Playruo lets you try game demos from your web browser

It’s still unclear whether cloud gaming will ever become the next big thing. The appeal is clear: The game you’re playing runs in a data center near you, and the video output is directly streamed to your local device. When you interact with the game, everything is relayed back to the data center. When it […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

With Easel, ex-Snap researchers are building the next-generation Bitmoji thanks to AI

Easel is a new startup that sits at the intersection of the generative AI and social trends, founded by two former employees at Snap. The company has been working on an app that lets you create images of yourself and your friends doing cool things directly from your favorite iMessage conversations. There’s a reason why […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Retro, an actually good photo-sharing app for BFFs, launches collaborative journals

As big social apps are optimizing for maximum engagement using algorithmic feeds and personalized content recommendations, Retro wants to go in the opposite direction: The company is launching a new feature called journals. It’s a flexible way to share photos with your favorite people and create visual records of whatever matters in your life. So […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Business planning startup Pigment raises $145 million round in rare French tech megaround

Paris-based startup Pigment has raised a $145 million funding round just five years after its inception. The enterprise software company offers a business planning platform so that large companies can visualize their past financial performance and forecast upcoming quarters. This funding round comes as a bit of a surprise as large rounds have been few […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

After reaching profitability, carpooling platform BlaBlaCar secures $108 million debt line

BlaBlaCar is an iconic name in the French startup ecosystem. The carpooling and bus ticketing company has been around for so long that it’s hard to consider it a startup anymore. Still, BlaBlaCar is an extremely interesting company today due to its unique trajectory. What started as a scrappy online hitchhiking community became a startup […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

This startup believes mobile apps for businesses should work more like consumer apps

Have you noticed the massive gap between consumer and business apps on your phone? While consumer apps are both beautifully designed and easy to use, business apps are simply painful to use. A European startup is developing a suite of B2B apps that are designed for mobile first because phones have become the main computers […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

900.care sells waterless personal care products and lets you add tap water at home

Here’s the harsh truth behind personal care products: you’re mostly buying water and plastics. The main ingredient in a bottle of shampoo or shower gel is water, and by far. It is mixed with a bunch of active ingredients. And because it’s a “pre-mixed” product, companies spend a lot of money on plastic bottles to […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

DOJ claims green bubbles are an issue in iPhone monopoly suit

The United States Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple earlier today. The suit touches on several (allegedly) anticompetitive practices. But one category in particular caught our attention as the DOJ spends quite a bit of time talking about “green bubbles” and “blue bubbles.” When an iPhone user sends a message to another […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Silence is an early stage climate tech VC fund with $35 million

Silence wants to shake things up when it comes to climate tech investment. This new angel-style VC firm has already raised $35 million and plans to make dozens of small investments in climate startups to help them apply the tech startup playbook. The Silence team is led by Borja Moreno de los Rios who acts […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.

Pelikan Mobility is building a software-enabled commercial EV leasing solution

Chances are you may have noticed that many commercial vehicles are now electric vehicles — think about delivery vans, telecom minivans, utility maintenance trucks, etc. But there are still many diesel-powered commercial vehicles because it’s simply too expensive and too complicated to switch to an all electric vehicle fleet overnight. That’s why Pelikan Mobility has been […]

© 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only.