Technology

SmartNews, a Tokyo-headquartered news aggregation website and app valued at $2 billion as of 2021, today announced a 40% reduction of its U.S. and China workforce, or around 120 people, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans. The news was announced on Thursday in an All-Hands meeting attended this evening by SmartNews staff. The […]

News aggregator SmartNews lays off 40% of US and China staff, with further reductions planned in Japan by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

It’s a strange week. Strange and strangely familiar. You stay at the same hotel in a nearly identical room to the one you stayed in for the last 10 years or so. You see friends and colleagues you’ve not seen in a while. Everyone is three years older and a bit worse for wear. A […]

CES 2023 debrief by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch

Citizen laid off 33 staff members on Wednesday, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. “We are grateful to all of our departing team members for their contributions to Citizen and are committed to supporting them through this transition with a generous severance package that includes accelerated option vesting and extended exercise window, six months of COBRA […]

Crime reporting app Citizen lays off 33 employees by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch

For the first time in a long time, there was less talk circulating about a certain three-letter crypto exchange, ahem, FTX.

Can we get more crypto partnerships and less crypto layoffs, please? by Jacquelyn Melinek originally published on TechCrunch

The emergence in the last week of a particularly effective voice synthesis machine learning model called VALL-E has prompted a new wave of concern over the possibility of deepfake voices made quick and easy — quickfakes, if you will. But VALL-E is more iterative than breakthrough, and the capabilities aren’t so new as you might […]

VALL-E’s quickie voice deepfakes should worry you, if you weren’t worried already by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch

Venture capitalists are still bullish on crypto and continuing to look at decentralized finance (DeFi) as a promising opportunity.

DeFi startups need to experiment with new use cases and build solutions, investors say by Jacquelyn Melinek originally published on TechCrunch

Product folks and engineers know what they are doing, and by and large, they — and the companies they work for — have a disproportionate amount of power about how the world is shaped. Over a 13-week course called Logic School (delivered free, with support from the Omidyar Network), the school aims to teach tech […]

The Logic School wants to teach tech workers activism by Haje Jan Kamps originally published on TechCrunch

When Alec Hartman first decided he wanted a house after his first child was born several years ago, he was surprised by the lack of options. “I didn’t like anything I saw, and I wanted a new house and I couldn’t get one,” he recalls. “And like every crazy tech person, you have to ask […]

From cloud computing to proptech: Digital Ocean co-founders raise $29M for Welcome Homes by Mary Ann Azevedo originally published on TechCrunch

No Meat Factory produces alternative proteins for third-party customers and will build a bigger manufacturing facility in the U.S.

No Meat Factory eats up new capital to build bigger protein production plant in U.S. by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch