Founded in 2014, Blossom Finance was first intended for Muslim entrepreneurs in the United States. The microfinancing platform connects investors with small businesses using mudarabah, a shariah-compliant profit-sharing agreement. But founder Matthew Joseph Martin soon realized that the startup, backed by investors like Boost VC and Tim Draper, was serving a relatively niche market in […]
Muslims come into the frame in Southeast Asia’s fintech boom by Catherine Shu originally published on TechCrunch
Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has seen its stock tumble 20% in after-hours trading after reporting first-quarter earnings Thursday. The company missed Wall Street revenue estimates of $1 billion, closing out the quarter with $989 million. That’s down 7% from the same period last year, and it represents the first time since Snap went […]
Snap stock down 24% on weak earnings, ad revenue slump by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch
Google has been spotted testing a new Play Store ad slot ahead of its I/O developer conference in May. If rolled out publicly, the change could significantly expand the company’s Play Store search ads business by offering developers access to new prime real estate for their app marketing efforts. The test comes two years ago […]
Google tests a new ad slot on the Play Store ahead of its I/O developer conference by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch
In a bipartisan effort to “protect kids from harm,” an unlikely cohort of senators introduced a bill that would restrict minors’ access to social media, as well as ban companies from using algorithms to recommend content to minors. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn), Katie Britt (R-Ala) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark) introduced the Protecting […]
Bipartisan Senate bill would ban social media algorithms for minors by Morgan Sung originally published on TechCrunch
We reported last year on the launch of a $225 million VC platform from the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank, which would also cover Central Asia. In addition, Most VC launched its accelerator out of Almaty, Kazakstan. So it’s clear these regions, for too long considered backwaters, are now finding their […]
London’s Sturgeon Capital launches $35M fund aimed at emerging startups in Central Asia by Mike Butcher originally published on TechCrunch
Meta announced today that it’s introducing new body shapes, improved hair and clothing textures to its avatars. The company also announced that more than one billion avatars have been created across its platforms. Starting this month, users will be able to choose from a wider range of body shape options, including two curvier body shapes. […]
Meta updates its avatars with new body shapes, hair and clothing by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch
It’s possible to build a startup with a founder who wants to stay in academia, but it’s not without its challenges.
Sometimes you need to cut your startup’s school ties by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch
Meta has won an antitrust lawsuit that pitted the tech giant against dozens of state attorneys general, led by New York, who had alleged Meta had illegally maintained monopoly power in the social networking market through its acquisitions of photo-sharing app Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014, and that it gained further power through […]
Appeals court rules in favor of Meta in antitrust case from State AGs by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch