Author: TechBrunch
Indian budget hotel chain startup Oyo has closed a new round of funding of about $100 million to $125 million that would bring the company's valuation to $2.5 billion, two people familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. That's a steep drop considering the Gurgaon-based startup was valued at $10 billion in 2019. The startup, which has struggled to raise capital from institutional investors, has been aggressively pitching to high-net-worth individuals in recent months. “We truly feel the asset is extremely valuable now; it is profitable and at a 70% discount to previous valuation. We expect to list within the next…
Initially, John Passmore was excited about ChatGPT. The serial founder has been in the field of artificial intelligence since at least 2008. He remembers a time when experts declared that it would be decades before something like ChatGPT would arrive in the world. Time passed, and that day has now come. But there is a catch. ChatGPT, one of the world's most powerful artificial intelligence tools, struggles with cultural nuances. This is especially troubling for Black people like Passmore. In fact, this oversight has angered many Black people who felt they weren't adequately represented in the algorithm that is touted…
Well done, startup founders! Tomorrow is your last chance to apply to the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024. It's your last chance to stand on stage at Disrupt and pitch to a huge audience full of the world's top investors, hundreds of media outlets, and many other influential movers and shakers. Bottom line, this great opportunity is almost over, so apply by tomorrow, June 17th at 11:59pm PDT. Recap: Startup Battlefield 200 Benefits at TC Disrupt 2024 For the early stage founders sitting in the back who may have missed my last note on the perks and benefits…
It's been an exciting week for the AI community, as Apple has joined companies like Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and others in a long-running competition to find an icon that gives users a glimpse of AI. And like other companies, Apple has been pushed back. Apple Intelligence is represented by a circle with seven loops. Or is it a circle with an uneven infinity symbol inside? No, it's the new Siri with Apple Intelligence. Or is it the new Siri with the glow around the edge of your phone? Yes. The problem is that no one knows what AI is,…
There's been a lot of bad news about social media startups lately. Several companies have shut down, including Twitter alternatives Post News and IRL, and ShareChat's valuation dropped by more than 50% after its latest funding round. But amid all the negative news, the recent exit of French social network BeReal looks like a silver lining. BeReal, which takes full-face photos and selfies and alerts users to be “true to themselves” within two minutes, was acquired this week by French mobile games and apps unicorn Voodoo for 500 million euros ($537 million). The acquisition values BeReal at a slight discount…
ChatGPT, OpenAI's AI-powered chatbot platform, continues to expand with new features. It now offers a store for AI-powered applications and services (GPT Store). The recently introduced memory feature allows you to save your preferences to make chats more personal. ChatGPT will also soon upgrade its voice mode, allowing you to interact with the platform in near real-time. So, you might be wondering, how much does ChatGPT cost? This is a question that is harder to answer than it might seem. OpenAI offers a range of paid and free ChatGPT plans for a variety of customers, from individuals to non-profits, small…
Tempus, a genomic testing and data analytics company launched by Groupon founder Eric Lefkosky, listed on the Nasdaq on Friday and rose about 15% in opening trade. The company priced its IPO at $37 a share on Thursday, at the high end of its $35 to $37 price range, to raise nearly $411 million at a fully diluted valuation of more than $6 billion. But Tempus' last public private valuation was $8.1 billion, and PitchBook data estimates the company's valuation in the second half of 2022 at $10.25 billion. Despite the steep discount from its previous valuation, the IPO is…
The tech layoff wave is still going strong in 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, this year has already seen 60,000 job cuts across 254 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap and Microsoft have conducted sizable layoffs in the first months of 2024. Smaller-sized startups have also seen a fair amount of cuts, and in some cases, have shut down operations altogether. By tracking these layoffs, we’re able to understand the impact on innovation across companies large and small. We’re also able to see the potential impact of businesses…
Welcome to Startups Weekly — Haje's weekly roundup of the must-reads from the startup world. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox every Friday. Hold on to your Apple Watch, everyone! At WWDC 2024, Apple has finally decided to give Siri a brain implant that they are calling “Apple Intelligence” (AI, get it?). Apparently, it's so smart that it knows more about your life than you do. Tim Cook promises that it will be all about privacy and personal context. So intimate that even your diary might feel neglected. And with the Siri makeover, we get Genmoji (yes,…
So when Kinnect released a new app aimed at preserving epic family stories and awkward holiday moments for posterity, I knew I had to take a closer look at its Angel Deck. The app is clever, like a digital family scrapbook on steroids. Not only does it store photos, it also has video and audio recording capabilities and a nifty timeline feature that lets you organize your memories like a pro. Kinnect's grand plan is for the grandkids to hear straight from the source about that time Uncle Bob got stuck in a tree at a family reunion. In a…