Author: TechBrunch

Instagram is introducing some new changes to its ranking system to give more emphasis to content from small, original creators across the social network. The Meta-owned platform says creators with large followings and accounts that share reposted content have historically had the most reach on the platform. So now, with a series of new changes rolling out over the coming months, we're looking to level the playing field for all creators in terms of reach. The change comes after months of criticism from creators who say the algorithm is hurting their reach, with Instagram chief Adam Mosseri saying that almost…

Ansa, a startup that helps merchants develop and offer branded virtual wallets, has raised $14 million in Series A funding, the company tells TechCrunch exclusively. Ansa's latest funding was led by Renegade Partners, with participation from existing backers Bain Capital Ventures, BoxGroup, and Wischoff Ventures, and new investor B37 Ventures. With this latest funding, Ansa has raised nearly $20 million in total venture capital, including his $5.4 million seed round. The company declined to reveal its current valuation, saying only the Series A was raised “at a significant valuation multiple.” Notably, female investors such as Renata Quintini of Renegade Partners,…

Entrepreneurs Al Yang and Adar Arnon met at Harvard Business School and quickly realized they had a common interest in cybersecurity. “We are seeing an evolving business environment, and with it comes an unprecedented need to improve security processes,” Arnone told TechCrunch. “The importance of security has increased exponentially… [it’s] It's non-negotiable for technology buyers. ” Jan and Arnon wanted to turn this interest into something more, so they started Safebase. Safebase was accepted into Y Combinator's accelerator program during the pandemic. Safebase announced Tuesday that it has raised $33 million in a Series B round led by Touring Capital.…

With the number of people using email approaching 5 billion worldwide, newsletters delivered regularly to people's inboxes are a sticky way to grab attention, no matter what you're writing. It continues to look like. Now, in a sign of the medium's popularity, one of his startups, which is building a platform for creating and distributing newsletters, has announced funding. New York-based beehiiv has raised $33 million and plans to use the funds to expand its platform's technology as well as its business. NEA is leading the Series B, with participation from Sapphire Sport and previous backer Lightspeed Venture Partners. The…

WeTransfer will add a new feature that will allow users to sell files directly on the platform, the company announced on Tuesday. According to one study, 87% of content creators report late or missed payments. This new feature will allow photographers, designers, illustrators, and other creators to start making money right away without having to spend time chasing down invoices for payment. Additionally, creators don't have to deal with the additional costs of a website or storefront to sell. WeTransfer's integrated payments are powered by Stripe and are being rolled out to all users globally. The company says there will…

Letting women make the first move has been Bumble's modus operandi since its launch in 2014. Ten years later, the company wants to give women more control. “Opening Move” is a new feature introduced to allow women to pre-write their opening lines, allowing them to instantly send a message without having to come up with new words for each match. The feature is part of a major revamp of the app announced Tuesday that will allow women to prepare questions to send to their matches, as well as set additional dating intent preferences and prompts. In non-binary, same-sex pairs, both…

The ransomware group that hacked U.S. medical technology giant Change Healthcare used a set of stolen credentials that were not protected by multi-factor authentication, according to the CEO of parent company UnitedHealth. Accessed the company's systems remotely. UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Whitty wrote ahead of Wednesday's House subcommittee hearing on the February ransomware attack that caused months of disruption across the U.S. health care system. I testified in This is the first time a major health insurance company has assessed how hackers infiltrated Change Healthcare's systems and exfiltrated large amounts of medical data from those systems. UnitedHealth announced last week that…

Yelp today announced a new AI-powered chatbot for consumers to help them connect with businesses relevant to their jobs. The company joins a long list of organizations that are turning to AI chatbots as a supporting medium. The company is rolling out its AI assistant in the Projects tab of its iOS app, with plans to expand to Android later this year. Yelp says the chatbot uses OpenAI's Large-Scale Language Model (LLM) and proprietary data to ask users questions about their problems and connect them with experts related to the job. Rather than using traditional search boxes to find experts…

Technology founder Dan Purcell was devastated to discover that his ex-partner had posted videos of their private, intimate relationships on a porn site without his knowledge. He was determined to come up with a solution to prevent such violations from happening again. His Ceartas startup has now raised a $4.5 million seed round from European VC firm Earlybird and Upside VC, a fund founded by YouTube influencer group The Sidemen. Ceartas DMCA was founded in 2021 by Purcell (CEO) and Jonny Smith (CTO) to apply AI to brand protection and anti-piracy services for content creators and brands. This is done…

Food is important to Nigerians, with households spending almost 60% of their income on food, the highest level worldwide, according to official reports. With this strong affinity for food and the rise of online shopping, Nigeria's food delivery market could reach $2-3 billion by 2032. Despite the promising market size, there is still no clear leader. But backed by Y Combinator and armed with a $2.5 million seed investment, Lagos-based Chowdeck is looking to make its mark in a field that has produced heavy hitters like Jumia and Bolt. Founded by Femi Aluko, Olumide Ojo, and Lanre Yusuf, Chowdeck offers…