Author: TechBrunch
Media reports say Valve had malware removed the game from the Steam video game platform and save. In a notification to users who downloaded the game, Valve said that affected users would “want to consider reformatting the operating system completely.” The game was called Piratefi and charged itself with “a thrilling survival game set in a vibrant low-poly world where you can play solo or with others in multiplayer mode.” According to the archive version of the Steam page seen by TechCrunch, it is not clear exactly how many people downloaded the game, but it had a score of 9/10…
Italian spyware maker SIO, known to sell products to government customers, pretends to be WhatsApp and other popular apps, but behind a series of malicious Android apps that steal private data from targeted devices It is located in. Late last year, security researchers shared three Android apps with TechCrunch, claiming it is likely government spyware used against unknown victims in Italy. TechCrunch asked Google and mobile security company Lookout to analyze the app, both of which confirmed that the app was spyware. This finding shows that the government's spyware world is broad, both in terms of the number of companies…
Coinbase has been working to re-enter India more than a year after officially suspending its operations in the world's most populous countries. American Crypto Exchange is involved with a variety of Indian authorities, including the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an Indian government agency that scrutinizes financial transactions, following two sources familiar with issues that have called for anonymity. Coinbase's comeback research continues in the turbulent history of the South Asian market. Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, resumed operations in India last August after registering with the FIU following a seven-month suspension of regulations. The move has established a precedent…
Large companies like Google and Meta are curbing their DEI programs, but Ulu Ventures has just raised its fourth fund for $208 million and is planning to change its investment strategy for diverse founders. Not, the company told the Wall Street Journal. Co-founded by Miriam Rivera, Google's Latina and former vice president and assistant adviser, ULU uses a data-driven investment approach to rule out bias. The 17-year-old company investing in seed startups notes that ongoing diversity efforts could pose risks under the new administration. “If you're going to stand strong in DEI today, you have to be buttoned up incredibly,”…
The war in Ukraine served as a call for European awakening, and defense technology went from a sector where most European VCs did not touch on one of the top investment areas of deep technology. The shift was filmed in Dealroom's latest report on European Defense, Resilience and Security (DSR) and was released along with the NATO Innovation Fund (NIF). This is a hundred million euros initiative that provides direct investment and support funding in the sector. NIF's portfolio includes startups such as Portugal-based dual-use drone company Tekever, which raised a $74 million Series B in November. The tally shows…
If you follow Fintech on X, it's very likely you've come across the account of Sheel Mohnot, co-founder and general partner of Better Tomorrow Ventures. With over 150,000 followers, Mohnot has built an impressive presence on social media sites. Interestingly, many of his posts have nothing to do with venture capital. Mohnot launched Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV) after co-founding several companies, including Feefighters, which was sold to Groupon in 2012. Under $300 million management, BTV focuses on pre-seeding and seed stage investments for fintech startups. It also operates the accelerator, Mint. Since its launch in November 2019, BTV has supported…
According to people close to the company, the Founders Fund is on track to sign a third growth fund fund at the end of March. The costumes belonging to Peter Thiel have raised $3 billion, TechCrunch and Axios also reported, sources said. Funds that are primarily intended to invest additionally in successful late stage portfolio companies are expected to be significantly oversubscribed. Founders Fund's previous $3.4 billion growth fund closed in early 2022 and is fully invested in companies like Rippling, which raised $200 million in April. The Founders Fund is also leading Anduril's latest pay raise, with a round…
Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week we are considering fintech heavyweights like Klarna and Stripe incorporating Crypto into their strategy. This is a company planning IPOs such as Super Bowl ads for IPOs, Stripe's new startups and venture capital. Subscribe to our list of TechCrunch's biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 8am. Big story Image credit: Klarna Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski posted in a post on February 8th that he and Klarna “accept Crypto” in X's post. According to the Financial Times, Swedish Shopping Now is Swedish Purchase Now. That's about a third…
Venture capitalists gobbles term sheets for startups that exercise artificial intelligence, but when it comes to funding a wider range of technology, they're doing fussy things. According to new figures from Analytics Firm Dealroom, the AI startup raised $110 billion last year. At the same time, private companies across the technology spectrum (startups and scale-ups) raised $227 billion in 2024, down 12% from 2023. Image credit: deelroom (screenshot) Dealroom founder Yoram Wijngaarde has been analyzing and counselling in the tech industry for decades. Marketplace had a barnstorming moment in the late 1990s and early 2000s in terms of investor attention,…
The Philadelphia Eagles will face New Orleans' Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday evening for Super Bowl weekend. Many people tune into the Super Bowl for real football, while others do so for halftime performances, harmonizing with the ads alone. This year's ad roster includes many of the names you'll expect to see at the Super Bowl, from beer companies like Budweiser and Coors to snack companies like Doritos. You will also see some ads from a few startups. For startups, especially those with limited cash flow and venture capital investors, spending the millions needed to grab an ad slot in…