What’s driving the rise of robotaxis in China with AutoX, Momenta and WeRide

AutoX, Momenta and WeRide took the stage at TC Sessions: Mobility 2021 to discuss the state of robotaxi startups in China and their relationships with local governments in the country. They also talked about overseas expansion — a common trajectory for China’s top autonomous vehicle sta

Facebook buys game studio BigBox VR

Facebook has bought several virtual reality game studios over the past couple of years, and they added one more to their portfolio Friday with the acquisition of Seattle-based BigBox VR. The studio’s major title, “Population: One,” was one of the big post-launch releases for Faceb

Extra Crunch roundup: EU insurtech, 30 years of ‘Crossing the Chasm,’ embedded finance’s endgame

This morning, Anna Heim and Alex Wilhelm dug into the EU insurtech market, interviewing European VCs and collating the biggest recent rounds to take the temperature of the waters across the pond: Alex Timm, CEO, Root Dan Preston, CEO, MetroMile Luca Bocchio, partner, Accel Florian Graillot, invest

5 questions startups should consider before making their first marketing hire

“Who should my first marketing hire be?” This is (by far) the most common question I've received since starting as Fuel’s CMO, and for good reason. Your first marketer will have an outsized impact on team dynamics as well as the overall strategic direction of the brand, produc

Why Mate Rimac is working on electric robotaxis

"speakable-summary" style="font-weight: 400;">Mate Rimac, the founder and CEO of Croatian electric hypercar and components developer Rimac Automobili, started a separate company nearly three years ago to work on electric robotaxis. Little is known about the company, which still operates in stealth.

NASA seeking proposals for two new private astronaut missions to ISS

NASA said Friday it was seeking proposals from commercial companies for two new private crewed missions to the International Space Station. The first mission would likely take place between fall of 2022 and mid-2023. The second one would follow sometime between mid-2023 and the end of 2023. Private

Despite flat growth, ride-hailing colossus Didi’s US IPO could reach $70B

Didi filed to go public in the United States last night, providing a look into the Chinese ride-hailing company’s business. This morning, we’re extending our earlier reporting on the company to dive into its numerical performance, economic health and possible valuation. Didi is approach

Lydia partners with Cashbee to add savings accounts

French startup Lydia is better known as the dominant app for peer-to-peer payments. But the company has been adding more features, such as a debit card, account aggregation, donations, money pots and more. This week, the company is adding savings accounts thanks to a partnership with French fintech

Last day to save $100 on passes to TC Early Stage 2021: Marketing & Fundraising

Now that we have your attention, know this: Prices go up tonight on passes to TC Early Stage 2021: Marketing & Fundraising. If you're an early-stage founder (pre-seed through Series A), don't miss this chance to save $100 on our two-day virtual event dedicated to helping you build a str

Sony sets a new standard with the WF-1000XM4 earbuds

It's been just under two years since I reviewed the WF-1000XM3, and in that time, Sony's earbuds never stopped being the reference point for high-end earbuds. Seriously, I reviewed a new pair like a month ago and still made the customary reference. That's a rarity in these days of the y

Tech companies are looking at more flexible work models when offices reopen

Last week, Apple announced it wanted employees to return to the Cupertino campus for three days a week starting in September. Some employees who have grown used to the flexibility of working at home pushed back. Prior to the pandemic, with few exceptions, most employees went into an office most day

Freelancer marketplace Toptal sues Andela and ex-employees, alleging theft of trade secrets

The war for talent in the tech world can be brutal — and so, it turns out, can the war between platforms that help companies source it. In the latest developement, Toptal — a marketplace for filling engineering and other tech roles with freelance, remote workers — has filed a laws

Volkswagen says a vendor’s security lapse exposed 3.3 million drivers’ details

Volkswagensaysmorethan3.3millioncustomershadtheirinformationexposedafteroneofitsvendorsleftacacheofcustomerdataunsecuredontheinternet. Thecarmakersaidinaletterthatthevendor,usedbyVolkswagen,itssubsidiaryAudiandauthorizeddealersintheU.S.andCanada,leftthecustomerdataspanning2014to2019unprotectedovera

Google won’t end support for tracking cookies unless UK’s competition watchdog agrees

Well this is big. The U.K.’s competition regulator looks set to get an emergency brake that will allow it to stop Google ending support for third-party cookies, a technology that’s currently used for targeting online ads, if it believes competition would be harmed by the depreciation go