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Hello friends, and welcome to Daily Crunch on Monday December 27th.
I will continue to lead the USS Cruncherprise while Alex is on vacation. If you lack his wit and wisdom, fear not: he will be back next week.
As I mentioned last week, the last few weeks of December tend to be a little quieter in the news cycle, so expect these daily summaries to be a little more compact. We should be back in full swing next week, if only because that’s when CES is going to take place. (And yes, it still apparently happens, despite one thing Number of the largest companies pull out.)
The TechCrunch Top 3
- In memory of the startups we lost in 2021: House party! Dark sky! Loon! Some members of the TC team have compiled a list of the products, projects, and technology companies that have closed (or announced plans to close) this year. Fry’s Electronics receives an Honorable Mention because the shutdown, while barely a startup, leaves a giant “pyramid-shaped hole in the hearts of many who grew up with its aisles”.
- TC’s favorite things: Team TC has also compiled its annual list of its “Favorite Things” of the year, where “things” are defined … as, well, everything. We love doing this; In the end, it’s a big, jumbled list of things worth knowing (I really can’t stop hearing Kirsten’s air traffic controller music recommendations) and at the same time it’s a glimpse into the current minds of the people who keep this place going.
- Does awareness of accessibility lead to better accessibility? Businesses are better at talking about accessibility, but are their words producing real results? Joe Devon, co-founder of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, takes us on a deep dive into the data.
Startups / VC
- Naren Gupta dies: The co-founder of Nexus Venture Partners died on Saturday at the age of 73. Manish Singh shares details about Gupta’s life, his many achievements and how the venture capitalist helped “put Indian SaaS startups on the world map”.
- Teesas Raises $ 1.6 Million: Less than two months after launch, Nigerian edtech startup Teesas raised a $ 1.6 million pre-seed round. The company offers a subscription program for students that delivers live / recorded content tailored exactly to what they are learning in school.
- Jupiter Raises $ 86 Million: The Indian neobank startup, not the gas planet. Just a few months after the public launch, the company founder says the service has “almost half a million users”. This round, the company is valued at $ 711 million, which more than doubles its valuation from August.
Foreign investors and mature startups shape New Zealand’s VC financing landscape
Credit: Thitima Thongkham (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
For a country of just over five million people, New Zealand is Startup ecosystem strikes way beyond its weight.
In 2020, investors put $ 158 million on 108 deals, the third year of growth in a row. After a series of exits like RocketLab, Pushpay and Sequent, foreign investors like Sequoia and Founders Fund became aware of it.
“I am confident that we will see more unicorns and real success in the market over the next five years, which I believe will create a positive halo effect and bring out the next generation of founders,” said James Pinner, acting CEO of the New Zealand venture fund Elevate.
(TechCrunch + is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams move forward. Here you can sign up.)
Big Tech Inc.
- Other large companies are leaving CES: While the Consumer Electronics Show is set to continue as planned, some large companies won’t be there this time – at least not in person. T-Mobile was the first big name to give up personal presence on the show due to the ongoing COVID spike; Since then, a number of companies have followed suit, including Google, Lenovo, Intel, GM, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon.
- TikTok moderator complains: Moderating content is an enormous challenge that probably no large social network has gotten right. Machines aren’t quite up to the job yet, and hiring people for them is like saying, “You know all the hideous, horrific, and absolutely worst parts of the internet? Here’s a fire hose! ”A TikTok host sued parent company ByteDance this week over trauma they’d experienced at work; According to the complaint, moderators had to “watch three to ten videos at a time” to handle the “sheer volume of content”.
TechCrunch experts
Credit: SEAN GLADWELL / Getty Images
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