Author: TechBrunch

Please act quickly! Applications for the content call close today, April 26th at 11:59pm PT. If you're an experienced startup professional ready to lead a session at TechCrunch Disrupt, October 28-30, now's your chance to apply. Submit your proposal to speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 before the deadline. Your topic should empower startup founders, builders, and entrepreneurs to move their businesses forward. Choose the format that best suits your content (or try both!): Breakout Session: A 30-minute presentation followed by 20 minutes of Q&A for up to 100 participants.Roundtable Discussion: Guide a 30-minute interactive conversation with up to 25 participants…

NOQX is a Stockholm-based startup with a mission to help companies improve their goal setting, collaboration mechanisms, and experiences. We just raised a pre-seed round of $200,000 to help achieve that goal and, in turn, help companies with between 50 and 500 employees. The company has been around for not that long. The team behind NOQX founded the company in 2023 after becoming frustrated with the lack of effective goal management tools for businesses. NOQX's motto is “clarity of purpose” and we work on the important functions of any business, and indeed the pitch deck. So I was intrigued by…

The OpenAI Startup Fund is a venture fund related to but technically separate from OpenAI that invests in early-stage, typically AI-related companies in fields such as education, law, and science, with a $15 million tranche. has been secretly closed. Two anonymous investors contributed $15 million in new cash on or about April 19, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The document was filed on April 25th and lists the name of Ian Hathaway, the manager and sole partner of the OpenAI startup fund. The capital was transferred to a legal entity called a special purpose…

Google is testing a new “Practice Speaking” feature in search to help users improve their English speaking skills. The company told TechCrunch that the feature is available to English learners in Argentina, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Venezuela who are participating in Search Labs, a program that allows users to try out the early Google search experience. He said there is. According to the company, the purpose of the experiment is to improve users' English skills by engaging them in AI-powered interactive language learning exercises and helping them use new words in everyday situations. . Speaking practice builds on a…

Apple's App Store isn't always as reliable as the company claims. The latest example comes from RockAuto, an auto parts retailer popular with home mechanics and DIY enthusiasts. The company is angry that a fake app masquerading as an official app has not been removed from the App Store, despite multiple complaints to Apple. Jim Taylor, RockAuto's co-founder and president, first noticed the situation when customers started complaining about “annoying ads” in the company's app. “I was surprised because he doesn't have the app,” he said. Fake RockAuto app on the App Store. Image credit: Apple (screen capture by TechCrunch)…

Apple's App Store isn't always as reliable as the company claims. The latest example comes from RockAuto, an auto parts retailer popular with home mechanics and DIY enthusiasts. The company is angry that a fake app masquerading as an official app has not been removed from the App Store, despite multiple complaints to Apple. Jim Taylor, RockAuto's co-founder and president, first noticed the situation when customers started complaining about “annoying ads” in the company's app. “I was surprised because he doesn't have the app,” he said. “We discovered that someone had placed an app in the Apple App Store using…

You don't need venture backing to succeed Rubrik's strong IPO pricing and warm reception from the public market following its listing further reinforces the view that public markets are not as closed to tech startups as some think. If Rubrik's results aren't enough to break the chaos, there's probably something else going on. But a lot more happened this week. So, as usual, the Equity staff had a mountain of news to tell, with a little bit of our own mixed in as well. Fortunately, it all turned out to be very interesting. So Mary Ann and Alex started at…

Darktrace is set to be taken private in a deal that values ​​the UK-based cybersecurity giant at about $5 billion. A start-up called Luke Bidco Limited, founded by private equity giant Thomas Bravo, offered an all-cash bid of 6.20 pounds ($7.75) per share, which was 44% higher than the three-month average price. It corresponds to the amount with a premium of %. However, this premium falls to just 20% when compared to Darktrace's closing price yesterday, as the company's share price has risen 20% to £5.18 in the last month. Founded in 2013 in Cambridge, UK, Darktrace is best known…

Global Founders Capital is a Berlin-based early-stage VC firm with close ties to German startup factory Rocket Internet, and will become the venture arm of Rocket Internet. The company has previously raised two $1 billion funds, and just a few years ago its name appeared on dozens of deals a year. But then things quieted down. Now I understand why. Going forward, we will only invest from Rocket Internet's balance sheet. Last year, the Financial Times reported that Global Founders Capital was in the midst of a major strategic shift. A few weeks ago, the VC firm reached out to…

xAI, Elon Musk's 10-month-old competitor to AI genius OpenAI, has raised $6 billion at a pre-money valuation of $18 billion, according to a reliable source close to the deal. . The deal will give investors a quarter of the company and is expected to close in the coming weeks, unless the terms of the deal change. The trading conditions have already been changed once. As of last weekend, Jared Birchall, head of Musk's family office, told prospective investors that xAI had raised $3 billion at a pre-money valuation of $15 billion. That number was quickly adjusted, given that many investors…