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Happy Tuesday!
A couple of quick things: Apply now to launch at the launch of TechCrunch Live in Atlanta. Also, the head scratcher of today’s article is from Devinwho reports that Acapela allows anyone to endorse their own voice. Until literally 10 seconds ago, we had no idea that was possible, and now we really want to.
TechCrunch Top 3
- Big bet on AI: Like other Big Tech companies we’ve talked about before, IBM took its turn this week to reveal what Kyle he writes is “a host of new AI services,” including IBM watsonx, which “will deliver tools for building AI models and provide access to pre-trained models for generating computer code, text, and more.”
- more layoffs: LinkedIn is phasing out its China jobs app, and with it goes 716 jobs, Katherine reports. The company attributed the app’s demise to “fierce competition and a challenging macroeconomic climate.”
- i have to be paid: A new WhatsApp feature allows users to pay businesses within the app. It is already going around South America and Asia and now it lands in Singapore, Ivan reports.
Startups and VCs
Shopify last week announced that it would be the last big tech company to suffer mass layoffs. The company is cutting 20% of its workforce of 11,600 people. The news came during earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, sending its share price soaring as a result. Also included in the announcement was the news that the Canadian e-commerce giant had found a new owner for 6 River Systems, the warehouse automation company it bought in 2019 for nearly $500 millionreports Brian.
UVeye’s automated vehicle inspection technology may have started out as a system to detect security threats, but the six-year-old Israeli startup has found strong interest and investment in the automotive sector, earning the launch of a $100 million investment round from GM and CarMaxamong others, kirsten reports.
And we have five more for you:
Hidden in Plain Sight: 5 Red Flags for Investors
Image Credits: steven white (Opens in a new window) / Fake Images
Investors can review hundreds of pitches each year, which means they are forced to make decisions quickly. It’s not a great system, because it’s largely based on relationships, bias is built into the recipe.
And because of the fast pace of trading, “even the most seasoned angel investors, and venture capitalists, can miss red flags that are subtle and not immediately apparent,” writes Marjorie Radlo-Zandi.
Drawing from her years as a mentor, angel, and board member, she shares five scenarios that should give investors second thoughts, such as “where the founder is in a romantic or spousal relationship with a staff member.”
Two more from the TC+ team:
TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps start-up founders and teams get ahead of the rest. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” to get 15% off an annual subscription!
big tech inc
Niantic’s new game Peridot epitomizes cuteness overload. In fact, amanda call it “Pokémon GO meets Tamagotchi”, if you remember the toy from the 1990s. Amanda describes the game as “a pet simulator, but it takes place entirely within augmented reality (ARKANSAS). You can feed, play, walk, breed, and socialize with your Peridots, but don’t worry: if you take a break from the game, your creatures won’t poop on the screen or die.”
Meanwhile, TikTok’s parent ByteDance is considering a new role as e-publisher in the United Statesgoing so far as to file a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for book publishing products and services under the name “8th Note Press”. rita has more.
And we have five more for you:
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