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Gretel announces $12M Series A to make it easier to anonymize data As companies work with data, one of the big obstacles they face is making sure they are not exposing personally identifiable information (PII) or other sensitive data. It usually requires a painstaking manual effort to strip out that data. Gretel, an early stage startup, wants to change that by making it faster and easier to […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Gretel announces $12M Series A to make it easier to anonymize data November 17, 2020 at 03:00AM

Computer vision startup Chooch.ai scores $20M Series A Chooch.ai, a startup that hopes to bring computer vision more broadly to companies to help them identify and tag elements at high speed, announced a $20 million Series A today. Vickers Venture Partners led the round with participation from 212, Streamlined Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, Waterman Ventures and several other unnamed investors. Today’s investment brings […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Computer vision startup Chooch.ai scores $20M Series A November 17, 2020 at 01:00AM

Undock raises $1.6M to help solve your group scheduling nightmares Over the past decade, many startups have tried (and many have failed) to rethink the way we schedule our meetings and calls. But we seem to be in a calendrical renaissance, with incumbents like Google and Outlook getting smarter and smarter and newcomers like Calendly growing significantly. Undock, an Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator-backed startup, is looking […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Undock raises $1.6M to help solve your group scheduling nightmares November 17, 2020 at 01:00AM

Harbr raises $38.5M to help enterprises exchange and share big data troves securely Organizations today are sitting on mountains of data that they amass and use in their own businesses, but many are also looking to share those troves with other parties to expand their prospects — a model that comes with challenges (privacy and data protection being two key ones); and, these days (due to Covid-19 and […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Harbr raises $38.5M to help enterprises exchange and share big data troves securely November 17, 2020 at 01:00AM

Which emerging technologies are enterprise companies getting serious about in 2020? Even within the same industry, not all big, established companies are the same when it comes to their readiness to start investing in new technology. Enterprise – TechCrunch - Which emerging technologies are enterprise companies getting serious about in 2020? November 14, 2020 at 04:00AM

Kyklo raises $8.5M to bring electrical distributors online Kyklo, a startup that helps wholesale distributors of electrical and automation products launch e-commerce stores, is announcing that it has raised $8.5 million in seed funding. The industry may sound a bit arcane, but it’s one that founders Remi Ducrocq (Kyklo’s CEO) and Fabien Legouic (CTO) know from having worked at Schneider Electric. Ducrocq said […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Kyklo raises $8.5M to bring electrical distributors online November 14, 2020 at 01:00AM

Twitter labeled 300,000 US election tweets — around 0.2% Just over a week after the U.S. elections, Twitter has offered a breakdown of some of its efforts to label misleading tweets. The site says that from October 27 to November 11, it labeled some 300,000 tweets as part of its Civic Integrity Policy. That amounts to around 0.2% of the total number of election-related […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter labeled 300,000 US election tweets — around 0.2% November 13, 2020 at 09:00AM

Facebook’s Snapchat-like ‘Vanish Mode’ feature arrives on Messenger and Instagram Facebook today announced its new Snapchat-like feature for disappearing messaging, Vanish Mode, is arriving on Messenger and Instagram. The feature, meant for more casual conversations, allows users to set chats to automatically delete after the message is seen and the chat is closed. In Vanish Mode, Messenger and Instagram users can send text chats, emoji, […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook’s Snapchat-like ‘Vanish Mode’ feature arrives on Messenger and Instagram November 13, 2020 at 05:00AM

Mirantis brings extensions to its Lens Kubernetes IDE, launches a new Kubernetes distro Earlier this year, Mirantis, the company that now owns Docker’s enterprise business, acquired Lens, a desktop application that provides developers with something akin to an IDE for managing their Kubernetes clusters. At the time, Mirantis CEO Adrian Ionel told me that the company wants to offer enterprises the tools to quickly build modern applications. Today, […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Mirantis brings extensions to its Lens Kubernetes IDE, launches a new Kubernetes distro November 13, 2020 at 03:00AM

Livestorm raises $30M for its browser-based meeting and webinar platform Video communication startup Livestorm announced today that it has raised $30 million in Series B funding. Co-founder and CEO Gilles Bertaux told me that the company started out with a focus on webinars before launching a video meeting product as well (which we used for our interview). “The way we think about it is, webinars […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Livestorm raises $30M for its browser-based meeting and webinar platform November 13, 2020 at 03:00AM

Menlo Security announces $100M Series E on $800M valuation Menlo Security, a malware and phishing prevention startup, announced a $100 million Series E today on an $800 million valuation. The round was led by Vista Equity Partners with help from Neuberger Berman, General Catalyst, JP Morgan and other unnamed existing investors. The company has now raised approximately $250 million. CEO and co-founder Amir Ben-Efraim […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Menlo Security announces $100M Series E on $800M valuation November 13, 2020 at 03:00AM

Facebook loses final appeal in defamation takedown case, must remove same and similar hate posts globally Austria’s Supreme Court has dismissed Facebook’s appeal in a long running speech takedown case — ruling it must remove references to defamatory comments made about a local politician worldwide for as long as the injunction lasts. The Austrian Supreme Court has now delivered its final judgment in the #Glawischnig-Piesczek case. #Facebook has to remove the […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook loses final appeal in defamation takedown case, must remove same and similar hate posts globally November 13, 2020 at 03:00AM

Databricks launches SQL Analytics AI and data analytics company Databricks today announced the launch of SQL Analytics, a new service that makes it easier for data analysts to run their standard SQL queries directly on data lakes. And with that, enterprises can now easily connect their business intelligence tools like Tableau and Microsoft’s Power BI to these data repositories […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Databricks launches SQL Analytics November 13, 2020 at 02:00AM

Solo.io announces service mesh platform aimed at enterprise customers Solo.io, a Cambridge, MA service mesh startup, announced some big changes to its approach today with a full-stack platform of services aimed squarely at the enterprise. The culmination of this will be Gloo Mesh Enterprise, a new product that will be available in Beta by the end of the year. Service meshes are part of […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Solo.io announces service mesh platform aimed at enterprise customers November 13, 2020 at 01:00AM

mmhmm videochat software is now available to all for Mac mmhmm, the presentation software developed by Evernote founder Phil Libin, is today coming out of beta. The mmhmm app is now officially available for Mac. The software allows folks to spice up their video calls with the ability to add different backgrounds, play videos, add images, and use filters, among other cool effects. The app […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - mmhmm videochat software is now available to all for Mac November 13, 2020 at 12:01AM

Instagram redesign puts Reels and Shop tabs on the home screen Instagram is putting its TikTok competitor Reels front-and-center in a redesigned version of its app by giving it the center position on its new navigation bar. The update, arriving today, also replaces the Activity tab (heart icon) with the Shop tab, following a test that had changed this aspect of the app’s home screen earlier […] Social – TechCrunch - Instagram redesign puts Reels and Shop tabs on the home screen November 13, 2020 at 12:01AM

Twitter brings its Stories feature, Fleets, to Japan Twitter’s own version of Stories, which it calls “Fleets,” have arrived in Japan. The new feature allows users to post ephemeral content that automatically disappears after 24 hours. Though Fleets previously launched in Brazil, India, Italy and South Korea, Japan is notably Twitter’s second largest market, with some estimated 51.9 million users. It’s also second […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter brings its Stories feature, Fleets, to Japan November 12, 2020 at 09:00AM

Facebook extends its temporary ban on political ads for another month The election is settled, but the nation is far from it. Before Election Day in the U.S., Facebook hit pause on all political and social issue ads. At the time, the company made it clear that the precautionary measure designed to turn off one potential faucet of misinformation would be temporary, but it couldn’t say […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook extends its temporary ban on political ads for another month November 12, 2020 at 03:00AM

Greylock’s Asheem Chandna on ‘shifting left’ in cybersecurity and the future of enterprise startups Last week was a busy week, what with an election in Myanmar and all (well, and the United States, I guess). So perhaps you were glued to your TV or smartphone, and missed out on our conversation with Asheem Chandna, a long-time partner at Greylock who has invested in enterprise and cybersecurity startups for nearly […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Greylock’s Asheem Chandna on ‘shifting left’ in cybersecurity and the future of enterprise startups November 12, 2020 at 01:00AM

Fishtown Analytics raises $29.5M Series B for its data engineering platform Fishtown Analytics, the Philadelphia-based company behind the dbt open-source data engineering tool, today announced that it has raised a $29.5 million Series B round led by Sequoia Captial, with participation from previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and Amplify Partners. The company is building a platform that allows data analysts to more easily create and disseminate organizational […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Fishtown Analytics raises $29.5M Series B for its data engineering platform November 12, 2020 at 01:00AM

Boostrapped Clearfind wants to cut your software spend, for a small fee Software is eating the world, and that grub can be costly. As the market for enterprise tools and software continues to balloon, organizations are spending more and more on that software across an increasingly complicated and rapidly evolving landscape. That’s where Clearfind comes in. Clearfind was founded (and bootstrapped) by James Layfield and Jocelyn Simons. […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Boostrapped Clearfind wants to cut your software spend, for a small fee November 12, 2020 at 01:00AM

Palo Alto Networks to acquire Expanse in deal worth $800M Palo Alto Networks has been on buying binge for the last couple of years, and today it added to its haul, announcing a deal to acquire Expanse for $800 million in cash and equity awards. The deal breaks down to $670 million in cash and stock and another $130 million in equity awards to Expanse […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Palo Alto Networks to acquire Expanse in deal worth $800M November 12, 2020 at 01:00AM

Mozart Data lands $4M seed to provide out-of-the-box data stack Mozart Data founders Peter Fishman and Dan Silberman have been friends for over 20 years, working at various startups, and even launching a hot sauce company together along the way. As technologists, they saw companies building a data stack over and over. They decided to provide one for them and Mozart Data was born. The […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Mozart Data lands $4M seed to provide out-of-the-box data stack November 12, 2020 at 12:03AM

SentinelOne, an AI-based endpoint security firm, confirms $267M raise on a $3.1B valuation This year, more than ever before because of the Covid-19 pandemic, huge droves of workers and consumers have been turning to the internet to communicate, get things done, and entertain themselves. That has created a huge bonanza for cybercriminals, but also companies that are building tools to combat them. In the latest development, an Israel-hatched, […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - SentinelOne, an AI-based endpoint security firm, confirms $267M raise on a $3.1B valuation November 11, 2020 at 07:00PM

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna wants to completely transform his organization When IBM announced it was spinning out its infrastructure services business last month, it was surely a sign that the company was going all in on hybrid cloud. Today in an interview with Jon Fortt at the CNBC Evolve summit, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna made it clear that his whole focus is going to be […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - IBM CEO Arvind Krishna wants to completely transform his organization November 11, 2020 at 06:03AM

With $29M in funding, Isovalent launches its cloud-native networking and security platform Isovalent, a startup that aims to bring networking into the cloud-native era, today announced that it has raised a $29 million Series A round led by Andreessen Horowitz and Google. In addition, the company today officially launched its Cilium Enterprise platform (which was in stealth until now) to help enterprises connect, observe and secure their […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - With $29M in funding, Isovalent launches its cloud-native networking and security platform November 11, 2020 at 02:00AM

Explo snags $2.3M seed to help build customer-facing BI dashboards Explo, a member of the Y Combinator Winter 2020 class, which is helping customers build customer-facing business intelligence dashboards, announced a $2.3 million seed round today. Investors included Amplo VC, Soma Capital and Y Combinator along with several individual investors. The company originally was looking at a way to simplify getting data ready for models […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Explo snags $2.3M seed to help build customer-facing BI dashboards November 11, 2020 at 01:00AM

JumpCloud raises $75M Series E as cloud directory service thrives during pandemic JumpCloud, the cloud directory service that debuted at TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield in 2013, announced a $75 million Series E today. The round was led by BlackRock with participation from existing investor General Atlantic. The company wasn’t willing to discuss the current valuation, but has now raised over $166 million, according to Crunchbase data. Changes in […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - JumpCloud raises $75M Series E as cloud directory service thrives during pandemic November 11, 2020 at 12:03AM

Qualcomm Ventures invests in four 5G startups Qualcomm Ventures, Qualcomm’s investment arm, today announced four new strategic investments in 5G-related startups. These companies are private mobile network specialist Celona, mobile network automation platform Cellwize, the edge computing platform Azion and Pensando, another edge computing platform that combines its software stack with custom hardware. The overall goal here is obviously to help jumpstart […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Qualcomm Ventures invests in four 5G startups November 10, 2020 at 11:00PM

Mirror founder Brynn Putnam on life with Lululemon — and whether or not she sold too soon Brynn Putnam has a lot to feel great about. A Harvard grad and former professional ballet dancer who opened the first of what have become three high-intensity fitness studios in New York, she then launched a second business in 2016 when — while pregnant with her son — she was exercising at home and couldn’t […] Social – TechCrunch - Mirror founder Brynn Putnam on life with Lululemon — and whether or not she sold too soon November 10, 2020 at 03:00PM

Twitter may slow down users’ ability to ‘like’ tweets containing misinformation Twitter is working to expand the use of its “misinformation” labels on misleading tweets. The company has developed a new feature, not yet live, that would pop up a “misleading information” label when a user tries to “Like” a tweet that’s been labeled as misinformation. The feature was discovered by reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong in […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter may slow down users’ ability to ‘like’ tweets containing misinformation November 10, 2020 at 08:00AM

Adobe acquires marketing workflow startup Workfront for $1.5B Adobe just announced that it is acquiring marketing workflow management startup Workfront for $1.5 billion. Bloomberg first reported the sale would be happening earlier today. Workfront was founded back in 2001, making it a bit long in tooth for a private company that has raised $375 million, according to Crunchbase. But it gives Adobe more […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Adobe acquires marketing workflow startup Workfront for $1.5B November 10, 2020 at 07:00AM

‘Free speech’ social network Parler tops app store rankings following Biden’s election win Chafing at new misinformation safeguards and a lost election, dejected Trump supporters flocked to the alternative social network Parler over the weekend. Parler’s homepage promises that users can “Speak freely and express yourself openly, without fear of being ‘deplatformed’ for your views.” Parler shot up the charts across Apple’s App Store and the Google Play […] Social – TechCrunch - ‘Free speech’ social network Parler tops app store rankings following Biden’s election win November 10, 2020 at 05:00AM

Qumulo update adds NvME caching for more efficient use of flash storage Qumulo, the Seattle-based data storage startup, announced a bunch of updates today including support for NvME caching, an approach that should enable customers to access faster flash storage at a lower price point. NvME flash storage development is evolving quickly, driving down the price with higher performance, a win-win situation for large data producers, but […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Qumulo update adds NvME caching for more efficient use of flash storage November 10, 2020 at 12:02AM

Cellwize raises $32M to help carriers and their partners adopt and run 5G services As 5G slowly moves from being a theoretical to an active part of the coverage map for the mobile industry — if not for consumers themselves — companies that are helping carriers make the migration less painful and less costly are seeing a boost of attention. In the latest development, Cellwize, a startup that’s built […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Cellwize raises $32M to help carriers and their partners adopt and run 5G services November 9, 2020 at 11:00PM

Tim Berners Lee’s startup Inrupt releases Solid privacy platform for enterprises Inrupt, the startup from World Wide Web founder Tim Berners-Lee, announced an enterprise version of the Solid privacy platform today, which allows large organizations and governments to build applications that put users in control of their data. Berners-Lee has always believed that the web should be free and open, but large organizations have grown up […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Tim Berners Lee’s startup Inrupt releases Solid privacy platform for enterprises November 9, 2020 at 05:01PM

What we’ve learned about working from home 7 months into the pandemic When large parts of the world were shutting down in March, we really didn’t know how we would move massive numbers of employees used to working in the office to work from home. In early March, I wrote a piece on how to prepare for such an eventuality, speaking to several experts who had a […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - What we’ve learned about working from home 7 months into the pandemic November 9, 2020 at 06:03AM

Slintel grabs $4.2M seed to grow sales intelligence platform As the pandemic rages on, companies are looking for an edge when it comes to sales. Having the right data about the customers most likely to convert can be a huge boost right now. Slintel, an early-stage startup building a sales intelligence tool, announced a $4.2 million seed round today. The investment was led by […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Slintel grabs $4.2M seed to grow sales intelligence platform November 7, 2020 at 01:00AM

Steve Bannon’s show pulled off Twitter and YouTube over calls for violence Former Presidential advisor and right-wing pundit Steve Bannon had his show suspended from Twitter and an episode removed by YouTube after calling for violence against FBI director Christopher Wray and the government’s leading pandemic expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci. Bannon, speaking with co-host Jack Maxey, was discussing what Trump should do in a hypothetical second term. […] Social – TechCrunch - Steve Bannon’s show pulled off Twitter and YouTube over calls for violence November 6, 2020 at 10:00AM

Facebook takes down ‘Stop the Steal 2020’ group organizing around false claims of election chicanery Facebook has taken down a group that had amassed more than 300,000 members and was sharing misinformation and organizing around false allegations of impropriety during the 2020 elections. The group, called “Stop the Steal 2020,” was organizing protests targeting the election officials currently counting ballots cast in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Phoenix and Las Vegas. “In line […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook takes down ‘Stop the Steal 2020’ group organizing around false claims of election chicanery November 6, 2020 at 10:00AM

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is reportedly looking for $2B before its Hong Kong public offering ByteDance, the company behind the social media sensation TikTok, is in talks to raise another $2 billion before the initial public offering of a large chunk of its international businesses on the Hong Kong StockExchange, according to a Bloomberg report. The new financing would give the Chinese tech powerhouse a valuation of $180 billion, according […] Social – TechCrunch - TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is reportedly looking for $2B before its Hong Kong public offering November 6, 2020 at 09:00AM

Vimeo raises $150M, while IAC is ‘contemplating’ a spin-off Vimeo has raised $150 million in new equity funding, announced in conjunction with the third quarter earnings of its parent company IAC. In a letter to shareholders, IAC CEO Joey Levin said the company has “begun contemplating spinning Vimeo off to our shareholders.” “Given Vimeo’s success, and investor adulation for the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) category generally, […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Vimeo raises $150M, while IAC is ‘contemplating’ a spin-off November 6, 2020 at 07:00AM

TikTok takes down some hashtags related to election misinformation, leaves others As social media platforms struggle to get U.S. election misinformation under control with varying degrees of success, TikTok has taken new actions to stop people from searching and browsing select hashtags associated with misinformation and conspiracies related to the U.S. election results. The video app has redirected some hashtags — including #RiggedElection, #SharpieGate and others […] Social – TechCrunch - TikTok takes down some hashtags related to election misinformation, leaves others November 6, 2020 at 06:03AM

Facebook blocks hashtags for #sharpiegate, #stopthesteal election conspiracies Facebook today began to block select hashtags which were being used to share misinformation related to the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Now, searches for the hashtags #SharpieGate is being blocked on the social network. Another election conspiracy hashtag #stopthesteal is also blocked on Facebook, with a note saying some of its content goes against the […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook blocks hashtags for #sharpiegate, #stopthesteal election conspiracies November 6, 2020 at 06:03AM

Ushur raises $25M for its no-code platform to build customer communication flows No-code is the name of the game in enterprise software, and today a startup called Ushur that has built a platform for any business to create its own AI-based customer communication flows with no coding required is announcing some funding to help fuel its growth. The startup has picked up $25 million in a Series […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Ushur raises $25M for its no-code platform to build customer communication flows November 6, 2020 at 05:00AM

Extra Crunch Live: Join Greylock’s Asheem Chandna today at 3pm EST/12pm PST on the future of enterprise and cybersecurity investing Yes, there is an election, but that’s getting pretty boring at this point. What’s far more interesting is the future of enterprise and cybersecurity startups, markets where companies are dumping billions of dollars in the wake of the largest change in office work in decades. Old notions are being discarded, new ideas are in — […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Extra Crunch Live: Join Greylock’s Asheem Chandna today at 3pm EST/12pm PST on the future of enterprise and cybersecurity investing November 6, 2020 at 04:00AM

Alibaba passes IBM in cloud infrastructure market with over $2B in revenue When Alibaba entered the cloud infrastructure market in earnest in 2015 it had ambitious goals, and it has been growing steadily. Today, the Chinese ecommerce giant announced quarterly cloud revenue of $2.194 billion. With that number, it has passed IBM’s $1.65 billion revenue result (according to Synergy Research market share numbers), a significant milestone. But […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Alibaba passes IBM in cloud infrastructure market with over $2B in revenue November 6, 2020 at 02:00AM

Ayar raises $35M for optical interconnect tech to overcome computing bottlenecks in the CPU The race is on to build more efficient chip technology for faster and less power-intensive computing, and today an innovative startup that’s built one solution based on in-package optical interconnect (optical I/O) technology is announcing a round of growth funding from a number of strategic investors that speaks to how its approach is getting traction. […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Ayar raises $35M for optical interconnect tech to overcome computing bottlenecks in the CPU November 6, 2020 at 01:00AM

TikTok tests a Learn tab to showcase education and how-to videos How-to videos have been some of the most popular content on YouTube over the years, and now, to grow engagement and the pool of users that it appeals to, the upstart video app TikTok is getting in on the action, too. After launching a dedicated “Learn On TikTok” hashtag (#LearnOnTikTok) earlier this summer with a […] Social – TechCrunch - TikTok tests a Learn tab to showcase education and how-to videos November 6, 2020 at 12:02AM

WhatsApp now lets you post ephemeral messages, which disappear after 7 days Facebook recently announced that WhatsApp passed the whopping milestone of 100 billion messages sent per day, but not everyone wants those chats to stick around forever. Now, Facebook’s wildly popular messaging app with 2 billion users is adding a feature to give people more control on how their words and pictures live within the app. […] Social – TechCrunch - WhatsApp now lets you post ephemeral messages, which disappear after 7 days November 5, 2020 at 07:00PM

Twitter restricts Trump’s tweet claiming that foes would ‘steal’ the election With key wins notched in a few states, Trump didn’t quite declare victory prematurely on social media as platforms had feared — but he did baselessly raise the specter of voter fraud. “We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election,” Trump tweeted. “We will never let them do it. Votes cannot […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter restricts Trump’s tweet claiming that foes would ‘steal’ the election November 5, 2020 at 02:00AM

Facebook and Instagram notifications warn U.S. users there’s no winner yet in Presidential Election Facebook and Instagram are running notifications in their respective apps informing U.S. users that the winner of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election has not yet been determined. In large pop-ups appearing at the top of the Facebook and Instagram News Feeds, the notification states that “Votes Are Being Counted” and directs users to other in-app […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook and Instagram notifications warn U.S. users there’s no winner yet in Presidential Election November 5, 2020 at 01:00AM

Intel has acquired Cnvrg.io, a platform to manage, build and automate machine learning Intel continues to snap up startups to build out its machine learning and AI operations. In the latest move, TechCrunch has learned that the chip giant has acquired Cnvrg.io, an Israeli company that has built and operates a platform for data scientists to build and run machine learning models, which can be used to train […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Intel has acquired Cnvrg.io, a platform to manage, build and automate machine learning November 4, 2020 at 11:00AM

How startups can shake up their first idea and still crush the market When Quibi announced it was shutting its doors recently after raising $1.75 billion, it begged an obvious question: If the original idea didn’t work, why not adjust its model or do something completely different while it still had capital? It wouldn’t have been the first company to decide to shift gears. Perhaps because of the […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - How startups can shake up their first idea and still crush the market November 4, 2020 at 04:00AM

Twitter hides Trump tweet attacking Supreme Court’s decision on Pennsylvania ballots In an election eve preview of what to expect in the coming days, President Trump pushed the limits on Twitter’s election-specific policies Monday night. In a tweet, Trump railed against the Supreme Court’s decision to allow Pennsylvania officials to count ballots postmarked by Election Day. The Republican Party has waged a brazen legal onslaught against […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter hides Trump tweet attacking Supreme Court’s decision on Pennsylvania ballots November 4, 2020 at 03:00AM

Udacity raises $75M in debt, says its tech education business is profitable after enterprise pivot Online education tools continue to see a surge of interest boosted by major changes in work and learning practices in the midst of a global health pandemic. And today, one of the early pioneers of the medium is announcing some funding as it tips into profitability on the back of a pivot to enterprise services, […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Udacity raises $75M in debt, says its tech education business is profitable after enterprise pivot November 4, 2020 at 12:03AM

What social networks have learned since the 2016 election On the eve on the 2020 U.S. election, tensions are running high. The good news? 2020 isn’t 2016. Social networks are way better prepared to handle a wide array of complex, dangerous or otherwise ambiguous Election Day scenarios. The bad news: 2020 is its own beast, one that’s unleashed a nightmare health scenario on a […] Social – TechCrunch - What social networks have learned since the 2016 election November 3, 2020 at 08:00AM

AWS launches its next-gen GPU instances AWS today announced the launch of its newest GPU-equipped instances. Dubbed P4, these new instances are launching a decade after AWS launched its first set of Cluster GPU instances. This new generation is powered by Intel Cascade Lake processors and eight of NVIDIA’s A100 Tensor Core GPUs. These instances, AWS promises, offer up to 2.5x […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - AWS launches its next-gen GPU instances November 3, 2020 at 08:00AM

Coupa Software snags Llamasoft for $1.5B to bring together spending and supply chain data Coupa Software, a publicly traded company that helps large corporations manage spending, announced that it was buying Llamasoft, an 18 year old Michigan company that helps large companies manage their supply chain. The deal was pegged at $1.5 billion. This year Llamasoft released its latest tool, an AI-driven platform for managing supply chains intelligently. This […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Coupa Software snags Llamasoft for $1.5B to bring together spending and supply chain data November 3, 2020 at 03:00AM

Twilio wraps $3.2B purchase of Segment after warp speed courtship It was barely a month ago we began hearing rumors that Twilio was interested in acquiring Segment. The $3.2 billion deal was officially announced three weeks ago, and this morning the communications API company announced that the deal had closed, astonishingly fast for an acquisition of this size. While we can’t know for sure, the […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Twilio wraps $3.2B purchase of Segment after warp speed courtship November 3, 2020 at 01:00AM

Email creation startup Stensul raises $16M Stensul, a startup aiming to streamline the process of building marketing emails, has raised $16 million in Series B funding. When the company raised its $7 million Series A two years ago, founder and CEO Noah Dinkin told me about how it spun out of his previous startup, FanBridge. And while there are many products focused […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Email creation startup Stensul raises $16M November 3, 2020 at 01:00AM

Leena AI nabs $8M Series as it expands from chatbots to HR service platform When we covered Leena AI as a member of the Y Combinator Summer 2018 cohort, the young startup was firmly focused on building HR chatbots, but in the intervening years it has expanded the vision to a broader HR policy platform. Today, the company announced an $8 million Series A led by Greycroft with help […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Leena AI nabs $8M Series as it expands from chatbots to HR service platform November 3, 2020 at 01:00AM

Twitter explains how it will handle misleading tweets about the US election results Twitter recently updated its policies in advance of the U.S. elections to include specific rules that detailed how it would handle tweets making claims about election results before they were official. Today, the company offered more information about how it plans to prioritize the enforcement of its rules and how it will label any tweets […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter explains how it will handle misleading tweets about the US election results November 3, 2020 at 12:02AM

Warren gets $1.4 million to help local cloud infrastructure providers compete against Amazon and other giants Started as a side project by its founders, Warren is now helping regional cloud infrastructure service providers compete against Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, Google and other tech giants. Based in Tallinn, Estonia, Warren’s self-service distributed cloud platform is gaining traction in Southeast Asia, one of the world’s fastest-growing cloud service markets, and Europe. It recently closed […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Warren gets $1.4 million to help local cloud infrastructure providers compete against Amazon and other giants November 2, 2020 at 04:00PM

TikTok stars got a judge to block Trump’s TikTok ban TikTok has won another battle in its fight against the Trump administration’s ban of its video-sharing app in the U.S. — or, more accurately in this case, the TikTok community won a battle. On Friday, a federal judge in Pennsylvania issued an injunction that blocked the restrictions that would have otherwise blocked TikTok from operating […] Social – TechCrunch - TikTok stars got a judge to block Trump’s TikTok ban October 31, 2020 at 12:00PM

Facebook hits pause on algorithmic recommendations for political and social issue groups With just days to go before the U.S. election, Facebook quietly suspended one of its most worrisome features. During Wednesday’s Senate hearing, Senator Ed Markey asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about reports that his company has long known its group recommendations push people toward more extreme content. Zuckerberg responded that the company had actually disabled […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook hits pause on algorithmic recommendations for political and social issue groups October 31, 2020 at 09:00AM

Facebook is limiting distribution of ‘save our children’ hashtag over QAnon ties Facebook today confirmed that it will be limiting the distribution of the hashtag “save our children.” Over the past several months, the phrase — and ones like it — have become associated with QAnon. These terms have served to provide a kind of innocuous cover for the popular online conspiracy theory. A spokesperson for the […] Social – TechCrunch - Facebook is limiting distribution of ‘save our children’ hashtag over QAnon ties October 31, 2020 at 04:00AM

Cloud infrastructure revenue grows 33% this quarter to almost $33B The cloud infrastructure market kept growing at a brisk pace last quarter, as the pandemic continued to push more companies to the cloud with offices shut down in much of the world. This week the big three — Amazon, Microsoft and Google — all reported their numbers and as expected the news was good with […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Cloud infrastructure revenue grows 33% this quarter to almost $33B October 31, 2020 at 01:00AM

Twitter revenue rises 14%, but user growth fails to impress Twitter continued to see its total traffic rise in the third quarter, thanks to that trifecta of returning sports, the presidential campaign and the COVID-19 pandemic. But there wasn’t nearly enough growth to appease Wall Street.  Twitter beat out analyst expectations on revenue and net income; However, Wall Street was stuck on Twitter’s user user […] Social – TechCrunch - Twitter revenue rises 14%, but user growth fails to impress October 30, 2020 at 07:00AM

Donut launches Watercooler, an easy way to socialize online with coworkers If you miss hanging out with your coworkers but don’t want to spend a single second more on Zoom, the latest product from Donut might be the answer. The startup is launching its new Watercooler product today while also announcing that it has raised $12 million in total funding, led by Accel and with participation from […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Donut launches Watercooler, an easy way to socialize online with coworkers October 30, 2020 at 02:00AM

Intel acquires SigOpt, a specialist in modeling optimization, to boost its AI business Intel has been doubling down on building chips and related architecture for the next generation of computing, and today it announced an acquisition that will bolster its expertise and work specifically in one area of future technology: artificial intelligence. The semiconductor giant today announced that it has acquired SigOpt, a startup out of San Francisco […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Intel acquires SigOpt, a specialist in modeling optimization, to boost its AI business October 30, 2020 at 01:00AM

More chip industry action as Marvell is acquiring Inphi for $10B It’s been quite a time for chip industry consolidation, and today Marvell joined the acquisition parade when it announced it is acquiring Inphi in a combination of stock and cash valued at approximately $10 billion, according to the company. Marvell CEO Matt Murphy believes that by adding Inphi, a chip maker that helps connect internal […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - More chip industry action as Marvell is acquiring Inphi for $10B October 30, 2020 at 12:03AM

Twitter’s API access changes are chasing away third-party developers For a civil society with healthy online discourse, journalists, academics and human rights workers need tools to fact check the platform’s announcements and policies. Social – TechCrunch - Twitter’s API access changes are chasing away third-party developers October 30, 2020 at 12:03AM

Redpoint and Sequoia are backing a startup to copy edit your shit code Code is the lifeblood of the modern world, yet the tooling for some programming environments can be remarkably spartan. While developers have long had access to graphical programming environments (IDEs) and performance profilers and debuggers, advanced products to analyze and improve lines of code have been harder to find. These days, the most typical tool […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Redpoint and Sequoia are backing a startup to copy edit your shit code October 30, 2020 at 12:03AM

Sinch announces Conversation API to bring together multiple messaging tools As communicating with customers across the world grows ever more challenging due to multiple channels, tools and networking providers, companies are looking for a way to simplify it all. Sinch, a company that makes communications APIs, announced a new tool this morning called the Conversation API designed to make it easier to interact with customers […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Sinch announces Conversation API to bring together multiple messaging tools October 29, 2020 at 11:01PM

Microsoft now lets you bring your own data types to Excel Over the course of the last few years, Microsoft started adding the concept of ‘data types’ to Excel, that is, the ability to pull in geography and real-time stock data from the cloud, for example. Thanks to its partnership with Wolfram, Excel now features over 100 of these data types that can flow into a […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Microsoft now lets you bring your own data types to Excel October 29, 2020 at 11:01PM

Trump hints at stopping “powerful” big tech in latest ‘get out the vote’ tweet If there was any doubt that yesterday’s flogging of big tech CEOs by Senate republicans was anything other than an electioneering stunt, president Trump has thumped the point home by tweeting a video message to voters in which he bashes “big tech” as (maybe) too powerful but certainly in need of being “spoken to” and […] Social – TechCrunch - Trump hints at stopping “powerful” big tech in latest ‘get out the vote’ tweet October 29, 2020 at 08:00PM

LinkedIn’s Career Explorer helps you identify new kinds of jobs based on the skills you have One of the key side-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been how it has played out in the economy. There are currently 12.6 million people out of work in the U.S. alone, with estimates from the International Labour Organization noting that globally number some 245 million full-time jobs have been impacted. To meet some of […] Social – TechCrunch - LinkedIn’s Career Explorer helps you identify new kinds of jobs based on the skills you have October 29, 2020 at 02:00PM

We need new business models to burst old media filter bubbles It’s time for us to think critically about how we can build business models that reunite information bubbles, so that people consistently get access to all sides of the story. Social – TechCrunch - We need new business models to burst old media filter bubbles October 29, 2020 at 07:00AM

True, the social networking app that promises to ‘protect your privacy,’ exposed private messages and user locations True bills itself as the social networking app that will “protect your privacy.” But a security lapse left one of its servers exposed — and spilling private user data to the internet for anyone to find. The app was launched in 2017 by Hello Mobile, a little-known virtual cell carrier that piggybacks off T-Mobile’s network. […] Social – TechCrunch - True, the social networking app that promises to ‘protect your privacy,’ exposed private messages and user locations October 29, 2020 at 06:03AM

Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith is buying majority stake in the Utah Jazz for $1.6B The Utah Jazz, an NBA basketball team based in Salt Lake City, announced today that Qualitrics CEO and co-founder Ryan Smith was buying a majority stake in the team along other properties. ESPN is reporting the deal is worth $1.6 billion. Smith can afford it. He sold Qualtrics, which is based in Provo, Utah, in […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith is buying majority stake in the Utah Jazz for $1.6B October 29, 2020 at 03:00AM

Kandji hauls in $21M Series A as Apple device management flourishes during pandemic Kandji, a mobile device management (MDM) startup, launched last October. That means it was trying to build the early stage company just as the pandemic hit earlier this year. But a company that helps manage devices remotely has been in demand in this environment, and today it announced a $21 million Series A. Greycroft led […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Kandji hauls in $21M Series A as Apple device management flourishes during pandemic October 28, 2020 at 11:00PM

That dreadful VPN might finally be dead thanks to Twingate, a new startup built by Dropbox alums VPNs, or virtual private networks, are a mainstay of corporate network security (and also consumers trying to stream Netflix while pretending to be from other countries). VPNs create an encrypted channel between your device (a laptop or a smartphone) and a company’s servers. All of your internet traffic gets routed through the company’s IT infrastructure, […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - That dreadful VPN might finally be dead thanks to Twingate, a new startup built by Dropbox alums October 28, 2020 at 11:00PM

Enso Security raises $6M for its application security management platform Enso Security, a Tel Aviv-based startup that is building a new application security platform, today announced that it has raised a $6 million seed funding round led by YL Ventures, with participation from Jump Capital. Angel investors in this round include HackerOne co-founder and CTO Alex Rice; Sounil Yu, the former chief security scientist at […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Enso Security raises $6M for its application security management platform October 28, 2020 at 11:00PM

MachEye raises $4.6M for its business intelligence platform We’ve seen our fair share of business intelligence (BI) platforms that aim to make data analysis accessible to everybody in a company. Most of them are still fairly complicated, no matter what their marketing copy says. MachEye, which is launching its AI-powered BI platform today, is offering a new twist on this genre. In addition […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - MachEye raises $4.6M for its business intelligence platform October 28, 2020 at 10:00PM

Daily Crunch: Zoom adds end-to-end encryption to free calls Zoom adds a much-requested feature (but with a catch), TikTok partners with Shopify and Jack Dorsey lays out his argument for tomorrow’s Senate hearing. This is your Daily Crunch for October 27, 2020. The big story: Zoom adds end-to-end encryption to free calls Zoom was criticized earlier this year for saying it would only offer […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Daily Crunch: Zoom adds end-to-end encryption to free calls October 28, 2020 at 08:00AM

Instagram extends time limits on live streams to 4 hours, will soon support archiving Instagram is adapting to the way creators have been using its service during the coronavirus pandemic. With individuals and businesses now limited from hosting in-person events — like concerts, classes, meetups, and more — users have turned to Instagram to live stream instead. Today, the company says it’s significantly expanding the time limit for these […] Social – TechCrunch - Instagram extends time limits on live streams to 4 hours, will soon support archiving October 28, 2020 at 04:00AM

Upstream aims to be the new home for your professional social life Last fall, social analytics startup SocialRank sold its product and business to Trufan, allowing the team to focus on something new: a professional social network. Today, they’re officially unveiling Upstream to the public. To be clear, CEO Alex Taub told me that he’s not trying to replace LinkedIn — he acknowledged that thanks to network effects,”If you […] Social – TechCrunch - Upstream aims to be the new home for your professional social life October 28, 2020 at 01:00AM

Rockset announces $40M Series B as data analytics solution gains momentum Rockset, a cloud-native analytics company, announced a $40 million Series B investment today led by Sequoia with help from Greylock, the same two firms that financed its Series A. The startup has now raised a total of $61.5 million, according to the company. As co-founder and CEO Venkat Venkataramani told me at the time of […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Rockset announces $40M Series B as data analytics solution gains momentum October 28, 2020 at 01:00AM

Lightyear scores $3.7M seed to digitize networking infrastructure procurement Lightyear, a New York City startup that wants to make it easier for large companies to procure networking infrastructure like internet and SD-WAN, announced a $3.7 million seed round today. While it was at it, the company announced that it was emerging from stealth and offering its solution in public beta. Amplo led the round […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Lightyear scores $3.7M seed to digitize networking infrastructure procurement October 28, 2020 at 12:01AM

Vimeo introduces free video messaging with Vimeo Record Vimeo Record is a new product that allows teams to communicate through video messages. Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud said that while the pandemic has prompted many offices to embrace digital communication tools like Zoom, “There’s a whole host of work communication that needs asynchronous messaging.” Besides, sometimes a video can get your message across more […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - Vimeo introduces free video messaging with Vimeo Record October 28, 2020 at 12:01AM

Top Facebook India executive Ankhi Das leaves the company Ankhi Das, a top Facebook executive in India, is leaving the company on Tuesday months after she was alleged to interfere in the company’s hate speech policy in the country to show favoritism to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Facebook has denied the allegations, and people close to Das (pictured above) said her departure was […] Social – TechCrunch - Top Facebook India executive Ankhi Das leaves the company October 27, 2020 at 11:00PM

TikTok partners with Shopify on social commerce TikTok is further investing in social commerce with today’s announcement of a new global partnership with e-commerce platform Shopify. The deal aims to make it easier for Shopify’s over 1 million merchants to reach TikTok’s younger audience and drive sales. The partnership will eventually expand to include other in-app shopping features, as well, the companies […] Social – TechCrunch - TikTok partners with Shopify on social commerce October 27, 2020 at 11:00PM

SimilarWeb raises $120M for its AI-based market intelligence platform for sites and apps Israeli startup SimilarWeb has made a name for itself with an AI-based platform that lets sites and apps track and understand traffic not just on their own sites, but those of its competitors. Now, it’s taking the next step in its growth. The startup has raised $120 million, funding it will use to continue expanding […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - SimilarWeb raises $120M for its AI-based market intelligence platform for sites and apps October 27, 2020 at 10:00PM

AMD grabs Xilinx for $35 billion as chip industry consolidation continues The chip industry consolidation dance continued this morning as AMD has entered into an agreement to buy Xilinx for $35 billion, giving the company access to a broad set of specialized workloads. AMD sees this deal as combining two companies that complement each other’s strengths without cannibalizing its own markets. CEO Lisa Su believes the […] Enterprise – TechCrunch - AMD grabs Xilinx for $35 billion as chip industry consolidation continues October 27, 2020 at 10:00PM

Face to Face, Tinder’s opt-in video chat feature, is now rolling out globally Tinder, currently the world’s biggest biggest dating app for people to find matches and connect with them, is expanding another feature today to extend the time people spend in the app, and the communications they can have within it. Face to Face, an opt-in-only feature that Tinder launched earlier this year that lets users video […] Social – TechCrunch - Face to Face, Tinder’s opt-in video chat feature, is now rolling out globally October 27, 2020 at 09:00PM

Video creation and editing platform InVideo raises $15 million InVideo, a Mumbai-based startup that has built a video creation and editing platform, has raised $15 million as it looks to court more users and customers worldwide. The startup offers a freemium web-based editing tool that allows users to create videos that are fit to be published on popular social media platforms (such as Twitter, […] Social – TechCrunch - Video creation and editing platform InVideo raises $15 million October 27, 2020 at 06:00PM

Former Facebook and Pinterest exec Tim Kendall traces “extractive business models” to VCs Last month, former Facebook and Pinterest executive Tim Kendall told Congress during a House hearing on the dangers of social media that Facebook made its products so addictive because its ad-driven business model relies on people paying attention to its product longer every day. He said much the same in the Netflix documentary “The Social […] Social – TechCrunch - Former Facebook and Pinterest exec Tim Kendall traces “extractive business models” to VCs October 27, 2020 at 03:00PM

Daily Crunch: Facebook launches cloud gaming service Facebook gets into cloud gaming while continuing its public dispute with Apple, Ant Group prepares for a massive IPO and Pinterest embraces iOS widgets. This is your Daily Crunch for October 26, 2020. The big story: Facebook launches cloud gaming service Facebook is launching a cloud gaming service of its very own, although the focus […] Social – TechCrunch - Daily Crunch: Facebook launches cloud gaming service October 27, 2020 at 03:00PM

Decrypted: How Twitter was hacked, GitHub DMCA backfires One week to the U.S. presidential election and things are getting spicy. It’s not just the rhetoric — hackers are actively working to disrupt the election, officials have said, and last week they came with a concrete example and an unusually quick pointing of blame. On Wednesday night, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe blamed […] Social – TechCrunch - Decrypted: How Twitter was hacked, GitHub DMCA backfires October 27, 2020 at 08:35AM