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It’s great to have you back with us as the TechCrunch train continues to rumble along the tracks. It’s going to be an exciting and busy week, so let’s dive right in with the news! – Christine And came
TechCrunch’s Top 3
- To find out lastVDL, the maker of the popular media player VLC, has sent legal notices to some Indian ministries for blocking its website without notifying the company. Manish It has more.
- “The next Mark Zuckerberg?“: Two Stanford dropouts created Fizz, which Amanda It describes it as an “anonymous, college-only, Reddit-like social app” that helps you stay connected when your alternative dating options fail.
- Here it is, here it is!Google iOS 16 has rolled out lock screen widgets that allow users to place widgets on the iPhone’s lock screen. Sarah He wrote.
Startups and VCs
John Curtius, an accomplished Tiger Global senior partner who has been at the center of some of the firm’s biggest deals over the past several years, has left the firm. Ingrid He wrote. He goes on to start his own firm that focuses on Series A to Series C investments. Curtius will remain with the Tigers until June.
In broad strokes, the circular economy represents a major shift in how humans make and use things. Instead of primarily collecting raw materials to produce goods that burn or end up in oceans or landfills, the circular economy offers an option where things are intentionally reused, repaired and reused. Harry Google reports that a new online-only startup is centered around the mysterious circular economy. The effort is Google’s latest to help local startups grow by tying in with its cloud products.
In other news:
The edtech honeymoon may be over, but expect a second boom
Image Credits: Daniel Grizelj (Opens in a new window) / Getty Images
After the pandemic pushed students at all levels into distance learning, the edtech sector saw record levels of investment — until the public markets began to cool several months ago.
“That said, it’s important to remember that the market cap represents a fraction of the overall edtech sector,” said Carla Napoliao, DelRum edtech analyst and Rhys Spence, head of research at Brighteye Ventures.
In a detailed report that studies both public and private markets, the duo looked at global deal flow, subsectors such as K-12 and corporate education, and recent M&A activity.
“Edtech still has deep and untapped potential. The markets may have slowed down, but it won’t be long until momentum returns.
But wait, there’s more!
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Big Tech Inc.
Aren’t you glad you came here? It’s Elon Musk Day. It was the biggest story. ConnieHis account of Mr. Musk and his comments on a peace plan for the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war may not have been taken the way he intended. Then today, surprisingly, Amanda Musk wrote that he would go through with the deal to buy Twitter at his current initial offer of $54.20. Representatives filed a notice with the SEC. That news sent the company’s shares up more than $47 from the open to nearly $43.
We had fun in the middle of it. Brian‘s Q&A with new Kickstarter CEO Everett Taylor, who has been in the role for less than a week and is already hitting the ground running.
Here are five more for you:
