Meta cuts Threads: Company says it's blocking access in Europe over privacy regulations

Today’s top story was about everyone’s favorite new app, Threads. We already knew that it wasn’t available in the European Union due to privacy concerns; however, after some users in the EU complained about not being able to access the app, even through a VPN, Meta confirmed that it was blocking EU-based users from access that way, too.

Meanwhile, some things just take time. In this case, India’s Chandrayaan-3 blasts off to the moon, four years after its predecessor failed in its mission. Learn more.

And if you chose “Kahoot” as the answer to the question, “Who went private today?” you’d be correct. The gamified e-learning platform was acquired in a $1.7 billion deal. Find out who was involved.

More top reads

The Pitch Deck Teardown of GoodBuy Gear’s $11 million Series A deck had a lot to love and was today’s top TechCrunch+ story.

Don’t spend it all in one place: Flipkart made a $700 million payout to employees following the PhonePe split.

LG goes all in on a new strategy: LG Electronics is planning to invest $39.5 billion into home appliances and other emerging businesses in an effort to reach $79 billion in sales by 2030.

Google is not playing games: Google Play Games beta for PC expands to over 60 new countries, including India.

Headed into the cloud: A new report shows that on-prem data centers are hanging in, but cloud capacity is growing much faster.

Helping hand: Kenya’s Lawyers Hub gains traction helping startups meet regulatory compliance.

We’re not convinced yet: Sudden changes over at Fanhouse, which was acquired by Passes, aren’t sitting well with some creators, who say they are apprehensive about the deal.

Nowhere is safe anymore: A deep dive into fire statistics shows NYC gig workers need help accessing safe e-bikes amid lithium battery fires.

Picking at that loose thread: This probably isn’t a surprise, but designers are suing Shein over AI rip-offs of their work.

RIP: More news from Reddit — it is killing its Gold Awards system.

It’s the start of the weekend, so treat yo’self:

8 reasons why the venture capital market isn’t as miserable as you think (TC+)

Workers that made ChatGPT less harmful ask lawmakers to stem alleged exploitation by Big Tech

The bittersweet tale of two seed markets (TC+)

Making sense of the latest climate tech funding trend stories

Congress prepares to continue throwing money at NASA’s Space Launch System

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VC Office Hours: How this venture thesis aims to improve tech for women

Dominic-Madori Davis interviewed Naseem Sayani, co-founder and managing director of Emmeline Ventures, to learn more about how (and why) her thesis focuses on “women founders building businesses that help other women manage their health, wealth and environment.”

In this Q&A, Sayani discusses how overturning Roe vs. Wade impacted the women’s health sector, where she’s looking for opportunities to invest in fintech and AI’s  “game-changing” potential.

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