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Why, hello, Crunchianstas!
Today Haje is celebrating Saint Lucia with a candle in hand. In fact, it’s not about the traditional Scandinavian celebration or the joy of candlelight and saffron buns, but because he’s visiting his parents and there’s a blackout. Which means all kinds of fun in cold, snowy Europe, -7°C December. Christine, on the other hand, is as wicked as Chillin in 80 degree heat. Fortunately, that’s in Fahrenheit, or we’d be looking at some serious discomfort.
Okay, that’s enough about the weather outside. Let’s see which way the wind is blowing in other places like the tech world. – Christine And came
TechCrunch’s Top 3
- Shopping clothes for stripesAfter much fodder about why Sam Bankman-Fried was not behind bars for his involvement in the FTX collapse. Darrell The SBF reported that the arrests in the Bahamas were related to fraud charges brought against several US government agencies. We’re sure this is just the beginning.
- Don’t let them escape: If it’s not easy, customers are going to move on. That’s why TheyDo helps companies take ownership of their customer journeys and help large companies organize with the customer in mind. Mike Reports.
- Blue and gray and gold, oh my!You may have noticed that Twitter has been in the spotlight lately. It is intentional. We can’t keep up with him either, so thank you Ivan To break down what all those check marks and badges mean. More checkmark news in the Big Tech section.
Startups and VCs
Ngrok announced today that it has raised $50 million in a Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with Coatue participating, after a seven-year hiatus. Shreve says Kyle With the new capital, Ngrok will scale up operations and “continue to invest” in improving its core product offering.
The trillion dollar construction industry is not known for its inefficiency, failing to keep up with the times and neglecting digitization in favor of legacy equipment; Paul Reports. There’s plenty of evidence that things are changing, with countless startups raising funds to modernize the construction industry. German VC firm Fundamental today announced its new fund, targeting $85 million globally in early-stage construction tech startups, building on the success of its $65 million initial round that closed in 2019.
And we have five more for you:
3 methods to estimate pre-revenue novel AI startups
Image Credits: Charles Taylor / EyeEm (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
The Berkus method, scorecard pricing, and venture capital are the most commonly used frameworks for pre-revenue startup costs, but when it comes to AI, are traditional metrics still relevant?
“AI can scale more quickly than other technologies, so an AI product that works at the beta or minimally viable production stage may not work for millions of users,” said Ryan E. Long, principal attorney at Long & Associates.
In a lengthy article that identifies regulatory issues and shares strategies designed to “reduce the number of uncertain variables,” he identifies some of the limitations of using traditional methods to value early stage funding of “prototypes or new AI startups.”
Now three more from the TC+ team:
TechCrunch+ Our membership program helps founders and startup teams stay ahead of the pack. You can register here.. Use code “DC” for 15% off annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
Apple’s iOS 16.2 update is now available for all users with iPadOS 16.2 and macOS Ventura 13.1; Ivan He wrote. It looks at the major features of the update, including improved encryption for iCloud data, live activities on the home screen, a karaoke feature for Apple Music, and the new collaborative whiteboard app Freeform.
Speaking of Apple, Zach He spent some time tracking information from the consumer tech giant, which confirmed that “an iPhone software update released two weeks ago patched a zero-day security vulnerability that it says is now actively being exploited.”
And we have five more for you:
- Goodbye, tickKristen got the coveted blue Twitter check last year after trying for 10 years and now it’s going. Rebecca Twitter wrote that it will “remove all old verifications in a few months.” Christine took her profile picture to show that she was once famous.
- Well, the world of virtual reality“Westworld” fans should prepare for a major viewing event soon because the show, along with others, may soon be removed from HBO Max, he wrote. Lauren.
- Hello, new review: It is difficult to know what private companies are worth, so it can be a good thing when a company tells us. And while the big estimate was the goal for 2021, companies were more realistic in 2022. In this case, Roman Checkout.com writes why it lowered its internal estimates.
- Hello for compensationUber’s food delivery business has agreed with more than 4,000 fired couriers in Spain to pay severance pay to those released ahead of the country’s labor reform law. Natasha L Reports.
- Bye and bye: Paul Microsoft wrote the Soundscape 3D audio app as a sunset, but released the code to developers in an open-source format.
