Thursday, April 25, 2024

Welcome back to TechCrunch PM, your home for all things startups, venture capital and Big Tech. Today, we get into a return to cryptocurrency for Stripe and then enjoy a breakout section on your favorite streaming media app. We’ve also got some net neutrality news and a handful of venture capital rounds. Enjoy!

TechCrunch Top 3

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Stripe changes more of its stripes: Following a bunch of launches Wednesday, Stripe said it was getting back into cryptocurrency after taking a six-year hiatus. Back then, the company was into Bitcoin but will go with stablecoins for this round. Read More

Protecting that iPhone: Two security veterans came together to start a new company called DoubleYou that aims to help other makers of cybersecurity products up their game in protecting Apple devices. Read More

Rubrik starts trading: Speaking of cybersecurity, Rubrik’s shares hit the New York Stock Exchange today and had that pop, climbing 20% in early trading. More good news for the public markets. Read More

TikTok on the clock

So much TikTok news that we gave it its own section:

Breaking down TikTok’s legal arguments around free speech, national security claims

Is TikTok getting banned? Not yet, but you should explore alternatives

The impact of TikTok’s ban in other countries could signal what’s ahead for the US

Gen Z is losing its political voice on social media

Afternoon must-reads

Net neutrality is back: The Federal Communications Commission voted to reinstate net neutrality. With it comes some changes and protections to the rules originally passed back in 2015. Read More

Nothing but Bluesky that I see: Everything’s better with friends, and that’s exactly what Bluesky is doing with Mastodon. A new decentralized social network is backing a project that would connect — or “bridge” — Mastodon requests into Bluesky requests so that consumer apps would be compatible with Bluesky, too. Read More

Threads strings up new features: One called Hidden Words lets users filter out words and phrases from their feeds and mentions. They can also add their own custom words and phrases in the settings. Read More

Paystand acquires Teampay: The move gives Paystand, which was previously on the accounts receivables side, entrance into products for the account payables side. And the ability to add the blockchain to both. Read More

I second that AI emotion: Synthesia AI’s generative AI technology is working to better replicate the facial movements and emotions of humans. Read More

Money, money, money

RevenueCat raises a $12 million Series C as it expands its subscription management to the web. Read More

Carv raises a $10 million Series A to help gamers monetize their data. Read More

Chilean instant payments API startup Fintoc raises $7 million to turn Mexico into its main market. Read More

Gravitics grabs a $1.7 million contract to develop “tactically responsive” orbital platforms for the Space Force. Read More

Around the web

U.S. pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb announced that it would lay off 2,200 employees as part of a cost-cutting measure aimed at saving $1.5 billion by 2025. The Wall Street Journal has more.

Speaking of cuts, shares of Southwest Airlines took a tumble following a first-quarter loss. This prompted the Dallas-based airline to announce plans to exit four airports around the country and Mexico, along with cutting 2,000 jobs by the end of the year, MarketWatch reports.

And Japanese automaker Honda intends to invest around $11 million in new electric vehicle and battery production plants alongside its existing facilities in Ontario, Reuters reports.

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TechCrunch Minute

FTC bans noncompetes, court challenge incoming: Now that the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban non-compete agreements, it’s time to talk about what this means for Silicon Valley. Anthony Ha steps in for Alex Wilhelm today. Hit play, and let’s chat!