Author: TechBrunch

What do AI voice agents and self-driving cars have in common? Brooke Hopkins, former head of technology at Waymo, argues that their performance can be evaluated similarly. Coval, a new Hopkins startup, is trying to do just that. “When I left Waymo, I realized that many of the problems we were having at Waymo were exactly what the rest of the AI ​​industry was facing,” Hopkins (pictured above, center) told TechCrunch. . “But everyone was saying this is a new paradigm and we have to come up with testing methods from first principles and basically everyone has to re-write everything.…

For fintech app developers, integrating repayment, balance transfer, and bill payment functionality can be difficult. Developers often have to deal with a patchwork of vulnerable screen scraping APIs to extract data from users' financial institutions. To make matters worse, you also have to deal with tools to process piles of checks and documents. Three friends and entrepreneurs Jose Besancourt, Marco del Carmen, and Mitt Shah told TechCrunch that inhibitors can be deal-breakers, especially for small fintech teams. spoke. In an effort to overcome those and help others do the same, the trio launched Method, a platform that powers debt and…

Snap announced Thursday that it is introducing a new “Challenge Tag” rewards program that allows AR developers to submit lenses and win cash prizes. The company also announced the launch of educational pricing and student discounts for Spectacles, AR glasses for developers. The theme for the first challenge tag is humor, and submissions are open until January 31st. The first-place Lens developer will receive $2,500, while second and third place will receive $1,500 and $1,000, respectively. Twenty honorable mentions will receive $250. To participate, developers must register for each challenge, build a lens in Snap's Lens Studio, and apply a…

Back in 2023, Ashi Dissanayake, co-founder of space fueling startup Spaceium, became so desperate that he stuck his foot inside a clothes dryer, using its surface as a desk. I did. Her computer sat next to a Tide pod, she was surrounded by disembodied robotic arms, and she and co-founder Reza Fetanat worked late into the night. At the time, the two were working out of a small apartment in Ottawa. They've since moved into an office with a real desk, went through Y Combinator, and today announced an oversubscribed $6.3 million seed round led by Initialized Capital. The company…

Many nonprofits are tied to outdated, expensive, and limited technology that hinders their mission and ability to fund their causes. Most companies consider technology adoption a priority, but face many obstacles, including siled data and integration issues. Peter Burns, co-founder of Fundraise Up, a Brooklyn-based fundraising platform for nonprofits, says the result is often low donor satisfaction. “The message of nonprofits is to influence change, to make a difference, to be a hero,” Burns said in an interview with TechCrunch. “But when potential donors arrive at the donation form, the experience takes a complete 180. They don't feel empowered and…

Global supply chains are under strain, in part because of a lack of visibility into how cargo is being transported around the world. In one recent study, nearly half of the organizations surveyed reported having little or no visibility into their upstream supply chain. Looking for a solution, Klenner Komoni, who spent years helping his father-in-law track truck fleets, founded Tive, a startup that develops technology to accurately identify cargo shipments in real time. Tive sells disposable tracking devices that can be linked to its cloud platform to help companies in industries such as life sciences and food and beverage…

According to the State of Quantum 2024 report, VC investment in quantum computing fell by 50% last year, from $2.2 billion to $1.2 billion in 2022, with funds shifting to generative AI. However, government spending on quantum was expected to reach $40 billion over the next 10 years. Now, a new European VC fund wants to capitalize on that trend. The peculiarly named QDNL Participations has reached an initial close of €25 million for its proposed €60 million global fund for early-stage quantum startups. However, QDNL plans to expand abroad and invest more internationally. The company's previous €15 million fund…

Private equity firm Everstone has reached a deal to acquire a majority stake in Wingify, one of India's earliest homegrown software-as-a-service success stories, for approximately $200 million, the company said in a statement. Three sources with knowledge of the matter told TechCrunch. The deal, which closed this week, marks a significant exit for Wingify founder Paras Chopra, who has built the SaaS startup without outside funding since its founding in 2010. Delhi-based Wingify has grown from a two-man startup to a profitable global software provider with over 6,000 clients. Its flagship product, Visual Website Optimizer (VWO), helps businesses increase online…

The $1 billion acquisition of rental management startup Divivi Homes announced Wednesday is expected to result in some shareholders losing out on dividends, according to people familiar with the deal. This condition, and Divvy's journey from buzzy startup to acquisition target, reflects the rollercoaster ride the proptech industry has endured over the past decade. Founded in 2016, the San Francisco-based startup has raised more than $700 million in debt and equity from prominent investors including Tiger Global Management, GGV Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Ta. By 2021, the company was valued at $2.3 billion. And while Brookfield Properties' $1 billion…

Caffeine Capital, the San Francisco venture firm founded by private investor Raymond Tonsing, has raised $400 million in its fifth fund, according to a regulatory filing. The company was an early investor in software company Airtable and defense startup Saronic, and has already raised $160 million for the fund. If Caffeinated reaches its goal, it will be the biggest capital raise for the 15-year-old company. Although the organization has not announced its previous funds, Caffeinated is estimated to have closed four funds with total commitments of $209 million, according to PitchBook data. Tonsing was Caffeinated's sole general partner until four…