As the crypto world continues to heat up, developers are clinging to the Ethereum network despite its general struggle to meet the stresses of a global network’s transaction load. To speed and cheapen transactions on Ethereum, developers are looking toward so-called Layer-2 (L2) blockchains, which build on the Ethereum network, offloading the computational stresses while […]
Crypto VC firm Paradigm debuts monster $2.5 billion fund
As the crypto market continues to push toward new heights, investors are finding heightened LP appetite for exposure to the space, leading to new venture funds that are huge — even by 2021 standards. Paradigm, a crypto VC firm founded in 2018 by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam and former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang, has […]
Company formerly known as Facebook unceremoniously kills off ‘Oculus’ brand
At the company’s AR/VR-focused Connect event this morning, Mark Zuckerberg announced that despite a name change, Facebook Meta’s mission will remain the same and that its existing brands wouldn’t be changing. “To reflect who we are and what we hope to build, I am proud to announce that starting today, our company is now Meta. […]
Facebook changes its corporate branding to Meta
Well, it’s official. After 17 years of being called Facebook, the social networking parent company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus has a new name. Facebook’s corporate entity is now Meta. Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg announced the change at the company’s AR/VR-focused Connect event, sharing that the new title captured more of the company’s core […]
Zuckerberg on the Quest 2 as a fitness device — ‘It’s kind of like a Peloton’
Facebook wants the Quest 2 to be known as more than a game console for your face. At the company’s Facebook Connect developer conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg highlighted the company’s efforts to make the Quest a fitness platform for third-party apps like Supernatural and FitXR. He compared it directly to the Peloton as a connected […]
Sequoia dramatically revamps its fund structure as it looks to rethink venture capital model
Sequoia Capital is debuting a big shift in strategy as they look to boost their returns amid increased competition in the market for startup financing. The storied venture capital firm announced in a blog post today that they’re breaking with tradition, abandoning the traditional fund structure and their artificial timelines for returning LP capital. The […]
Does the NFT craze actually matter?
Hello friends, and welcome back to Week in Review! Last week, we talked about Apple’s subscription addiction. This week, I’m diving deep into whether there’s actually any meaning to pull out of the NFT mania of 2021. If you’re reading this on the TechCrunch site, you can get this in your inbox from the newsletter […]
Seven years after raising $542M at a $2B valuation, Magic Leap raises $500M at a $2B valuation
Magic Leap has had one hell of a journey, and to their credit, it seems investors are still addicted to giving them money. The augmented reality startup announced today that they have raised $500 million at a $2 billion valuation from existing investors. The round echoes the terms of an October 2014 raise where Magic […]
The growing pains of Apple’s subscription addiction
Hello friends, and welcome back to Week in Review! Last week, we talked about how YouTube has managed to skate along while Facebook has gotten pummeled over platform responsibility concerns. This week, we’re looking at another slippery slope Apple is dancing on the edge of. If you’re reading this on the TechCrunch site, you can […]
‘Fantasy startup investing’ NFT platform Visionrare shuts down paid marketplace after a day in open beta
Just over 24 hours into its open beta, Visionrare, which launched an NFT marketplace for “fantasy startup investing,” is temporarily shutting down and refunding users who purchased shares, saying it will relaunch soon as a free-to-play game. The platform allowed users to bid on auctions of fake NFT shares of real startups, building up a […]