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Startups Weekly: A new era for consumer tech TechCrunch is out hunting for bright spots in the startup world as we all come to grips with the pandemic — particularly where checks are actually being written despite everything. D2C is back to the future First up this week, we surveyed top direct-to-consumer investors, and they seemed pretty optimistic despite the struggles of some […]
This Week in Apps: Apple launches a COVID-19 app, the outbreak’s impact on social and video apps and more Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all. The app industry saw a record 204 billion downloads and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s “State of Mobile” annual report. […]
Original Content podcast: ‘Tiger King’ might be the wildest show on Netflix Netflix’s “Tiger King” is a docuseries focusing on the man who calls himself Joe Exotic — owner of a private park full of tigers and other big cats. We learn in the opening minutes of the first episode that he’s been accused of hiring a contract killer to murder an animal rights activist. A documentary […]
How Huawei is dividing Western nations The relationship between the United Kingdom and Australia is not usually a flashpoint in international relations. After all, the two allies share a common language, ancestry, and monarch. So what caused a dustup recently that saw a senior Australian parliamentarian rebuke the British foreign secretary, and for a group of Australian MPs to then cancel […]
A new FDA-authorized COVID-19 test doesn’t need a lab and can produce results in just 5 minutes There’s a new COVID-19 test from healthcare technology maker Abbott that looks to be the fastest yet in terms of producing results, and that can do so on the spot right at point-of-care, without requiring a round trip to a lab. This test for the novel coronavirus causing the current global pandemic has received emergency […]
As the U.S. shuts down, StockX’s business is booming, says its CEO StockX, the high-flying resale marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of sneakers, streetwear, handbags and other collectible items, has seen its fortune rise along with the $6 billion global sneaker resale market, which is part of the broader $100 billion sneaker category. In fact, the company, which was assigned a billion-dollar-plus valuation last year, says […]
John Borthwick & Matt Hartman of betaworks discuss coronavirus adaptation strategies Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hopping on Zoom with betaworks’ John Borthwick and Matt Hartman to discuss the tech world’s adaptation to this new locked-down world, the future of new media and answer questions from the audience. We discussed whether new media companies can raise capital right now, and touched on emerging trends around […]
Rocket startup Skyrora shifts production to hand sanitizer and face masks for coronavirus response One of the newer companies attempting to join the rarified group of private space launch startups actually flying payloads to orbit has redirected its entire UK-based manufacturing capacity towards COVID-19 response. Skyrora, which is based in Edinburgh, Scotland, is answering the call of the UK government and the NHS to manufacturers to do what they […]
Duke University uses vaporized hydrogen peroxide to clean N95 face masks for reuse With shortages of N95 face masks persisting nationwide, healthcare facilities are scrambling to find ways to clean and treat the masks for reuse to protect doctors and nurses most at risk of exposure to COVID-19. Duke University thinks it has found a solution using vaporized hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate the masks. The process uses specialized […]
Attract, engage and retain employees in the new remote-work era Having the right technology in place to sustain work-from-home practices is more important now than ever before.
Trump orders GM to start ventilator production for COVID-19 amid contract dispute President Donald Trump signed Friday a presidential directive ordering GM to produce ventilators and to prioritize federal contracts, just hours after the automaker announced plans to manufacture the critical medical equipment needed for patients suffering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The order, made under the Defense Production Act, marks a sudden reversal […]
We’ve come full rectangle: Polaroid is reborn out of The Impossible Project More than a decade after announcing that it would keep Polaroid's abandoned instant film alive, The Impossible Project has done the... improbable: It has officially become the brand it set out to save. And to commemorate the occasion there's a new camera, the Polaroid Now.
Attorney Sophie Alcorn answers readers’ immigration questions We had a great time hosting noted immigration attorney Sophie Alcorn on a live conference call with Extra Crunch members earlier this week. Sophie writes our “Dear Sophie” column, where she answers questions about immigration status, particularly for founders and others in the tech ecosystem who want to work in the United States. Dear Sophie: […]
The FDA just okayed multiple 15-minute blood tests to screen for coronavirus, but there are caveats On Thursday, the FDA amended their emergency policy around diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Following on a change made March 16, the agency opened the door for a number of specific private entities and labs to develop and distribute tests that can provide results on the spot in as little […]
It looks like Brandon Middaugh is heading up the $1B Microsoft climate fund Earlier this year, Microsoft made waves in the corporate community by coming out with one of the most ambitious and wide-ranging strategies to reduce carbon emissions from the company’s operations. Part of that plan was a $1 billion fund that would invest in climate change mitigation technologies — specifically focused on decarbonization. At the time, […]