Author: TechBrunch

Welcome to TechCrunch Crypto, formerly known as Chain Reaction. Get a roundup of TechCrunch's biggest and most important cryptocurrency articles delivered to your inbox every Thursday at 12pm PT. Subscribe here. Hello. Welcome to the TechCrunch Crypto Newsletter. I hope you all “choose rich” this week. This may be the latest slogan adopted by the crypto community, thanks to Nifty Portal co-founder and CEO Nick O'Neill in a parody video on Friday. This is perhaps a more empowering message, as opposed to the long-standing cryptocurrency tagline that tells people to “enjoy being poor.” Will this help bring more people into…

If your robotics startup is looking to raise funding, there's almost a 100% chance that potential investors will ask you two questions: 1) How do you incorporate generative AI? 2) Have you ever considered building a humanoid robot? The first one is easy to answer. If you run a robotics company in 2024, you've almost certainly experimented with incorporating generative AI into your workflows. The second one is one of the questions we get from investors that we have to really think about and say, “Okay, so what? “You know, humanoids have potential, but they're not really suited for this…

The biotech sector has embraced the microbiome in recent years, a green field market powered by cheap genome sequencing and venture dollars, promising bespoke treatments for everything from gut troubles to skin problems. But a report in Science alleges that these companies lack scientific rigor and meaningful regulation, offering little more than guesswork on a complex and understudied area of human health. The startups in question offer a nuanced response to this criticism that emphasizes their efforts to achieve legitimacy in an area they admit has the potential for snake oil. The microbiome is a general term for the unique…

If you asked many VCs at the end of 2023 whether the IPO market would eventually reopen in 2024, most would have said yes. That's what we know from TechCrunch, of which he surveyed over 40 people in December and they said so. But with two weeks left in the first quarter, there are still no large IPOs completed and very few in the pipeline. Reddit is the only large IPO with a fixed price. Otherwise, there are few SEC public documents, leading to only speculation about who will go public. Examples include Shein, which reportedly filed a secret S-1…

Italy's competition and consumer authority AGCM has fined TikTok 10 million euros (approximately $11 million) following an investigation into concerns about algorithmic safety. Last year, authorities launched an investigation into the so-called “French Scar” issue, in which users on the platform reportedly shared videos of marks on their faces from pinching their skin. In a press release on Thursday, the AGCM said it had sanctioned three regional ByteDance Group companies, Ireland-based TikTok Technology Limited, TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited and TikTok Italy Srl, for what it summarized as “unfair commercial practices”. He announced that he had received it. “The company…

Cost remains one of the biggest obstacles to electric vehicle adoption. Most current EVs sell for higher prices than fossil fuel-powered cars, which prevents many people from purchasing them. That may change soon. Battery materials startup Coreshell this week unveiled a breakthrough technology that could lower the cost of lithium-ion batteries. It's probably not the kind of advancement that would make an EV with 500 miles of range possible, but not many people need that kind of capability. If the core-shell approach proves its worth, it could pave the way for cheaper batteries that don't rely on China. Forecasts for…

Google today announced significant changes to Chrome's Safe Browsing feature. This allows the service to work in real-time by checking your browsing habits against server-side lists without sharing them with Google. Previously, Chrome downloaded a list of sites known to harbor malware, unwanted software, and phishing scams once or twice an hour. Going forward, Chrome will move to a system that sends the URL you're visiting to its servers, where it matches it against a rapidly updated list. The advantage of this is that it takes up to an hour to get an updated list. As Google points out, the…

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Reddit is introducing a new ad format that resembles posts made by users on the platform, the company announced Thursday. The announcement comes as Reddit prepares for an initial public offering (IPO). A new ad format called freeform ads is designed to make users feel like the content they share with each other, helping advertisers maximize engagement. While the new format may be attractive to advertisers, ads that look like regular posts may be an unwelcome addition to users. Advertisers can use this format to combine multiple media types such as images, video, and text using ready-made templates. Reddit says…

ShopMy, the marketing platform for content creators to connect with brands and monetize their content, today announced that it has raised $18.5 million. The company plans to use the funding to expand its network of 40,000 creators, including Alix Earle, the internet's newest “It Girl” with more than 10 million followers on TikTok and Instagram. . ShopMy's marketing platform allows you to build a digital storefront, access a catalog of millions of products, create commissionable links, chat directly with businesses through our mobile app, and earn money from product recommendations. We provide creators with the tools they need. The company…