TechCrunch Startup News
TechCrunch
Listen to select TechCrunch articles on startups coverage—who's raising, who's exiting, who's changing the world.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 31, 2019 • 8min
In the shadow of Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle startups are having a moment
Venture capital investment exploded across a number of geographies in 2019 despite the constant threat of an economic downturn. San Francisco, of course, remains the startup epicenter of the world, shutting out all other geographies when it comes to capital invested. Still, other regions continue to grow, raking in more capital this year than ever. In Utah, a new hotbed for startups, companies like Weave, Divvy and MX Technology raised a collective $370 million from private market investors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 26, 2019 • 3min
TikTok’s national security scrutiny tightens as U.S. Navy reportedly bans popular social app
TikTok may be the fastest-growing social network in the history of the internet, but it is also quickly becoming the fastest-growing security threat and thorn in the side of U.S. China hawks. The latest, according to a notice published by the U.S. Navy this past week and reported on by Reuters and the South China Morning Post, is that TikTok will no longer be allowed to be installed on service members’ devices, or they may face expulsion from the military service’s intranet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 25, 2019 • 3min
MasterCard acquires security assessment startup, RiskRecon
MasterCard announced today that it is acquiring RiskRecon, a Salt Lake City startup that uses publicly available data to build security assessments of organizations. The companies did not share the purchase price. It’s become increasingly important for financial services companies like MasterCard to help customers navigate cyber security and RiskRecon will give customers an objective score of a company’s risk profile. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 23, 2019 • 7min
Should you pay $50K for your pitch deck? Yes, why the hell not?
Every once in a while on VC Twitter, a comment or statement seems so outlandish, so completely outrageous, that it must be — certainly has to be — false. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 23, 2019 • 4min
F5 acquires Shape Security for $1B
F5 got an expensive holiday present today, snagging startup Shape Security for approximately $1 billion. What the networking company gets with a shiny red ribbon is a security product that helps stop automated attacks like credential stuffing. In an article earlier this year, Shape CTO Shuman Ghosemajumder explained what the company does: “We’re an enterprise-focused company that protects the majority of large U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 20, 2019 • 6min
Leapfin raises $4.5M to help companies track revenue while keeping its own profitability in view
Leapfin, a startup selling corporate finance tooling, announced a $4.5 million round this morning. The funding event was led by Bowrey Capital, and included dollars from a number of former technology executives. Before its newly announced investment, the company had raised just a small seed round. The small capital amounts may seem inconsequential, but they’re more strategic than anything. According to Leapfin CEO Raymond Lau, the company is running lean and keeping an eye on profitability. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 19, 2019 • 7min
Blindlee is Chatroulette for dating with a safety screen
Make space for another dating app in your single life: Blindlee is Chatroulette for dating but with female-friendly guardrails in the form of a user-controlled video blur effect. The idea is pretty simple: Singles are matched randomly with another user who meets some basic criteria (age, location) for a three minute ‘ice breaker’ video call. The app suggests chat topics — like ‘pineapple on pizza, yay or nay’ — to get the conversation flowing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 19, 2019 • 6min
#ANGELS founding partner raises $25M for debut fund Moxxie Ventures
Katie Jacobs Stanton, a former Twitter executive and co-founder of the #ANGELS investment collective, has raised $25 million for her debut venture capital fund Moxxie Ventures. As the sole general partner, she plans to invest between $250,000 and $500,000 in underrepresented and underestimated founders, Stanton tells TechCrunch, with a focus on “products that make life and work better. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 18, 2019 • 7min
Why is WeWork 2.0 trying to go public?
In the wake of WeWork’sembarrassing IPO rout, you might imagine that startups working in similar markets would cool it for a bit. Perhaps they could work on cutting spending, improving their gross margins, and, say, shooting for profitability. Not so, at least in one case. Instead of doing those things, China-based Ucommune filed to go public in America this month. The WeWork competitor is mostly a co-working business. It’s also a marketing company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 17, 2019 • 6min
With $4B food delivery acquisition, Korea poised to enter upper tier of startup hubs
Seoul and South Korea may well be the secret startup hub that (still) no one talks about. While often dwarfed by the scale and scope of the Chinese startup market next door, South Korea has proven over the last few years that it can — and will — enter the top-tier of startup hubs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
