Author: TechBrunch
AI is increasingly being applied to protein design, the process of creating new proteins with specific target properties. The applications of protein design are myriad, but it is a promising method for discovering drug-based treatments to fight disease, as well as creating new home care, agricultural, food-based, and material products. Arzeda, one of many vendors developing AI techniques for designing proteins, was founded by a group of researchers at the University of Washington's Baker Institute in 2009. After nine years of building the company, Arzeda founders Alexandre Zanghellini, Daniela Grabs, Eric Althoff and David Baker decided to take their Seattle-based…
I'll confess: I take a picture of my stove before I leave on a long trip. I've lived with OCD my whole life, and it's one of the little life hacks I've developed to calm the anxiety—in this case, the very real and totally understandable fear of leaving the gas on and burning down the house. While I'm not yet in Ome's target demographic, I think the concept of remote monitoring and shutting off the burners will be widely accepted. Smart Knob's press materials focus on senior communities — older adults who are still living independently. The Atlanta-based startup points…
When it comes to tech talent shortages, cybersecurity is one of the largest and most urgently in need of filling. Malicious attacks are on the rise, and so are the techniques used to infiltrate networks. Yet the World Economic Forum recently reported that there are 4 million unfilled positions worldwide; a number it predicts will balloon to 85 million over the next five years. Itai Tebet was keenly aware of what these shortcomings looked like in the real world. As head of the Israel Defense Forces' Cyber Incident Response Team (CERT), Tebet realized that even an organization like the IDF,…
Building permits often involve lengthy applications that create unpredictable timelines for developers and companies. There are tens of thousands of jurisdictions, each with different building permit forms and application procedures. Ben Allen knows a thing or two about permits: While heading up expansion and strategy at GoPuff, Allen was tasked with launching GoPuff's ghost kitchen endeavor, GoPuff Kitchens, in hundreds of locations across the U.S. Allen said the biggest obstacle his team faced was obtaining the necessary building permits. “Permitting processes for developers, builders and government agencies are largely outdated and manual,” he told TechCrunch. “For example, some agencies only…
Invoicing may not be something most people think about on a daily basis. But for businesses, especially those in the software sales industry, invoicing is extremely important. Invoicing systems help ensure customers pay on time and offer a variety of payment methods. The problem is that configuring these systems can consume valuable engineering time. Alvaro Morales and Kshiitj Grover know this from experience: Both programmers by trade, they worked together at Asana and frequently made changes to product packaging and pricing. “Unlike all the tools available to us as developers, the billing system was rigid and inflexible,” says Morales. “We…
Instagram is introducing Teen Accounts, automatically enrolling young users in an app experience with built-in protections. The company announced that starting Tuesday, it will place all current and future accounts held by teens under Teen Accounts. Instagram is also rolling out a new update to its Parental Supervisor feature that lets parents monitor their children's activity on the social network. The changes come nine months after Instagram, along with other popular social networks, came under scrutiny from lawmakers for not doing enough to protect young users on the platform. Teens on Instagram already have some protections by default, but they…
EasyDMARC, an Armenian B2B SaaS startup that aims to simplify email security and authentication, announced it has raised $20 million in a Series A round led by New York-based Radian Capital. DMARC is a technical standard designed to protect email senders and recipients from spam, spoofing, and phishing. This “Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance” was an important but little-known standard until October 2023, when Google and Yahoo! announced they would be making it mandatory for bulk email senders starting this year. Since DMARC's creation in 2012, many major email providers have worked to implement the protocol for bulk email…
MacPaw, a Ukraine-based Mac and iOS app developer, today announced that it is releasing an alternative mobile app store, Setapp, in accordance with the EU's new Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations. The company has been testing the app store in closed beta with a select group of users for several months. MacPaw is now making Setapp Mobile available to all users to try out in open beta. The store has over 50 productivity, finance, video, photo, and creativity apps from MacPaw's own products and other developers, including CleanMyPhone, ClearVPN, Riveo video editor, Awesome Habits tracker, Time Master, BusyCal, Free your…
Flink, the Berlin-based quick-commerce startup that has been an acquisition target for Gorillas, Getir, Amazon, and Gopuff, has revealed plans to go it alone: TechCrunch has exclusively learned that the company plans to raise $150 million and double its operations in Germany and the Netherlands by partnering with Just Eat Takeaway.com. The funding, which consists of $115 million in equity and $35 million in debt, comes from a mix of new and existing investors. BOND, Mubadala, Northzone and supermarket giant REWE are backing Flink along with two unnamed investors. The company did not disclose whether Just Eat Takeaway was one…
Social network Blue Sky said on Monday that its platform now has more than 10 million users, driven mainly by the network's rapid growth in the weeks after Elon Musk-owned X was shut down in Brazil. “If you're reading this, you're one of Bluesky's first 10 million users!,” the company said in a post. There's also a fun Easter egg on Bluesky's homepage: when you click on the celebratory emoji, your participation number will appear on the platform, ready to be shared with friends. Image credit: Bluesky Last month, the Supreme Court banned X in Brazil and imposed fines on…