Friday, May 10, 2024

Good afternoon, and welcome to TechCrunch PM. We’ve got some great news for you today. Some new numbers show that venture capital fund performance may still be down, but not as down as it was. Chinese electric vehicle maker Zeekr made a splash on the U.S. public markets, and Oura wants to show you what's going on with your heart. Have a great weekend!

TechCrunch Top 3

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Ready for the VC plateau?: Some venture capital fund performance data from the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System still tells the story of venture capital woe. However, maybe less woe than we thought. Read More

The buzziest EV IPO of the year: That would be Zeekr, a Chinese electric vehicle maker that went public in the U.S. Friday. It’s not only the first major U.S. listing by a Chinese company since 2021, but it is also noteworthy in the way that it may indicate that investors see value in the high-quality, low-price offerings of Chinese automakers. Read More

Oura hearts you: Ever wonder about your “cardiological age”? Smart ring maker Oura does. That is one of two new features related to heart health. The second feature aims to help users estimate their cardio capacity. Read More

Afternoon must-reads

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More on the Dell data breach: So yesterday we brought you the story about Dell experiencing a data breach. We noted that the company behaved rather nonchalantly about the whole affair, even saying that personal data wasn’t taken. Well, TechCrunch decided to do its own investigating and found that whoever breached Dell scraped some data that appears to be physical addresses. Read More

Kids can now use Anthropic: Well, for certain things. Anthropic will begin letting teens and preteens use third-party apps (but not its own apps, necessarily) powered by its AI models so long as the developers of those apps implement specific safety features and disclose to users which Anthropic technologies they’re leveraging. Read More

Microsoft’s mobile game store: The store is scheduled to open in July and will include popular games like Candy Crush and Minecraft. The official announcement comes as Microsoft has been talking about launching an Xbox mobile gaming store for quite some time now. Last December, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said the company was in discussions with partners about launching an Xbox mobile store and noted that it would arrive sooner rather than later. Read More

This week in AI: OpenAI has been examining the ability to create adult content this year, so it should come as no surprise that it will now explore how to “responsibly” generate AI porn. OpenAI’s new NSFW policy is intended to start a conversation about how — and where — the company might allow explicit images and text in its AI products, OpenAI said. Read More

Bluesky has new features: Bluesky is now allowing users to personalize their main Discover feeds using “Show more like this” and “Show less like this” buttons in a post’s menu to choose which content the algorithm surfaces. Read More

Mercury eyes the fintech crown: This week on TechCrunch's Equity podcast, our hosts dug into Mercury’s plans to branch out into software and looked at a new string of acquisitions from DocuSign, Samsung and Akamai. They also reveal a pleasant surprise from FTX: Victims are getting their money back, plus interest. Listen here

Inspired by “16 and Pregnant”: Kevin Eisenfrats is the founder of Contraline, a company that has developed a male contraceptive in the form of a non-hormonal, sperm-blocking gel that’s injected into the scrotum. On TechCrunch’s Found podcast, Eisenfrats discussed building this company, medical testing for it, and the medical innovation he had to create to make it all possible. Listen here

Around the web

Image Credits: Getty Images/Patra Kongsirimongkolchai / EyeEm

Protect the chocolate: If you have a sweet tooth like me, you probably already know that the average price of a chocolate bar is on the rise. The New York Times looks at how a failed crop turned into a tailspin for the cocoa industry and therefore the chocolate that we can’t help but crave. Read More

Moms rule: In honor of Mother’s Day in the U.S. on Sunday, take a few moments to read Fortune’s feel-good story about the founders of Gusto. Their mothers met 12 years ago and today have formed their own little group. They talk a lot and even travel together. Read More

Jeff Bezos gives Adam Neumann some advice: When it comes to founders, WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann would probably be considered eccentric. Especially when compared with someone like Jeff Bezos. However, the pair met up at a recent conference, and it was Bezos who doled out the advice. Business Insider has the story. Read More

TechCrunch Minute

Hinge is taking Tinder’s place as Gen Z’s favorite dating app: When it comes to Hinge versus Tinder, don’t get us wrong — Tinder is still popular. However, the one app that calls itself “the dating app that’s designed to be deleted” seems to be on the rise, while the other is struggling to figure things out. Hit play and let’s chat!