Author: TechBrunch

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart has been in talks in recent weeks about a potential acquisition of Dunzo, a hyperlocal delivery startup backed by Reliance Retail, three people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. But complications surrounding Dunzo's ownership structure are making it difficult for the two companies to reach a deal, according to two people familiar with the negotiations. All three sources said talks are still ongoing. The acquisition talks come after a tumultuous year for Dunzo, which has struggled to raise capital and pay employees. The startup, once valued at $500 million, has ceded much of the hyperlocal delivery…

Food tech investing may have declined along with venture capital overall, but Bluestein Ventures has no plans to slow down. The Chicago-based early-stage venture capital firm has completed his $45 million capital commitment to Fund III. Andrew Bluestein, co-managing partner of Bluestein Ventures, founded the firm in 2014 and brought on fellow co-managing partner Ashley Hartman eight years ago. They join other venture capital firms such as Cost Capital, Supply Change Capital and Joyful Ventures, which have recently raised new funds to invest in food technology. Bluestein Ventures has invested pre-seed up to Series A and amassed a portfolio of…

Richard Hong found it easy to reach international customers while expanding his men's personal care brand's e-commerce brand. The challenge arose when trying to get the goods to them. “We found that there was no localization technology in logistics pack compliance, product compliance, and marketing,” Hong told TechCrunch. “We had to build a lot of these capabilities in-house to be able to scale.” Through his e-commerce company, Pangea Holdings, Mr. Hong has been able to scale it to the point where the majority of its revenue (well over nine figures) comes from outside the United States. Hong and Pangea co-founder…

Walmart-backed PhonePe plans to launch an Android app store this week with zero in-app purchase fees for developers. The app store is based on technology from Indus OS, which PhonePe acquired in 2021. In this article, we look at why developers are seeking alternative stores and what the market opportunity is for these stores. How developers interact with Google In September 2020, Google temporarily removed Indian fintech giant Paytm's app from the Play Store because it violated the platform's rules. At that time, Paytm offered his Paytm First, a fantasy sports app, which was also listed on the Play Store.…

A coalition of international law enforcement agencies, including the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the UK's National Crime Agency, disrupted the operations of the notorious ransomware group LockBit. LockBit's dark web leak site, where the group exposes victims and threatens to leak stolen data unless ransom demands are paid, was replaced with a law enforcement notice on Monday. Since first emerging as a ransomware operation in late 2019, LockBit has become one of the world's most prolific cybercriminal organizations, targeting victims around the world and extorting millions of dollars in extorted ransoms. I'm getting paid. Hattie Hafenrichter, a spokesperson…

If you've ever traveled to the French countryside, you may have noticed something special about France. There are beauty salons even in seemingly sparsely populated towns. French startup Planity is capitalizing on France's love for hair salons by launching a SaaS product specifically for hair salons. Over time, the company expanded into other types of beauty salons, such as barber shops and nail salons. And it works surprisingly well, with over 40,000 small businesses currently relying on Planity for things like bookings. In fact, the startup recently raised a Series C round of €45 million ($48 million at current exchange…

In a role reversal, Singaporean fintech startup Xalts, founded 18 months ago, has acquired Contour Network, a digital trading platform founded by eight major banks including HSBC, Standard Chartered and BNP. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the purchase price was in the low millions of dollars, consisting of cash and stock. Backed by Accel and Citi Ventures, Xalts enables financial institutions to build and manage blockchain-based apps. Contour was launched in 2017 by a consortium of eight banks to digitize trade and is currently used by 22 banks and over 100 global companies including Tata Group,…

Tektakaa South Korean online shopping fulfillment startup that provides third-party logistics services to e-commerce sellers, has raised $9.5 million (12.6 billion won) in a Series B round from sole investor Altos Ventures. This equipment helps e-commerce sellers manage their supply chain from warehousing, order packaging, and shipping, allowing TechTaka users to focus on their products and marketing. The startup also offers his SaaS operating system for optimizing online vendors' supply chain and logistics operations. Mr. Soo Young Yang (CEO), who worked as a software engineer at Amazon and Coupang, and Mr. Kyung Wook Lee (CTO), who previously worked at Coupang,…

centered on AI Because it's a well-deserved and overdue time for women academics and others to be in the spotlight, TechCrunch is launching a series of interviews highlighting notable women who have contributed to the AI ​​revolution. As the AI ​​boom continues, we'll be publishing several articles throughout the year highlighting key research that may go unrecognized. Click here for a detailed profile. As a reader, if you see a name we missed and think it should be on the list, please email us. I will try to add more. Here are the key players you should know about. Gender…

To give female academics and others focused on AI their well-deserved and overdue spotlight time, TechCrunch is launching a series of interviews highlighting notable women who have contributed to the AI ​​revolution. Start. As the AI ​​boom continues, we'll be publishing several articles throughout the year highlighting key research that may go unrecognized. Click here for a detailed profile. As an AI expert with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), an international initiative promoting the responsible use of AI, Mr. Tiedrich works with the law to assess and manage risks. Developing…