Keeping your devices juiced on the go is a perennial challenge for the road warriors among us. Today, Anker is revealing a lineup of chargers that is promising to keep even the most power-hungry sated. The new series uses Gallium Nitride (GaN) for its silicon, which promises much higher power outputs at far lower heat loss. In other words: Smaller chargers, less heat.

The GaN tech isn’t new, exactly — but the technology is finally showing up in consumer products at reasonable prices, which is worth celebrating.

“GaN is allowing us to completely change the way we charge our electronics by delivering better power transfer efficiency, faster-charging speeds, and smaller, more portable chargers,” said Steven Yang, CEO of Anker Innovations, in a press statement. “Our partners provided exclusive access to cutting-edge GaN technology that empowered us to create chargers that last longer and are more sustainable.”

The new series of chargers include wall chargers with USB-A and USB-C ports, ranging from the super compact but slower 65 W “735” charger with two USB-C and an USB-A socket, right up to the 150 W beast called “747,” and a couple of clever “power strips” and wireless charging solutions.

To me, the reason these chargers are interesting is portability above all. Anker’s 737 charger, in particular, packs 120 W worth of power delivery at once to two USB-C devices and a USB-A device. Together, that means that you can charge two laptops at once, or — more likely — a laptop and a phone or tablet, plus an accessory of some sort, without having to take up more than one power socket.

The top-of-the-line 747 delivers even more of a wallop but sacrifices the small size of the 737 in favor of an additional USB-C port and an additional 30 W of power delivery capacity.

On paper, these chargers out-perform the ones included with, say, an Apple laptop. Time (and reviews) will tell whether they’re as robust and reliable, but Anker has proven over time to be a pretty serious player in this space, with high-quality products that aren’t exactly the cheapest around, but find a good balance between quality and price.

As a hardware hacker and maker, I’m also excited about having more power delivery options available for my own projects; USB (and, more recently, USB-C) is a versatile, near-ubiquitous standard. Having access to high-speed, reliable chargers is a boon to prototype builders and creators-on-the-go alike.

…read more

https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/25/anker-ganprime/

Traditionally, U.S. private market investors who adopted environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) frameworks — the very few thus far — did so to evaluate a potential company or investment on how it approached areas like sustainability or diversity.

But now, in the post-Roe era, as controversial conservative legislation sweeps the nation, some VC investors and founders believe the social definition of ESG investing should expand to incorporate pressing human rights issues such as reproductive healthcare.

Last year, Amnesty International found that none of the top VC firms consider human rights adequately in their due diligence, while an analysis in the Stanford Social Innovation Review found that out of 2,900 VC firms worldwide, only a few dozen have made a public commitment to ESG investing. That may change as private markets face more consumer pressure to compensate for government shortfalls.

A pressing issue to consider now is the precariousness of reproductive healthcare as states look to restrict access to abortion and contraception further. Expanding the definition of social investing to encompass reproductive health adds urgency to the topic, helping reframe its economic and social importance.

…read more

https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/25/vcs-and-founders-alike-say-investors-should-fold-reproductive-rights-into-esg-standards/

What’s your web3 strategy?

I doubt it’s the first time you’ve been asked that question. It’s been on the lips of a growing number of investors on the hunt for disruptive opportunities blockchain-based technologies can offer.

But for founders looking to foray into the world of decentralization, it’s all too easy to become distracted from core business objectives by shiny new buzzwords emanating from the space.

FOMO is real. If everyone else is doing X, Y or Z, you wonder, then shouldn’t we?

I understand that pressure. As the founder of an infrastructure project that has been around since 2016, I want to remind you that web3 isn’t just a drop-down menu of features to be bolted on to your project. It’s a transformational ethos that should be the cornerstone of what you’re looking to build.

My message here is simple: Focus on the basics, and don’t allow yourself to get distracted by the hype.

I’d like to offer some insights into how to build a strong project that can tap into the enormous power and potential of web3.

If you aren’t addressing a problem, you’ve got a problem

A successful web3 company, project or DAO starts with a clear-eyed view of the use case (or cases) blockchain equips them to serve in a way that was not possible before, and how they can change the game for a problem.

Until you’re satisfied you really have identified both a well-defined pain point and a compelling solution, you’re unlikely to convince users to beat a path to your door.

Once you’ve identified the problem or need you plan to address, drill a little deeper. What is the functionality that web3 can bring to the party? Blockchain is at its most powerfully disruptive when it supplies the missing link.

For instance:

• Does a global, permissionless, digital money layer change the game?
• Will access to a shared, open, data layer make your offering more attractive than if you hoard the data in a proprietary database?
• Does the ability to make users collective owners in the platform’s success give you an advantage over Web 2.0 incumbents?
• Can you bootstrap one side (or both sides) of a marketplace through in-protocol incentives?
• Can web3 primitives such as NFTs, on-chain credentialing, crowdfunding and wallet-based-identity enable an experimental experience for users?

If the problem you’re solving can benefit from one of these uniquely web3 value propositions, then you are probably on to something interesting!

…read more

https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/25/an-actionable-framework-for-founders-bridging-into-web3/

This wasn’t a story you were expecting to read today, nor was it one I was expecting to write. Heck, judging from their interviews on the subject, it’s probably fair to say the team of mechanical engineers at Rice University weren’t expecting for their work to take them down this path, either.

And yet, here we all are, discussing dead spiders as “necrobotic grippers.”

In what may well be a case of bio-inspired robotics gone too far, the researchers are exploring how the dead arachnids can double as a robotic gripper using hydraulic pressure.

Spiders use blood pressure to move their legs. When they die, their hearts stop beating, causing them to lose that hydraulic pressure. This is why they curl up into a ball when they die. Turns out pairing them with a syringe full of air makes for a handy off-the-shelf robotic gripper.

“This area of soft robotics is a lot of fun because we get to use previously untapped types of actuation and materials,” Assistant Professor of Engineering Daniel Preston says in a release. “The spider falls into this line of inquiry. It’s something that hasn’t been used before but has a lot of potential.”

That potential includes microelectronics assembly, according to Preston. It’s honestly tough to imagine anyone selling dead wolf spiders at scale, but they’re surprisingly robust, going through around 1,000 open-close cycles before their joints start to break down. Though that could potentially be addressed by adding a polymeric coating to the biodegradable system.

Interestingly (not that the whole thing isn’t uniquely interesting), the smaller the spider, the more it’s able to lift proportionally to its own weight.

Image Credits: Rice University

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https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/25/dead-spiders-natures-robot-hands/

Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

Alex and Grace are back to cover the biggest and most interesting technology, startup and markets news. Sitting as we are on the precipice of a huge data dump, we had lots to chat through!

• Stocks are mixed around the world, while cryptos sell off modestly after some recovery gains. In general, the value of securities is down in recent weeks and months, and now, frankly, quarters.
• This is Earnings Week: Yes, friends, get ready to hear from Alphabet and Amazon and Meta and Microsoft and Apple. The Big Five are reporting this week, providing us with a glimpse into the health of a host of businesses. Recall that we have seen major tech companies slow their pace of hiring lately, perhaps a harbinger of the (meager) feast to come?
• Cartona is building something neat in Egypt, TechCrunch reports. And there is still venture capital money flowing in China despite, you know, all the stuff going on there.
• Zomato is sinking, Voyager is biting the hand that wants to feed it at least a little, and it turns out that the grocery delivery war is only heating up.

No live show this week, just three episodes! Hang in there we got you!

…read more

https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/25/why-you-have-to-pay-attention-to-the-public-markets-this-week/

Chartbeat, a website that tells publishers about their readers, is getting the private equity treatment.

Launched out of Betaworks in 2009, the service offered real-time analytics back when Google Analytics made you wait 24 hours to see who was clicking around your site. Eons later, private equity firm Cuadrilla Capital has swooped in to buy it, Chartbeat chief executive John Saroff said on Twitter today. The CEO added that Chartbeat’s staff, including leadership, will stick around following the deal.

Axios, which broke the news, reports the deal will let Chartbeat “build a suite of products that help media companies grow their businesses, in addition to helping shape their editorial strategies.” Ah, yes, private equity — the institution known for helping media companies grow.

Betaworks is headquartered in New York, and known for its early investments in Twitter and Tumblr, and for incubating services like Giphy and Bit.ly.

Since launching last year, Santa Barbara-based Cuadrilla has snapped up two other data firmsAgilence and InfoDesk.

…read more

https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/25/private-equity-vulture-chartbeat/

During Hall H’s presentation at Comic-Con this Saturday, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced “Daredevil: Born Again,” a new series for Disney+ that stars Charlie Cox as Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio as Kingpin. “Born Again” will get an 18-episode first season and will stream on Disney+ in the spring of 2024.

It’s unclear at this time who else will be cast in the series, but it would be nice to see Deborah Ann Woll reprising her role as Karen Page.

The announcement will be a relief to some fans who were disappointed after Netflix canceled “Daredevil” in 2018.

Known as The Man Without Fear, Cox first portrayed the title character on Netflix for three seasons and a total of 39 episodes. The series cancellation was due to Disney pulling back rights to film and television projects licensed to Netflix. The streamer had no choice but to pull the plug on all Marvel titles like “Luke Cage” and “Iron Fist,” which moved to Disney+ in March.

Netflix is currently in need of strong shows after losing an astounding 970,000 subscribers this quarter.

News that Disney had plans to revive “Daredevil” was first reported in May. Erik Olsen, the showrunner for the Netflix series, celebrated the news on Twitter, praising the cast and fanbase as some of the best ever.

It was also reported over the weekend that Cox may voice the title character in Disney+’s upcoming animated series “Spider-Man: Freshman Year.” Plus, the actor made an appearance as the attorney/crimefighter in the recent trailer for “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.”

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe approaches the end of its Phase 4, Marvel announced that Phase 5 will be known as “The Multiverse Saga.” Fans will get “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” as the last Phase 4 film.

With Phase 5, Marvel will release “Blade,” “Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3,” “Secret Invasion,” “Agatha: Coven of Chaos,” “Ironheart,” “Echo,” “Thunderbolts,” “Captain America: New World Order,” “The Marvels,” and “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.” Disney+ will also get a second season of “Loki.” The new “Daredevil series is a part of Phase 5.

Phase 6 will include “Fantastic Four,” “Avengers: Secret Wars,” and “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.”

…read more

https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/25/disney-revives-daredevil-after-netflix-canceled-it-four-years-ago/

Tons of capital has been raised across the crypto industry in recent months, but there has been a noticeable pause in deployment. That might change in the coming months.

As it’s taken longer to close crypto VC deals, valuations across the industry have dropped, according to David Nage, venture capital portfolio manager at Arca.

Some VCs are taking advantage of this time as the market remains investor-friendly, while others are waiting just a bit longer to push out capital.

“There’s been this kind of viral dialogue that sometime around September, valuations are gonna come down even more significantly and it’s just gonna be a frenzy,” Nage said.

Even though there might be a waiting game happening right now, the total amount of capital going into crypto is still up from the year-ago period. Capital raised in the digital asset sector rose nearly 35% from $6.08 billion during the second quarter of 2021 to $8.13 billion in the second quarter of 2022, according to data compiled on PitchBook.

…read more

https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/25/crypto-valuations-may-sink-until-september-as-vcs-play-a-waiting-game/

Meta announced today that creators on Facebook can now earn money through their Facebook videos that use licensed music. The company is launching “Music Revenue Sharing” to allow video creators to include licensed music in their videos on Facebook and earn a share of in-stream ad revenue. The company says this opens up a new way for both creators and music rights holders to earn money. Although creators have been able to use licensed music in videos, they haven’t been able to monetize them until now.

With this new feature, whenever a creator uses licensed music in their videos on Facebook that are 60 seconds or longer, they can earn money on certain videos through in-stream ads. Creators will receive 20% revenue share on eligible videos, with a separate share going to rights holders and to Meta, though the company declined to share specifics.

Meta says Facebook Reels are not eligible for monetization through Music Revenue Sharing at this time. It’s possible that the company may expand Music Revenue Sharing to Reels in the future.

To be eligible for Music Revenue Sharing, creators must be eligible for in-stream ads and meet Facebook’s monetization eligibility standards.​ The featured song used in a video must also be part of the Licensed Music library, which contains all eligible songs for Music Revenue Sharing. Eligible songs include popular songs from artists like Post Malone, Tove Lo, Grupo La Cumbia, Leah Kate and Bicep, among others. Lastly, Meta notes that there must also be a visual component in the video and that the licensed music itself cannot be the primary purpose of the video.

Creators can identify the eligible songs that have been approved for monetization through Music Revenue Sharing by accessing the Licensed Music library within Creator Studio.

Once you upload your video to your Facebook page, you’ll see a notification within Creator Studio and your Support Inbox notifying you if the song is eligible for Music Revenue sharing. When the video is published to your Page, you’ll receive a notification confirming that your video is earning and sharing revenue. Creators can monitor their progress on expected earnings from in-stream ads in Creator Studio.

Music Revenue Sharing will start rolling out today to video creators globally, Meta says. To start, eligible videos will monetize from in-stream ads in the United States and will then expand to the rest of the world where music is available on Facebook in the coming months. Meta also says it will continue to work with its music partners to expand the Licensed Music library to include more licensed songs. The company also plans to build out more ways for people to share and connect through videos on Facebook.

Meta says this feature is made possible by Rights Manager, a video, audio and image-matching tool developed at Meta that is designed to help content owners protect their rights and manage their content.