Amazon starts delivering layoff notices to thousands of employees

Hello, and welcome to your…checks the top right of the screen…Wednesday. Several of our TechCrunch colleagues headed to Miami today for the TC Sessions: Crypto event tomorrow. Given the past week, it will no doubt be an interesting event. There’s still time to get tickets. Now, let’s get to some news! — Christine

The TechCrunch Top 3

• Even Amazon is not immune: Instead of “no shave November,” we need a “no layoff November.” Who’s with me? Brian writes that following rumors of layoffs, Amazon started making them this week. He also has information from the company’s hardware head, who was able to provide further details.
• Productivity nerds, assemble!: SigmaOS raised $4 million to develop a Mac browser where you can put your tabs in groups on the left side of the screen, Ivan writes.
• Ultimatums never work, right?: I guess we’ll see. In Elon Musk’s case, he reportedly sent a late-night email to Twitter workers posing sort of an “Eat Me,” “Drink Me” situation related to their future employment at the social media giant, Amanda writes. One makes you larger and one makes you smaller, but it’s not clear which is the right choice. See also Alex’s story in the TC+ section.

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Startups and VC

Venture capital firms continue to close new funds as they decide their next moves. I wrote about Fiat Ventures, which has a new $25 million fund focused on fintechs, while Connie has details about Bling Capital’s $212 million that will be essentially split between seed-stage and follow-on opportunities and two coasts.

And now here’s four more for you:

• Breaker breaker one nine: Rebecca writes about autonomous trucking startup Waabi’s first-generation truck.
• Circling the code bases: Supernova closes on $4.8 million in new capital to automate the transition of design elements to code bases, Ron reports.
• Crypto news that isn’t sad: Matter Labs banked $200 million to scale Ethereum and solve the pesky issue of gas fees. Romain has more.
• No data, no driverless: Collecting, sorting, labeling, all the tasks people working with data don’t want to do. For those working with autonomous driving data, Parallel Domain raised $30 million to help them, Rebecca writes.

How to turn user data into your next pitch deck

Investors might enjoy listening to a well-rehearsed founder’s story, but sharing the right customer data “can definitively power up a pitch deck,” says David Smith, VP of data and analytics at TheVentureCity.

“Investors need to see that you’re not being blindsided by easy wins that can go up in smoke within weeks, but are using hard data to build a sustainable company that will endure, and thrive, with time.”

Three more from the TC+ team:

• Finally, someone said it: You can’t help but love Alex, who is always the first one to raise his hand to volunteer. In this case, he plans to take one for the team and sign up for Hardcore Twitter.
• “Recycling leaves much to be desired”: That’s why Metaspectral wants to change it with real-time hyperspectral data, Tim reports. The company picked up $4.7 million to get a head start.
• VC is having a “Twin Peaks experience”: Global venture funding indeed hit a plateau in October, with Becca writing that valuations were likely to blame.

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!

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Big Tech Inc.

Having been married for 20 years, I’ve completely avoided the whole online dating scene, but I have heard from friends that it’s tough out there. Most people are looking for commitment, but hey it’s 2022, and not everyone is ready for that. Hinge, which touts itself as “the dating app designed to be deleted,” recognizes this and has added a new feature that makes it easier for those seeking non-monogamous relationships. Lauren has more.

It is indeed the end of an era: Evernote, the note-taking and task management app, has agreed to be acquired by Bending Spoons, a company you probably just opened up a new tab to do a Google search on. Kyle has the details.

And we have four more for you:

• Home sweet hosting: After rolling out perks for customers, Airbnb is turning its attention to hosts with a new set of features for them, Ivan reports.
• As if you didn’t already suspect…: Elon Musk is somewhat of a disaster artist. That is all. Darrell shows you why.
• Kid tested, teacher approved: A new set of Google Play policies streamline the development of kids’ apps as regulations tighten, Sarah reports.
• Microsoft Teams gets its game on: Remote work isn’t going anywhere, but we still have to be social. Why not do it by challenging your colleague to a friendly game of Minesweeper or Solitaire? Paul has more.

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