Facebook shifts its VR strategy, WhatsApp’s payment service hits a snag in Brazil and we look at how Trump’s visa ban will affect Silicon Valley. Here’s your Daily Crunch for June 24, 2020. 1. Facebook kills off its cheapest VR headset Just two years after launching the Oculus Go, Facebook announced that it’s discontinuing the […]
When we announced the formation of The TechCrunch List last week, we had no idea what response we would get to our proposal for founders to recommend their “first check” investors. While plenty of founders over the years had told us that they wanted such a database to rely on or to refer to other […]
In a filing this week, connected speaker maker Sonos noted plans to cut 12% of its workforce, in addition to closing some of its smaller offices and its garish showroom in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood. The move follows a letter to shareholders sent last month that acknowledged struggles stemming from a combination of closed retail storefronts […]
In a preshow post, I compared the upcoming virtual WWDC to late-season “M*A*S*H.” If you watched the show during its original run or have since binged it on Netflix or Hulu, you’re likely aware of the producers’ uncomfortable transition away from using a laugh track. It was an ultimately beneficial choice in a show about […]
At a time where IT has to help employees set up and manage devices remotely, a service that simplifies those processes could certainly come in handy. Apple recognized that, and acquired Fleetsmith today, a startup that helps companies do precisely that with Apple devices. While Apple didn’t publicize the acquisition, it has confirmed the deal […]
Virtual events are the new norm for product rollouts in 2020, with Slack taking to the internet earlier today to talk about a new part of its service called Slack Connect. On the heels of Apple’s lengthy and pretty good virtual WWDC that took place earlier this week, Slack’s event, part experiment and part press conference, […]
Google said Wednesday it’s making a handful of privacy changes for users. In a blog post, the search giant said it’ll make it easier for users to go “incognito” and pause data collection as they use Google’s mobile apps. It’s also adding proactive account security recommendations to its Security Checkup tool. Google also said it’ll […]
Startups don’t come with instructions — a fact that inspired us to create TC Early Stage 2020, a two-day online event packed with workshops designed specifically for early-stage startup founders. It’s the closest thing you’ll find to a blueprint for DIY success, and it all goes down on July 21-22. Early-bird pricing remains in effect […]
Data and analytics service Databricks today announced that it has acquired Redash, a company that helps data scientists and analysts visualize their data and build dashboards around it. Redash’s customers include the likes of Atlassian, Cloudflare, Mozilla and Soundcloud and the company offers both an open-source self-hosted version of its tools, as well as paid […]
For decades, the United States has had a monopoly on positioning, navigation, and timing technology with its Global Positioning System (GPS), a constellation of satellites operated by the military that today provides the backbone for location on billion of devices worldwide. As those technologies have become not just key to military maneuvers but the very […]