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Oh hey and happy Tuesday, the very last day of May 2022! Tomorrow, for our City Spotlight series, we’re putting the limelight on Columbus, Ohio. We’re also doing a pitch-off with Columbus-area startups. If you want to register for the event, here’s the handy linky-link that will give you all the info you need! — Haje and Christine
The TechCrunch Top 3
- Amazon retires Cloud Cam to the big electronic home in the sky: It was a Big Tech kind of day today, and first up is Amazon, which informed Cloud Cam users that it will no longer support the device. You might remember that Cloud Cam was one of Amazon’s first home security devices in 2017 — that is until it acquired both Ring and Blink within a year later. Amazon is winding down the service this year, and “Cloud Cammers” will get a complimentary Blink mini and a one-year subscription for their troubles.
- Apple’s iOS 16 leak: Our other Big Tech story involves some Apple news ahead of its WWDC event on June 6. Not sure how much people think about their iPhone’s lockscreen, but Apple does, and a report says the tech giant is about to unleash a significant upgrade that may involve widgets. And Sarah hopes Apple also does something about Focus Mode.
- Crypto may have a remittance payment problem: Could there be a disconnect between Andreessen Horowitz’s views about cryptocurrency’s current usefulness and the low-tech way people still get paid in emerging countries? Anna lays out her argument for why a16z’s crypto bullishness may be a bit premature in these regions.
Startups and VC
Two new funds got announced this morning; Haje covered Hannah Grey’s $52 million debut fund, focusing on customer-centric founders, and Christine took a look at Bonfire Ventures, which raised a pair of funds, totaling $230 million, targeting B2B software startups.
Apart from a couple of new funds, it’s been a lively few days on the site over the long weekend, so let’s make like a truffle-hunting pig and dig our snouts in:
- Hello, world (it says Hello World): I’m pretty intrigued by the startup Kyle covered this morning; Mintlify uses AI to auto-generate documentation based on source code, raising $2.8 million to do so.
- Go, go, go: Also from Kyle, Railway raised $20 million to make software deployment for apps and services smoother.
- (data) sharing is (data) caring: Vendia, a blockchain-based platform that makes it easier for businesses to share their code and data, today announced that it has raised a $30 million Series B, Frederic reports.
- Didn’t see that one coming: Seemplicity is emerging from stealth with $32 million in funding for a platform that it believes will help …read more