Tech

Manny Medina, previously best-known as the founder of sales automation startup Outreach ($4.4 billion valuation), has wowed investors with his young startup, Paid. Paid just closed an oversubscribed $21.6 million seed round led by Lightspeed. With the €10 million pre-seed round it raised in March, London-based Paid has already raised $33.3 million and hasn’t even hit its Series A yet. …

Microplastics could be a factor in driving up cases of osteoporosis worldwide, according to recently published research. The study reveals that when these tiny plastic particles enter the body, they disrupt the functioning of bone marrow stem cells, which are essential for maintaining and repairing bone tissue. Throughout your life, your bones are replenished. Osteoporosis is a condition where this …

Venture capitalists have convinced themselves they’ve found the next big investing edge: using AI to wring software-like margins out of traditionally labor-intensive services businesses. The strategy involves acquiring mature professional services firms, implementing AI to automate tasks, then using the improved cash flow to roll up more companies. Leading the charge is General Catalyst (GC), which has dedicated $1.5 billion …

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Oura Health CEO Tom Hale didn’t discuss reports that the company is raising new funding that would value the health-tracking ring maker at nearly $11 billion, but he did talk about whether he has ambitions to take Oura public. “We’ve certainly hit the thresholds of size, trajectory, scale and growth,” Hale …

A federal judge has rejected drone maker DJI’s efforts to get off a Department of Defense list of Chinese military companies. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled Friday that the DoD had provided “substantial evidence” that DJI contributes “to the Chinese defense industrial base.” Pointing to the use of modified DJI drones in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Friedman …

It takes a lot of computing power to run an AI product — and as the tech industry races to tap the power of AI models, there’s a parallel race underway to build the infrastructure that will power them. On a recent earnings call, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang estimated that between $3 trillion and $4 trillion will be spent on …

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! The autonomous vehicle industry is years — maybe decades — from maturing. And so there’s still a Wild West quality to the sector, in spite of …

Why is Electronic Arts, one of the biggest names in the video game business, reportedly in talks to go private? Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier notes that video game companies are moving towards consolidation and that the deal could reflect EA executives’ broader concerns over the future of the industry. Following a period of rapid growth in the 2010s and during the …

Nick Pompa, founder of Lootlock — an app that prevents kids from running up unauthorized gaming bills on their parents’ credit cards — is an avid gamer and software developer working in fintech.  As a dad of two under two, he’s looking forward to sharing his passion for gaming with his kids when they grow old enough to play. He …

ROG Strix is Asus’s performance-focused subbrand. This is where the company’s thicker, more conventional gaming laptops are found. Pricing can range widely, as it includes affordable options like the ROG Strix G16 with the RTX 5050, which starts at just $1,300. TUF Gaming is the company’s entry-level gaming laptop subbrand. These TUF gaming laptops used to be some of the …