Subscribe here to receive TechCrunch's top stories and the roundup delivered straight to your inbox each day at 3:00 PDT.
Welcome to Daily Crunch, August 25, 2021. Our lead story will show you how fast technology news cycles are moving today. It is a complete reverse of the previous week's most important news item. Wow! Alex
TechCrunch Top 3
OnlyFans reverses course, will allow adult content OnlyFans changed its mind after causing a storm online by announcing it would stop selling and supporting most adult content. It won't block the content. The Equity podcast crew has notes on the topic.
All that and more. OnlyFans decided to change course after causing a storm online by announcing it would stop selling and supporting most adult content. It won't block the content. The Equity podcast crew has more information. Warby Parker goes public: We could be gearing for another IPO cycle after a brief summer lull. Warby Parker, a D2C eyewear retailer, could be the leading hitter. TechCrunch was thrilled to learn more about the company. Our opinion? It's a fascinating company, but it has a difficult time defending its final valuation on the private market.
After a brief summer lull we may be ready for another IPO cycle. Warby Parker, a D2C eyewear supplier, could be the lead-off hitter. TechCrunch was thrilled to learn more about the company. Our opinion? Our take? Headspace + Ginger: News broke today that meditation service Headspace and mental-health-focused startup Ginger are merging to create Headspace Health. The new entity will have 800 employees and be valued at $3 billion. Calm, another major player in the meditation market, has been competing with Headspace for years.
Startups/VC
Kanye West will be our guest before we get into the details of a few of thematic pairings of startup news. According to TechCrunch, the Stem Player is a device that isolates stems specific elements such as vocals, samples, drums and bass from musical tracks. It's an interesting idea. It should get a little marketing boost from Kanye.
Two stories emerge from the fintech startup industry today. They make us wonder how much money heavily populated verticals can absorb before investors become bored.
Flink raises $57M to help build the Robinhood of Latin America. Flink has raised a $12 million Series B earlier in the year. It is now back with new capital. Similar to the way every VC wants the next Coinbase to be funded, it is big business to try to get a piece in the next Robinhood.
Flink raised $12 million in Series A funding earlier this year. It is now back with new capital. Similar to the way every VC wants the next Coinbase to be funded, it is big business to try to get a piece in the next Robinhood. Shares raised $10 million to create a European stock trading platform with a social spin. There are already European-focused consumer stock trading services, but private capital is betting there's more. If startups that want to serve them all are to survive, they will need to have more active investors.
Two stories from the logistics world this afternoon may offer hope for a future where stuff delivered to your home has a lower carbon footprint, and perhaps a lower price point.
The Alphabets drone delivery company expands: This is the latest from Down Under. It recently announced that Wing, Alphabets drone delivery business, has crossed the 100,000 mark. The service is currently available in Logan, Australia where approximately 300,000 people live. Please bring it to Providence, Rhode Island, Alphabet.
This is the latest news from Down Under. It recently announced that Wing, Alphabets drone delivery service, has crossed the 100,000 mark. The service is currently available in Logan, Australia where approximately 300,000 people live. Please bring this Alphabet to Providence, Rhode Island. Coco raised $36M to purchase super-cute delivery bots. I was not there, but there was a meeting at which it was decided that all delivery bots must be cute. I don't know why. Cocos delivery robot is, however, adorable. Capital from a Series A, led by Sam Altman (Y Combinator fame), has made the project very financially feasible.
Here are two stories that relate to digital commerce in Europe, keeping with the theme of logistics
Membo, a YC-backed company, is creating an app-based marketplace that allows local food producers to sell directly into consumers. The accelerators demo day event next week will feature more information from Membo.
The company is based in Estonia, and it is currently a participant in the Y Combinator batch. The accelerators demo day event next week will feature more information from Membo. Picus Capitals Alexander Kremer has recently explained that Membo will compete with several European instant grocery delivery businesses that have raised more than $2 billion. According to the investor, China's startup lessons have shown that instant delivery does not solve the problem of traditional grocery companies.
To top it all, cybersecurity venture capital activity is at a new high. Jane, a cannabis-focused startup, just raised $100 million.
India's path to SaaS leadership seems clear. However, there are still challenges.
According to a SaaSBOOMi/McKinsey study, India's SaaS industry will account for between 4% and 6% of the global market by 2030 and generate between $50 billion to $70 billion in annual revenue.
The right approach will ensure that the Indian SaaS industry becomes a major employer of talent, a contributor to India's GDP, and the creator of unmatched products. Manav Garg is the CEO and founder at Eka Software Solutions.
He writes a guest blog highlighting key growth drivers such as the highest concentration of developers worldwide and the fact SaaS isn't a winner-takes-all market.
Despite these challenges, the region faces many others. Growth requires a growth mindset.
(Extra Crunch) Our membership program that helps founders and startups get ahead. Sign up here
Big Tech Inc.
Canalys data shows that the PC isn't dead. According to the data company, sales of PCs rose 17% over year-ago, while sales of tablets went sideways. Maybe full-power computers are more in demand than ever because we have so much more work than ever before. The PC news is good news for many big tech companies, including HP, Lenovo, and others.
New data from Canalys shows that iPads are not taking over the world. According to the data company, sales of PCs rose 17% over year-ago, while sales of tablets went sideways. Maybe full-power computers are more in demand than ever because we have so much more work than ever before. The PC news is good news for many big tech companies, such as HP and Lenovo. Hulu launches HDR viewing of some content: Hulu, a U.S. video streaming site, began rolling out HDR content support in August 19. TechCrunch reports that this should be available to all HDR-compatible users within the next few days. HDR playback has been limited to some high-profile Hulu content.
TechCrunch reports that Hulu, the U.S. video streaming site, began rolling out HDR content support in August 19. This should make it available to all HDR-compatible users within the next few days. HDR playback has been limited to some high-profile Hulu content. South Korea holds off on a proposed anti-Google law. TechCrunchs' Kate Park reports that if passed, South Korea would be the first country to ban global tech giants like Apple and Google from imposing billing systems for in-app purchases.
TechCrunch Experts: Growth Marketing
We reached out to founders of startups to find out who they go to for the best growth marketing practices. Please complete the survey.
Check out the testimonials below!
Marketer: One Net Inc.
The Good Ride is a Recommended Book
Testimonial: Outstanding SEO expertise. My e-comm startup depends 100% on SEO traffic. Three years ago, we were removed from Google for not understanding duple content. One Net fixed our website and optimized it for Google. This allowed us to re-enter the SERPs. Their bottom line was that they saved our business.
