TechCrunch Newsletters - A smaller, cheaper Rivian is coming

Monday, February 05, 2024

Good afternoon, and welcome back to TechCrunch PM. Today we do some cruising with Rivian’s new electric vehicle, give you an update on Paytm and learn how Bumble is protecting users from scam accounts. Let’s go! — Christine

Image Credits: Kirsten Korosec

TechCrunch PM Top 3

A new Rivian coming soon: The electric vehicle maker says a smaller, cheaper electric SUV dubbed R2 will be unveiled on March 7. Sean O’Kane writes that it’s an opportunity for Rivian to get into the land of the less expensive EV. With consumer appeal waning for electric vehicles, it’s a bold strategy; however, we’re here to see how it goes.

Layoffs at Snap: The social media company plans to lay off another 10% of its workforce, or around 500 people. The new job cuts follow a smaller one from November and again cites the company’s plan to reorganize to support healthier growth.

Paytm is having a week: It started with some potential fines, then Paytm was told to halt business. Next, shares declined. Today we learned that the company was in talks with Jio Financial Services to sell its wallet business. Jio has since squashed that rumor. We wonder what’s next.

Image Credits: Denis Charlet/AFP / Getty Images

More top reads

Security news: Remote desktop software provider AnyDesk confirmed late last week that hackers gained access to the company’s production systems, putting the company in lockdown for almost a week. The company says there is “no evidence that any end-user systems have been affected.”

Over at Bumble, the dating app said it was putting a new AI-powered feature in place designed to identify and block scam accounts and fake profiles. This is a top concern among users — as it should be — and will hopefully keep deepfakes to a minimum.

Wonder Ventures raises for pre-seed: Dustin Rosen’s venture capital firm is eager to be the first check into Los Angeles–based startups and now has two new funds by which to support budding ideas.

B2B vs. B2C is not about who’s buying, but how you’re selling: These two terms aren’t just an audience, but a distinct business model. That’s one lesson, of many, Haje Jan Kamps discusses in his latest piece for TechCrunch+.

Everbridge is going private: Thoma Bravo, the private equity giant, is taking the critical event management software company private in a $1.5 billion deal. Paul Sawers writes that “Thoma Bravo clearly sees Everbridge’s suite of SaaS tools as being integral to companies looking to manage these risks.”

Weaveworks closes doors: The cloud native development startup announced it was shutting down, the latest victim of a rough market, its CEO said.

Sunny days are here for Jua: The Swiss startup is looking at how AI might be used in the physical world and has picked up $16 million to initially model and predict weather and climate patterns.

Arrival may be going nowhere: Following a series of unfortunate events, the electric vehicle startup looks to be selling off some assets and intellectual property from its U.K. division. This follows the company being removed from Nasdaq last week.

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch

On the pods

In today’s Equity, Alex Wilhelm took a look back at the weekend and the week ahead, discussing the stock market, crypto price movements and some good news from startup land. Listen here.

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

Join Waymo, Signal, and more at StrictlyVC Los Angeles

Join StrictlyVC’s cocktail party in Los Angeles on February 29 to hear from leaders like Meredith Whittaker (president, Signal) and Tekedra Mawakana (co-CEO, Waymo), and connect with top VCs and entrepreneurs. Tickets are $150 — register today.