Ingrid Lunden
TechCrunch
United Kingdom
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Recent articles by Ingrid:
Directly nabs $20M led by Samsung to help make customer service chatbots more intelligent, adds new CEO –
Chatbots have had a patchy track record world of tech, where early efforts not only failed to deliver on the magical idea of a computer producing the exact answers you were looking for in a chat-based-Q&A, they even produced surprising (and not in a good way) results instead. Things have moved along, though, and today […] → Read More
Frontify raises $22.3M to help businesses manage how their brands and logos get used –
The rise of design tools like Canva and the vast expanse of digital spaces where a company’s name can appear these days have created a challenge for organisations: how best to make sure that what gets used is up to date and in keeping with how you want it to be used. Today a “brand […] → Read More
Chicago’s ActiveCampaign raises $100M for an all-in-one marketing and sales automation platform –
Marketing and sales automation — tools that leverage the advances and data of our digital age to better identify and then interact with customers — is big business, with the whole market expected to generate some $6.6 billion in revenues for related companies by 2025. But “companies” is the operative word here: it’s a very […] → Read More
Persona raises $17.5M for an identify verification platform the goes beyond user IDs and passwords –
The rising number of data breaches based on leaked passwords have revealed the holes in simple password and memorable-information-based verification systems. Today a startup called Persona, which has built a platform to make it easier for organisations to implement more watertight methods based on third-party documentation and more to verify users, is announcing a round, […] → Read More
Currencycloud nabs $80M from Visa, World Bank Group and more for its cross-border payments API –
Sending money from one country to another — either because you are a business paying someone for a service, or a family member working abroad and sending money back home, or something in between — is a huge business, worth some $700 million annually. Today, a London startup called Currencycloud, which has built a set […] → Read More
TikTok inks licensing deal with Merlin to use music from independent labels in videos and new Resso streaming service –
TikTok, the fast-growing user-generated video app from China’s Bytedance, has been building a new music streaming service to compete against the likes of Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music. And today it’s announcing a deal that helps pave the way for a global launch of it. It has inked a licensing deal with Merlin, the […] → Read More
Dfinity launches an open source platform aimed at the social networking giants –
When Dfinity raised $102 million in funding in 2018 at a $2 billion valuation in a round jointly led by Andreessen Horowitz and Polychain Capital, it represented a step change in the world of blockchain technology. In an area that at the time was more synonymous with cryptocurrency speculation, this was a change in focus, […] → Read More
Babylon Health is building an integrated, AI-based health app to serve a city of 300K in England –
After announcing a $550 million fundraise last August, UK AI-based health services startup Babylon Health is putting some of that money to use with its widest-ranging project to date. The company has inked a 10-year deal with the city of Wolverhampton in England to provide an integrated health app covering 300,000 people, the entire population of […] → Read More
Amazon Music passes 55M customers across its free and paid tiers, but still lags behind Spotify and Apple –
Amazon Music, the streaming music service from the e-commerce and cloud giant that competes against the likes of Spotify and Apple Music, announced a milestone in its growth today: it has passed 55 million customers across the six different pricing tiers that it offers for the service, ranging from $15 per month through to a […] → Read More
Tencent to grow gaming empire with $148M acquisition of Conan publisher Funcom in Norway –
Tencent, one of the world’s biggest videogaming companies by revenue, today made another move to help cement that position. The Chinese firm has made an offer to fully acquire Funcom, the games developer behind Conan Exiles (and others in the Conan franchise), Dune and some 28 other titles. The deal, when approved, would value the […] → Read More
Intezer raises $15M for its DNA-style ‘genetic’ approach to identifying and tracking malware code –
As the total cost of cybercrime reaches into trillions of dollars and continues to rise, an Israeli firm called Intezer — which has built a way to analyse, identify and eradicate malware by way of an ordering system similar to what’s used when mapping out DNA — has raised $15 million to double down on growth. The […] → Read More
Gartner forecast: 2020 to see 0.9% bump in global device shipments thanks to 5G, then 2 more years of decline –
The analysts at Gartner have published their latest global device forecast, and while 2020 looks like it may be partly sunny, get ready for more showers and poor weather ahead. Gartner predicts that a bump from new 5G technology will lead to total shipments of 2.16 billion units — devices that include PCs, mobile handsets, […] → Read More
Cloud services provider DigitalOcean is laying off staff, sources say 30-50 affected –
After appointing a new CEO and CFO last summer, cloud infrastructure provider DigitalOcean is embarking on a wider reorganisation: the startup has announced a round of layoffs, with potentially between 30 and 50 people affected. DigitalOcean has confirmed the news with the following statement: “DigitalOcean recently announced a restructuring to better align its teams to its […] → Read More
Marijuana delivery giant Eaze may go up in smoke –
The first cannabis startup to raise big money in Silicon Valley is in danger of burning out. TechCrunch has learned that pot delivery middleman Eaze has seen unannounced layoffs, and its depleted cash reserves threaten its ability to make payroll or settle its AWS bill. Eaze was forced to raise a bridge round to keep […] → Read More
Bolt raises €50M in venture debt from the EU to expand its ride-hailing business –
Bolt, the billion-dollar startup out of Estonia that’s building a ride-hailing, scooter and food delivery business across Europe and Africa, has picked up a tranche of funding in its bid to take on Uber and the rest in the world of on-demand transportation. The company has picked up €50 million (about $56 million) from the European […] → Read More
Felix Capital closes $300M fund to double down on DTC, break into fintech and make late-stage deals –
To kick off 2020, one of Europe’s newer — and more successful — investment firms has closed a fresh, oversubscribed fund, one sign that VC in the region will continue to run strong in the year ahead after startups across Europe raised between $35 billion and $36 billion in 2019. Felix Capital, the London VC […] → Read More
Google acquires Pointy, a startup to help brick-and-mortar retailers list products online, for $163M –
Google has been on a long-term mission to build inroads into the world of e-commerce by working more closely with brick-and-mortar retailers, and now it looks like it plans to extend that work a little further. The search giant is acquiring Pointy, a startup out of Dublin, Ireland, which has built hardware and software technology […] → Read More
US patents hit record 333,530 granted in 2019; IBM, Samsung (not the FAANGs) lead the pack –
We may have moved on from a nearly-daily cycle of news involving tech giants sparring in courts over intellectual property infringement, but patents continue to be a major cornerstone of how companies and people measure their progress and create moats around the work that they have done in hopes of building that into profitable enterprises […] → Read More
ToursByLocals snaps up its first funding, $33M, to link sightseers with guides globally –
The tours and experiences market is projected to be worth $183 billion this year, and today a startup that has made inroads into the space through bootstrapping is announcing its first outside investment. ToursByLocals — which sources local guides in some 162 countries, and then helps tourists search and book them for either individual or […] → Read More
Sisense nabs $100m at a $1B+ valuation for accessible big data business analytics –
Sisense, an enterprise startup that that has built a business analytics business out of the premise of making big data as accessible as possible to users — whether it be through graphics on mobile or desktop apps, or spoken through Alexa — is announcing a big round of funding today and a large jump in […] → Read More