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Good day, and “joyful Friday junior,” as somebody put of their e-mail to me in the present day. I hope it has been a productive Thursday for you. Haje is hanging with a bunch of robotics expertise, so it’s simply me and my trusty Lakeland Terrier companion delivering the juicy morsels of reports goodness in the present day. Please take pleasure in his Pitch Deck Teardown on Five Flute whereas he’s away. Sadly for this flute participant, it’s not a flute maker. See you tomorrow! — Christine
The TechCrunch High 3
- Data protection woes: Fb has managed to keep away from being shut down in Europe, however Natasha L writes that its guardian, Meta, could also be going through a suspension.
- Here and yonder: I wrote about wealth expertise agency Farther, which introduced in $15 million in funding to spice up its valuation to $50 million. The corporate supplies instruments for monetary advisors to increase their enterprise, whereas additionally enabling customers to do enjoyable issues like a “money waterfall,” which implies everytime you benefit from extra funds, you may designate the place the overflow goes.
- Borrowing a little from Apple: Ivan writes that as Google continues to merge Duo and Meet, it’s introducing a brand new characteristic that lets customers watch YouTube and Spotify collectively.
Startups and VC
I loved Dominic-Madori’s story in the present day on provide chain expertise firm Stimulus, which raised a $2.5 million seed round. She writes that Stimulus provides a product “that helps companies lower prices by avoiding mismatched suppliers whereas introducing various distributors to firms which may have neglected them.”
Creating internal apps is usually a large time-suck for firms. Kyle introduces us to Superblocks, an organization that developed a manner for companies to extra simply custom-build their very own.
- It’ll provide you with wings: Mike writes in regards to the U.Ok.’s Enterprise Funding Scheme, which has created an “institutional angel fund” to allow smaller firms to get their first large funding break.
- Hand me that scalpel: Medical college students typically study by doing, however within the age of surgical robots, their education is now moving in the direction of virtual reality. One such firm is FundamentalVR, which raised $20 million to make simulations extra actual, Paul experiences.
- From onboarding to offboarding: Over the previous 12 months, Kenyan B2B e-commerce platform Marketplace staffed up to onboard thousands of merchants, and Tage discovered that the corporate laid off 9% of its workers after shifting focus.
- Current!: Natasha M’s newest TechCrunch+ story seems to be at if edtech is still a venture-backable trade. She spoke to seven investors within the area to search out out extra.
- Your meals may be low-carbon, too: Similar to we are able to see our carbon footprint, Kuri has developed an app that does the identical for our meals, Haje writes.
7 buyers talk about why edtech startups should return to fundamentals to outlive
Picture Credit: Boris Zhitkov (opens in a new window) / Getty Photos
Pre-pandemic, edtech was not an particularly frothy sector: In 2019, these startups acquired roughly $7 billion in VC funding, in keeping with Crunchbase. Final 12 months, that determine rose to $20 billion after efforts to restrict the unfold of COVID-19 impacted college students of all ages.
To study extra about how edtech is faring throughout the present downturn, Natasha Mascarenhas spoke to seven VCs in regards to the recommendation they’re providing portfolio firms, the place edtech is crossing over into different sectors, and the way they like to be pitched:
- Ashley Bittner and Kate Ballinger, Firework Ventures
- Jan Lynn-Matern, founder and accomplice, Emerge Schooling
- Malvika Bhagwat and Kriti Bansal, Owl Ventures
- Jomayra Herrera, accomplice, Attain Capital
- Rebecca Kaden, normal accomplice, Union Sq. Ventures
“I’d say the previous few years have been extra of an anomaly, and we’re getting again to a extra sustainable tempo,” stated Attain Capital accomplice Jomayra Herrera.
(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup groups get forward. You can sign up here.)
Huge Tech Inc.
Current monetary pressures have compelled Rivian to take sure measures, together with laying off 900 employees in July. Its second-quarter earnings are arising later in the present day, and Jaclyn shifts into gear with 3 things to watch for on Rivian’s Q2 earnings.
Xiaomi has a pair of latest merchandise dropped at you by Brian and Ivan. The primary is about its new humanoid robot that very a lot has me considering of the “I, Robotic” film. The second is a foldable phone solely out there in China.
Talking of telephones, anybody nostalgic for his or her previous Motorola Razr will wish to try the most recent model. Brian has extra.
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