Author: TechBrunch

There probably won't be a big jump for a startup from the incubation seed stage to a Series A round. Considering how large a Series A step-up landing can be, there are many guidelines. However, most of them seem a little outdated in today's market. For example, the time-honored rule that startups must have $1 million a year or its equivalent in recurring revenue seems an anachronism today. After all, some companies have raised less money in recent quarters, some are struggling to raise money, and others are raising more money. input Alex Kayyal of Lightspeed Venture PartnersHe will be…

Proton Mail, the end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) email service from Switzerland's Proton, is now officially available via a dedicated desktop app, nearly three months after its beta debut. However, despite previous claims that the client will be available to all Proton Mail users in early 2024, the company has decided to limit it to paid users. “Due to the very positive response during the beta phase, and given the significant infrastructure and maintenance demands, we have decided to keep the desktop app exclusive to premium subscribers to ensure the highest quality of service. ,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch. Proton Mail Desktop…

A Paris-based startup that set out to develop a marketing tool has raised $22 million after successfully pivoting to billing. The field turns out to be even more divided among potential customers. Lago, an open source billing platform developer, has raised money in his two funding rounds, which he announced in conjunction with its official launch. It launches today, but has been operating in closed beta for some time, during which time it has welcomed a number of notable startups as early customers, including Mistral.ai, Together.ai, and Juni. CEO Anh-Tho Chuong said the company's focus on open source is very…

Youverify, a Nigerian provider of identity verification and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions for banks and start-ups, specializes in providing off-the-shelf and customized digital solutions to public and private institutions in Saudi Arabia. Secured a $2.5 million investment from Elm. Elm's pre-Series A investment also includes a strategic partnership that will help Youverify streamline enterprise AML compliance, enhance global risk intelligence, and expand the product into new markets. Starting in 2022, Youverify has expanded its real-time business verification reach to 145 jurisdictions in 48 countries. Additionally, the platform covers real-time identity verification, including credit history and national identification numbers, in 46…

Last year, Amazon introduced an AI-powered generation feature that allows sellers to quickly create product listings by entering just a few words about their products. The company is currently making it easier for sellers to create listings if their products are already listed on their website. The e-commerce giant's new tool uses AI to parse details from product URLs on other sites to create Amazon listings.This feature is rolling out in English to US sellers “In addition to generating listings using sparse amounts of text or images, we are launching a feature that allows sellers to easily leverage their existing…

Deep tech is on the rise in Europe, in part because of the congruence between AI and the local distinction of excellence in mathematics. But it also benefits from a growing community, public support and increased funding. DTS3, Elaia's third deep tech seed fund, is one example. “This is twice the size of our previous two funds,” Anne-Sophie Carrese, managing partner at the French VC firm, told TechCrunch. The first close was 60 million euros and is expected to reach 120 million euros by the time the financing is complete, which should be achieved by early 2025, she said. The…

Two years ago, the Irish government fixed a vulnerability in the country's coronavirus vaccination portal that exposed the vaccination records of around 1 million residents. However, details of the vulnerability were not disclosed until this week after public coordination attempts with government agencies ended in a deadlock. Security researcher Aaron Costello was interviewed by the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) in December 2021, one year after mass vaccination against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) began in Ireland. The company said it had discovered a vulnerability in its new coronavirus vaccination portal. Costello, who has deep expertise in securing Salesforce systems, currently works…

OpenAI's legal battle with the New York Times over data used to train AI models may still be ongoing. However, OpenAI is in the process of signing deals with other publishers, including some of the largest news publishers in France and Spain. OpenAI announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with Le Monde and Prisa Media to bring French and Spanish language news content to OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot. OpenAI said in a blog post that the partnership will bring the organization's latest event coverage from brands like El País, Cinco Días, As, and El Huffpost in front of ChatGPT…

Dogwifat and other tokens influenced by the political influence of Presidents Biden and Trump are also soaring in price. Jacqueline Melinek 7 hours The token behind Solana, a Layer 1 blockchain that competes with the Ethereum blockchain, has been going through the wringer after plummeting from a high of about $260 to a low of about $8 in early 2023. But like any good movie with a redemption arc for its characters, Solana also has one. The cryptocurrency soared above $160 on Wednesday, its highest level since January 2022. In terms of market capitalization (excluding stablecoins), it is the fourth…

You may have heard of Grok, X's answer to OpenAI's ChatGPT. It's a chatbot, and in that sense it works as expected, answering questions about current events, pop culture, and more. But unlike other chatbots, Grok has a “bit of a wit” and “a rebellious personality,” as X owner Elon Musk puts it. Simply put, Grok is happy to talk about topics that are usually off-limits to other chatbots, like polarizing political theories and conspiracies. And in doing so, he ends up using language that is not polite. For example, when answering the question, “When is it appropriate to listen…