Author: TechBrunch

A coalition of international law enforcement agencies, including the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the UK's National Crime Agency, disrupted the operations of the notorious ransomware group LockBit. LockBit's dark web leak site, where the group exposes victims and threatens to leak stolen data unless ransom demands are paid, was replaced with a law enforcement notice on Monday. Since first emerging as a ransomware operation in late 2019, LockBit has become one of the world's most prolific cybercriminal organizations, targeting victims around the world and extorting millions of dollars in extorted ransoms. I'm getting paid. Hattie Hafenrichter, a spokesperson…

If you've ever traveled to the French countryside, you may have noticed something special about France. There are beauty salons even in seemingly sparsely populated towns. French startup Planity is capitalizing on France's love for hair salons by launching a SaaS product specifically for hair salons. Over time, the company expanded into other types of beauty salons, such as barber shops and nail salons. And it works surprisingly well, with over 40,000 small businesses currently relying on Planity for things like bookings. In fact, the startup recently raised a Series C round of €45 million ($48 million at current exchange…

In a role reversal, Singaporean fintech startup Xalts, founded 18 months ago, has acquired Contour Network, a digital trading platform founded by eight major banks including HSBC, Standard Chartered and BNP. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the purchase price was in the low millions of dollars, consisting of cash and stock. Backed by Accel and Citi Ventures, Xalts enables financial institutions to build and manage blockchain-based apps. Contour was launched in 2017 by a consortium of eight banks to digitize trade and is currently used by 22 banks and over 100 global companies including Tata Group,…

Tektakaa South Korean online shopping fulfillment startup that provides third-party logistics services to e-commerce sellers, has raised $9.5 million (12.6 billion won) in a Series B round from sole investor Altos Ventures. This equipment helps e-commerce sellers manage their supply chain from warehousing, order packaging, and shipping, allowing TechTaka users to focus on their products and marketing. The startup also offers his SaaS operating system for optimizing online vendors' supply chain and logistics operations. Mr. Soo Young Yang (CEO), who worked as a software engineer at Amazon and Coupang, and Mr. Kyung Wook Lee (CTO), who previously worked at Coupang,…

centered on AI Because it's a well-deserved and overdue time for women academics and others to be in the spotlight, TechCrunch is launching a series of interviews highlighting notable women who have contributed to the AI ​​revolution. As the AI ​​boom continues, we'll be publishing several articles throughout the year highlighting key research that may go unrecognized. Click here for a detailed profile. As a reader, if you see a name we missed and think it should be on the list, please email us. I will try to add more. Here are the key players you should know about. Gender…

To give female academics and others focused on AI their well-deserved and overdue spotlight time, TechCrunch is launching a series of interviews highlighting notable women who have contributed to the AI ​​revolution. Start. As the AI ​​boom continues, we'll be publishing several articles throughout the year highlighting key research that may go unrecognized. Click here for a detailed profile. As an AI expert with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), an international initiative promoting the responsible use of AI, Mr. Tiedrich works with the law to assess and manage risks. Developing…

We've been hearing a lot about the concept of customer experience, the idea that interactions between customers and brands can be improved digitally. So far, results have been mixed at best. Sierra, a new startup from Bret Taylor and Clay Bavor, believes AI agents, unlike websites and mobile apps before them, could be the next technology frontier. In other words, it's an essential digital asset for any business, one that can ultimately deliver on its promise. of digital customer experience. Whether that's true or not, the founders essentially see AI agents as a new technology category that offers entirely new…

MariaDB is the target of another takeover offer as the company that develops the eponymous open source relational database management system (RDBMS) has confirmed it has received a preliminary offer from California-based K1 Investment Management It becomes. K1 quietly revealed on Friday that it had submitted a so-called “unsolicited, non-binding, indicative proposal” to MariaDB. As the name suggests, this is a non-binding exploratory proposal that is subject to change depending on the progress of future negotiations. several weeks. The offer includes buying all of MariaDB's stock for $0.55 per share, which is approximately $37 million based on the company's February…

Please try to imagine. A contractor approaches you with a twinkle in his eye and a plan as vague as if written in invisible ink. “Trust me,” they say. “We'll work on your house for three months. We'll spend 30% of the money on plumbing, 30% on wall and roof framing and construction, 10% on electrical work, and the rest on things like painting. ” When I ask if the house will last until the end, they shrug. “You know what? But isn't that trip exciting?” This is a scenario so ridiculous that it makes the contractor laugh through the…

Stephanie Song, who previously worked on Coinbase's Corporate Development and Ventures team, was often frustrated by the amount of due diligence tasks she and her team had to complete on a daily basis. “Analysts spend hundreds of hours burning the midnight oil doing work that no one else wants to do,” Song told TechCrunch in an email interview. “At the same time, funds are looking for ways to invest less capital and increase team efficiency while reducing operating costs.” Inspired to find a better way, Song teamed up with two former Coinbase colleagues, Brian Fernandez and Anand Chaturvedi, to create…