Author: TechBrunch

Prosus expects up to five potential IPOs from its Indian portfolio over the next 18 months, indicating growing momentum in the world's second-largest internet market. A Dutch investment group on Monday named payments giant PayU, e-commerce startup Meesho and online jewelry seller Bluestone among the startups preparing for an IPO. TechCrunch reported last month that more than 20 Indian startups are aiming to go public in 2025. These include Prosus-backed Urban Company, Pharmagy and Captain Fresh. Prosus' announcement comes after food delivery company Swiggy raised $2 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) last month. Swiggy's $1.34 billion listing became…

When a startup raises a seed round, the eternal question arises: how much should the founders pay themselves and their first few employees? Kruze Consulting, a CPA firm specializing in venture-backed startups, recently analyzed the average salary range of over 450 seed-stage startups and shared the data with TechCrunch. The averages below are based on actual payroll records, not survey responses, Kruse said. Perhaps unsurprisingly, technical engineering/product positions tend to pay more than CEOs. One surprise is that salaries for those with the COO/Operations title tend to be even higher on average. This is frowned upon. That's because the title…

Companies often struggle with responding to cybersecurity incidents. A recent poll found that only three out of five organizations have an incident response plan in place, and one-third regularly train to maintain the effectiveness of their plan. It's just a matter of degree. The consequences of poor incident response can be costly. The International Monetary Fund estimates that the global cost of cyberattacks will rise from approximately $8.4 trillion in 2022 to more than $23 trillion by 2027. It is against this backdrop that Amazon saw an opportunity. Today, Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company's cloud computing division, launched AWS…

As promised, startup accelerator Y Combinator's impending demo day will be held in person. In fact, YC appears to have begun resuming IRL demo days at the end of the Thanksgiving long weekend, holding an in-person alumni demo day on Sunday for startups in the fall 2024 class. Squad founder (and later Twitter and Meta product manager) Esther Crawford, Milo founder and CEO, praised the “high energy” of being able to hear pitches from 93 startups firsthand. Avni Patel Thompson calls it “a great pay-forward, not just for the founders, but also for alumni to come back and support the…

A new app called Death Clock predicts the date of a user's death and provides tips on how to delay that date. TechCrunch wrote about the iPod Death Clock app in 2006, and developer Brett Franson told Bloomberg that his app uses AI trained on more than 1,200 life expectancy studies. He said it had resulted in “pretty significant” improvements in standard life tables. Naturally, I had to try it myself. The survey started with basic questions such as age, gender, and ethnicity, and also included more detailed questions about family history, mental health, and chronic illness. Finally, I was…

Apple Watch helps people track their health and fitness, but it's also a great tool to help you stay productive and get work done. This is especially true for people who are easily distracted by their phones. Apple Watch comes with simple productivity apps like Reminders and Calendar, but it's worth considering third-party apps designed to provide additional functionality and improve your productivity. Todoist Image credit: Todoist Todoist is the perfect app for managing tasks on your Apple Watch when you don't want to take out your iPhone. This app allows you to create and manage tasks, organize these tasks…

As more celebrities and popular influencers join Bluesky, the fast-growing social media service faces further concerns about impersonation and verified identities. The Bluesky Safety team announced Friday that the company has updated its impersonation policy to be “more aggressive,” adding that “accounts that impersonate or take over the handle will be removed.” The company said it has quadrupled the size of its moderation team, which should allow it to respond more quickly to reports of impersonation, but the influx of new users has resulted in a “large backlog of moderation reports.” There are still some left. As a side note,…

Lawyers for tech billionaire Elon Musk have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, several of its co-founders, and its investor and close collaborator Microsoft for what Musk's lawyers claim is an anti-competitive move. It filed for a preliminary injunction to prevent OpenAI and other named defendants from participating in the conduct. The injunction petition, filed late Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is filed by OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman, President Greg Brockman, Microsoft, and LinkedIn co-founder and former OpenAI board member Reed. He is accusing Mr. Hoffman. Former OpenAI board member and Microsoft vice president…

Sir Chris Hoy, one of the most decorated track cyclists of all time, may not seem like an obvious candidate to support the burgeoning e-bike movement. After all, the common saying is that electric bikes aren't real bikes. But the six-time Olympic gold medalist has done just that, creating a click-on device that allows a push bike to be easily converted to electric and back again with minimal fuss. Invested in a new startup company. The company, called Scalper, has raised £12.8 million ($16.3 million) since its founding in 2020, with Hui contributing to the initial seed tranche. The system…

Sir Chris Hoy, one of the most decorated track cyclists of all time, may not seem like an obvious candidate to support the burgeoning e-bike movement. After all, the common saying is that electric bikes aren't real bikes. But the six-time Olympic gold medalist has done just that, creating a click-on device that allows a push bike to be easily converted to electric and back again with minimal fuss. Invested in a new startup company. The company, called Scalper, has raised £12.8 million ($16.3 million) since its founding in 2020, with Hui contributing to the initial seed tranche. The click-on…