Author: TechBrunch
Spotify announced Friday it plans to invest 1 million euros (about $1.1 million) to increase the production of audiobooks in languages other than English, starting with French and Dutch. The investment shows that Spotify is eager to have more English titles in its limited library as it seeks to compete with major players like Audible in the $8.7 billion global audiobook market. Spotify started in these languages, as adoptions were particularly slow in France and the Netherlands. According to the company, less than 3% of French books are currently available in audio format, with only 20,000 audiobooks in France comparing…
TechCrunch Session: AI is coming soon. So, what does that mean to you? That means that the display tables are almost gone – and now it's a chance to grab it before they all sell out. If you have a game-changing product that introduces you to the world of AI, don't be quiet. Show your brand in front of leaders and visionaries in the AI community. On June 5th, 1,200 AI leaders, investors and visionaries will gather at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, California. They are looking for tools, solutions and technologies that will help them move faster and think bigger.…
Mark your calendar – StrictlyVc London is located close by on May 13th. Designed for founders, entrepreneurs and investors, this exclusive gathering promises deep VC insights and high value connections. We are excited to welcome the first pair of Nazomusa, managing director of Paladin Capital Group, and Axel's partner Sonari DeRiker. Meet the speaker There are more speakers going on, but for now it will take a little time to get to know the first two. Visit our Events page for the latest updates and more information about both. Mystic Musa Nazo Moosa is the European Managing Director of Paladin…
In recent years, some women who have focused on careers and late marriage ages have been pushed to consider maintaining fertility through egg freezing. However, the sudden cost of the procedure, estimated at $10,000 to $15,000 per trial, means that many women cannot afford it in their 20s to early 30s in their most fertile years. CoFertility, a startup founded by former Uber executive Lauren Makler and Health Tech Angel Investor Halle Tecco, offers women's non-cost egg freezes in exchange for donating half of their recovered eggs to those who cannot conceive. Three years ago, the startup raised a $7.25…
Is the grass greener on the other side? We’re not sure, but the sky is most certainly bluer. It’s been over two years since Elon Musk purchased Twitter, now X, leading people to set up shop on alternative platforms. Mastodon, Post, Pebble (two of which have already shuttered operations) and Spill have been presented as potential replacements, but few aside from Meta’s Threads have achieved the speed of growth Bluesky has reached. As of February 2025, Bluesky has surpassed 30 million users. Its growth stems from several policy changes at X, including a heavily criticized change to the block feature…
Social network Bluesky is rolling out a new version of the software that employs some of the features previously X users have missed. No, it's not an edit button! Instead, open social networks have added support for chat responses to direct messaging features, directing search pages to “exploring”, and directing users to trends, recommended accounts, starter packs and more. Both of these features are inspired by X. This allows users to respond directly to messages using emojis from 2020 onwards. X will expand its functionality in a few years, allowing users to select emojis beyond the default set. Bluesky offers…
Season 7 of “Black Mirror” premiered on Thursday, showing off a new mobile game connected to one of the episodes. The game, titled “Thronglets” from Netflix's Night School Studio, serves as a companion for an episode called “Plaything.” Players interact with virtual yellow pets and strive to keep them alive. If a player succeeds in caring for a pet, the creature will replicate and become more difficult to meet its needs. Creatures can also collect resources, develop technology, explore new areas, unlock tools and buildings for faster progress. At first it may resemble an innocent game like Taishi, but the…
There has been a huge pushback from artists regarding the surge in AI design tools and the content used to train generative models, but even so, companies that make software for creative work are to incorporate AI into their toolkits. This is a signal of how quickly AI has become important. Regardless of what the customer says, it is clear that graphic design software makers will not be able to survive without implementing some form of AI. The latest to double that strategy is Canva. The company said Thursday it is adding new AI features to its platform, including AI…
Symphonic Capital announced today in a blog post that it has raised $13.5 million for its initial fund to invest in early-stage businesses. Sidney Thomas set up the company in 2022 after leaving Charles Hudson's Parker's Venture. Thomas said her fund will focus on founders outside the bay, who are building healthcare and financial services. The check size is approximately $250,000. In a blog post, the company wrote, “Everyone should have reliable healthcare and financial freedom, regardless of race, gender or ethnicity,” and wrote that they would “want to partner with founders who are trying to build a more equitable…
WhatsApp has announced numerous new updates across chat, calls and channels designed to enhance user messaging and call experiences as they continue to compete with popular services such as Telegram and Discord. One of the most notable additions is the “online” indicator that appears at the top of the group chat, indicating how many people are currently chatting. Another new group chat feature allows you to highlight specific notifications. This is because you can select “Highlight” using the newly added Notify for setting to receive all notifications by limiting notifications for messages from saved contacts or from All. Another feature…