2 weeks after extended system failure, Alibaba CEO takes over company's cloud division

We’re almost there, folks. It’s the last Thursday of 2022, and today we have some news for you out of Alibaba and Spotify, as well as some crypto news out of India. And as always, we give you some goodness from TC+, our premium membership program. Read on, dear readers, and we’ll be back again tomorrow to bring you the final moments of 2022 in tech. — HP

The TechCrunch Top 3

• Alibaba’s cloud move: Alibaba Cloud has a new president, Rita reports. The third-largest public cloud infrastructure provider in the world only after AWS and Microsoft has appointed Daniel Zhang, the company’s CEO, as acting president.
• Ring it in with Spotify: Aisha writes that the platform wants to help you welcome 2023 in style with what it thinks you might enjoy. Such playlists as “Party Hits,” “Floor Fillers,” “Pop Party” and “Rock Party” will usher you up to and past midnight. The hub also gives you some DJ mixes from the likes of TT the Artist, Carlita, AMÉMÉ, Coco & Breezy, &ME and Austin Millz. Get down!
• Indian crypto regulation: Under its G20 presidency, India has said it will look to prioritize the development of a framework for the global regulation of unbacked crypto assets, stablecoins and decentralized finance, writes Manish.

Startups and VC

• Recall this: Catherine writes that Recall.ai raised $2.7 million in a seed funding round to help with a unified API that works with Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams to help customers build apps for a number of use cases.
• Down rounds: Mary Ann spoke with GGV’s Hans Tung and Robin Li about the firm’s position in a challenging venture environment. (Requires TC+ subscription.)

Redefining ‘founder-friendly’ capital in the post-FTX era

Could the FTX debacle have been avoided if investors had taken a more active interest in the company’s operations?

Given the chilly climate for late-stage fundraising and widespread economic uncertainty, “it’s time for the startup community to redefine what ‘founder-friendly’ capital means and balance both the source and cost of that capital,” writes Blair Silverberg, co-founder and CEO of Hum Capital.

In a TC+ guest post, he weighs the relative benefits of active versus passive investors, breaks down the basics of debt startup financing, and shares advice “for founders seeking a better balance of capital and external expertise for their businesses.”

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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Looking back and looking ahead

We rounded up the best of our TC+ coverage from the roller-coaster year in crypto. Not enough? Jacquie provided us with a couple extra in order to squeeze more pulp out of the crypto juice:

• Terra’s founder plans to back its stablecoin with a ‘basket’ of cryptocurrencies
• FTX exposure hits market makers and funds

Ron took a look at the private equity that dominated the top 10 enterprise M&A deals this year. The deals totaled nearly $154 billion. (Requires TC+ subscription.)

Rebecca has some ideas about what is in store for the micromobility market in 2023 — after what she said was a “tumultuous” year.

• IT Technology Analyst II at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• Business Process Specialist - Procurement at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• IT Technology Analyst I at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)
• Information Security Officer at Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (Pasadena, CA, USA)
• Chief, Information Technology at Los Angeles County Employees Retirement Association (Pasadena, CA, USA)

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