TikTok is rolling out its Instagram competitor, TikTok Notes, in select markets.
The app is available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Canada and Australia, the company said.
Starting today, TikTok Notes is available for download and limited testing in Australia and Canada.
— TikTokComms (@TikTokComms) April 17, 2024“We hope that the TikTok community will use TikTok Notes to continue sharing their moments through photo posts.
Earlier this month, TechCrunch reported that the Bytedance-owned company’s Instagram competitor is likely to be named TikTok Notes.
Indian ride-hailing giant Ola is shutting down its operations in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, six years after expanding to international markets as it shifts focus to shoring up its domestic business ahead of an initial public offering.
An Ola spokesperson told TechCrunch that the SoftBank-backed ride-hailing startup sees “immense opportunity for expansion in India,” where it operates in hundreds of cities and offers a range of transportation options, including two-wheelers.
“With this clear focus, we’ve reassessed our priorities and have decided to shut down our overseas ride-hailing business in its current form in the UK, Australia and New Zealand,” the spokesperson added.
The startup plans to file for an initial public offering after the public listing of Ola Electric, the leading electric two-wheeler brand in India that spun out of Ola.
Ola Electric is looking to raise $662 million from its IPO in India, according to paperwork it filed late last year.
Facebook plans to shut down its news tab in the U.S. and AustraliaMeta is trying to distance itself from news media-related regulations and payment complexities as it is planning to remove the news tab on Facebook in the U.S. and Australia.
The social media company said that the number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the U.S. dropped by 80% in the last year.
“This is part of an ongoing effort to better align our investments to our products and services people value the most.
The fate of Facebook News’ shutdown is due to regulatory moves and Meta’s withdrawal from investing in new products.
Legislations passed in countries Australia and Canada resulted in authorities asking platforms to pay online publishers for their content.
But because of the country’s naturally dry and biodiverse climate, it’s particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events that have been exacerbated by climate change.
Australia has experienced its fair share of a climate catastrophes, which has only fueled its climate tech startups into action.
The hype for climate tech in Australia is real, as long as it can be sustained.
Local VCs are most excited about the sector this year, with climate and cleantech dominating in funding and deal count in Q3 2023.
In 2022, climate tech in Australia raised $553 million in capital, compared to $338 million in 2021, according to a report from Climate Salad, a community of Australian climate tech stakeholders.
Down under, only 3% of venture capital funding went to all-women-founded teams, and 10% went to teams with at least one woman founder.
In 2021 and 2020, 21% and 25%, respectively, of VC funding in Australia went to startups with at least one woman founder.
A report commissioned by consulting firm the Creative Co-Operative found that in 2021, despite a record increase in VC funding in Australia — about $10 billion — just 0.03% went to Bla(c)k women and women of color founders.
The VC aims to raise another $100 million for its Fund 2 in the spring of 2024.
Beyond just giving women money, Warren and F5 want to create generational change for a billion women across India, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Equity Down Under: How Australian startups can crack the US marketListen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.
For this episode of Equity, we spoke to two Aussie VCs: Dan Krasnostein of Square Peg and Gabrielle Munzer of Main Sequence.
Connect with Equity on X and Threads @EquityPod, and keep up with all of TechCrunch’s podcasts @TechCrunchPods on TikTok.
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.
This move by Australian authorities follows regulators in Denmark, France, and Germany who have all banned the app recently. TikTok is popular among teenagers for its quick camera functions and…
Constantin Robertz’s experience moving warehouses for Zalora showed him that being an omnichannel e-commerce company requires a dedicated logistics infrastructure. With Locad, he was able to create a cloud-based platform…
