Telegram Business will likely give Premium another bump as it offers tools and features that can be used by business customers without needing to know how to code.
Similar to features available on WhatsApp, Telegram Business will offer “quick replies,” which are shortcuts to preset messages that support formatting, links, media, stickers and files.
Business customers can also add Telegram bots, including those from other tools or AI assistants, to answer messages on their behalf.
The company said more features will roll out to Telegram Business in future updates.
(They can be found under Settings > Telegram Business in the app.)
This week, we’re looking at Robinhood’s new Gold Card, challenges in the BaaS space and how a tiny startup caught Stripe’s eye.
BaaS startup Synctera recently conducted a restructuring that affects about 15% of employees.
The startup is not the only VC-backed BaaS company to have resorted to layoffs to preserve cash over the past year.
MassMutual Ventures also participated in Qoala’s new $47 million round of funding.
It has more primary customers than ChaseInside a CEO’s bold claims about her hot fintech startup, which TC previously covered here.
Fisker’s finances are back in the news after the company warned back in February that it didn’t have enough cash to make it through its next year.
The company said this week that it intends to halt production for six weeks to get its business back in order.
Softening demand growth for EVs is making the normal challenges of scaling a company all the harder for Fisker and its peers.
Not that we’re all doom and gloom here at TechCrunch — we’re actually rather bullish on the prospect for EVs in the near and far future.
Let’s take a look at what’s going on under the hood here:
Venture capital funding has never been robust for women or Black and brown founders.
Read about funding for Black foundersFunding to Black founders has been on a steady decline since 2021, implying that investors have either lost interest or focus on backing Black founders.
This is a big deal because after the murder of George Floyd, the venture and startup ecosystem made promises to better support Black founders.
Since 2022, TechCrunch has been speaking with experts to find out what is needed to help boost funding to Black founders.
To help gather data, last year, Crunchbase announced it would officially start tracking the amount of venture capital dollars allocated to LGBTQ+ founders.
The U.S. firm specializes in building structures out of large concrete masonry blocks.
Amsterdam-based Monumental, meanwhile, specializes in the more familiar red clay variety.
Monumental has already been doing limited pilots in its native Netherlands, including the 15-meter exterior of an office building.
“At Monumental, we’re working to help the industry meet these challenges,” says co-founder and CEO Salar al Khafaji.
Funding will go toward hiring, scaling manufacturing and diversifying the manner of bricks/blocks its robots are capable of handling.
Lai made impassioned comments about Taiwan’s chip industry after his victory on Saturday that seem to make it clear that his administration’s main tech focus will be on semiconductors.
Taiwan’s semiconductor industry strengthens the global standing of the country, a small island with a population of 23 million.
Another barrier is that even though the semiconductor industry is important to Taiwan’s economy, most people don’t work in it.
“Most people in the nation are not employed in the semiconductor industry, even though it’s the lifeblood of the economy,” says Patel.
Despite the challenges faced by Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, Triolo notes that its international recognition has grown significantly since Tsai came into power eight years ago.
CNDO (pronounced “condo”) enables content creators to create private social rooms for their followers to engage in a community-wide group chat, participate in challenges and get exclusive updates from their favorite influencers.
For instance, creators can encourage their followers to build healthy fitness habits and share daily updates about their workouts with each other.
The company also hopes the challenges incentivize users to keep coming back to the app, allowing for a healthy app retention rate.
However, the company says creators must pitch their “concept strategy,” and CNDO determines whether they are a right fit for the platform.
Schaecker developed CNDO with his two co-founders, Kian Seifert and Jordi Walder, who studied business and data science, respectively.
As Brian, Mary Ann and Zack wrote earlier this week, we lost a lot of startups in 2023, but honestly, I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
Startups aren’t meant to last forever — they either evolve into a fully fledged corporation with a growth trajectory, or they cease existing altogether.
A tale of two pedalsTim Stevens did a deep dive, comparing the various driver assist systems currently on the market.
The EV free-for-all (except not free): EV fast-charging networks are bracing for a turbulent 2024 as they grapple with Tesla’s expanding Supercharger dominance.
: The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging they trained AI models on Times’ content without permission.
Nocam is a social video app that is trying to change the way people use social media. They are turning off the camera so that you can’t see yourself while…
In the heated geopolitics of the 21st century, any belligerence between China and America will be closely watched by their respective fans around the world. The May incident where a…
