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Terra Drone said today it has raised $14 million in Series C funding from Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, marking the VC firm’s first investment in Asia.  The Japan-headquartered company, which builds drone software, hardware and uncrewed aircraft traffic management software, said the new capital brings its total raised to $97 […] Japan’s Terra Drone gets $14M lift from Saudi investors by Kate Park originally published on TechCrunch... →

Asteroid mining startup AstroForge will head to space twice this year, as it attempts to do what no other company has been able to before: unlock the potentially limitless value of precious minerals in deep space. When TechCrunch covered AstroForge’s seed round last April, we noted that the company was planning a demonstration mission sometime […] Asteroid mining startup AstroForge will test its metal refinery tech in space this year by Aria Alamalhodaei originally published on TechCrunch... →

Tesla is investing $3.6 billion into expanding its existing gigafactory in Nevada. Confirming White House reports from earlier today, the company said it will build two new production facilities in the state — a 100-gigawatt-hour battery cell factory and Tesla’s first high-volume Semi truck factory. Taking up a combined 4 million square feet of space, […] Tesla invests $3.6B in two new Nevada factories to build Semis and cells by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch... →

Hello, friends, and welcome to Daily Crunch, bringing you the most important startup, tech and venture capital news in a single package. Daily Crunch: Hackers pinched LastPass customers’ encrypted password vaults, parent company admits by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch... →

Pegasus Tech Ventures, a Silicon Valley-headquartered venture capital firm that helps corporations invest in startups, said it has set up a $100 million fund with Japanese chemical and life science company Denka.  Denka, a 107-year-old firm, is the sole limited partner of the newly established corporate venture capital fund and in line with its 2030 […] Chemical giant Denka dives into VC with $100 fund managed by Pegasus Tech by Kate Park originally published on TechCrunch... →

One of the most remarkable things about construction robotics is the sheer breadth of tasks that can potentially be automated. As I’ve noted before, the entire category is a prime target for robotics startups, given that it fills all of the big Ds of automation — dull, dirty and (quite often) dangerous. It’s also one […] Built buys fellow construction robotics firm, Roin by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch... →

Waymo, the self-driving technology unit under Alphabet, quietly laid off workers Monday, according to The Information and several posts on LinkedIn and Blind. The cuts at the autonomous vehicle company follow a swell of layoffs at Alphabet and Google late last week. It’s not yet clear how many of Waymo’s staff will be affected, and […] Waymo lays off staff as Alphabet announces 12,000 job cuts by Rebecca Bellan originally published on TechCrunch... →

YouTube announced today that it’s partnering with Arizona State University and educational video company Crash Course to launch a new program that enables students to earn college credit. The Google-owned company says the new program, which is called College Foundations, is designed to create an affordable and accessible way to earn college credit. Starting today, […] YouTube unveils new program that enables students to earn college credits by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch... →

Less than a year after assuming the role, All Raise CEO Mandela SH Dixon has stepped down from her position at the nonprofit. The entrepreneur, who previously ran Founder Gym, an online training center for underrepresented founders, said in a blog post that the decision was made after she realized “being in the field working […] All Raise CEO steps down again by Natasha Mascarenhas originally published on TechCrunch... →

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...... →

Major crypto companies have laid off employees, which is giving startups the opportunity to snatch up new talent. Crypto recruiters see opportunity to snatch up talent amid Big Tech layoffs by Jacquelyn Melinek originally published on TechCrunch... →

Last week, the video game giant Riot Games revealed that hackers had compromised its “development environment”— where the company stores its source code — with a social engineering attack. While the company reassured its users that “there is no indication that player data or personal information was obtained,” the hack could still be damaging, as […] Riot Games hack could help cheaters by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai originally published on TechCrunch... →

TechCrunch Live is back! I’m thrilled to bring this event series back for its third season. We’re booked for months, and I’m delighted to host the upcoming guests. Join us for our first episode with Benchmark and Cambly taking place on February 1, 2023 at 11:30am PT / 2:30pm ET.  TCL’s mission is still to […] Hear how Cambly found profits after failing to raise a Series A on TechCrunch Live by Matt Burns originally published on TechCrunch... →

“May I suggest respectfully that Ticketmaster ought to look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the problem, it’s me,'” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said on the Senate floor Tuesday, referencing Taylor Swift’s latest hit “Anti-Hero.” In a hearing on consumer protection and competition in live entertainment, senators grilled Live Nation CFO and president Joe Berchtold […] Senate questions Live Nation president amid Taylor Swift ticketing debacle by Amanda Silberling originally published on TechCrunch... →

The final report from the government’s National AI Research Resource recommends a new, multi-billion-dollar research organization to improve the capabilities and accessibility of the field to U.S. scientists. The document presents “a roadmap and implementation plan for a national cyberinfrastructure aimed at overcoming the access divide, reaping the benefits of greater brainpower and more diverse […] Task force proposes new federal AI research outfit with $2.6B in funding by Devin Coldewey originally publis... →

A number of consumer advocacy groups have a problem with Walmart’s entry into the metaverse. The online retailer last fall announced the launch of two new virtual worlds on Roblox, “Walmart Land” and “Universe of Play,” aimed at engaging the next generation of shoppers. The experiences allow Roblox users to play games featuring toys and […] Consumer advocacy groups want Walmart’s Roblox game audited for ‘stealth marketing’ to kids by Sarah Perez originally published on TechCrunch... →

Amazon made headlines this month when the company began to work through its long-rumored 18,000 job cuts. Going, too, are a number of products and strategies as the company right-sizes for the current state of the economy, the market’s attitude to tech stocks and the current landscape as dictated by its competitors and would-be rivals. […] Alexa Fund’s Paul Bernard talks OpenAI, what’s catching his eye and remaining relevant as Amazon restructures by Ingrid Lunden originally published on TechCrunch... →

The crypto gaming industry may look outside of tokenomics to grow and sustain itself for the long haul. Web3 gaming needs to focus on sustainable economies, Immutable co-founder says by Jacquelyn Melinek originally published on TechCrunch... →

Honda is establishing a division dedicated to the development of electric vehicles and other electrical products including storage and generation, the company said on Tuesday (via Reuters). The Japanese automaker somewhat lags the rest of the market when it comes to EVs to date. Last year, Honda announced expansive plans to electrify its lineup, including […] Honda is setting up a dedicated EV division by Darrell Etherington originally published on TechCrunch... →

It’s a tough time to be a richly priced company that didn’t go public when the getting was good. Not only are there fewer later-stage players with the resources and appetite to support such companies — SoftBank and Tiger Global have pulled back dramatically, for example — but even secondary investors have lost interest. That’s […] Opportunistic investors are giving up on aging pre-IPO companies, shows a new report by Connie Loizos originally published on TechCrunch... →