Author: TechBrunch

Startups don't build themselves. TechCrunch's builder stage will disrupt 2025, which will take place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 27-29. Investors, operators and founders will start talking about tactics. This year we will bring some of the keenest minds of the game onto the stage. These include legendary investor Elad Gil, former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, and Flexport founder Ryan Petersen. If you're looking for real-world insights from people who have actually built and supported the companies that define categories, this is where it happens. If you're struggling with your first term seat, whether you're wondering whether…

Two U.S. Senators have requested that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate Spotify on allegations that it had combined music streaming and audiobook services into more expensive subscriptions without user consent, while also reducing royalty payments to creators in the process. On Friday, June 20th, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Ben Ray Lejean wrote to the FTC, claiming that Spotify converted their standard premium subscription into a high-cost bundled subscription without notifying consumers. They also highlighted that existing US regulations allow digital music providers to pay for reduced music royalty rates if subscriptions are bundled with other legitimate products. “Spotify's…

AFLAC, one of the largest insurers in the United States, says hackers stole an unknown amount of customer personal information from their network during a cyber attack earlier this month. The insurance giant confirmed that in a legally necessary filing filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the company identified hackers in its system on June 12th and contained the case. AFLAC said that supplementary insurance is provided to individuals whose primary providers do not cover costs, and although the number of customers affected by the data breaches remains to be known, personal data includes customer claims…

Early stage founders, listen! Front row seats will be required on the Builder Stage at 1pm on October 27th. This session at TechCrunch brings together Index Ventures partner Nina Achadjian in 2025. Jerry Chen, general partner, Greylock. Viviana Faga, Felicys general partner, will share investment priorities for 2026 in AI, data, cloud, robots and more. This veteran VCS group gives you their views on emerging sectors and innovations that will attract their attention. Next, would you like to know where smart money is heading? attend. It will be held in Western Moscone, San Francisco, October 27th-29th, 2025. Sign up here…

In 2018, when Bitcoin was trading around $4,000 and most Americans thought cryptocurrency was at least a trend, Katie Havn found herself in the debate stage in Mexico City across the board from Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist who dismissed digital assets as almost unworthy. When Krugman focused on the wild price movements of Bitcoin, Haun piloted the conversation towards something else, Stablecoins. She argued on the stage, explaining how digital tokens are pinned to the US dollar offer the benefits of blockchain technology without the ups and downs of traditional cryptocurrencies. Krugman completely dismissed the idea. It wasn't…

It's now or never – this is your final day to round out all the stage TechCrunch savings that take place on July 15th in Boston. Prices will rise tonight, June 22nd, at 11:59pm. If you are thinking about attending, now is the time to commit. Please register here. TC All Stage brings together founders, investors and operators from across the startup landscape for one high-intensity day of strategy, storytelling and startup momentum. Whether you want to build something new or help with the next one, this is the room you can enter. It's not just what you hear -…

Time is coming soon! All stages of regular bird pricing in TechCrunch will end on Sunday, June 22nd at 11:59pm Pt. That means you only have two days left to be trapped in savings of up to $210 on your ticket to one of the ultimate founder events of the summer. TC is one action-packed day built on July 15th for founders, investors and startup operators more than surface-level inspiration on all Boston's stages at the Sova Power Station. Expect tactical sessions, real conversations, and curated connections. Everything is under one roof. If you are a founder, investor, or startup…

Charles Hudson had just shut down his fifth fund a few months ago. This is when one of the limited partners asks him to do the exercise. I wondered if Hudson sold all the portfolio companies in Series A. How about Series B? Or Series C? The questions were not academic. Twenty years in venture capital, Hudson is permanently looking at the mathematics of seed investment changes. LPS, who previously had a hold period of 7-8 years, suddenly asked about interim fluidity. “Seven or eight years feels like a really long time,” says Hudson. Why: The steady flow of venture…

SNAP has obtained Saturn, a calendar app that helps students manage school schedules and share them with others. The financial conditions for the transaction have not been disclosed. Saturn will continue to work as a standalone app. This news was first reported by Engadget. According to SNAP, the Saturn team is mostly participating in SNAP as part of the acquisition, with just under 30 full-time employees on board. Snap didn't share much about its acquisition plans, but a spokesman for the company told TechCrunch via email that Snap would bring Snap's calendar expertise to Snapchat in an innovative way. Founded…

X's payment services plans could expand beyond the digital realm, new data suggests. According to research from mobile app intelligence company App Sensa, the X app has been updated over the past few weeks with several references related to physical debit cards that can be customized with the X username. Dozens of strings of X app code can be found on a new debit card, such as checking delivery status, activating cards after arrival, reporting lost or stolen, locking cards, and setting pins. Multiple strings contain the term “Physical_card_option” and not just the “physical” that the data describes, but merely…