Crunchboard Product Manager, Platform Integrations at Black Kite (Boston, MA, USA) Head of Product, Cars24 Australia at CARS24 (Melbourne VIC, Australia) Lead Policy Researcher, Technology and Work Program (Associate/Full Specialist) - UC Berkeley Labor Center at University of California Berkeley (Berkeley, CA, USA) Computational Researcher at SITU (Brooklyn, NY, USA) C#, .Net Software Engineer at Dekker Perich Sabatini (Albuquerque, NM, 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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