Robotaxis moved into the fast lane in 2025
This year turned out to be a pretty big year for autonomous vehicles. Waymo is the leader in the robotaxi race and over the last year, its signature Jaguar electric vehicles have become a common sight on the streets and recently freeways of cities around the country.
Companies like Uber and Zooks have expanded their fleets to several metropolitan areas. And Tesla finally rolled out its cybercab service in a limited capacity in Austin.
Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke to Kirsten Korosec, transportation editor at TechCrunch, about how the robotaxi became a common fixture on city streets this year.
The Sora 2 Breakthrough, Death Of The Creator Economy?, Apple’s SmartGlasses Roadmap
Max Zeff, Sr. AI reporter at Techcrunch, joins for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) OpenAI introduces Sora 2 2) Will these AI video feeds catch on? 3) Is Sora 2 an important technological advance above all? 4) Why Meta is nervous about OpenAI's momentum in social 5) OpenAI employees have mixed feelings about Sora 6) Why AI video feeds may be the end of the creator economy. 7) Why they may not be 8) Meta will use AI chats to train its ad models 9) Meta's AI research moves more toward product development 10) Anthropic launches its Sonnet 4.5 model 11) Apple prioritizes smart glasses 12) Max tries out the Friend pendant
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429: ‘Weird Turtle Fake Out’, With Matthew Panzarino
Matthew Panzarino returns to the show. Topics include 007 logo creator Joe Caroff’s death at 103, Google’s weird “Made by Google” event hosted by Jimmy Fallon, the UK supposedly dropping its demand for an iCloud encryption backdoor, and Apple’s workaround for the Apple Watch blood oxygen sensor patent stalemate.
Sponsored by:
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Transcripts: Unofficial but surprisingly good.
Links:
The Obsessor — Matthew’s excellent still-pretty-new blog.
Joe Caroff, Designer of the James Bond 007 Logo, Dies at 103.
Jeff Bezos Reportedly “Obsessed” With Casting Wife Lauren Sánchez In Major Role In Amazon MGM’s New “James Bond”.
Victoria Song: “The Made by Google event felt like being sucked into an episode of Wandavision”.
Tulsi Gabbard Says the U.K. Government Has Backed Down From Its Demand for an iCloud Backdoor.
Biden Justice Department downplayed UK demand for an iCloud backdoor.
Apple Issues a Workaround for the Blood Oxygen Sensor Ban for U.S. Apple Watches.
Masimo Sues US Customs Over Ruling Permitting Apple’s Patent Workaround.
“John Oliver Talks T-Shirt Cannons and Slashfics as He Hosts the 2012 Crunchies”.
This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.
394: ‘An Impossible Balcony’, With Matthew Panzarino
Matthew Panzarino -- proprietor of the excellent new website/newsletter The Obsessor -- returns to the show to talk about -- what else? -- the Vision Pro.
Sponsored by:
Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order.
AdBlock Pro: Block ads in Safari on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Links:
My review of the Vision Pro.
Techmeme's roundup of reviews.
The Obsessor.
TipTop.
The Atari 400, with the most craptacular keyboard I've ever used.
This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.
Tech Earnings Breakdown: $UBER, $LYFT, $KIND with TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm | E1845
This Week in Startups is brought to you by…
NetSuite. Once your business gets to a certain size the cracks start to emerge. Things you used to do in a day take a week. You deserve a customized solution - and that's NetSuite. Learn more when you download NetSuite’s popular KPI Checklist - absolutely free, at NetSuite.com/twist
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Arising Ventures is a holding company that acquires tech startups facing setbacks. Arising Ventures knows what founders care about because they aren’t bankers, they are tech founders themselves! Go to http://arisingventures.com/TWIST
*
Today’s show:
TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm joins Jason to break down the latest earnings reports from Uber (4:04), Lyft (24:28), and Nextdoor (44:15). Then, the two dive into WeWork's failed business model (1:01:44), the viability of various careers as AI advances (38:33), and much more!
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Time stamps:
(0:00) Tech Crunch’s Alex Wilhelm joins Jason
(4:04) Uber’s earning report
(7:04) Pirate cut-throat mentality analogy and the money-ball system
(10:11) NetSuite - Download your free KPI Checklist at http://www.netsuite.com/twist
(11:12) Did the press get Uber’s Earnings report right?
(17:39) Uber and the J-Curve
(20:29) Miro - Sign up for a free account at https://www.miro.com/startups
(22:17) Uber, China, and DiDi
(23:14) ZIRP environment playbook to own a market
(24:28) Lyft gets a participation trophy
(25:22) Comparing Lyft to Uber’s Revenue (Quarterly)
(27:53) Labor availability
(31:05) Arising Ventures - head to http://www.arisingventures.com/TWIST to learn more and connect with the team
(32:15) Immigration policy and a record-low unemployment
(37:37) The underground economy
(38:33) AI effects on unemployment
(39:12) Let’s build new cities!
(44:15) NextDoor earnings
(55:34) A case for hiring remotely
(59:13) Combining remote work with the power of AI
(1:01:44) Clip from TWiST E969 with Alex about WeWork
(1:04:22) Earnings “supplements”
(1:07:35) When Alex discovered business as a youth
(1:14:18) A South Park clip!
*
Check out TWiST E969: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM1DDVq3_vs
Follow Alex: https://twitter.com/alex
*
Read LAUNCH Fund 4 Deal Memo: https://www.launch.co/four
Apply for Funding: https://www.launch.co/apply
Buy ANGEL: https://www.angelthebook.com
Great 2023 interviews: Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland
Check out Jason’s suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis
*
Follow Jason:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jason
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jason
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis
*
Follow TWiST:
Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin
The whole venture merry-go-round is decelerating
This week, Mary Ann and Alex had the pleasure of having TC reporter extraordinaire Dominic Madori-Davis as a guest on the show.
Here’s what we got into:
A quick update on the SBF trial, which quite frankly, has us all riveted.
An Atlanta-based fintech startup called Rainforest’s $8.25M equity raise and how it is hoping to take market share away from the likes of Stripe.
A bunch of new fund raises this week, including At One’s $375M climate-focused raise; Section 32’s $525M fund close and Greylock’s $1 billion haul.
With so much capital flowing to VCs, it is more than a little mind-boggling that venture funding declined for yet another quarter in the three-month period ending September 30. But it did.
Dom came on to talk about Fearless Fund’s being barred from awarding grants to Black women founders and how how data can help improve social impact investing.
Equity is back next week bright and early on Monday. And we have a lot of really cool interviews coming up. So make sure that you are tuned in and caught up!
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
385: ‘Who’s Heef?’, With Matthew Panzarino
Matthew Panzarino returns to the show to talk about the new iPhones 15.
Sponsored by:
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Links:
My thoughts on Apple’s event.
My review of the iPhones 15 Pro.
Matthew’s photo-centric review from Disneyland.
My interview with Phil Schiller at WWDC 2015: “THE top camera company.”.
Matthew’s interview with Niley Patel on Decoder, looking back at his 10 years at TechCrunch.
Lisa Jackson on The Talk Show, back in April 2017.
This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.
After 10 years covering startups, former TechCrunch EIC Matthew Panzarino tells us what's next
TechCrunch is one of the most important trade publications in the world of tech and startups, and its annual Disrupt conference is where dozens of major companies have launched… and some have failed.
Matt has been the editor-in-chief of TechCrunch for essentially a decade now, and he and I have been both friends and competitors the entire time. We’ve competed for scoops, traded criticisms, and asked each other for advice in running our publications and managing our teams.
So when Matt announced last month that he’s stepping down from his role at TechCrunch it felt important to have him come on for what you might call an exit interview — a look back at the past decade running a media outlet at the center of the tech ecosystem, with all of the chaos that’s entailed.
Links:
Why We Sold TechCrunch To AOL, And Where We Go From Here | TechCrunch (2010)
TechCrunch founder leaves AOL in a cloud of acrimony | CNN Money (2011)
SB Nation Sacks AOL in Raid of Former Engadget Team for Competing New Tech Site, As AOL Zeroes in on New EiC | All Things D (2011)
Why Every Company Needs A 'No Bozos' Policy | Forbes (2012)
Artificial Intelligence Nonprofit OpenAI Launches With Backing From Elon Musk And Sam Altman | TechCrunch
Just buy this Brother laser printer everyone has, it’s fine | The Verge
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Nick Statt and Kate Cox. It was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What’s more venture capital than space lasers?
This week, we brought TechCrunch+ senior climate reporter Tim De Chant on to talk climate tech, hardware breakthroughs, and why we have a whole stage this year at Disrupt focused on sustainability.
On that last point, perhaps you have gone outside recently. Extreme weather around the world, warming oceans, fires — it's a mess out there. That's the bad news. The good news is that a number of startups are working hard to build new technologies that could shoothe our struggling planet. And perhaps make a lot of money in the process.
Here's what we got into on the show:
Climate tech venture capital activity. Why aren't we seeing more capital despite some interesting activity.
The question of fusion. Is it really around the corner (this time)?
Why we're both excited about potential hardware breakthroughs, even if LK-99 was not the real deal.
Dread about our changing world.
Tim is not only a great journalist, he's also very good at the whole science thing, so he was a treat to talk to!
We're back on Friday for our last recording before we're on stage at Disrupt! Talk soon.
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Maybe we shouldn't sue away DEI in venture
This week, Dominic-Madori Davis came back on the show to chat with Mary Ann and Alex about two of her latest pieces:
A lawsuit targeting a grant program that provided small checks to Black women small-business owners. The context here is that there's a movement in the United States to curtail programs that seek to provide access, or opportunity to underrepresented peoples in business and education. Given venture's somewhat embarrassing investment demographics, we struggled to understand the seeming animus behind the suit.
Some countries are taking a different track, including the United Kingdom. Dom has more on that topic here.
Equity is back on Friday with our weekly news roundup! Talk to you then!
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
Equity drops at 7 a.m. PT every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
380: ‘The M Is for Magnificent’, With Matthew Panzarino
Matthew Panzarino returns to the show for a post-WWDC discussion about Vision Pro and VisionOS.
Sponsored by:
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Links:
Panzarino’s first impressions of Vision Pro.
Yours truly’s.
Lenticular lenses and screens.
James Thomson demoing PCalc running as a native VisionOS app in the SDK simulator.
This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.
Big Tech earnings breakdown w/TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm | E1731
TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm joins Jason to break down the big tech's Q1 earning reports (0:53). They discuss Google's culture of entitlement, Microsoft's AI momentum, Meta's year of efficiency, how Amazon may be in for a few quarters of pain, and Snap's double-digit drop (21:11).
(0:00) Nick kicks off the show
(0:53) TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm joins Jason
(1:23) Reflecting on SVB contagion
(3:48) First Republic Bank and BuzzFeed's stock
(6:16) Uber's profits
(8:23) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://Embroker.com/twist
(9:56) The SF boom/bust
(14:52) More on BuzzFeed
(19:41) Miro - Sign up for a free account at https://miro.com/startups
(21:11) Google's earnings
(25:28) Google's culture of entitlement
(31:40) Integrating ChatGPT into your workflow
(35:47) AI innovation in hospitality
(38:12) Crowdbotics - Get a free scoping session for your next big app idea at http://crowdbotics.com/twist
(39:23) Microsoft's earnings
(43:19) Meta earnings
(54:29) Amazon's earnings
(1:04:08) Snap's earnings
(1:11:34) Thoughts on TikTok
FOLLOW Alex: https://twitter.com/alex
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1
FOUNDERS! Subscribe to the Founder University podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founder-university/id1648407190
Pipe's Co-Founders step down, Apple's China-based iOS update, Black Friday's BNPL boost | E1621
TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm joins to break down the news! First up, the trio covers Pipe's Co-Founders abruptly stepping down (7:06) and the lessons learned. (26:29) Then, they discuss Apple's China-based iOS update impacting AirDrop (40:31) before Alex leaves. J+M finish the show with more thoughts on China and react to Black Friday's ATH sales volume and the BNPL boom. (1:11:01)
(0:00) J+M tee up today's topics and special news guest!
(2:21) J+M catch up on their Thanksgiving breaks with TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm!
(7:06) Intense velocity of notable tech stories, teeing up the Pipe situation
(12:05) LinkedIn Marketing - Get a $100 LinkedIn ad credit at https://linkedin.com/thisweekinstartups
(13:34) Breaking down the Pipe Co-Founders abruptly stepping down
(25:02) Supergut - Get 30% off with code TWIST at https://supergut.com
(26:29) Pipe's expansion into media and crypto, lessons learned from the "speculative asset bubble"
(37:21) Fitbod - Get 25% off at https://fitbod.me/twist
(38:39) Alex on running a subscription-based media business within an ad-based media business
(40:31) Protests in China, Apple's recent China-specific iOS update, which impacting AirDrop
(59:59) J+M wrap with thoughts on China after Alex departs
(1:11:01) Black Friday spending hits an all-time high, BNPL sees huge bump y/y
FOLLOW Alex: https://twitter.com/alex
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood
Subscribe to our YouTube to watch all full episodes:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkkhmBWfS7pILYIk0izkc3A?sub_confirmation=1
$NFLX stops sharing, $SNAP Q2 earnings, $COIN alleged insider trading with Alex Wilhelm | E1517
We have a big news show with a very special guest!
TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm fills in for Jason to break down the news with Molly.
They cover Netflix cracking down on password sharing (2:12), Snap's rough Q2 earnings (6:45), Coinbase's alleged insider trading (21:28), the 3AC Bloomberg interview (36:37), and more!
(0:00) Molly tees up today's news with Alex Wilhelm, who is filling in for Jason!
(2:12) Molly and Alex share thoughts on Netflix cutting password sharing in some Central/South American countries
(6:45) $SNAP Q2 earnings: stock drops ~40% on slowing revenue growth and growing losses
(11:15) Embroker - Use code TWIST to get an extra 10% off insurance at https://Embroker.com/twist
(12:27) Jason's almost-Jay Trade, $SNAP's debt situation, most interesting implications from the week ahead of big tech earnings
(20:12) Odoo - Get your first app free and a $1000 credit at https://odoo.com/twist
(21:28) $COIN's alleged insider trading, Jay Carney getting hired by Airbnb away from Amazon
(35:23) Vanta - Get $1,000 off automating your SOC 2 at https://vanta.com/twist
(36:37) Reacting to the 3AC founders' interview with Bloomberg, crypto contagion due to intermingling
(45:09) Man who lost ~8000+ Bitcoin in a landfill is trying to raise capital to uncover the hard drive
342: ‘Doggy Lake’, With Matthew Panzarino
Matthew Panzarino returns to the show to talk about Apple's new Mac Studio and Studio Display.
Sponsored by:
Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order.
Memberful: Monetize your passion with membership. Start your free trial today.
Backblaze: Backblaze makes backing up and accessing your data astonishingly easy.
Trade Coffee: Incredible coffee delivered fresh from the best roasters in the nation.
Links:
Panzarino’s interview with Apple execs Tom Boger, Shelly Goldberg, and Xander Soren, on the thinking behind the Mac Studio and Studio Display.
TechMeme roundup of Studio Display and Mac Studio Reviews.
Vin Diesel’s masterpiece, “xXx”.
“I want all that, in here.”
This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.
(TWTR SPC) Stonks & Startups With @nmasc_ @Katie_Roof and @ChristineMHall
The great Katie Roof, Natasha Mascarenhas and Christine Hall come on to talk more about the craziness in the stock market and what it might mean for tech startups. Then Chris and I debate The Great Debate surrounding Web3. Shoutout to @randras_ for giving us context, even in the podcast space!
Sponsors:
Wix.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
$TSLA earnings breakdown & 2022 IPOs to watch with TechCrunch's Alex Wilhelm | E1371
Alex Wilhelm from TechCrunch joins Molly and Jason for a full episode. First, they breakdown Tesla's Q4 2021 earnings including its consistently increasing Model 3 production, profitability and charger network growth (3:08). Next up, they discuss why Alex thinks the IPO window is closed for most startups. We wrap with a review of some of 2022's most anticipated IPOs including Discord, Reddit, Stripe, Impossible Foods, Chime and Instacart (24:45).
(00:00) Jason & Molly intro the show
(01:49) Welcoming Alex to the pod
(03:08) Tesla's Q4 2021 earnings
(08:45) Eight Sleep - Go to https://eightsleep.com/twist to check out the Pod Pro Cover and get $150 off at checkout!
(10:14) Tesla's growing supercharger network
(14:34) Comparing valuations and EV offerings of automakers
(19:56) Odoo - Get your first app free and a $1000 credit at https://odoo.com/twist
(20:59) Long distance road trips in EVs
(24:45) Is the IPO window closed?
(30:41) Assure - To get 20% off your first Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) visit https://Assure.co/twist
(32:19) Do public market investors have the ability to stomach speculative companies?
(36:09) Stripe - Potential 2022 IPO
(40:49) Discord - Potential 2022 IPO
(47:46) Reddit - Potential 2022 IPO
(57:33) "Yes, No, IPO" Impossible foods, Instacart, Chime, Gopuff
FOLLOW Alex: https://twitter.com/alex
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
FOLLOW Molly: https://twitter.com/mollywood
323: ‘Skeptical Not Cynical’, With Matthew Panzarino
Matthew Panzarino returns to the show to talk about the new iPhones 13 and their camera systems.
Sponsored by:
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LinkedIn Jobs: Find and hire the right person. Your first job post is free.
Mack Weldon: Radically-efficient wardrobing.
Links:
Panzarino’s iPhone 13 review.
My iPhone 13 review.
Panzarino’s follow-up feature on Cinematic mode, interviewing Apple’s Kaiann Drance and Johnnie Manzari, and my comments thereupon.
A typical good dedicated macro lens: Canon’s $1,300 100mm ƒ/2.8 USM.
‘Float’ — Aundre Larrow’s beautiful short film, shot on an iPhone 13 Pro using Cinematic mode.
Austin Mann’s iPhone 13 Pro camera review, from a safari in Tanzania, and my comments, from my home office in Philadelphia.
From the DF Archive 2007: “iPhone First Impressions”.
This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.
Why bringing you emergency toothpaste could be big business
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.
This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic. This time 'round we took a look into the world of on-demand delivery in Europe, with an especial focus on the so-called "instant" grocery sector, and delivered convenience items. To help Natasha and Danny and Alex get through the subject, we lassoed TechCrunch alum and present-day VP at Zapp, a company in the sector under discussion, Steve O'Hear to chat with us.
We spent time chatting through the following:
Recent news from the sector, including that Turkey's Getir has just raised a bucket of new capital, and that Weezy is looking to exit; the latter item wound up being important we got around to discussing consolidation in the space.
Steve gave us an overview of Zapp, and how its approach to infra could help its economics.
We chatted about GoPuff and its economic fortunes, which in fundraising terms are solid, even if questions regarding future profitability are still in play.
And regarding the ever-present pandemic question, Steve was bullish on consumer behavior staying where it is if -- when? -- the COVID-19 pandemic eventually leaves us.
We are back on Friday! Chat then!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
News! Robinhood/Duolingo IPOs, Big Tech earnings, China & more with TechCrunch’s Alex Wilhelm | E1257
Alex Wilhelm from TechCrunch joins Jason to chop up this week's news. They cover Robinhood & Duolingo's IPOs (3:40), consumer subscription businesses (25:09), Google's growth (28:25), the startup funding landscape (38:51), Amazon (42:46), China's actions against tech (47:35), Apple (1:04:19) & more!
318: ‘Holes in the Blast Door’, With Matthew Panzarino
Matthew Panzarino returns to the show. Topics include: Apple’s new MagSafe Battery Pack, the Amnesty-International-Led exposé of NSO Group’s state-sponsored phone hacking, Safari 15’s controversial new UI and Apple’s response, and a look back at year one of Apple silicon for Macs. Also: pizza.
Sponsored by:
Hello Fresh: America’s #1 Meal Kit
Squarespace: Everything you need to grow online. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order.
Memberful: Monetize your passion with membership.
Linode: Instantly deploy and manage an SSD server in the Linode Cloud. New accounts get a $100 credit.
Links:
Battery Packs:
Apple’s $99 MagSafe Battery Pack
Anker’s $46 PowerCore Magnetic 5K MagSafe-compatible battery pack
Rene Ritchie’s first-look at Apple’s new battery pack
The Amnesty-International-led exposé of NSO Group’s Pegasus phone-hacking capabilities and abuse:
Amnesty’s report
Tweet thread from Citizen Lab’s Bill Marczak
The Washington Post’s report with a clickbait headline
The Guardian’s report
Google’s Project Zero on Apple’s “BlastDoor” sandboxing protection for iMessage introduced in iOS 14
Safari 15’s much-criticized new UIs and Apple’s seeming “we’re listening” reaction:
My take on Safari 15 for iOS and Mac
And a follow-up
Me, on Rene Ritchie’s YouTube show
Jason Snell’s take for Macworld: “a self-inflicted wound but first aid may be on the way”
Miscellaneous:
Valve’s upcoming Steam Deck, a Switch-inspired handheld gaming PC
Brian Heater on Steam Deck for TechCrunch
Moft’s $29 MagSafe credit-card-sized foldable iPhone stand
Ooni gas pizza ovens
Una Pizza Napoletana — the heavenly formerly-in-San-Francisco pizza restaurant where every single pie was made by owner Anthony Mangieri
Una Pizza is now in New Jersey and Mangieri now makes pepperoni pies that sound amazing
This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.
Why expensive workout gear is actually cheap
For this week's deep dive Natasha and Alex wanted to dig into the Tonal EC-1, a huge document spread across a number of posts. Our goals were pretty simple: To better understand Tonal's journey, and also to get into the mind of its author.
So we corralled JP Mangalindan into firing up his computer, microphone, and recording software for a chat. Here's what we covered:
What is Tonal, why is it interesting, and why did JP spend so much time learning about the company?
What did he have to leave out of the final report?
His views on fitness gear, and the Peloton effect more broadly
What was it like to write something so gosh darn long?
The Tonal EC-1 comprises four main articles representing about 10,600 words and a reading time of about 43 minutes:
How a homegrown experiment became one of the fastest-growing companies in fitness tech
Millions of dollars and 3.5 years, and it all came down to this
Building online communities for fun, profit and product
Can Tonal become the luxury fitness market champion?
As Natasha is currently -- shh, it's a secret -- working on an EC-1 of her own, we had more than a usual amount of interest in the project. Use code Equity for a super sweet discount to access this story and all of our premium content.
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Introducing: Found
For this week’s deep dive, the Equity team sat down not with external investors or founders, but with two of our own. Yes, this week, for the first time Natasha and Alex got to break a little internal news instead of focusing on the world outside.
Why did we have Jordan Crook and Darrell Etherington on the show? Because we're jazzed to add a second startups-focused podcast to a slowly but surely growing TC podcast network: Found. Found lands April 9, so tune in! The show will focus on talking to early-stage founders about building their company, from the emotional rollercoaster moments to tactical insights no one tells you until you've raised your first dollar.
Equity will keep its eyes on the news, with extra attention to all the dollar signs that are to be found in startup-land and the venture capital world. At the same time, Found will bring a number of startup founders aboard to talk about the more human, and procedural work of building the next great tech company.
We hope you love a new show from our friends as much as we do, and remember Equity will be back on Friday with news, banter, and fun soon. In the meantime, here's where you can find Found:
Spotify
@Found on twitter
Chat soon!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
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$100 million for mealworms
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the number behind the headlines.
This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down and focus on a single topic, or theme. This week we're talking agtech, a surprisingly cool bit of the technology startup world. But Chris and Danny and Natasha and Alex were not alone in their quest to take a look into agtech, we brought alone TechCrunch climate editor Jon Shieber for the ride.
With his help we got through a number of pretty damn interesting things, including:
SESO Labor raising $4.5 million to help farms secure the labor they need, and navigate the American immigration system.
Future Acres looking to raise $3 million for its farming robots. And Farmwise, which last raised $14.5 million and has an idea regarding how to rent robot labor to farms.
We also chatted about Anuvia's epic $103 million raise that could help boost farm yields while cutting carbon emissions.
And Better Origin, which wants to help farmers raise flies to feed to chickens. Which we had a few ideas about.
And that's that! We're back on Friday with our long-form, newsy episode. Thanks to everyone checking out our newest show. Oh, and don't forget about TechCrunch Early Stage and TechCrunch Justice. They are going to rock.
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
SpaceX is really just SPAC and an ex
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.
This is our first-ever Wednesday episode. If you want to learn more about the latest edition of the podcast, head here for more. This week we talked about space, an increasingly active part of the global economy, and a place where we're seeing more and more young tech companies place their focus.
We were lucky to have TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington join us for the show. He's our resident expert, so we had to have him on to chat about the space startup ecosystem. Here's the rundown:
SpaceX has raised a bunch more money, at a far higher valuation. We chat about why it didn't raise more, and how much capital there is available for the famous rocket company.
Starlink came up as well, as the satellite array just put another 60 units into orbit. What is it good for? We have a few ideas.
The second crew member of first all-civilian SpaceX mission revealed, and of course there is an IPO and startup angle involved.
Which brought us to a side conversation on which one of us are most interested in going to space commercially. It's the raised hands feature no one asked for, but take your guesses on who wants to go first and see if you're right.
Regardless, Axiom Space raises $130 million for its commercial space station ambitions
And then there was the Astra SPAC. You can read its deck here. What matters is that we get a look into how fast it plans to ramp future launches. And the answer is fast.
As we get more comfortable in our Wednesday episodes, we'll tinker with the format and the like. As we do, we're always taking feedback at equitypod@techcrunch.com, or over on Twitter. Hit us up, we're having a lot of fun but are always looking for ways to sharpen the show!
Credits: Equity is produced by Theresa Loconsolo with editing by Kell. Bryce Durbin is our Illustrator. We'd also like to thank the audience development team and Henry Pickavet, who manages TechCrunch audio products.
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303: ‘Half of the Bikini Emoji’, With Matthew Panzarino
Matthew Panzarino joins the show to talk about Apple's new AirPods Max headphones and the future of the Mac on Apple Silicon.
Sponsored by:
Honest Security: A free guide from Kolide, with everything they’ve learned over the last year working on their own product.
Away: Gift someone something to look forward to this holiday season.
Mack Weldon: Reinventing men’s basics with smart design, premium fabrics, and simple shopping. Get 20% off your first order with code talkshow.
Links:
Panzarino: “This Is Not a Review of Apple’s New AirPods Max Headphones”.
Yours truly: “Heavy Is the Head That Wears the AirPods Max”.
Panzarino’s M1 MacBook Pro review, with jaw-dropping speed and battery life results from Xcode.
James Mangold to direct fifth Indiana Jones movie.
Todd Vaziri on a fun audio Easter egg in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Steve Martin’s “autograph” cards.
This episode of The Talk Show was edited by Caleb Sexton.
E1151: Tech stock deep dive with Alex Wilhelm & Beth Kindig: Airbnb & DoorDash IPOs, Zoom’s pricing power, post-pandemic outlook, top picks & more
FOLLOW Alex: https://twitter.com/alex
FOLLOW Beth: https://twitter.com/Beth_Kindig | https://beth.technology
FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
(Bonus) The Creator Economy Opportunity With @JoshConstine
For years, I quoted Josh Constine on this show because he was one of the breaking news-iest folks over at TechCrunch for years. Well, now he’s gone the well worn TC to VC route, and is a principal at SignalFire. I noticed Josh had his name on a SignalFire report looking at the creator ecosystem, not as some sort of weird outlier, but as an actual, mature economy. It’s the best breakdown I’ve seen of the creator economy overall… as we say extensively, currently the fastest growing category of startup business. So, I called up Josh to discuss the report. It’s linked in the show notes if you want to read it for yourself, but listen to this episode. If you’re not taking creators seriously as entrepreneurs and a category of startups, you’re missing the boat on something big. Enjoy.
SignalFire’s Creator Economy Market Map
Sponsors:
BuyRaycon.com/tech
Metalab.co
TinyCapital.com
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#172 – How to Build a Media Company with Alex Wilhelm of TechCrunch
"Build an audience first" might be the most common advice given to indie hackers. But how do you build an audience at the highest levels? In other words, how do you build an actual media company? To find out, I needed to talk to a pro. Alex Wilhelm (@alex) the Senior Editor at TechCrunch. He's also built two news organizations from the ground up — Mattermark and Crunchbase News — the latter of which published thousands of articles and broke over a million monthly pageviews. These are numbers that could easily turn a mediocre indie hacker business into a successful one. In this episode, Alex and I discuss the strategies and principles that differentiate successful media companies from half-hearted content marketing efforts, and drive millions of pageviews in the process.
E1083 News: Trump considers TikTok ban, Twitter leaks subscription platform, Clubhouse drama, Harvard price gouging & more with Morgan DeBaun & Alex Wilhelm
Follow Alex: https://twitter.com/alex
Follow Morgan: https://twitter.com/morgandebaun
Check out Blavity: https://blavity.com/
Follow Jason: https://twitter.com/Jason https://linktr.ee/calacanis
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