Daily Crunch: Nigerian startup that stored its ‘day-to-day operational budget’ on FTX announces staff cuts

Christine Hall@christinemhall / 2:05 AM UTC+3•November 15, 2022

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The beginning of another week is upon us. Last Friday, we were told that Haje is off scuba diving and that the rest of us would have to pick up the pieces. We are here to help. Mary Ann reported that SoftBank wrote down an investment into FTX. Let's dig in with that.

The TechCrunch Top 3

• This FTX business has wide reach: Tage reports on what happens to a young company that held some assets in FTX and now can’t access them due to, well, you know. In this instance, African web3 startup Nestcoin said it had to lay off employees as a result of not having that access.
• A true comparison: Now people in Europe can know the joy and wonder that is the Klarna price comparison tool, which Paul writes may just be a “credible alternative to Google and Amazon.”
• Oops: Bird, a micromobility company, told the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had included unpaid customer rides in its revenue, thus having overstated that particular number for two years. Jaclyn has more.

Startups and VC

We all expect our data to move quickly, but there is so much of it that it is still a problem. Mike wrote that this is where Quix came in. The real-time data startup grabbed $12.9 million in Series A funding, not to use any of the aforementioned solutions. There are event-driven applications being developed byQuix.

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• The show must go on: Just because FTX is having issues doesn’t mean other companies are shying away from association. Jacquelyn reports on the Joepegs NFT marketplace, which raised $5 million in a round co-led by FTX and Avalanche.
• “Adult friendships are fickle beasts”: Indeed they are, but have no fear, 222 will help you find that perfect friend who doesn’t care that you make more than they do or who “tends to be lazy,” if that’s what you’re into, Kyle writes.
• Singapore, get your exotic taste buds ready: Vow, an Australian-based cultured meat company, gobbled up $49.2 million in Series A funding to get its first cell-based meat product into Singapore restaurants, Christine writes.
• Spring into action: Electric vehicle startup Faraday Future signed a $350 million financing deal to hopefully get it out of its previous monetary challenges and to launch its first vehicle, Jaclyn reports.
• “The sun’s a ball of buttah”: Butter, now flush with $9 million in funding, led by Gradient Ventures, is helping smaller food distribution businesses comply with food safety rules, Catherine writes.

Preparing for fintech’s second decade: 4 moves your firm must make now

According to Grant Easterbrook, the startups that want to succeed over the next few years need to be prepared.

• Major banks and financial service providers with loyalty programs and “super apps.”
• Emerging DeFi protocols “that can offer financial products that involve real-world assets.”
• Banking, invoicing, lending, payments, accounting packaged as “embedded financial products.”
• Multiple countries issuing their own Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

According to Easterbrook, your firm will need a very strong value proposition to compete with all of their competitors.

Preparing for fintech’s second decade: 4 moves your firm must make now

There are two more people from the team.

The membership program helps startup teams get ahead of the game. This is where you can sign up. You can get a 15% discount on an annual subscription.

Big Tech Inc.

The download ban in India was lifted just as soon as that happened. Nine months ago, the country's electronics and IT ministry instituted the ban on the popular media playing software, something VLC worked to try to reverse, stating that the ban had been "put into place without any prior notice" and didn't allow for rebuttal.

On our favorite social media channel,Natasha L wrote that the social media company is no longer fulfilling its obligations to claim Ireland as its main establishment under the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. Can't wait to see what happens

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