Techcrunch blog!: Opendoor co-founder makes his exit

Friday, December 15, 2023

Sometimes you know when it's time to go. In today's top story, Mary Ann writes that this time it's Opendoor co-founder Eric Wu, who is stepping away from the real estate tech company. In a statement, Wu said he wants to "get back to my startup roots and create and build again." The move isn't too much of a shock — Wu had been gradually decreasing his role in the company for the past year, Mary Ann reports. Get the scoop.

Meanwhile, in the pursuit of grabbing market share from the likes of Facebook and basically any other social network, Jagat, a location-based social platform, surpasses 10 million users, Aisha reports. Learn what makes it so popular.

And over on TechCrunch+, Jacquelyn covers the CoinFund Founder Forecast survey and why 30 web3 founders are optimistic about 2024. Read more.

Image Credits: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg / Getty Images

More top reads

What's that smell?: In the fight against methane, a key greenhouse gas, Valley investors have hit upon an unusual target: Cow burps.

Collaborative social media: A new Instagram feature called "Add Yours" lets users create customized templates, essentially like your own meme. Friends can even add to it. See how it works.

Headed into space: In Orbit Aerospace wants to be the third-party logistics provider for science and industry. Read more.

Extra, extra: A news publisher in Arkansas filed a class action antitrust lawsuit against Google and its parent, accusing the search engine giant of being anticompetitive when it comes to sharing content. Learn more.

Pitch Deck Teardown: Haje really lets loose on Metafuels' $8 million climate tech seed deck. See what he says. (TC+)

Cloud stocks are back!: Alex writes that the cloud stock rally could help inch open the IPO window in 2024. Do you agree? (TC+)

It's not always all-in with AI: When it comes to generative AI in the enterprise, CIOs are taking it slow. Learn why.

The scoop on scooters: Scooter startup Superpedestrian, which raised $125 million 18 months ago, is shutting down its U.S. operations as it explores the sale of its Europe business. Read more.

No crack: After allowing artistic nudity in certain cases, Twitch is now cracking down on boobs again. Find out why.

What was once public is private again: Ubiquiti, a video surveillance company, fixes a glitch that exposed private video streams to other customers. Learn what happened.

Crypto bull’s-eye: Robinhood is on a quest to dive deeper into crypto, targeting anyone interested in digital asset investing, regardless of their experience. Here's the plan. (TC+)

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Seed-stage investors react to higher hurdles for Series A funding

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Image Credits: Getty Images under a license.

On the pods

Today on Equity, we kicked off our episode with a breaking story from Cruise, which announced it will be cutting 24% of its staff. And steering away from layoffs, we turned to Prevu’s $6 million Series A and we look at why Verve Motion just raised $20 million for supportive lifting suits, what’s bubbling up in the French venture ecosystem, and how a few mega-deals are changing the numbers for AI. Listen here.