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  • Revolution Esports partners with SAF Global Gaming to develop FIFA esports talent25 January 2021
    Tournament organiser Revolution Esports & Gaming has announced a multi-year partnership with FIFA community SAF Global Gaming to help develop FIFA esports talent. The exclusive three-year deal will have Revolution Esports share its facilities, equipment, education, and brand partnerships to support the partnership. Meanwhile, SAF…
  • Alma raises $59.4 million for its Klarna-like payment option25 January 2021
    French startup Alma is raising a $59.4 million Series B funding round (€49 million). The company has been building a new payment option for expensive good. You can choose to pay over three or four installments. This product sounds familiar if you’ve used…
  • Cybersecurity startup SpiderSilk raises $2.25M to help prevent data breaches25 January 2021
    Dubai-based cybersecurity startup SpiderSilk has raised $2.25 million in a pre-Series A round, led by venture firms Global Ventures and STV. In the past two years, SpiderSilk has discovered some of the biggest data breaches: Blind, the allegedly anonymous social network that exposed…
  • Autonomous driving startup Uisee attracts Chinese state investor in $150M round25 January 2021
    There is no lack of state funding for China’s smart driving startups nowadays as the country advances its goal to become a global leader in artificial intelligence in a decade’s time. The latest to get a financial boost is Uisee, a Beijing-based company…
  • Wingcopter raises $22 million to expand to the U.S. and launch a next-generation drone24 January 2021
    German drone technology startup Wingcopter has raised a $22 million Series A – its first significant venture capital raise after mostly bootstrapping. The company, which focuses on drone delivery, has come a long way since its founding in 2017, having developed, built and…
  • Clubhouse announces plans for creator payments and raises new funding led by Andreessen Horowitz24 January 2021
    Buzzy live voice chat app Clubhouse has confirmed that it has raised new funding – without revealing how much – in a Series B round led by Andreessen Horowitz through the firm’s partner Andrew Chen. The app was reported to be raising at…
  • Summer Memories // The Parttime Visionary 🎵24 January 2021
    Read the original post: Summer Memories // The Parttime Visionary 🎵 Organize your team with Milanote. Enjoy relaxed ambient music byTPV Media.
  • Instacart to eliminate about 2,000 jobs and GitHub head of HR resigns23 January 2021
    Hey y’all. You’ve just landed on Human Capital, the weekly newsletter that details the latest in labor, and diversity and inclusion in tech. The week kicked off with GitHub making a public apology to the person the company terminated for cautioning his employees…
  • How VCs and founders see 2021 differently23 January 2021
    Welcome back to The TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It’s broadly based on the daily column that appears on Extra Crunch, but free, and made for your weekend reading. Click here if you want it in your inbox every Saturday morning. Ready? Let’s talk money,…
  • Augmented reality’s awkward phase will be long and painful23 January 2021
    Howdy friends, this is the web version of my Week in Review newsletter, it’s here to entice you to sign up and get it in your inbox every week. Last week, I showcased how Twitter was looking at the future of the web…
  • Work trips are making a $5 billion comeback23 January 2021
    Would you bet millions of dollars on a corporate travel comeback? Doesn’t matter. Andreessen Horowitz, Addition and Elad Gil are anyways. This week, the trio led a nine-figure financing round in TripActions, a software company that helps other companies book and manage corporate…
  • Original Content podcast: ‘Bridgerton’ is an addictive reimagining of Jane Austen-style romance23 January 2021
    “Bridgerton,” the Shondaland drama that launched last month on Netflix, offers a few key updates to the standard formula of Regency-era  romance. For one thing, there’s a racially diverse cast, with Black actors taking on the role of early 19th-century English nobility and…
  • Time Stood Still // The Parttime Visionary & No Lake 🎵23 January 2021
    Read the original post: Time Stood Still // The Parttime Visionary & No Lake 🎵 Organize your team with Milanote. Enjoy relaxed ambient music byTPV Media.
  • How fintech and serial founders drove African pre-seed investing to new heights in 202023 January 2021
    When Stripe-subsidiary Paystack raised its seed round of $1.3 million in 2016, it was one of the largest disclosed rounds at that stage in Nigeria.  At the time, seven-figure seed investments in African startups were a rarity. But over the years, those same…
  • Could giant SPACs be next?23 January 2021
    While many deemed 2020 the year of SPAC, short for special purpose acquisition company, 2021 may well make last year look quaint in comparison. It’s probably not premature to be asking: is there any company too big to be SPAC’d? Just today, we…
  • Daily Crunch: Alphabet shuts down Loon22 January 2021
    Alphabet pulls the plug on its internet balloon company, Apple is reportedly developing a new MacBook Air and Google threatens to pull out of Australia. This is your Daily Crunch for January 22, 2021. The big story: Alphabet shuts down Loon Alphabet announced…
  • The far right’s favorite registrar is building ‘censorship-resistant’ servers22 January 2021
    “The digital divide is now a matter of life and death for people who are unable to access essential healthcare information,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres in June 2020. Almost half the global population currently has no internet access, and many who…
  • End-to-end operators are the next generation of consumer business22 January 2021
    Roger Lee Contributor Share on Twitter Roger Lee is a general partner at Battery Ventures, based in Menlo Park, CA, who focuses on investments in software and consumer tech, including online marketplaces. More posts by this contributor Keys to ascending the consumer-internet throne…
  • VSPN raises $60m, KitKat named LEC main sponsor | ESI Digest #2622 January 2021
    Each week, ESI Digest breaks down the weekly happenings in the esports industry, making sense of things so you don’t have to. As well as being housed on YouTube, ESI Digest is available on all major podcast platforms and is also available in…
  • Moonton names Razer as partner of M2 World Championship22 January 2021
    Chinese video game developer Moonton has welcomed Razer as its official peripheral partner for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s 2021 M2 World Championship. As part of the deal, the gaming hardware brand will produce a special edition Razer BlackShark V2 gaming headset, with the…
  • Additional 35 individuals dealt bans in ESIC, ESEA investigation update22 January 2021
    An ongoing investigation conducted by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has identified an additional 35 individuals guilty of betting-related infractions concerning official matches played on Counter-Strike matchmaking platform ESEA. Photo credit: ESIC RELATED: ESI Gambling Report: The Counter-Strike effect and preserving integrity online…
  • Privacy complaint targets European parliament’s COVID-19 test-booking site22 January 2021
    The European Parliament is being investigated by the EU’s lead data regulator over a complaint that a website it set up for MEPs to book coronavirus tests may have violated data protection laws. The complaint, which has been filed by six MEPs and…
  • Didi to subsidize trips for vaccinations with $10M global fund22 January 2021
    As countries around the world prepare to vaccinate people against the coronavirus, tech companies are rushing to demonstrate their willingness to help fight the deadly virus. China’s ride-hailing leader Didi Chuxing is pledging a $10 million fund to support COVID-19 vaccination efforts in…
  • China’s draft payments rules put Ant, Tencent on notice22 January 2021
    A string of recent events in China’s payments industry suggests the duopoly comprising Ant Group and Tencent may be getting a shakeup. Following the abrupt call-off of Ant’s public sale and a government directive to reform the firm’s business, the Chinese authorities sent…
  • JustKitchen is using cloud kitchens to create the next generation of restaurant franchising22 January 2021
    JustKitchen operates cloud kitchens, but the company goes beyond providing cooking facilities for delivery meals. Instead, it sees food as a content play, with recipes and branding instead of music or shows as the content, and wants to create the next iteration of…
  • Elon Musk is donating $100M to find the best carbon capture technology22 January 2021
    Elon Musk said Thursday via a tweet that he will donate $100 million toward a prize for the best carbon capture technology. Musk, who recently surpassed Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person, didn’t provide any more details except to add…
  • Elon Musk is donating $100M to find the best carbon capture technology22 January 2021
    Elon Musk said Thursday via a tweet that he will donate $100 million toward a prize for the best carbon capture technology. Musk, who recently surpassed Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest person, didn’t provide any more details except to add…
  • Forsaking funding at a $1 billion valuation, Solugen preps a new green chemical product and a big 202121 January 2021
    Late last year, Solugen, a startup using synthetic biology to take hydrocarbons out of the chemicals industry, decided against pursuing a new round of funding that would have valued the company at over $1 billion, TechCrunch has learned. Instead, the Houston-based bio-manufacturing company…
  • Nations Ventures invests in influencer merchandise firm Hypr Carry21 January 2021
    Nations Ventures, a venture capital fund majority-owned by We Are Nations, has invested in Australian based influencer merchandise and media company Hypr Carry. Details of the amount invested in Hypr Carry have not been revealed, however, the funding will be used help establish…
  • NHS works with Hedera Hashgraph and Everyware to monitor Covid-19 vaccine storage21 January 2021
    The National Health Service (NHS) is working with Hedera Hashgraph and digital asset tracking and monitoring provider Everyware to monitor cold storage equipment being used to store Covid-19 vaccines. Certain Covid-19 vaccines, such as the vaccine developed by Pfizer which was approved for…
  • Raspberry Pi Foundation launches $4 microcontroller with custom chip21 January 2021
    Meet the Raspberry Pi Pico, a tiny little microcontroller that lets you build hardware projects with some code running on the microcontroller. Even more interesting, the Raspberry Pi Foundation is using its own RP2040 chip, which means that the foundation is now making…
  • KitKat named main partner of LEC 202121 January 2021
    The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) has named Nestlé chocolate brand, and returning sponsor, KitKat as its main partner for the 2021 season. Activations will include a continuation of KitKat’s ‘Even the Biggest Champ Needs A Break’ campaign with a 30-second spot entitled ‘MISSION CONTROL’. The…
  • Vodafone Giants unveils partnership with MAGGI FUSIAN21 January 2021
    Spanish esports organisation Vodafone Giants has welcomed Nestlé noodle brand MAGGI FUSIAN as its latest partner. As a part of the agreement, MAGGI’s range of oriental noodles will be positioned as a ‘benchmark brand’ in Vodafone Giants’ broadcasting channels, as well as promoted on its social…
  • Porsche and Axel Springer increase investment into their APX accelerator to €55M21 January 2021
    Berlin-based early-stage fund APX today announced that its two investors, European publisher Axel Springer and sports car maker Porsche, have increased their investment in the fund to a total of €55 million. With this, APX, which launched in 2018, is now able to…
  • Softr scores $2.2M seed for its no-code website and web app platform powered by Airtable21 January 2021
    No-code — software that lets you accomplish tasks that previously required coding skills — is an increasingly hot space, even if the basic premise has been promised and not fully realised for many years. Related to this are companies like Airtable, which attempt…
  • Eight Roads Ventures Europe shifts its gears towards diversity, appointing Lucile Cornet to Partner21 January 2021
    The world of European VC can post another win for diversity this week as Lucile Cornet is appointed Partner with Eight Roads Ventures Europe, a firm focusing on startups in Europe and Israel. Cornet is its first female Partner. Eight Roads is backed…
  • This startup says its AI can better spot a healthy embryo — and improve IVF success21 January 2021
    With every year, AI is beginning to bring more standardized levels of diagnostic accuracy in medicine. This is true of skin cancer detection, for example, and lung cancers. Now, a startup in Israel called Embryonics says its AI can improve the odds of…
  • Fnatic announces multi-year partnership with Jack Link’s20 January 2021
    Leading British esports organisation Fnatic has announced a multi-year partnership with North American beef jerky snack firm Jack Link’s. Following a successful activation in 2019, the two entities have teamed up again as Jack Link’s looks to strengthen its reach across EMEA and establish…
  • Alibaba shares jump on Jack Ma’s first appearance in 3 months20 January 2021
    Alibaba’s billionaire founder resurfaced as he spoke to 100 rural teachers through a video call, three months after his last public appearance in October, sending the e-commerce firm’s shares up more than 8% in Hong Kong. A recording of the call was first…
  • Landbot closes $8M Series A for its ‘no code’ chatbot builder20 January 2021
    Barcelona-based Landbot, a ‘no-code’ chatbot builder, has bagged a $8M Series A led by the Spanish-Israeli VC firm Swanlaab, alongside support from Spain’s innovation-focused public agency, CDTI. Previous investors Nauta Capital, Encomenda and Bankinter also participated in the round. We last chatted to…
  • Former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski among list of last-minute Trump pardons20 January 2021
    Anthony Levandowski, the former Google engineer and serial entrepreneur who had been sentenced to 18 months in prison on one count of stealing trade secrets, has received a pardon from President Donald Trump. The full pardon, which was one of 73 issued late…
  • Wattpad, the storytelling platform, is selling to South Korea’s Naver for $600 million20 January 2021
    Wattpad, the 14-year-old, Toronto-based, venture-backed storytelling platform with reach into a number of verticals, is being acquired by Naver, the South Korean conglomerate, in a $600 million cash-and-stock deal. Naver plans to incorporate at least part of the business into another of its…
  • Reflections on the first all-virtual CES20 January 2021
    I’ve spent more time than I care to mention over the last several years wondering aloud about the value of in-person trade shows. There’s something seemingly antiquated in the idea of jamming a bunch of people in a room, walking from booth to…
  • Nerd Street Gamers to operate first stage of VALORANT Champions Tour19 January 2021
    Esports infrastructure company Nerd Street Gamers has been named as an operator and producer for the 2021 VALORANT Champions Tour. The deal will see Nerd Street Gamers lead registrations, operate, and produce all Challengers and Masters events taking place from January until March. After March,…
  • Qualcomm-backed chipmaker Kneron nails Foxconn funding, deal19 January 2021
    A startup based out of San Diego and Taipei is quietly nailing fundings and deals from some of the biggest names in electronics. Kneron, which specializes in energy-efficient processors for edge artificial intelligence, just raised a strategic funding round from Taiwan’s manufacturing giant…
  • Google backs India’s Dunzo in $40 million funding round19 January 2021
    Google is writing check to another startup in India. The Android-maker, which last year unveiled a $10 billion fund to invest in the world’s second largest internet market, said on Tuesday that it is participating in a $40 million investment round of hyperlocal…
  • Health insurance startup Alan launches free medical app Alan Baby19 January 2021
    French startup Alan is generating 100% of its revenue from health insurance products — and that isn’t going to change. But the company wants to start a conversation with a bigger use base. Alan is going to launch multiple mobile apps that let…
  • TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin launches an e-wallet19 January 2021
    Tencent’s WeChat Pay and Alibaba’s affiliate Alipay have long dominated digital payments in China, but they have always faced new challengers. The latest entrant in online payments is Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese version. The short video app recently added “Douyin Pay” to its list…
  • Skyqraft raises $2.2M seed for its powerline issue detection system19 January 2021
    Skyqraft, the Swedish startup using AI and drones for electricity powerline inspection, has raised $2.2 million in seed funding, capital it will use to further develop its technology and expand its operations in Europe and in the U.S. Leading the seed round is…
  • Team Vitality joins forces with Incept to enhance performance centre18 January 2021
    French esports organisation Team Vitality has announced a new partnership with gym equipment company Incept. As a result of the partnership, Incept will equip Team Vitality’s performance centre in France with its gym machines. Moreover, the health and fitness firm has been named…
  • LOOT.BET reveals statistics on esports betting in 202018 January 2021
    Esports-dedicated bookmaker LOOT.BET has revealed its review of the last year’s esports betting statistics. According to the research, the most popular esports title to bet on in 2020 was Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, occupying a share of more than 53 percent of total money placed on…

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