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| Hello, and welcome to Hump Day! If you havenât gotten your fill yet of tech egos, youâll want to tune into todayâs Equity podcast, where Natasha M and Alex talk about how ego brought both Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes to where they are today. Mark your calendar for tomorrowâs podcast featuring Walter and Silicon Valleyâbased attorney and TechCrunch+ columnist Sophie. Beginning at 9 a.m. PST/ 12 p.m. EST, they will discuss immigration-related issues and answer questions about layoffs, work visas and being a visa worker in tech. The audience is invited to send in questions. Now onward with the news! â Christine |
|  Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / Bryce Durbin |
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The TechCrunch Top 3 - More layoffs: I hate that layoffs have become a regular player in this newsletter, but today, Mary Ann writes about fintech company Plaid laying off 20% of its staff, with CEO Zach Perret telling employees that the motivation for the cuts came from âhiring and investing ahead of revenue growth.â I assume companies will get better at forecasting, although, with this macroeconomic climate, itâs probably better to throw the crystal ball out the window.
- Avatars are everywhere: Speaking of things in the news a lot lately, WhatsApp is rolling out 3D avatars, Jagmeet reports. Just in time for the movie.
- Bucking the VC trend: Security compliance and automation will never go out of style, and Drata is proving that this sector is still attractive to investors. The company, which helps customers adhere to frameworks, like SOC 2 and GDPR, secured $200 million at a $2 billion valuation. Paul has more.
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Startups and VC Tage is following the happenings over at African fintech Chipper Cash. Already this week, the company announced layoffs, and today we find out that FTX, its lead investor, marked down Chipper Cashâs $2 billion valuation to $1.25 billion shortly before FTX declared bankruptcy. It was a big day for new funds. Manish writes about Indiaâs Blume Ventures, which more than doubled in size after securing over $250 million for its new fund. Connie reports on 645 Ventures, led by a data-driven duo who just brought in $350 million in capital commitments. And finally, Thoma Bravo has been on an acquisition tear lately, and Ron writes that they now have a record $32 billion in new capital to fuel buyout funds. Enjoy five more: - The VC drop heard âround Europe: Ingrid gives you an inside look at Atomicoâs report on how much venture capital European startups are on track to raise this year.
- Row, row, row your boat: Harbor Lab secured â¬6.1 million to automate all the things that happen when you dock a ship in a commercial port. Mike has more.
- I think this truck smiled at me: Einrideâs autonomous and electric truck looks like it has a face. And you might just get to see one for yourself. Paul writes that the company landed $500 million in equity and debt to expand in Europe and North America.
- No need for a SIM card: Telegramâs Premium offering just reached 1 million paid users, as reported by Manish, and now the company is auctioning virtual phone numbers so that people can use the instant messaging app without a SIM card, Ivan writes.
- It helps to know what you spend: Today I report on MarginEdge, a restaurant technology company that grabbed $45 million in new funding to collect data in real time from across a restaurantâs back office operations to give merchants a better idea of how much they are spending.
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| Despite the doom and gloom, investors are still meeting with founder teams as they look for places to park their money. Suave storytelling skills are good, but theyâre not enough: once you’re in the room where it happens, it’s critical to make the best use of everyone’s time. To make investor buy-in more likely, Jon Attwell, leader of the Seedstars Growth Track, advises teams to create metric-oriented customer journey maps that detail “all the mini-processes that customers are put through and the pathways they are led down.” Growth projections are nice, but showing investors concrete plans for onboarding and retention, fighting churn and addressing other growth factors will help demonstrate how well you understand your market. “For investors, itâs a rare treat to see an obsession with the granular metrics of a customer journey,” writes Attwell. Three more from the TC+ team: - Weâre not telling you anything you didnât already knowâ¦: But we are putting a TC spin on it. Becca examines fintech unicorn valuations and how hard they have fallen in 2022.
- Two rich men go into a crypto conferenceâ¦: Jacquelyn is over at the Benzinga âFuture of Cryptoâ event and caught Kevin OâLeary and Anthony Scaramucci discussing all things SBF, FTX and whatâs next for crypto.
- Complaints go up: Tim has been hearing complaints about the United Statesâ climate legislation from opponents, which he notes is one sign that itâs already working.
TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code âDCâ for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! Read More |
|  Image Credits: Richard Drury / Getty Images |
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