Uber and Lyft have made it easier to get around town, but the service isn’t designed for young people. Unaccompanied passengers under the age of…
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Uber fined $8.9M in Colorado for driver screening failures
Uber has been slapped with an $8.9 million fine in Colorado after state criminal investigators found it had allowed 57 individuals with past criminal or…
Disrupt Berlin ticket prices increase in 48 hours
Disrupt Berlin, Europe’s best technology conference and startup competition, kicks off in less than two weeks. And because we want every procrastinator and every last-minute…
Tether, a startup that works with bitcoin exchanges, claims a hacker stole $31M
Bitcoin cruised past $8,000 for the first time this week, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing for all after Tether — a company that helps exchanges…
Japanese pawn shop app Cash acquired for $62.2M by DMM
DMM, one of Japan’s largest Internet and e-commerce conglomerates, announced today that it will pay 7 billion yen (about $62.2 million) for pawn shop app…
Crunch Report | Apple gets served a search warrant and Uber buys a bunch of Volvos
Hi, my name is Brian. I’ll be your host all Turkey week. Today’s stories: Apple served with a search warrant, Uber orders 24,000 Volvos, Germany…
Check out the 2017 TechCrunch Holiday Gift Guide
It’s hard to believe, but it’s already time for the holidays again. Time to untangle the lights, dust off the wreath and start figuring out…
Managing software complexity through intent-based programming
Software is losing its magic. We simply demand too much from the current approaches. As a result, software developers are losing the battle with complexity,…
12 great gifts for photography lovers
Camera lovers love cameras, that’s for sure. But they also love accessories and add-ons to help them either take better pictures, take more pictures, edit…
How the Kindle was designed through 10 years and 15 generations
Amazon’s Chris Green, VP of Design at its Lab126 hardware arm, talked with me for a retrospective of the design choices that have defined and…
Shujaa Delivery aims to compete with Aramax, DHL and others
On-demand delivery is a coveted service in traffic-congested Nairobi. Enter Shujaa Delivery, a Nairobi-based door-to-door delivery and courier service for businesses that uses motorcycles instead of cars. Tracy…
Amazon’s all-new Echo goes (RED) for a limited time
The new Echo is a better looking device than its predecessor, thanks in large part to its various fabric coverings. Now, there’s a new option…
In ‘Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire,’ virtual reality finds a new hope
While I stood anxiously atop a floating platform on my way to what felt like certain doom, I paused to remember my mission as I…
17 gorgeous gifts for your tech-savvy gal pals
We’re back again with one of the most loved gift guides in all of tech — the one made just for the ladies. This is…
Oculus has big plans to expand in the greater Seattle area
As Amazon looks to stamp its footprint beyond the Seattle area, Oculus is making further inroads into the Pacific Northwest’s major tech hub. As reported…
Google Cloud Platform cuts the price of GPUs by up to 36 percent
Google today announced that it’s cutting the price of using Nvidia’s Tesla GPUs through its Compute Engine by up to 36 percent. In U.S. regions,…
Bitcoin just passed $8,000
Bitcoin has been on a wild run. Yesterday the price shot past $8,000 for the first time, and per usual when it breaks through a…
AWS launches a Secret region for the U.S. intelligence community
Amazon today announced that its AWS cloud computing service now offers a new region that’s specifically designed for the workloads of the U.S. intelligence community.…
Internet of Elephants uses AR to get up close to endangered species, turns their migrations into a game
Wildlife conservation groups have made a lot of strides in raising awareness of animals whose populations or natural habitats are endangered, and what we can…
13 greats gifts for the geek guys and gals in your life
It’s 2017, and the golden age of the geek continues. We all carry supercomputers in our pockets. Superheroes rule the box office. Star Wars is…
Uber donates $1 million to Meals on Wheels
Uber has teamed up with Meals on Wheels America to help the organization fulfill its mission of providing healthy meals to homebound seniors, veterans and…
Toronto begins sharing traffic data with Waze, and vice versa
The city of Toronto has begun sharing its traffic data with navigation service provider Waze. Google-owned Waze will also provide access to its real-time traffic…
DreamQuark beefs up financial services through artificial intelligence
Meet DreamQuark, a French startup that want to help banks, insurance companies and asset management firms for all their artificial intelligence needs. DreamQuark crunches your…
UK report calls out “dubious” gig economy practices, urges law reform
Pressure is mounting on the UK government to close loopholes in employment law to protect people working in the gig economy from being underpaid and…
How to talk about cryptocurrency at the holiday dinner table
You’re sitting down to a nice meal and your aunt, always one step ahead, mentions she wants to start investing in Bitcoin. You freeze, a…
Swiss watchmaker Omega joins the ecommerce bandwagon
Swiss watchmakers have long resisted the siren call of ecommerce. While many of their products sold online – you can find everything from Swatch to…
Google promises a software fix for the Pixel 2’s buzzing phone call problem in ‘the coming weeks’
Google’s hardware team can’t catch a break this year. In spite of solid reviews (us included), the company’s new Pixel 2 handsets have been plagued…
The new Kindle Oasis is my dream e-reader
Amazon’s newest Kindle Oasis arrived like the answer to a timely question – mostly because I happened to request an update to the device right…
Tesla’s newest product is a mobile battery pack to charge your phone
Apparently announcing a new all-electric Semi truck and the fastest production car ever made all in one week wasn’t enough for Tesla. They also quietly launched…
Photographer Stephen Shore brings Instagram to the MoMA
Stephen Shore made a name for himself shooting classic Americana mundanity in the 70s, evolving his work from automatic cameras to large-format cameras, using both…
Roomba gets IFTTT functionality
iRobot’s been talking a lot about its plans to make the Roomba an essential part of the connected home. The process has been a bit…
Uber adds live location sharing and more for easier pickups
Uber has added some updates to its rider app designed to make the pickup process easier in time for the busy holiday travel season. The…
Amazon’s Philip K. Dick anthology series will go live on January 12
Amazon continues to churn out original series, with Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams premiering on Friday, January 12. The anthology series will be a Prime…
Uber orders 24,000 Volvo XC90s for driverless fleet
Uber has entered into an agreement with carmaker Volvo to purchase 24,000 of its XC90 SUVs between 2019 and 2021 to form a fleet of…
Defakto’s ‘Stille Nacht’ watch is a limited edition of galactic proportions
Independent watchmaker Defakto creates some stunning timepieces via its regular collection, but it has a new limited series that is particularly eye-catching. The new Defakto…
Scalyr scores $20M Series A for super-fast log reading tool
In a time where every startup seems to be using machine learning to sift through massive amounts of data, Scalyr is a cloud-based service that…
Tencent becomes the first Chinese tech firm valued over $500B
Tencent has became the first Chinese company to be valued at more than $500 billion. Shares of the 19-year-old company, which is listed on the…
Germany bans kids’ smartwatches that can be used for eavesdropping
A German regulator has banned domestic sales of children’s smartwatches that have a listening function — warning that parents have been using the devices to…
Only 3 days left to save 30 percent on Disrupt Berlin tickets
In just two short weeks, the Disrupt Berlin 2017 conference will be the European epicenter of cutting-edge technology. It’s an event that no self-respecting techie…
Monzo’s latest round included £11M in secondary as founding employees partly cash in
Earlier this month, U.K.-based challenger bank Monzo announced that it had raised a further £71 million in a round led by Goodwater Capital, giving the…
Tech In Asia raises $6.6M led by Korean conglomerate Hanwha
Tech In Asia, the Singapore-based media and events startup, has closed $6.6 million in fresh funding. The lead investor is a name that may not…
Last chance to get your tickets for TechCrunch China in Shanghai November 27-28
TechCrunch is excited to be returning to China this month! Fresh from the success of our first event in Shenzhen in June, we’ll be back in…
Southeast Asia’s aCommerce lands $65M led by KRR-backed Emerald Media
Southeast Asia-based aCommerce, a startup that helps brands get into e-commerce and digital media in the fast-growing region, has pulled in $65 million in new…
Alibaba invests $2.9B in hypermarket operator Sun Art to continue its offline retail push
Alibaba is continuing its expansion into offline retail after the Chinese e-commerce giant bought up more than one-third of one of Chinese most prolific operators…
Media startup Cheddar launches its TV channel in Europe with Molotov
Business news network Cheddar has been partnering with social media platforms and OTT services in the U.S. And Cheddar is now looking at international markets.…
Fintech startup Glint de-cloaks to offer a multi-currency account and card that supports spending gold
London-based Glint has been pretty stealthy about what it planned to offer, despite several funding rounds and a vague description that it wanted to a…
Pact Coffee founder steps down from CEO role as London startup looks to B2B for growth
Pact Coffee, the U.K. subscription service that delivers freshly roasted “specialty coffee” to your door, has seen a change of leadership as the company plans…
Authorities serve Apple a warrant for Texas shooter’s iPhone
Two weeks ago today, 26 people were killed by a gunman at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Two phones were discovered at the…
Nuraphones’ custom profiles bring out new detail in familiar songs
I promised myself I wouldn’t read any work email (I failed), wouldn’t tweet (failed) and wouldn’t bring along any homework — I failed there too,…
17 STEM-focused gifts to inspire kids to learn coding and love robotics
This year’s STEM gift guide reflects the boom in ‘educational’ techie toys — featuring programmable and controllable robots of all stripes and shapes, as well…
100 cryptocurrencies described in four words or less
This list describes cryptocurrencies. Each gets four words. There are many. Some are landmarks. Some are scams. Hopefully this provides orientation. Read More
Ello Again…
The social networking platform splashed onto the tech scene promoting itself as an ad-free rival to Facebook. Soon millions of people (including yours truly) signed…
The battle for control of data could be just starting
Companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon happily take our data in exchange for convenience, lower prices or free services, but individuals and businesses are beginning…
A decade of Amazon Kindle
Ten years ago this week, Amazon released the first Kindle. It was big and clunky and kind of ugly, with an awkward physical keyboard and…
Cultural accumulation vs. cultural decay
Don’t worry; I’m not getting all moralistic on you here. When I talk about cultural decay I’m talking about something I think we need more…
Zego picks up £6M Series A led by Balderton for its gig economy worker insurance
Zego, the London-based startup that appears to have spotted a gaping insurance hole in the so-called gig economy, has raised £6 million in Series A…
Silicon Valley could be the next hotspot for SEC whistleblowers
In recent years, the SEC has had greater success policing wrongdoing due in large part to the implementation of its whistleblower program. But the whistleblowers’ crosshairs…
HBCU.vc trains students become venture capitalists
There are very few black and Latinx investors, with only 2 percent of investment team members at VC firms identifying as black and just 1…
Tap tap tap
We are now walking through a media desert. While access to content is astronomically high, the content that we read is dead, lifeless, and derivative.…
Gillmor Gang: Dream On
The Gillmor Gang — Frank Radice, Esteban Kolsky, Kevin Marks, Denis Pombriant, and Steve Gillmor. Recorded live Sunday, November 12, 2017. G3: Safe Sex —…
GoCater spins out from La Belle Assiette to build a corporate catering marketplace
GoCater is a marketplace with hundreds of catering companies accessible from a single platform. It makes it much easier to organize events in your company.…
Canadian grocery chain orders 25 Tesla electric Semi trucks
Tesla’s Semi is off to a promising start, despite there being no official pricing information available yet: In addition to a Walmart pilot, Canadian grocery…
Crunch Report | Twitter tests a new tweetstorm feature and Tesla unveils a semi truck
Today’s Stories Apple pushes back on the release of the Homepod Twitter tests a new tweetstorm feature Tesla unveils a new semi truck Walmart will…
Code2040 raises $5.6 million from The Knight Foundation and others
Code2040, founded by Laura Weidman Powers and Tristan Walker, recently raised $5.6 million to advance its diversity and inclusion efforts in technology. The latest funding…
15 awesome gifts for your awesome Mom and Dad
Welcome to the 2017 TechCrunch Holiday Gift Guide! We check out a lot of really cool stuff here at TechCrunch, so we figured we ought…
Germany bans smartwatches for kids over spying concerns
Germany’s Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) issued a blanket ban on smartwatches aimed at children this week — and asked parents who’d already purchased such a…
Identity solutions business SailPoint up 9% following IPO
SailPoint, the enterprise identity solutions business, went up 9% in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange Friday. The company raised $240 million after…
Stitch Fix up just 1% on first day of trading, after reducing size of IPO
Stitch Fix went up just 1% on its first day of trading. After pricing at $15, the company closed at $15.15. It’s also below the opening…
Shasta Ventures promotes three to partner
Shasta Ventures is promoting three of its principals to partner. Nikhil Basu Trivedi, Jacob Mullins and Nitin Chopra have all made it to this coveted…
Black Friday’s best tech bets
Thanksgiving is all about family, friends and gratefulness. The following day, on the other hand, is dedicated to rampant consumerism and generally attempting to not…
YouTube terminates exploitive ‘kids’ channel ToyFreaks, says it’s tightening its child endangerment policies
Following consumer outrage over YouTube’s handling of disturbing videos aimed at children on its network, the company has now banned one of the more controversial…
Artland is a social art market that connects galleries and buyers
Danish startup Artland is building a social marketplace for the art world and its key players: Galleries and professional collectors, while also hoping an app-based approach…
Media startup Axios raises another $20 million
There’s a glimpse of hope in new media as Axios just raised $20 million less than a year after its launch, the Wall Street Journal…
MoviePass drops pricing to under $7 per month, if you opt for the annual plan
MoviePass, the subscription service that lets consumers pay a monthly fee to see unlimited movies in theaters across the U.S., is slashing its prices yet…
Walmart plans to pilot test the new Tesla Semi
Walmart says that it intends to be among the first companies to pilot Tesla’s new all-electric Semi heavy-duty truck. The retailer told CNBC that it’s…
Apple pushes HomePod release to early 2018
So much for the holiday rush. Apple announced this morning that its premium HomePod smart speaker won’t be making the company’s initial December ship date.…
Food delivery upstart Deliveroo adds another $98M to its latest round, now at $480M
The food-delivery on demand space continues to heat up in Europe. Today, Deliveroo, the London-based startup that just weeks ago announced a Series F of…
Stitch Fix gets a pop in its first day of trading
Stitch Fix revised where it would price its IPO lower last night ahead of trading, and it looks like it helped approach the right sweet…
Deliv to power same-day grocery delivery for Walmart in San Jose
Walmart is further expanding into same-day delivery with the help of its existing delivery partner, Deliv. The companies today announced they will now be working…
Watch Tesla’s new Roadster show off its record-breaking speed
Tesla has delivered the ultimate fan car – a revamped version of its original Roadster, with crazy fast acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in…
Spotify acquires online music studio Soundtrap as it goes after creators
Spotify has made another acquisition as it continues to build out the services it offers to artists beyond basic streaming. It has acquired online music…
Equity podcast: Musical.ly, Bumble, SendGrid and not Uber
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week, the crew — Katie Roof and Alex Wilhelm —…
‘Justice League’ looks ugly and rushed, but I liked it anyway
Justice League, the DC cinematic universe’s answer to The Avengers, is finally here. It comes at the end of a terrific year for superhero movies.…
Why now is the time to join Startup Alley at Disrupt Berlin
(Hint: Free stuff) TechCrunch Disrupt is coming to Arena Berlin on 4-5 December, and and we’re looking for a few more rockstar startups to be…
Hours before launch, EA strips micro-transactions from ‘Star Wars: Battlefront II’
Just hours before the full launch of Battlefront II, Electronic Arts has announced that they’re removing in-game micro-transactions entirely from the title for the time…
Romain-Jerome builds a Batman watch that tells you your time is up, bat
Watchmaker Romain-Jerome has announced a new Batman-themed watch that looks like something Bruce Wayne would wear to the club. The watch, which is based on…
Tortuga Logic raises $2 million to build chip-level security systems
Tortuga Logic has raised $2 million in seed funding from Eclipse Ventures to help in their effort to maintain chip-level system security. Based in Palo…
Tesla Semi has the technical capability to convoy today
Tesla founder Elon Musk revealed at the Tesla Semi unveil that the truck can work in a convoy mode, with a three-truck convoy beating not…
Tesla unveils the new Roadster
Tesla has unveiled a new Roadster, the new version of its original sports car. It’s the fastest production car ever made, according to Elon Musk,…
The Tesla Semi tackles this classic truck safety problem using tech
Tesla’s Semi is an all-electric semi truck, which itself is a major feat, but its powertrain isn’t the only technological innovation that the automaker is…
Here’s what it’s like to sit in the new Tesla Semi
Tesla’s truck is a departure from more traditional diesel powered equivalents in a number of ways, but it might be most starkly different when it…
This is Tesla’s big new all-electric truck – the Tesla Semi
It boasts a considerable charge capacity, and has a very aesthetically distinct look, as you can see, which will obviously help it stand out from…
Crunch Report | The tech companies helping to educate the public on fake news and how to get free Postmates Unlimited
Today’s Stories These tech companies want to get rid of fake news Say goodbye forever to Facebook app invites Apple is giving out free Postmates…
Stitch Fix set to raise $120M from downsized IPO
There’s been plenty of appetite for Stitch Fix’s upcoming NASDAQ listing, but concern around disappointing listings from Snap and Blue Apron may explain why the…
Seizing partnership opportunities in emerging markets
Partnering beyond your borders — something many of the world’s leading multi-sided businesses and online marketplaces already engage in — is becoming a low-friction way…
They turned ‘Rampage’ into a movie (and here’s the first trailer)
Remember Rampage? It was a classic Midway arcade game (perhaps the greatest arcade game) where you got to bash cities to rubble while playing as…
Coinbase’s Custody service wants to store bitcoin for institutional investors
Safely investing in and storing digital currency isn’t exactly easy, especially if you’re a large institutional firm. So to help Coinbase just announced that they’re…
Meural raises $5 million and brings Canvas to over 100 stores
Digital art technology company Meural has raised a $5 million Series A round of funding, led by Corigin Ventures and with participation from Netgear, Resolute…
Williams-Sonoma, Inc. acquires AR 3D imaging startup Outward for $112M
Furniture and kitchenware giant Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSI) is acquiring augmented reality startup Outward in an all-cash deal for $112 million. The furniture mega-brand, which operates stores…
Apple’s new ad shows how iPads are going to replace laptops
Apple has released a brand new ad for the iPad Pro. It features a young girl and a rose gold iPad Pro running iOS 11.…
FCC reportedly planning vote that could kill net neutrality next month
The Federal Communications Commission will drive a stake through its own net neutrality rules roughly this time next month, if Chairman Ajit Pai gets his…
Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot is a parkour master
Parkour! That’s what we should all be devoting our combined robotics expertise towards. There’s no nobler human pursuit, so of course we should create a…
Apple VP of diversity and inclusion Denise Young Smith is leaving
Apple’s first-ever vice president of diversity and inclusion, Denise Young Smith, is leaving Apple at the end of this year, TechCrunch has learned. Smith, who…
HTC’s VR object tracker is launching in December for $99.99
HTC’s Vive Tracker allows objects to be tracked in VR. It utilizes the same weird shape configuration that is at the top of the HTC…
Watch every panel from Startup Battlefield Australia 2017
On November 16, TechCrunch and Elevacao hosted Startup Battlefield Australia in Sydney. The pitch-off competition featured startups from all over Australia and New Zealand. Top-notch investors and founders…
Apple releases iOS 11.1.2 to fix iPhone X cold weather issue
Apple has made iOS 11.1.2 available, the second minor point release it’s put out in as many weeks. This one is specifically designed to address…
Trello goes to Japan as it pushes for global growth under Atlassian
Trello today announced that it is launching operations in Japan next year as part of its overall global growth strategy. When Atlassian bought Trello earlier…
Mashable reportedly selling to Ziff Davis for about $50 million
Tech site Mashable is being sold to publishing giant Ziff Davis, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. The website, which focuses…
Facebook kills App Invites, the native app Like button and other dev features
It’s been a while since my Facebook notifications feed was filled to the brim with invites to play FarmVille, but I’ve been reminded every so…
Twitter confirms it’s testing a tweetstorm feature
Twitter confirms it’s testing a feature that allows users to more easily create “tweetstorms” – those series of connected tweets that have grown to be…
NerdWallet lays off 11 percent of staff due to missing profitability goals
Personal finance startup NerdWallet seems to be on the struggle bus, having just laid off 53 people today (about 11 percent of its workforce) due…
Facebook launches Creator app for influencers to build video communities
Facebook wants to turn mindless, passive video consumption into “time well spent”, and now it’s giving social media stars a powerful tool to foster communities…
Voting machine makers explain what they do (and don’t do) to make sure no one hacks the vote
As the House and Senate continue to examine the wave of disinformation around the 2016 presidential election, concerns around the security of voting systems examine…
Apple is giving away free Postmates Unlimited subscriptions
If you use Apple Pay to sign up for Postmates Unlimited, you’ll be able to get free deliveries on orders over $20 and no peak…
Google announces AMP update that will discourage ‘teaser pages’
Publishers have a lot of mixed feeling about AMP (accelerated mobile pages), but it’s pretty safe to day that consumers enjoy web pages that load…
Imgur’s favorite folders turn 250M meme lords into curators
Either you’re one of 250 million monthly Imgurians, or you probably have no idea what Imgur is. But those who are part of the addictive…
Toyota Mobility Foundation launches $4M prize for mobility tech targeting lower-limb paralysis
Toyota Mobility Foundation, a charity set up by Toyota in 2014 to help bring about “a truly mobile society,” has launched a $4 million competition…
Google’s chatbot analytics platform Chatbase launches to public
At Google I/O this year, Google quietly introduced a new chatbot analytics platform called Chatbase, a project developed within the company’s internal R&D incubator, Area…
Airbnb acquires ad tech startup AdBasis
It looks like accessibility isn’t the only thing that Airbnb wants to upgrade on its platform. On the same day that Airbnb announced that it…
The OnePlus 5T is another solid $500 handset
OnePlus’s strategy appears to be paying off. Don’t worry about being the first with a technology — that’s a fool’s errand when you’re competing against…
Kabbage gets $200M from Credit Suisse to expand its AI-based business loans
After picking up $250 million in equity funding from Softbank earlier this year, the small business loans and finance company Kabbage — which uses only algorithms…
Google launches a paid enterprise edition of its Dialogflow chatbot builder
Google today announced the beta launch of its enterprise edition of Dialogflow, its tool for building chatbots and other conversational applications. In addition, Dialogflow (both…
Virgin Hyperloop One lines up two preliminary studies in India
Hyperloop One, which is now Virgin Hyperloop One thanks to strong backing from billionaire Richard Branson, has signed a couple of new memorandums of understanding…
U.S. Department of Defense books a test flight with Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne
The U.S. Department of Defense has booked a prototype flight on Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne to demonstrate the capabilities of the company’s Low Earth Orbit launch…
Latest round of Verizon layoffs at Oath affects <4% of staff globally
Verizon has initiated another round of layoffs as a result of its acquisition of Yahoo and subsequent combining of the company with its existing business…
NBC will live stream a record 1,800 hours of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games
NBC will live stream the 2018 Olympic Winter Games from PyeongChang, South Korea, the company announced today. Its coverage will include 1,800 hours of games –…
Trocafone raises $15 million to expand its used electronics marketplace in emerging markets
Trocafone, the online marketplace for used electronics, has raised $15 million in new financing to expand its reach beyond Brazil and Argentina into other emerging…