Thursday, May 30, 2024

Welcome to TechCrunch AM! This morning, we have notes on some potentially shady moves from Apple, more EV startup layoffs, fresh funding for reproductive health, tech coalitions with boring names, and a glimpse into the future of news publishing. Let’s jump in! — Rebecca

TechCrunch Top 3

Image Credits: The Browser Company

1. Is Arc under threat from Apple?: Mobile web browser Arc Search can search the web for you and spit back a summary of what it learned, including summaries of individual web pages. But with iOS 18 coming up this year, we might just see Apple ‘borrowing’ such features to flesh out its own apps and operating system. Read More

2. Tech companies need to come up with better names: Intel, Google, Microsoft, Meta and others have formed the Ultra Accelerator Link (UALink) Promoter Group, which is a frankly boring name for a group that’s setting up an industry standard for the development of components that link together AI accelerator chips in data centers. The real goal here is to reduce reliance on Nvidia, of course. Read More

3. Fisker lays off hundreds of employees: Struggling EV startup Fisker is laying off hundreds of employees in a bid to stay alive. It remains to be seen what the company will do to stay afloat. Is more funding, a buyout, or a bankruptcy on the cards? Read More

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Morning Must Reads

Image Credits: Amazon

Celebrating 10 years of Firestick with AI search: If you ask Alexa, if “Tokyo Vice” is based on a true story, it will soon be able to answer that, thanks to a new AI-powered search feature that Amazon is rolling out to Fire TV devices in the coming weeks. Read More

Salesforce paid good money to buy Spiff: Filings show that Salesforce apparently paid $418 million to buy Spiff, which helps companies build and manage incentive-based compensation schemes. That’s a good premium over Spiff’s last private valuation, which PitchBook pegs at $260 million, showing that strong business can thrive in any environment. Read More

iscream for ifeel: More businesses are finally, finally realizing that unhappy employees can actually be detrimental to their bottom lines. That’s great for the workforce, but it’s downright perfect for companies like ifeel, a B2B mental health insurance platform. The European startup just raised a cool $20 million to grow further. Read More

U.S. doesn’t want Chinese cars Stateside: Congress could soon see a bill that wants to give the feds authority to limit or even ban connected vehicles from China. That would apply to everything from cheap, smart EVs to autonomous vehicles. They’re citing national security concerns, but U.S. carmaker lobbyists are no doubt happy about this bill, too. Read More

Adapting farming to climate change: The world isn’t cooling down anytime soon, and that’s going to undoubtedly affect crops across the world. That’s why it’s nice to see agritech companies like Iyris actively working to help farmers deal with that. The startup just raised a fresh round to scale its low-to-medium-tech solutions that help farmers produce fresh crops in difficult climates and regions. Read More

The Jetsons was not based in South Korea, but San Jose-based Archer Aviation nevertheless wants to see flying cars in the country. Archer has signed a deal with South Korean ride-hail firm Kakao Mobility to launch its eVTOL air taxis in Seoul by 2026. That would be one of at least four promised (and frankly unbelievable) launches from the company over the next two years. Read More

Reproductive health gets much-deserved attention: Birth rates are down globally as fertility issues grow ever more common. Thankfully, Rhea, a New York and Singapore-based reproductive health service provider, just raised some funds from Thiel Capital and others to tackle this hugely important problem that doesn’t get talked about much. Read More

Around the Web

The Atlantic, Vox cut a deal with OpenAI: If OpenAI is scraping everyone’s content anyway, might as well get paid for it? Axios reports that The Atlantic and Vox Media have signed separate licensing and product deals with the AI company. The outlets will give OpenAI access to their content, and will use some of its AI tools. Read More

Private equity is to blame for your $25k doctor bill: Private equity firms are creating monopolies in the healthcare system, which is driving prices up without improving care, The Wall Street Journal reports. Finally, state and federal regulators are starting to zero in on consolidation in healthcare driven by PE firms. Read More

Those cool anime fights are making Sony big bucks: Anime streaming service Crunchyroll is going super saiyan for Sony, with 13 million subscribers globally, reports Reuters. With so many bangers out there like "Ranking of Kings," "One Piece," and “Jujutsu Kaisen,” I’m not at all surprised. Even my mother watches anime now. Read More

Before You Go

Image Credits: Instagram

Keeping the creepers on IG at bay: Instagram is adding more features to a tool that will help teenagers block out comments, messages, story replies, tags and mentions from anyone except their ‘Close Friends’ group. It’s a bid to combat harassment on the platform, but as someone who was once a teenage girl with a Myspace Top 8, I smell a fresh opportunity for exclusivity and cyberbullying. Read More