Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Good afternoon, and welcome to TechCrunch PM! Here’s what I have for you: The new Fitbit for children is here, just in time to start putting that holiday shopping list together. Then we look at Google Chrome’s picture-in-picture app and Pinterest expands its creator fund. We’ve got a lot of news for you today, so buckle up!

Book your Disrupt 2024 early-bird pass now to save up to $800. Sale ends this Friday, May 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

TechCrunch Top 3

two children wearing fitbit watches hold onto a pole

Image Credits: Fitbit/Google

All about the Fitbit: The wearables company added Ace LTE to its lineup of devices, this one aimed at the 7+ crowd, focusing on gaming with Wii-style motion control, along with location sharing and messaging for parents. And games, lots of games. Read more

Mistral releases Codestral: It’s the company’s first generative AI model for coding. Codestral, like other code-generating models, is designed to help developers write and interact with code. It can also complete coding functions, write tests and “fill in” partial code, as well as answer questions about a codebase in English. Read more

Firefly forges on: The startup that’s tackling the thorny and growing issue of cloud asset management with an “infrastructure as code” solution raised $23 million in new funding. That comes on the heels of tragedy, as co-founder CTO Joseph “Sefi” Genis was among the hundreds killed by Hamas in October 2023 at the now-infamous Nova music festival. Read more

Afternoon must-reads

still image of the Joker dancing atop a staircase

Image Credits: Warner Bros.

Google’s new app: Google is preparing to make a notable change to how its Chrome browser operates with a new feature called “Minimized Custom Tabs” that will allow users to move between a native app and their web content with a tap. When doing so, the Custom Tab becomes a small, picture-in-picture window that floats above the native app content. Read more

JFrog and GitHub team up: The partnership gives developers and their support teams an easier way to manage both their source code and the resulting binaries across both services. Read more

Behind the camera: HBO’s new documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash” tells the story of its catastrophic failure. It also tells the underreported tale of two Black men who aimed to disrupt the moviegoing space but were then thrown out of the company and forced to watch from the sidelines as their creation burned to the ground. Read more

Meme tech is having a moment: And Alex Taub, a longtime founder with multiple exits under his belt, is here for it. He launched Meme Depot, which he aspires to build into a comprehensive archive of any meme imaginable. Read more

Harness acquires Split.io: DevOps startup Harness is acquiring feature flag startup Split.io for an undisclosed amount of money. “The feature flag is a way for developers to roll out a new feature and control who gets access to it, so you can reduce the risk of a new code change,” according to CEO Jyoti Bansal. So what does Split have to offer that Harness’ organically developed feature flag tool is missing? Well, quite a bit, Bansal said. Read more

Pinterest expands fund: Pinterest teamed up with Shopify’s Build Black and Build Native programs to allow small business owners who are from or who serve underrepresented backgrounds to now apply for the Creator Inclusion Fund. Read more

Discord a generative AI hub?: Yes, in part thanks to Viggle. On Viggle’s Discord server, users upload a video of someone doing some sort of movement — often a TikTok dance — and a photo of a person. Then, Viggle creates a video of that person replicating the movements from the video. It’s obvious that these videos aren’t real, though they’re still entertaining. But after the Lil Yachty meme went viral, Viggle got hot, and the hype hasn’t subsided. Read more

Hey, you young hipsters: Cadillac is talking to you. You may be thinking this brand is too traditional for your standards, but it’s got an EV you should consider. Meet the 2025 Optiq, a midsize crossover. Read more

Peering into the “Series A chasm” with Everywhere Ventures’ Jenny Fielding: TechCrunch's Equity podcast brings you an interview with Jenny Fielding, a co-founder and managing partner at Everywhere Ventures. In a post on X this month, Fielding said, “There’s a huge backlog of seed stage companies with nice traction — just not $3m ARR + 30% MOM growth kinda traction.” The post sparked a conversation online, and Fielding talked through it all with Haje. Listen here

AI that actually makes your job easier, with Arvind Jain from Glean: This week on Found, Becca and Dom talk with Arvind Jain, the CEO and co-founder of Glean, an AI-powered work assistant that connects and understands enterprise knowledge. They discuss how Jain knew it was time to start a new company outside of Rubrik, the importance of building a self-sufficient leadership team, and the downside of micromanaging. Listen here

Money, money, money

Image Credits: Slingshot

Tech startup Odyssey goes on a journey to help states implement school choice programs. Read more

Creator fintech Slingshot raises $2.2 million. Read more

TechCrunch Minute

image of minute and second hand of analog clock

Image Credits: Getty Images / MirageC

How Synapse’s collapse could impact 100 fintech startups: After years of missteps and struggles, the banking-as-a-service fintech Synapse has officially gone bankrupt. The writing was on the wall — Synapse laid off 40% of its employees last year, and in April, it filed for bankruptcy … and yet somehow, it gets worse. Meaning that the impact of Synapse’s collapse could be even more widespread than we think. Hit play and let’s chat!

Around the web

The future’s so bright, you gotta have a tracker: Weight-loss drugs are so much in demand that Ro saw an opportunity. Bloomberg reports that the telehealth startup built a tracker to help patients using drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy track shortages. Read more

Inside Sam Altman’s 2023 ousting: CNBC reports on an interview with Helen Toner, a former OpenAI board member, who shared insights on how Altman’s firing in November 2023 transpired. Read more

Merck gets into eye care: The pharmaceutical giant reached a $1.3 billion deal to buy Eyebiotech, whose drug Restoret is in development to treat eye conditions, The Wall Street Journal reports. Read more