Subscribe here to receive TechCrunch's top stories and the roundup delivered straight to your inbox each day at 3:00 PDT.Daily Crunch Monday August 2, 2021: Hello! It was a great day. Square launched this week's news cycle with a huge deal, Google popped up selling new hardware, and there is a plethora of new VC funds. Although it's busy, Extra Crunch Live has a special edition this week that is 100% pitched-off. It's Wednesday so get there early or you'll be square. AlexTechCrunch Top 3Google is looking for custom silicon: TechCrunch reports that Alphabets Google subsidiary has entered the custom silicon market. Brian Heater reports that Google is hoping its Tensor SoC, (system on a Chip) will help it stand out in a competitive smartphone market, similar to Apple's A and M chips. You can read more about Google's new hardware here.TechCrunch has learned that Alphabets Google subsidiary is entering the custom silicon market. Brian Heater reports that Google is hoping its Tensor SoC, (system on a Chip) will help it stand out in a competitive smartphone market, much like Apple did with its A- and M chips. You can read more about Google's new hardware here. Square purchases Afterpay: Square, the U.S. fintech company, has purchased Afterpay, an Australian buy-now-pay-later company for $29 billion. TechCrunch did some digging into the numbers. The gist of Afterpay is that it brings Square merchants, global customers, and a new fintech product. Although the deal is not cheap, it makes sense.Square, the U.S. fintech company, has purchased Afterpay, an Australian buy-now, pay-later company for $29 billion. TechCrunch did some research into the numbers and found that Afterpay brings Square merchants, global users, and a new fintech service. Although the deal is not cheap, it makes sense. The cloud infra spending accelerates: Do you want to know why tech industry investors are so interested? Demand is increasing at an accelerating pace. TechCrunch today reported new data that showed that spending in the cloud infrastructure market, which is the backbone of so many services that both consumers and corporations rely on, grew 39% in Q2 2021 over the previous year. For the second quarter, what was the total? $42 billionStartups/VCReese Witherspoons Media Company Sells for $900M. This isn't our normal startup fare. But when a media company goes public for almost $1 billion, it is worth paying attention. TechCrunch reports that Hello Sunshine produced content for major streaming companies. It is not clear who purchased it. TechCrunch reports that the new media company is owned by ex-Disney executives. Mysterious.Although this isn't our normal startup stuff, it is important to be aware that a media company can sell for almost $1 billion. TechCrunch reports that Hello Sunshine created content for major streaming companies. It is not clear who purchased it. TechCrunch reports that the new media company is owned by ex-Disney executives. Mysterious. Afterpay investor bullish about Afterpay: TechCrunch published an opinion piece by Dana Stalder (an investor at Matrix Partners, and the only institutional venture investor in Afterpay). Their take? Square + Afterpay will add up to more than their parts. Let's see.TechCrunch published an opinion piece by Dana Stalder (an investor at Matrix Partners, and the only institutional investor in Afterpay). Their take? Square + Afterpay will add up to more than their parts. Let's see. Nektar.ai aims to consolidate B2B data. Selling software is not an easy task, and every SDR and AE must use a variety of tools. Nektar is looking to become the central point for all this data and has just raised $6 million in order to expand its operations. The salesops market is huge, and I'm surprised that we don't hear of more companies looking to do similar work.It's not easy to sell software. Every SDR and AE must use a variety of tools. Nektar is looking to become the central point for all data and has raised $6 million to expand its operations. The salesops market is huge, and I'm surprised that we don't hear of more companies doing similar work. Startups make B2B payments easier: Yadoo, a B2B startup, has raised $20 million to help power business-tobusiness payments. Venmoing money to your friends is easy enough, but it's not the same for corporations. Yadoo, one of the startups that are trying to solve the problem, is located in Mexico City.Here are some news about venture capital:Element Ventures raises $130M. It's a sign that times are changing and I'm not surprised that a B2B-focused Fintech Venture Capital firm has just raised nine figures. That's a large enough problem area to allow for such a large amount of capital. There are plenty of startups that meet its criteria to fill its books with deals. Element will invest annually in 15 companies, with a focus on deals in Europe, America, and Asia.It is a sign that times are changing and I'm not surprised that a fintech venture capital company that focuses on B2B has just raised nine figures. That's a huge enough problem space to invest that much capital. There are plenty of startups that meet its criteria to fill its books with deals. Element will invest annually in 15 companies, with a focus on Asia, Europe and the U.S. Newtopia, a fund that focuses on Latin America, just raised $50 million to create more money. It will invest in preseed companies (100,000 checks), and in larger rounds ($250,000-$1 million) in startups that are scaling towards their Series A. This is a great move by Newtopia, which is focusing on Latin America.Newtopia, a fund that focuses on Latin America, just launched a $50 million fund. It will invest in preseed companies (100,000 checks), and in larger rounds (250k to 1 million) in startups that are scaling towards Series A. This is a great move by Newtopia, which is a new fund that focuses on Latin America. The podcast today will show you that edtech is a popular topic.Demand Curve: Questions to ask in your paid searchesAlmost every startup in its early stages will eventually use paid search ads to connect customers and compete with other startups.These initial attempts at paid searches are often unsuccessful. It takes a lot of work to convert passive searchers into paying customers.Stewart Hillhouse, a growth marketing expert, identified 14 questions that paid search users should answer in order to make sure they are only paying for high-intent shoppers.Question 1. Question 1: What's in it?(Extra Crunch) Our membership program that helps founders and startups get ahead. Sign up hereBig Tech Inc.Zoombombing costs Zoom $85M. Zoom is today's immaterial technology fine. Zoom was the video product that was so popular during the pandemic. According to TechCrunch, users sued Zoom, claiming it violated their privacy by sharing users' data with third parties without their permission. This also enabled Zoombombing incidents. The total settlement amount is 0.07% of the $112 billion market capital of the company. No.Zoom is the video product that was ubiquitous during the pandemic. Today's immaterial technology fine is due to Zoom. According to TechCrunch, users sued Zoom alleging that the company violated their privacy by sharing users' data with third parties without their permission and allowing Zoombombing incidents. The total settlement amount is 0.07% of the $112 billion market capital of the company. Oh no! Amazon will pay $10 for your palmprint: Amazon is offering $10 credit to anyone who gives it their palmprint so they can check out the physical stores of the e-commerce giants. This one is hard to pass up.Amazon offers $10 credit to anyone who gives it their palm print. This will allow them to check out the physical stores of the e-commerce giants. This one is hard to pass up. Salesforce purchases Mulesoft an RPA company: Salesforce, the CRM giant, is investing in Mulesoft. Mulesoft was acquired a while back from Servicetrace, a German RPA company. Mulesoft will be linked up with Servicetrace, not Salesforce.Salesforce, the CRM giant, is investing in Mulesoft. Mulesoft was acquired a while back in the form of Servicetrace, a German RPA company. Mulesoft will be linked up with Servicetrace, not Salesforce. Ron Miller, TechCrunch's genial reporter, explained why this deal is important. Although the deal is not as significant as the Slack megadeal it was, he said that the deal gives TechCrunch reporter Ron Miller an opportunity to explain why the deal matters.TechCrunch Experts: Growth MarketingAre you up to date with last week's coverage on growth marketing? You can read the entire article here.TechCrunch invites you to recommend growth marketers who are experts in SEO, social media, content writing, and other areas. This survey is for growth marketers. We want to know why your clients love working with you.
