UK neobank Monzo reports first full (pre-tax) profit, prepares for EU expansion with Dublin hub

December 20, 2024

Puzzle Corner

Ready for a fresh set of puzzles? Click here for the January/February Puzzle Corner, brought to you with a special Mystery Hunt twist by guest editor Dan Katz ’03. This column includes solutions to three September/October 24 problems. Find solutions to the other three problems here.

June 3, 2024

Monzo has announced its 2024 financial results, revealing its first full-year pre-tax profit. The company also confirmed that it’s in the early stages of expanding into the broader European market via a new base in Ireland. The news comes shortly after the U.K.-based neobank raised a couple of hefty tranches of funding, starting with $430 […]

What’s next for MDMA

June 3, 2024

MIT Technology Review’s What’s Next series looks across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future. You can read the rest of them here. MDMA, sometimes called Molly or ecstasy, has been banned in the United States for more than three decades. Now this potent mind-altering drug is poised to become…

Inside Apple’s efforts to build a better recycling robot

June 3, 2024

Last week, TechCrunch paid a visit to Apple’s Austin, Texas manufacturing facilities. Since 2013, the company has built its Mac Pro desktop about 20 minutes north of downtown. The 400,000 square foot facility sits in a maze of industry parks, a quick trip south from the company’s in-progress corporate campus. In recent years, the capital […]

Binit is bringing AI to trash

June 3, 2024

Early attempts at making dedicated hardware to house artificial intelligence smarts have been criticized as, well, a bit rubbish. But here’s an AI gadget-in-the-making that’s all about rubbish, literally: Finnish startup Binit is applying large language models’ (LLMs) image processing capabilities to tracking household trash. AI for sorting the stuff we throw away to boost […]

Temasek and Fidelity value Lenskart at $5 billion in $200 million stake purchase

June 3, 2024

Temasek and Fidelity have purchased shares worth $200 million in Indian eyewear startup Lenskart, financial advisor Avendus said in a statement Monday. The transaction valued Lenskart, which leads the Indian market and is increasingly expanding overseas, at $5 billion, the startup’s founder and chief executive Peyush Bansal told TechCrunch in a text message. Temasek is […]

French startup ten ten finds viral success and controversy in reinventing walkie-talkies

June 2, 2024

Less than one year after its iOS launch, French startup ten ten has gone viral with a walkie talkie app that allows teens to send voice messages to their close friends — even when their phone is locked.

Unicorn-rich VC Wesley Chan owes his success to a Craigslist job washing lab beakers

June 2, 2024

While all of Wesley Chan’s success has been well-documented over the years, his personal journey…not so much. Chan spoke to TechCrunch about the ways his life impacts how he invests in startups.

Build Your Vocabulary with This $10 App

June 2, 2024

Impress clients, employees, and more with an improved vocabulary.

Trump takes off on TikTok

June 2, 2024

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump now has an account on the short-form video app that he once tried to ban. Trump’s TikTok account, which launched on Saturday night, features just one post as of publication time on Sunday morning. In the video, UFC CEO Dana White declares, “The President is now on TikTok,” then […]

Iceland’s startup scene is all about making the most of the country’s resources

June 2, 2024

With fewer than 400,000 inhabitants, Iceland receives more than its fair share of tourists — and of venture capital.

Puzzle Corner