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
Apr 22, 2019 • 8min
From lab-grown meat to fermented fungus, here’s what corporate food VCs are serving up
Joanna Glasner Contributor More posts by this contributor A record $2.5B went to US insurance startup deals last year, and big insurers are in all the way Space tech rockets higher In a foodie’s ideal world, we’d all eat healthy, minimally processed cuisine sourced from artisanal farmers, bakers and chefs. In the real world, however, most of us derive the lion’s share of calories from edibles supplied by a handful of giant food conglomerates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 22, 2019 • 4min
Zoom, the profitable tech unicorn, prices IPO above range
Zoom, a relatively under-the-radar tech unicorn, has defied expectations with its initial public offering. The video conferencing business priced its IPO above its planned range on Wednesday, confirming plans to sell shares of its Nasdaq stock, titled “ZM,” at $36 apiece, CNBC reports. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 19, 2019 • 4min
Birth control delivery startup Nurx taps Clover Health’s Varsha Rao as CEO
Varsha Rao, Airbnb’s former head of global operations and, most recently, the chief operating officer at Clover Health, has joined Nurx as its chief executive officer. Rao replaces Hans Gangeskar, Nurx’s co-founder and CEO since 2014, who will stay on as a board member. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 19, 2019 • 5min
Lyric raises $160 million Series B led by Airbnb
Lyric, a platform for folks who struggle to decide between a hotel and an Airbnb, has today announced the close of a $160 million Series B financing led by none other than Airbnb . Other investors who participated in the round include Tishman Speyer, RXR Realty, Obvious Ventures, SineWave, Dick Costolo, Adam Bain, as well as existing investors Barry Sternlicht, NEA, SignalFire, FifthWall and Tusk Ventures. Lyric is a hospitality platform for business travelers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 18, 2019 • 4min
Pinterest prices IPO above range
Pinterest priced shares of its stock, “PINS,” above its anticipated range on Wednesday evening, CNBC reports. The company will sell 75 million shares of Class A common stock at $19 apiece in an offering that will attract $1.4 billion in new capital for the visual search engine. The NYSE-listed business had planned to sell its shares at between $15 to $17 and didn’t increase the size of its planned offering prior to Wednesday’s pricing. Valued at$12. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 18, 2019 • 5min
Airbase launches with $7M Series A to simplify spending control systems
Airbase is a startup with a plan to change the way you think about accounting around spending. Instead of multiple workflows, it wants to create a simpler one involving, well, Airbase. It’s a bold move for any startup to take on something as entrenched as financials, but it’s giving it a shot, and today the company launched with a $7 million Series A investment. First Round Capital was lead investor. Maynard Webb, Village Global, BoxGroup and Quiet Capital also participated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 17, 2019 • 5min
Unicorns: A tale of two continents
Victor Basta Contributor Victor Basta is the founder of the boutique investment firm Magister Advisors. More posts by this contributor Venture investing in the US and Europe are totally different industries If you’re hoping to create a unicorn on a budget, look to the European technology sector for inspiration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 17, 2019 • 4min
ZenGo wants to become the crypto wallet for the masses
KZen is about to release ZenGo, a mobile app to manage your cryptocurrencies securely and more easily. There are already countless crypto wallets out there, but the startup thinks they’re all either too complicated or too insecure. If you own cryptocurrencies, chances are they’re sitting on an exchange, such as Coinbase or Binance. If somebody manages to log in to your account, nothing is stopping them from sending those assets to other wallets and stealing everything. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 16, 2019 • 3min
Airbnb officially owns HotelTonight
Airbnb has completed its acquisition of the last-minute hotel booking application, HotelTonight, the company announced on Monday. The deal is Airbnb’s largest M&A transaction yet and will accelerate the home-sharing giant’s growth as it gears up for an initial public offering. Airbnb reportedly began talks to acquire HotelTonight months ago and finally confirmed its intent to acquire the business in early March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Apr 16, 2019 • 5min
YC alum Keeper raises $1.6M to help gig workers pay taxes
Every year around this time, Uber drivers, Wag dog walkers, Bird scooter chargers, social media influencers and other gig economy workers face the unsightly challenge of paying their taxes. Companies like Uber and Lyft classify their drivers as independent contractors, which means you aren’t given any benefits and the company doesn’t withhold any of your taxes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
