Daily Crunch - Spotify adds support for paid podcasts

TechCrunch Newsletter

Tuesday, April 27, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

Spotify launches paid podcast support, Amazon announces new tablets and we unveil the agenda for TC Sessions: Mobility. This is your Daily Crunch for April 27, 2021.

The big story: Spotify adds support for paid podcasts As first announced in February, Spotify is now allowing podcasters to offer subscriber-only content, published through its Anchor podcasting software. Creators choose from three subscription tiers — $2.99, $4.99 or $7.99 per month. This comes one week after Apple announced support for paid podcast subscriptions. But where Apple said it would take 30% of first-year subscriptions and 15% after that, Spotify says it will pass 100% of revenue on to podcasters for the first two years, only charging a 5% fee starting in 2023. Read More Image Credits: TechCrunch

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The tech giants Amazon announces new Fire tablets and kids editions — The Fire HD 10 is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, with pricing starting at $150. Tesla wants to make every home a distributed power plant — CEO Elon Musk said he wants to turn every home into a distributed power plant that would generate, store and even deliver energy back into the electricity grid, all using the company's products. Red Hat CEO looks to maintain double-digit growth in second year at helm — Red Hat CEO Paul Cormier runs the centerpiece of IBM's transformation hopes. Image Credits: Amazon

Startups, funding and venture capital Kids-focused fintech Greenlight raises $260M in a16z-led Series D, nearly doubles valuation to $2.3B — Since it launched its debit cards for kids in 2017, the company has set up accounts for more than 3 million parents and children. Kry closes $312M Series D after use of its telehealth tools grows 100% yoy — During the pandemic, Kry quickly stepped in to offer a free service for doctors to conduct web-based consultations. Banana Capital's debut fund is for internet-first founders — You might know him for his viral tweets, but Turner Novak wasn't always a master meme-maker. Image Credits: Yulia Reznikov / Getty Images

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Internal rates of return in emerging US tech hubs are starting to overtake Silicon Valley — AngelList analyzed IRR for almost 2,500 deals dating back to 2013. Fifth Wall's Brendan Wallace and Hippo's Assaf Wand discuss proptech's biggest opportunities — The pair joined us to discuss questions like: How should proptech founders think about competition, strategic investment versus top-tier VC firms and how to build their board? SaaS subscriptions may be short-serving your customers — Adam Riggs argues that software as a service may have become a bit too interchangeable with subscription models. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: petdcat / Getty Images

Everything else Announcing the Agenda for TC Sessions: Mobility 2021 — Our guests will include Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang, Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson, Amy Jones Satrom of Nuro and famed investor Reid Hoffman. Taking stock of the VC industry's progress on diversity, equity and inclusion — A look at the VC Human Capital Survey from the National Venture Capital Association, Venture Forward and Deloitte.

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Newest Jobs from Crunchboard Full Stack Engineer II at DSPolitical (Washington, D.C., USA) Fusion Consulting Inc. - Solution Architect & Principal Consultant at Fusion Consulting Inc (Dallas, TX, USA) Technical Program/Product Managers at D. E. Shaw Research (New York, New York, USA) Senior Shopify Developer (Remote + Flexible) at Storetasker (Anywhere) Manager, Application Development and Integration at The Pew Charitable Trusts (Washington, D.C., USA) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

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Daily Crunch - iOS 14.5 brings privacy changes and more

TechCrunch Newsletter

Monday, April 26, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

Apple’s latest software upgrade brings a big change, Roku accuses Google of anti-competitive behavior and Brex raises a big funding round. This is your Daily Crunch for April 26, 2021.

The big story: iOS 14.5 brings privacy changes and more Apple released the latest version of its mobile operating system today, which includes the much-discussed App Tracking Transparency feature, allowing users to control which apps are sharing their data with third parties for ad-targeting purposes. Other new features include Watch unlocking (which could help users avoid the annoying “I can’t unlock my phone with my masked face!” phenomenon), new emojis and more. Read More Image Credits: Getty Images

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The tech giants Roku alleges Google is using its monopoly power in YouTube TV carriage negotiations — Roku is alerting its customers that they may lose access to the YouTube TV channel on its platform after negotiations with Google went south. Lyft sells self-driving unit to Toyota's Woven Planet for $550M — Under the acquisition agreement, Lyft's so-called Level 5 division will be folded into Woven Planet Holdings. Apple commits to 20,000 US jobs, new North Carolina campus — Apple this morning announced a sweeping plan to invest north of $430 billion over the next five years. Image Credits: Roku

Startups, funding and venture capital Brex raises $425M at a $7.4B valuation, as the corporate spend war rages on — The company has also put together a new service called Brex Premium that costs $49 per month. Founded by Australia's national science agency, Main Sequence launches $250M AUD deep tech fund —  Main Sequence's second fund will look at issues including healthcare accessibility, increasing the world's food supply, industrial productivity and space. Mighty Networks raises $50M to build a creator economy for the masses — The company is led by Gina Bianchini, the co-founder and former CEO of Ning.

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch Founders who don't properly vet VCs set up both parties for failure — Due diligence isn't a one-way street, and founders must do their homework to make sure they're not jumping into deals with VCs who are only paying lip service to their value-add. How Brex more than doubled its valuation in a year — An interview with CEO Henrique Dubugras about that giant funding round. There is no cybersecurity skills gap, but CISOs must think creatively — Netskope’s Lamont Orange doesn’t buy the idea that millions of cybersecurity jobs are going unfilled because there aren't enough qualified candidates. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: Flashpop / Getty Images

Everything else How one founder partnered with NASA to make tires puncture-proof and more sustainable — This week's episode of Found features The SMART Tire Company co-founder and CEO Earl Cole. What the MasterClass effect means for edtech — MasterClass copycats are raising plenty of funding. Hear about building AVs under Amazon from Zoox CTO Jesse Levinson at TC Sessions: Mobility 2021 — We’ll hear more about Zoox’s mission to develop and deploy autonomous passenger vehicles. Image Credits: Iaremenko / Getty Images

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Newest Jobs from Crunchboard Technical Program/Product Managers at D. E. Shaw Research (New York, New York, USA) Senior Shopify Developer (Remote + Flexible) at Storetasker (Anywhere) Manager, Application Development and Integration at The Pew Charitable Trusts (Washington, D.C., USA) Software Development Engineer (On-site, SE Michigan) at Amy Cell Talent (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) SW Simulation Test Engineer (On-site, SE Michigan) at Amy Cell Talent (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

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Daily Crunch - Meet Disney Imagineering's new robot

TechCrunch Newsletter

Friday, April 23, 2021 • By Anthony Ha

We get up close with a robotic Groot, SpaceX has a successful astronaut launch and cryptocurrency prices tumble. This is your Daily Crunch for April 23, 2021.

The big story: Meet Disney Imagineering's new robot Disney Imagineering’s Project Kiwi represents a real robotics milestone — a free-walking robot that seems to fully capture the personality of the original character. In this case, the original is Groot, the beloved tree character from “Guardians of the Galaxy.” I’m not just saying that based on the demo video, either. Matthew Panzarino has seen Project Kiwi in person and reports: The pint-sized character has accurately rendered textures on its face, hands and feet. It's dressed in a distressed red flight suit that you may remember from the films. And its eyes are expressive as it looks at me and waves. This is the moment, the one that Disney Imagineers and park goers alike have been waiting decades to realize. Read More Image Credits: Walt Disney Imagineering R&D Inc.

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Startups, funding and venture capital SpaceX successfully launches astronauts with a re-used Dragon spacecraft for the first time — This was SpaceX's second official astronaut delivery mission for NASA. Hyundai invests in teleoperations startup Ottopia as part of $9M round — Ottopia's first product is a universal teleoperation platform that allows a human operator to monitor and control any type of vehicle from thousands of miles away. Introvoke raises $2.7M to power online events that can be embedded anywhere — While there's been plenty of attention and money lavished on virtual event platforms over the past year, Introvoke co-founder and CEO Oana Manolache predicted that we're only at the beginning of a "third wave of digital transformation." Image Credits: Ottopia

Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch 2021 should be a banner year for biotech startups that make smart choices early — Be wise when managing legal risk and choosing investors. After going public, once-hot startups are riding a valuation roller coaster — A short meditation on value. Should you give an anchor investor a stake in your fund's management company? — A GP stake investor brings significant advantages and disadvantages. (Extra Crunch is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.) Image Credits: KTSDESIGN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty Images

Everything else Crypto market takes a dive with Bitcoin leading the way — Cryptocurrency prices continued to tumble today, with Bitcoin leading the charge. India restricts American Express from adding new customers for violating data storage rules — In a statement, the Reserve Bank of India said existing customers of either of the two card companies (American Express and Diners Club) will not be impacted by the new order, which goes into effect May 1. Just one week left to save $100 on TC Early Stage 2021: Marketing & Fundraising — Get ready to join your community of early-inning startup founders for a two-day bootcamp July 8-9. Image Credits: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

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Newest Jobs from Crunchboard Senior Shopify Developer (Remote + Flexible) at Storetasker (Anywhere) Manager, Application Development and Integration at The Pew Charitable Trusts (Washington, D.C., USA) Software Development Engineer (On-site, SE Michigan) at Amy Cell Talent (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) SW Simulation Test Engineer (On-site, SE Michigan) at Amy Cell Talent (Ann Arbor, MI, USA) Instructional Designer at Quorum Analytics (Washington D.C., DC, USA) See more jobs on CrunchBoard Post your tech jobs and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month.

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