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‘Astroturfing’ and other non-transparent lobbying tactics used to target digital policymakers in the European Union in recent years — including during a blitz of spending aimed at influencing major new pan-EU rules like the Digital Services Act (DSA) — have inspired a group of MEPs and NGOs to fight back by launching a hotline for […]

EU lawmakers launch tips hotline to catch Big Tech’s ‘shady’ lobbying by Natasha Lomas originally published on TechCrunch

Reliance Retail, India’s largest retail chain, will start accepting retail payments in digital rupee in a move that could supercharge the adoption of the country’s recently launched CBDC. The Mukesh Ambani-led firm said it has partnered with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Innoviti Technologies to launch the in-store support for digital rupee. Customers who […]

India’s retail giant Reliance to accept CBDC at stores by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Innovator and inventor Leen Kawas is the managing general partner of Propel Bio Partners, a life science investment firm that drives its strategy with science and business expertise

Twitter will discontinue offering free access to the Twitter API starting February 9 and will launch a paid version, the Elon Musk-owned microblogging website said as it looks for more avenues to monetize the platform.  In a series of tweets, Twitter Developer account said the firm will be ending support for both v1.1 and v2 […]

Twitter to end free access to its API by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

Pinterest has made a second job-cutting move within weeks of the first round of layoffs in December. The company has let go of almost 150 employees (representing less than 5% of its workforce), according to a report from Bloomberg. In a statement to TechCrunch, Pinterest confirmed the job axing but didn’t share how many people […]

Pinterest lays off 150 people as a part of its ‘long-term strategy’ by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

Xpeng, a Chinese electric vehicle upstart, is gearing up to launch its eVTOL into the air as it secures a key regulatory greenlight. Aeroht, owned by Xpeng and Xpeng founder He Xiaopeng, just obtained a special flight permit from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country’s counterpart to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The […]

China’s EV upstart Xpeng ready to take off with flying permit by Rita Liao originally published on TechCrunch

After raising $300 million in a round led by SoftBank back in 2021, UK neobank Zopa has closed a deal to put more funding in its coffers. The company — which provides consumers with lending services, credit cards and savings accounts and has some 850,000 customers — has raised £75 million (around $93 million), an […]

Zopa, the UK neobank, raises $93M more at a $1B+ valuation by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch

Lex, the hookup and social app that launched in 2019 with a nod to lesbian personal ads from the 80s, is changing. Only, precisely how much will change is still an open question. Sure, the venture-backed startup behind the queer app gave it a new lick of paint last week, but in refocusing on “friends […]

‘Keep Lex filthy’: Users react to queer dating app’s new direction by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch

Meta is all-in on becoming a lean, mean cash-printing machine. In its Q4 earnings call on Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the company’s near future priorities and plans, painting a picture of a tech giant that’s driving toward leaning down and speeding up. The company beat revenue expectations in the final quarter of 2022, […]

Meta stock perks up as the company promises a ‘year of efficiency’ by Taylor Hatmaker originally published on TechCrunch

The New York Stock Exchange has issued a delisting warning to peer-to-peer car rental company Getaround for trading too low, according to the company. Getaround debuted on the public markets in December after merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The combined company’s stock began trading at around $10 per share and promptly lost […]

Car-sharing platform Getaround gets delisting warning from NYSE by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch