products

Facebook to Cease News Tab in the United States and Australia

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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.

“Ariel Kaye: The Entrepreneur Behind an Enduring Brand Amidst the DTC Craze”

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It’s no surprise that after ten years, Parachute, the home lifestyle brand, stands as the dust settles from the direct-to-consumer boom. Founded by Ariel Kaye in 2012, Parachute has developed a loyal customer base because of its high-quality bedding, towels, and robes. Naturally, TechCrunch wanted to see what it has been like managing the DTC boom these past few years and brought Kaye onto our podcast Found to chat about it. “From the moment we launched, we just kept hearing, ‘I’ve been waiting for a brand like this,” she told us. She learned to manage logistics, hire a team, and find a network of other entrepreneurs who could support her during the highs and lows of — wait for it — being a solo founder.

Funding Secured: Cryptographic Security Startup, Silence Laboratories, Secures Support

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Silence Laboratories, a startup that builds infrastructure using multiparty computation (MPC) to help enterprises keep data private and safe, said it has raised a $4.1 million funding round. Pi Ventures and Kira Studio co-led the recent funding, which brings its total raised to $6 million, along with angel investors. The startup will use the funding to scale its teams and beef up its R&D pipeline. The outfit started as a multifactor authentication (MFA) company and pivoted its business to building a cryptographic security firm. It also recently launched Silent Compute, which lets corporations collaborate on processing information without revealing their own private data to third parties and enrich insights while maintaining compliance and trust.

“Introducing Lightricks’ Revolutionary AI Film Studio for Enhanced Storytelling”

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Lightricks, the company that makes popular apps like Facetune and Videoleap, announced a new AI-powered filmmaking tool called LTX Studio today. LTX Studio, which is currently inviting users to sign up for a waitlist, is a web-based tool. Creators can first type an idea they have and LTX Studio will create a script and a storyboard for them along with characters through a prompt. That thought process led the startup to make LTX Studio. Plus, with the latest LTX studio launch, it is aiming to cater to more professionals.

“Exploring New Frontiers: TikTok Shop Links Expand to Additional Videos with Latest Feature Trial”

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The move is part of the company’s plans to turn TikTok Shop into a multi-billion dollar e-commerce business in the United States. During the Black Friday and Cyber Monday season in November, more than 5 million new U.S. customers purchased something via TikTok Shop. The new feature would bring TikTok Shop links to regular content on the app, which may not be a welcome change for some. New data reveals that TikTok’s growth has started to slow, raising the question of whether the app’s TikTok Shop e-commerce efforts could be to blame. The slowdown comes on the heels of the launch of TikTok Shop in the U.S.People have been debating online whether TikTok Shop has “ruined” the app, with some lamenting that TikTok Shop was turning the app into an “ad-filled wasteland.”In addition to bringing TikTok Shop links to more videos on the platform, TikTok is also exploring other ways to boost its e-commerce business.

“TikTok’s Workforce Reduction: 60 Employees Let Go”

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TikTok is the latest tech company to mount another round of layoffs in an increasingly bleak January. According to NPR, which broke the news, TikTok cut about 60 jobs, mostly in sales and advertising. Since then, TikTok users have complained that their For You Page is overrun with videos from creators seeking to make affiliate commissions by promoting products from TikTok Shop. Across social platforms and other consumer tech products, layoffs have been rampant so far this year. Google has laid off hundreds of employees in hardware and advertising sales, plus another hundred employees at YouTube.

Silverfort’s Holistic Identity Security Strategy Raises $116M, Boosts Valuation to $1B

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startup, takes an all-in view when it comes to identity security in an organization. So the best way to protect against malicious exploits is to secure identity authentication between any and all of them. “We believe we can actually be that focused identity security layer that covers all the silos,” CEO and co-founder Hed Kovetz said in an interview. As those familiar with security technology know, the space can be sliced and diced into many different domains and approaches. Each point of interactivity essentially involves authentication between apps and therein lies the challenge: each of these can become a potential vulnerability.

“Mastering the Essentials: Key Strategies for Preventing Catastrophic Product Failure in Your Startup”

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Anyone mad enough to launch a new product already knows the stats surrounding product failure. There are ways companies can better understand their customers’ pain points to develop the right products that solve the right problems at the right time. Make sure you’re solving the right problemThere are ways companies can better understand their customers’ pain points to develop the right products that solve the right problems at the right time. Regarding product design and development, solving the right problem might seem obvious. You build a product or solution to solve that problem, but it doesn’t work out as planned.

Evaluating Your Startup’s CAC: Determining the Viability of Introducing a New Product

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Look at your startup’s CAC to decide if you should launch another productUntil recently, it was widely accepted that startups, constrained by limited resources, should primarily concentrate on a single product. Investing in customer acquisition is justified when the net present value of the profits from the acquisition exceeds the customer’s customer acquisition cost (CAC). Customer acquisition and product development stand out as a startup’s most important investments. Customer acquisition and product development stand out as a startup’s most important investments. With the rise in CAC, the relative value of customer acquisition remains the same compared to new product development.

“CES Showcases Cutting-Edge AI Products: Voice Synthesis and Fertility Tracking Among the Top Standouts”

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“AI” was everywhere this year at CES; you couldn’t swing a badge without hitting some company claiming generative AI was going to revolutionize your sleep, teeth, or business. But a few applications of machine learning stood out as genuinely helpful or surprising — here are a few examples of AI that might actually do some good. These folks can whisper just fine, but not speak — often having to rely on a decidedly last-century electronic voice box. The rabbit r1 got a fair amount of hype at CES, as a candy-colored pocket AI assistant should. If you can talk, you can get things done — and if you use Whispp, you don’t even need to talk!