Friday, May 31, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch PM! We made it to Friday again, and this afternoon we look at several stories, including Fisker on the brink of collapse, a way to pin Threads, a venture capital firm that is still betting on Asia, voice cloning and a Pitch Deck Teardown. Have a great weekend!

Today is your last day to save up to $800 on your Disrupt pass. Book your early-bird pass by 11:59 p.m. PT tonight!

TechCrunch Top 3

Illustration of Henrik Fisker and his wife

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin

Fisker’s last days: Because of a parts shortage, Fisker cannibalized some returned cars for spare parts, including some used for marketing purposes. Henrik Fisker’s Ocean SUV was among that group. Employees removed his car’s steering wheel, some interior panels and even his driver’s seat cushion for use in customer cars. Read more

Meet ThreadsDeck: We are still mourning TweetDeck, but Meta is making us feel a bit better. After testing a way for Threads users to pin columns to the home screen of its desktop web app, Instagram is now rolling out this alternative view globally — just in time for everyone to discuss the hottest political news of the year: the Trump verdict. Read more

Bitcoin crypto exchange hacked: Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin confirmed it was the victim of a hack resulting in the theft of 4,502.9 bitcoin, or about $305 million. It’s still investigating the leak and working to mitigate further thefts. Read more

Afternoon must-reads

Image Credits: Canva

This is the summer’s big rap battle: No, it’s not between Drake and Kendrick Lamar — it’s between Canva and an enterprise CIO. Canva’s enterprise business model video was panned by many people on social media, but isn’t it the point to get people talking? Read more

Antler is still bullish on Asia: Asia’s startup ecosystem hasn’t been doing well in the past couple years, as everything from geopolitics to higher interest rates affected investors’ willingness to write checks. Though there hasn’t been a huge decline in the number of fundraising rounds, the rounds have shrunk — investors are no longer spending as much as they used to. Antler is an exception. Read more

Targeting drones: ZeroMark wants to give soldiers a better system that can be attached to nearly any infantry rifle in around 30 seconds, all to boost the shooter’s probability of taking out robotic “suicide” drones. Read more

That sounds like me: Voice cloning startup ElevenLabs introduced its new tool for users to generate sound effects through prompts today. Now available to everyone, the tool allows users to type in prompts like “waves crashing,” “metal clanging,” “birds chirping” and “racing car engine” to generate snippets of sounds. Read more

Pitch Deck Teardown: Haje Jan Kamps takes a closer look at RAW Dating App’s $3 million angel deck. Read more

Feds want a look at Zoox: U.S. federal regulators have requested more information from Zoox, Amazon’s self-driving unit, as part of an investigation into rear-end crash risks posed by unexpected braking. Read more

Instagram tests Reels feature: In a move to get out in front of TikTok, Instagram is testing a way for creators to experiment with Reels without having to display them on their profiles first. Read more

Who's (not) IPO-ing and what's going on with BaaS?: Today on Equity's news roundup, the crew discusses what the collapse of fintech startup Synapse means for the companies and individuals that used their services. They also predict who will (and won't) be IPOing this year. Listen here.

TechCrunch Minute

Image Credits: Getty Images / MirageC

Is meme tech the next big startup category?: Amanda Silberling wrote a fun piece about the launch of Meme Depot, where she mentioned the supposedly common practice of keeping reaction GIFs on your desktop computer or phone. Meme Depot is trying to create the biggest, best version of that folder. Hit play and let’s chat!

Around the web

Battle of the app games: I play both Wordle and Worldle, and with the names being so similar, it’s no surprise that now Wordle owner The New York Times has a problem with it … even though the games are nothing alike. The BBC has the story. Read more

Bill Ackman taking Pershing Square public: And to solidify the moment, Ackman is selling a stake in the company, The Wall Street Journal reports. The businessman made news lately after taking to X earlier this year posting comments that included a campaign to oust university presidents. Read more