December 30, 2025

The ascent of the AI therapist

We’re in the midst of a global mental-­health crisis. More than a billion people worldwide suffer from a mental-health condition, according to the World Health Organization. The prevalence of anxiety and depression is growing in many demographics, particularly young people, and suicide is claiming hundreds of thousands of lives globally each year. Given the clear…

Ocho wants to rethink (and rebrand) personal finance for business owners

December 8, 2022

When Ankur Nagpal sold Teachable for a quarter of a billion dollars, he felt lucky. Then, he quickly felt lost when trying to navigate the financial systems of a country he wasn’t born in and learn the institutional language often only spoken fluently by the historically wealthy. It would be a few years of self-employment, […]

Ocho wants to rethink (and rebrand) personal finance for business owners by Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on TechCrunch

India’s Paytm considers buying back shares following a rough year

December 8, 2022

Indian financial services firm Paytm said Thursday evening it is considering repurchasing its shares, following a tremulous year that has seen its stock price fall by over 60%. Paytm said it will discuss the proposal to buyback the fully paid-up equity shares of the company with board on December 13, the Noida-headquartered firm disclosed in […]

India’s Paytm considers buying back shares following a rough year by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

Starbucks opens up its blockchain-based loyalty program and NFT community to first beta testers

December 8, 2022

Starbucks today is launching its blockchain-based loyalty program and NFT community, Starbucks Odyssey, to its first group of U.S. beta testers. The new initiative, which includes coffee-themed NFTs that translate to real-world experiences, is an extension of Starbucks’ existing loyalty program, Starbucks Rewards, but leverages web3 technology like the polygon blockchain and NFTs. Announced to […]

Starbucks opens up its blockchain-based loyalty program and NFT community to first beta testers by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch

Komi, a landing page tool for content creators, raises $5M seed round

December 8, 2022

Komi, a personalized website page builder tool for influencers and celebrities to create and customize a landing page to promote their projects, today closed a $5 million seed round led by Contour Venture Partners. Launched in October 2021, Komi is designed to provide content creators, musicians, athletes, celebrities and other creative talent and personalities alike […]

Komi, a landing page tool for content creators, raises $5M seed round by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch

Banzai, a marketing tech startup, acquires Hyros for $110M, raises $100M and goes public via a $580M Spac

December 8, 2022

The IPO window is all but closed right now, but a few things appear still to be getting through the cracks and there are big sums attached to that. Today, Banzai — an engagement marketing startup that provides tools to source and connect with potential sales leads, and tools to build and run online video […]

Banzai, a marketing tech startup, acquires Hyros for $110M, raises $100M and goes public via a $580M Spac by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch

The Download: ancient DNA, and offshore wind

December 8, 2022
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. DNA that was frozen for two million years has been sequenced What’s happened: After an eight-year effort to recover DNA from Greenland’s frozen interior, researchers say they’ve managed to sequence gene fragments from…