Monday, June 3, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch PM, bringing you the most important startup, tech and venture capital news in a single package. News came fast and furious this afternoon, including an inside look at what's going on at LoanSnap, why Instagram is going to do us dirty, a review of new Sonos headphones and a few acquisitions. Enjoy the day, even if it is Monday.

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / LoanSnap

Inside LoanSnap's no good, very bad couple of years: Dominic-Madori Davis and Sean O'Kane dig into the AI mortgage startup that, among their issues, is facing lawsuits from creditors. Read more

Instagram's new ad breaks: Instagram confirmed it is testing unskippable ads. Yes, they will display a countdown timer so you have time to grab a bite, but it will stop users from being able to browse through more content on the app until they view the ad. Read more

Neural Concept raises $27 million: Neural Concept lets designers model how components will perform before they can be manufactured. The application could be useful across a large range of industries, such as automotive, micro-electronics, aerospace and energy. Read more

A MESSAGE FROM ALLY FINANCIAL, INC.

Apply today for the Ally Innovation Challenge — Responsible AI

Does your startup have a solution for Responsible AI deployment in the banking sector? Ally is excited to announce the launch of the Ally Innovation Challenge — Responsible AI. Ally is seeking market-ready, U.S.-based startups specializing in AI infrastructure that can assist in building robust, scalable platforms for responsible AI development and deployment. Selected startups will have opportunities for mentoring and potential collaboration with senior experts from the financial services company behind the nation's largest all-digital bank. Learn more about it here and submit your application by June 17! Terms and conditions apply — see website for full details.

Afternoon must-reads

Image Credits: Brian Heater

Sonos Ace review: Brian Heater reports, "If there are any Sonos users who have been holding off on buying a new pair of headphones until the firm entered the category, have at it. They deliver pretty much everything you're looking for in a premium pair of wireless headphones." Read more

Shopify acquires Checkout Blocks: With Checkout Blocks, Shopify Plus merchants can make no-code customizations in their checkout to enhance customer experience and potentially boost sales. They can also add things like AI recommendations, custom content, discounts and personalized order status. Read more

Cruise cruising through Dallas … again: GM's Cruise is redeploying a small fleet of robotaxis in the Texas city this week as part of the company's goal to validate its self-driving systems and win back public trust. Read more

SiFi raises $10 million to grow further in Saudi Arabia: SiFi helps organizations manage all their spending, including vendor and bill payments, and it is looking to expand its operations after it received the Electronic Money Institution license from the Saudi Central Bank last year. The company is planning to tap the license to provide a suite of services, including e-wallets and smart corporate cards. Read more

Cloudera acquires Verta: Cloudera is acquiring Verta's Operational AI platform in a strategy to strengthen its team and accelerate operational AI capabilities. It also gives Cloudera some top-notch people to help run and expand their AI tooling. Read more

Aptoide launches game store in EU: Aptoide is launching its alternative iOS game store with six titles initially and plans to add more later. It already has over 100 developers itching to put out games on the app store, but with Apple's notarization process, the formal launch takes time. Read more

StrictlyVC heads to DC: The StrictlyVC road trip continues! Coming off of sold-out events in London, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, we're heading to Washington, DC, for a cozy, VC-packed evening at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre on June 11 in partnership with Revolution. Read more

Apply to TC Disrupt Startup Battlefield 200: The application window for Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 slams shut in just one week. Read more

TechCrunch Minute

Image Credits: Getty Images / MirageC

Spotify kills the Car Thing, leading customers to demand refunds: Back in 2022, Spotify announced an in-car streaming gadget that was actually called the Car Thing — and then it discontinued the Car Thing just a few months later. Customers are understandably unhappy about the news, and they've taken to TikTok and other social platforms to complain. Some even filed a class action lawsuit claiming that Spotify misled them by selling a product that was about to go obsolete and then refusing to offer refunds. Hit play and let's chat!

Around the web

GameStop stock is back, baby!: Yahoo Finance reports that "Roaring Kitty" is truly a mastermind when it comes to getting people excited about a meme stock. Over the weekend, Keith Gill posted a photo on Reddit showing he made a $175 million bet on the video game shop. Read more

Bitcoin billionaire to pay $40 million in back taxes: MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor agreed to pay a $40 million settlement with the District of Columbia, which is alleging he didn't pay income taxes to the district during the 10 years he lived there. Coindesk reports the deal is "D.C.'s biggest-ever income tax fraud recovery." Read more

Is Gen Z credit card obsessed?: A new Business Insider report says yes. Read more