Generative AI search engine startup You.com adds multimodal chat • TechCrunch

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Always want to know more about where to shop but have trouble knowing how? The Fifteen Percent Pledge for Racial Equity and Economic Justice is a non-profit organization working to bring about a more just economic future. Recognizing that black people in America make up nearly 15% of the total population, the pledge calls on major retailers and corporations to give at least 15% of their annual purchasing power to black-owned businesses – you can find the prominent ones here. .

– Christine And came

TechCrunch’s Top 3

• Is there room for another search engine?: You.com seems to think so. Ron The company writes that it aims to provide the right answer to the question beyond text, following Google and Microsoft in multimodal chat search. For example, if you’re asking about a stock price, it will show you a stock chart, not just a text-based answer.
• Tesla on every drivewayThe Biden administration has another partner to help build electric vehicle chargers across the United States: Kirsten Tesla has reportedly agreed to double its Supercharger network and make it open to all EVs. Yes, we’ve heard this before, but hopefully we’ll see it now.
• Anything to move the needle: Kyle He writes that it may seem strange for a developer-focused company to have so much startup capital in this economy. However, one company’s challenging environment is another company’s windfall. Passwordless authentication startup Deskop has raised $53 million in a round, the company’s founder and CEO Slavik Markovic said as companies change their software development strategies to free up their development teams for other opportunities.

Startups and VCs

According to former employees of the staffing startup’s freelance agency, CEO Sherveen Mashayekhi’s leadership style seems more concerned with demanding loyalty and controlling employees than building a company that is holding the startup back. Becca Reports. The New York-based startup launched in 2019, bringing the talent agency model popular in Hollywood and sports to other professions.

Although there are many dating apps on the market, there aren’t many apps that aim to keep the spark alive once you’re in a relationship. Aisha He writes about Flamme, which he wants to change when he is summoned again (from Sparks) and adds a new AI weapon.

And we have five more for you:

In the run to Series B, strategy is more important than metrics.

If all goes well, the money raised in Series A will have enough time to generate steady income. But not everything is good.

SaaS founders are under pressure to maintain a runway while maintaining growth and achieving profitability, but these goals are not contradictory, say Ophelia Brown and Imran Ghori at Blossom Capital.

“Forget planning your business based on metrics from the past decade,” they write. “We Live in a New World Order” In this article, he takes on three questions that face every software startup:

• How angry should we grow this year?
• How should we plan our expenses?
• How should we think about runway and capital protection?

Three more from the TC+ team:

TechCrunch+ Our membership program helps founders and startup teams stay ahead of the pack. You can register here.. Use code “DC” for 15% off annual subscription!

Big Tech Inc.

Sprinklr, the customer experience company, will further reduce its global workforce – this time by 4% – with a company spokesperson confirming that it is a “strategic business decision” affecting employees in some targeted regions, departments and support functions. Jagmet He wrote.

Meanwhile, Adobe’s proposed $20 billion acquisition of Figma continues to draw fans. The European Commission will review the agreement Paul He uses the word “review” more precisely to ensure that he does not take away the competition in any market.

And we have five more for you:

• Nothing but breadcrumbs here.: Arya According to Intuitive Machines’ post-SPAC filing, Moon Technology completed the merger with less cash than originally thought, thanks to shareholders.
• Mikey loves it.Roblox stock soared 25 percent after reporting strong fourth-quarter earnings, proving that kids love the “metaverse,” not “this” universe. Sarah He wrote.
• Don’t make me leave the app: Google has some new features to make in-app browsing better on Android, including automatically saving passwords and other details without leaving the app. Ivan Reports.
• Shop till it drops: Instacart has new features for its shoppers, including to earn more and have a more flexible schedule; Aisha He wrote.
• Getting out of the buzz sawIn an effort to cut costs while managing activist pressure, Salesforce has unveiled some harsh new policies for engineers and salespeople. Ron It has more.