How Russia killed its tech industry

April 4, 2023
Seven days after the invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Belugin packed up his and his family’s belongings, canceled the lease on his apartment in Moscow, withdrew his kids from kindergarten, and started a new life outside of Russia. Not long after that, he resigned from his position as chief commercial officer for search at Yandex, Russia’s…

We are hurtling toward a glitchy, spammy, scammy, AI-powered internet

April 4, 2023
This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. Last week, AI insiders were hotly debating an open letter signed by Elon Musk and various industry heavyweights arguing that AI poses an “existential risk” to humanity. They called for labs to introduce a…

Shuttlers raises $4M to fuel its shared mobility solution across Nigeria

April 4, 2023

Shuttlers, a Nigerian shared mobility company that allows individual and corporate passengers to take rides on multiple bus routes via an app, has raised $4 million in a new funding round led by Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), a Pan-African focused venture capital firm. The round welcomed participation from follow-on investors, including VestedWorld, which led the […]

Shuttlers raises $4M to fuel its shared mobility solution across Nigeria by Tage Kene-Okafor originally published on TechCrunch

Walmart-backed fintech giant PhonePe makes e-commerce push

April 4, 2023

In a move reminiscent of its successful early bet on the government-backed UPI network seven years ago, PhonePe, India’s leading mobile payments app, is now setting its sights on the e-commerce sector. The Bengaluru-based startup, backed by retail giant Walmart, launched a hyperlocal commerce app on Pincode, powered by the Open Network for Digital Commerce […]

Walmart-backed fintech giant PhonePe makes e-commerce push by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Zealy is an achievement system for web3 communities

April 4, 2023

Meet Zealy, a French startup that you may already know under the name Crew3. Zealy helps web3 (and web2) companies engage with their communities by giving them tasks that they can achieve in exchange for various rewards. The company just changed its name to Zealy, which indicates a larger focus beyond web3 companies. Last year, […]

Zealy is an achievement system for web3 communities by Romain Dillet originally published on TechCrunch

Dozer exits stealth to help any developer build real-time data apps ‘in minutes’

April 4, 2023

Data has emerged as one of the world’s greatest resources, underpinning everything from video-recommendation engines and digital banking, to the burgeoning AI revolution. But in a world where data has become increasingly distributed across locations, from databases to data warehouses to data lakes and beyond, combining it all into a compatible format for use in […]

Dozer exits stealth to help any developer build real-time data apps ‘in minutes’ by Paul Sawers originally published on TechCrunch

Lightspeed backs Indian startup Zyod aiming to make apparel manufacturing more efficient

April 4, 2023

Zyod, an Indian startup offering apparel sourcing and manufacturing to fashion brands globally, has raised $3.5 million in a seed funding led by Lightspeed Venture India Partners. As the e-commerce sector makes inroads, consumers are finding increasing convenience in purchasing clothes online. However, fashion brands continue to grapple with the challenges of sourcing and producing […]

Lightspeed backs Indian startup Zyod aiming to make apparel manufacturing more efficient by Jagmeet Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Amid a boom in AI accelerators, a UC Berkeley-focused outfit, House Fund, swings open its doors

April 4, 2023

Companies at the forefront of AI would naturally like to stay at the forefront, so it’s no surprise they want to stay close to smaller startups that are putting some of their newest advancements to work. Last month, for example, Neo, a startup accelerator founded by Silicon Valley investor Ali Partovi, announced that OpenAI and Microsoft […]

Amid a boom in AI accelerators, a UC Berkeley-focused outfit, House Fund, swings open its doors by Connie Loizos originally published on TechCrunch

After New Zealand, Australia bans TikTok on official devices

April 4, 2023

Australia joined a long list of western countries banning TikTok on official devices today. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced the move today and said the prohibition will be implemented  “as soon as practicable.” In the announcement, Dreyfus said that the decision was taken “after receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies.” breaking: attorney-general Mark Dreyfus confirms […]

After New Zealand, Australia bans TikTok on official devices by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch