Twilio CEO: Laying off 11% of compan y’s workforce is 'wise and necessary'

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Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Oh heeeeeey. So excited to see you again, glad to have you with us. Itâs been a busy news day on the site, and weâre particularly excited to share our iPhone 14 review with yâall.

Oh, and did you know weâve managed to convince our marketing team to let you have 15% off TechCrunch Disrupt tickets, just for being a Daily Crunch reader? Use this link, or pop “DC” into the promo code box when you buy your passes to the hottest startup event of the summer.

See you there!Â â Christine and Haje

Image Credits: Bloomberg / Getty Images

The TechCrunch Top 3

Shedding event: Twilio announced it was laying off 11% of its workforce. CEO Jeff Lawson said the layoffs were âwise and necessaryâ for the company as it walked the path to profitability. Kyle has more. Biting into the Apple iPhone 14: Itâs rare that we get a Panzer story, so we were delighted to see it do so well. Perhaps you Daily Crunch fans were also excited to see his name grace a story, or because you were eager to hear a review about the iPhone 14. Donât worry, if it is the latter, we wonât tell. This “island” is not tropical: iPhone fanatics may have doubted the usefulness of âthe notchâ on the iPhone X, but Ivan writes that the new âDynamic Islandâ feature for iPhone 14 is anything but.

Usage-based pricing and metered billing in hours, not months

Startups and VC

Somehow, âtwas the season for audio companies raising money, as we have a stereo pair of stories today: Romain reports that high-end speaker manufacturer Devialet raised $50 million, and Brian and Haje report that Nomono, maker of the $3,000 podcast mic array, raised $3.6 million.

Things come in pairs in the transportation industry as well, it appears. Rebecca reports that TruckSmarter comes out of stealth with a free load board for truckers, and Kyle has a story that Nyshex loads $25 million into its bank account to match shippers with ocean carriers.

In non-sound and non-shipping startup news:

A stealthy flow state: Period tracking app Flo has released a new âAnonymous Modeâ setting that gives users the option to access the app without personal and technical identifiers, Aisha reports. Panchromatic onboarding: Chameleon raises $13 million to help SaaS companies build better onboarding experiences, Kyle reports. Unshackled from previous commitments: This consumer investor is switching VC firms afterÂ making partner last year, Natasha M writes. Thatâs a tasty burger youâve grown there, Doctor: Christine reports that cultured meat startup Prolific Machines unveils its “Henry Ford approach” to cell growth. Thatâll zap some life into the industry: EV charging platform Monta raises at a $155 million valuation to expand into the U.S., Haje reports.

Dear Sophie: Is there a way to keep working in the US after my J-1 visa expires?

Dear Sophie,

Iâm a Fulbright scholar on a J-1 visa. Iâve been told that after my J-1 ends, Iâm required to return to my country for two years.

Is there a way I can stay in the U.S.? Can I apply for an O-1A or green card even if I have to go back to my country?

â Seeking to Stay

(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here. Use code âDCâ for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!)

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch

Big Tech Inc.

It was a busy news day for our big tech companies. We start with some lights, camera, actionâ¦uh, action from Haje, who writes on DJIâs new Osmo Action 3 camera. Presenting your new best friend for taking underwater photos down to 16 meters in depth.

Some news out of South Korea: Both Google and Meta were collectively fined $71.8 million by the countryâs authorities for allegedly violating South Koreaâs privacy law, Kate reports. In addition, Manish writes about Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon having an arrest warrant out for him regarding the companyâs two tokens losing $40 billion in value in a span of days earlier this year. As a result of that news, the price of Luna, the new token of the revived ecosystem, dropped to $2.23 apiece.

More layoffs: Continuing from the Twilio news above, Amanda has more on Patreon laying off 17% of staff, while Lauren reports on Netflix downsizing its animation department. More Google: Google had a mixed day. The search giant was not successful in overturning a â¬4 billion Android antitrust decision, Natasha L writes. But, as Ivan reports, it now has 31 new emojis. Find out which one âshookâ him. Meanwhile, Sarah reports some bad news from Google’s Area 120 R&D division â a âreduction in forceâ â and also walks us through Googleâs new redesigned Memories feature and creative tools. More creator tools: Speaking of getting creative, Canva unveiled a new suite of products in hopes of shedding its purely graphic design image, Amanda writes. More creepy AI: Devin delights us with âa terrifying AI-generated woman lurking in the abyss of latent space.â More charging stations: At the Detroit Auto Show today, Biden announced $900 million for EV charging stations, Rebecca reports.