Chew into Apple’s WWDC and the latest iOS 16 options 

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At the moment is Monday, June 6, 2022, and in case you didn’t know, it is usually Apple’s WWDC convention, which is what Haje and our different colleagues are centered on in the present day, so that you get me solo. See all of the tidbits and trappings by these wonderful writers beneath. Additionally, Lucas’s and Anita’s e-newsletter that includes “the arrest heard ’round the crypto world” is one you could try. Lastly, we offer you 5 causes you received’t need to miss the TC Sessions: Climate, kicking off subsequent week, so get your ticket in the present day. — Christine

The TechCrunch High 3

• All things Apple: As talked about, this week our staff will likely be bringing you every thing WWDC associated, from the live keynote to unveils just like the M2 silicon chip to the redesigned MacBook Air to the brand new title for macOS (Ventura, “Mace Ventura”) and all the brand new options you’ll be able to stand. Alrighty then, we also have a particular WWDC 2022 web page the place you’ll be able to entry all of the Apple goodness all through the week.
• Elon Musk is not happy: After we aren’t writing about Apple, we’re writing about our favourite billionaire’s journey to buying Twitter. At the moment, Musk’s authorized staff made an SEC submitting that claims Musk shouldn’t be completely happy that Twitter received’t comply together with his information request concerning the variety of “spam and faux accounts” the social media large has, and if he doesn’t get these numbers, he’s going to take his toys and go dwelling, figuratively talking.
• Unicorns may be losing their magic: On this episode of “The Change,” Alex debates glut versus jam and why the previous 2 years have been considerably of a “unicorn bonanza.”

Startups and VC

There’s not a day that goes by the place we don’t hear of a brand new cybersecurity risk or hack, so it’s no shock that firms like AppOmni proceed to rake in huge bucks to assist resolve the issue — on this case vulnerabilities in SaaS app stacks.

One other firm conjuring up some capital is Magical, which is out to show that robotic process automation isn’t ready for consolidation, and there are nonetheless a number of rabbits left to drag out of its hat.

Over in software program, Alex writes that software startups have some things to be happy about, even on this enterprise capital slowdown.  

Would you want some extra? Pleased to conform:

• Order issues: When Haje isn’t writing about Apple, he’s serving to startups work out the best slide order for their pitch decks. 
• Catching as much as the credit score craze: Nigeria-based Indicina isn’t letting Africa’s poor credit infrastructure stand in the way of making know-how to document credit score transactions throughout the continent. 
• An apple for the trainer: Ingrid reviews that Go1, an enterprise studying firm, grabbed $100 million to give it a $2 billion valuation. 
• Aware coupling of cash: Mingling your cash with a major different can finish badly, however as Natasha writes, Ivella brought in $3.5 million to make it additionally enjoyable and versatile. 
• Serving up radar-on-a-chip: Vayyar raised $108 million in Series E funding towards “introducing a ‘household’ of machine learning-powered sensor options for robotics, retail, public security and ‘sensible’ constructing merchandise,” Kyle writes. 
• Discovering medicine with robots: Creating new medicine is a pricey and time-consuming effort, however Hong Kong–primarily based Insilico brought in $50 million to leverage synthetic intelligence and a robotic lab to hopefully velocity issues up in a extra cost-conscious manner.
• Center East will get a Bolt by means of a Fenix: The Abu Dhabi–primarily based mobility startup is harnessing the “superpower of micromobility” to not solely make certain your groceries get to you in 10 minutes, but in addition present another companies you could be inquisitive about attempting.

Preventing the “copycat” stigma in SaaS: Three methods that work

Picture Credit: Gandee Vasan (opens in a new window) / Getty Photos

In a world the place concepts are low-cost, it’s not onerous to be labeled a “copycat” in case your product is even inside a rustic mile of your competitor’s area, irrespective of the worth you present.

“It at all times stings to listen to a prospect say, ‘Oh you’re like a less expensive/newer model of [your biggest competitor].’ It stings much more when you already know you have got a superior product,” writes Sachin Gupta, the CEO and co-founder of HackerEarth.

Drawing from his personal expertise, Gupta explains 3 ways founders can set their firm and product aside:

• Lean into and promote your information.
• Double down in your product.
• Revisit and reinvent your advertising.

(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup groups get forward. You can sign up here.)

Huge Tech Inc.

• Plenty of huge information in our newsletters, from Mary Ann’s story on Affirm and Stripe working together to provide Stripe’s U.S. shoppers a method to pay in installments to Kirsten’s story on Ford’s new sales process and Sarah’s take a look at the number of App Store and Google Play downloads.
• Etsy is making a $25 million funding towards a brand new purchase protection program for buyers and sellers that may hit the web market August 1. At its core, the brand new program means patrons can get a full refund if gadgets “don’t match the merchandise description, arrive broken or don’t arrive in any respect.” We don’t suppose sellers maliciously attempt to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes, but it surely does sound like sellers will should be cautious what they put up.
• IBM said it is acquiring Randori, an offensive safety startup. Carly known as this transfer “one more signal of the corporate’s persevering with shift away from its legacy enterprise to cloud software program and AI-powered cybersecurity companies, which it not too long ago bolstered with its takeover of endpoint safety platform ReaQTA.”
• It might be Apple’s huge day, however as Brian put it, “a Google Pixel feature drop waits for nobody.” A few of the new options for the cellphone embody the flexibility so as to add a shortcut from the homepage to a vaccine card screenshot and Dialog Mode for Google’s Sound Amplifier.