Daily Crunch: Google will unplug its IoT Core service in August 2023

Every day at 3 p.m., you'll get a rundown of the biggest and most important stories from the site. Don't forget to subscribe here.

Hello, Mccrunchface! There is still a lot of work to be done.

TheTruthSpy is a new tool that will allow you to see if your phone has been hacked. Do you know if you've been 1337 hax0red?

Both Christine and Haje are related.

The TechCrunch Top 3

• Move it or lose it: Google Cloud is shutting down its IoT Core service, giving customers until next year to find another partner to manage that aspect of their businesses. Google has its reasons, but the move is not sitting well with some customers. Ron has more.
• Popping bottles: Robinhood competitor eToro has agreed to buy Gatsby, a fintech company that also has its sights on Robinhood’s empire. Mary Ann writes that eToro sees the integration of Gatsby as a way “to provide U.S. users with a safe and simple way to trade options, and give them more flexibility to use new strategies.”
• No party here: Airbnb is getting more serious about its anti-party stance and introduced some new pieces of technology in the U.S. and Canada aimed at screening potential rule-breakers at the point of booking, Ivan reports.

Startups and VC

The team behind patented text prediction technology is part of the S22 cohort. After changing its focus to serve demand for typing productivity gains in areas like customer service and sales, it was able to win a spot in YC. The pivot was important in this interview.

Rebecca wrote a piece about the path to rapid charging for electric vehicles. Commercial fleets are where the pressure to keep vehicles rolling is higher than in personal cars.

There is more to come.

• They’ll make you famous if you give them equity: VSC Ventures adds $14 million (its fund now totaling $21 million) to its storytelling-meets-checkbook venture model, Natasha M reports.
• Moar money for web3: The moolah is a’flowin, as CoinFund launches a new $300 million web3 fund to invest in early-stage crypto, Jacquelyn reports.
• Like HR, but automagic: HR startup HiBob’s valuation surges 50% to $2.5 billion as it raises an additional $150 million, Paul reports.
• From Funding Circle to Super Payments: Funding Circle cofounder unveils new fintech venture, Super Payments, as it raises $27 million for its cashback loyalty program type play, Paul reports.
• Big bag of cash for climate: We loved Harri’s story about this VC, who went from “literally zero” experience to a $100 million fund.
• FFS Haje: All we can say is that this headline would have been dangerously edgy if the company’s product had been “hit” or “fit” or “wit” — Getting power from poop, with Levidian’s Loop, reports Haje, who is now probably on notice for awful headline puns.

Choose your angel: Learn how they invest and what motivates them

The "choose your fighter" meme is relevant for seed-stage entrepreneurs who are looking for an investor.

Making money is top of mind for every angel, but according to Mack Kolarich, VP of Assure Analytics, most of them also have a second or third motivation.

He lays out several factors that entrepreneurs need to consider when shopping for investors. Is it possible that they write direct checks?

Kolarich says that you can choose the right partner based on this knowledge.

Choose your angel: Learn how they invest and what motivates them

Techcrunch+ is a membership program that helps startup teams. You can join here.

Big Tech Inc.

It is a TikTok type of day. The election center is available in the app. The company worked with a number of organizations, including the National Association of Secretaries of State, to provide information on how to register to vote and who is on their ballot. According to Sarah and Taylor, TikTok is learning from the 2020 election and will take a bigger stance against misinformation.

Meta has some plans of its own on how Facebook will manage its election coverage, including disabling new political ads a week before the elections, and not allowing posts that provide misinformation on the voting process.