TechCrunch Industry News

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Forto raises $240M in funding round led by Softbank, taking its valuation to $1.2Bn Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

Freight technology startup, Forto, which we most recently covered when it raised $50 million late last year, is upping the stakes. It’s now raised $240 million in a round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 to expand its trade shipments between China and Europe. Forto manages shipping containers from origin to destination.

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Apple is opening a store in downtown LA’s nearly 100-year-old Tower Theatre Jun 23, 2021

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This Thursday, Apple will mark the opening of a new store in downtown Los Angeles. The space occupies the newly renovated Tower Theatre, which opened in DTLA’s Broadway Theater District in 1927. Among other milestones, the 900-seat theater was the first in LA to be wired for the talkies, hosting a premier of “The Jazz […]

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Chinese sellers on Amazon in hot demand by VCs and e-commerce roll-ups Jun 22, 2021

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Chinese merchants selling on Amazon are having a moment. The scruffy exporters are used to roaming about suburban factory areas and dealing with constant cash flow strain, but suddenly they find themselves having coffee with top Chinese venture capital firms and investment representatives from internet giants, who come with big checks to hunt down the […]

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TikTok launches Jump, a third-party integration tool Jun 22, 2021

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TikTok announced today the launch of its Jump program, which expands the app’s potential for third-party integrations. TikTok began beta-testing this feature in February with Whisk, a recipe-sharing app, though only select creators could use the feature. Now, Jump will start rolling out to all users with an expanded slate of partners.

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Music licensing marketplace Songtradr raises $50M Jun 21, 2021

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Music licensing marketplace Songtradr this morning announced a $50 million Series D. The oversubscribed round – which features Regal, Aware Super, Perennial, Argo and Greencape – follows a $30 million raise last August, bringing the Los Angeles company’s total funding to north of $100 million. The platform licenses music to high profile names for advertising, […]

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Delivery service Gopuff acquires rideOS for $115 million-plus Jun 21, 2021

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On-demand goods, food and alcohol delivery service Gopuff has acquired fleet management platform rideOS for $115 million to $125 million, sources familiar with the deal say. This acquisition comes just a few months after the Philadelphia-based startup announced a $1.15 billion funding round at a $8.9 billion valuation, up from $3.9 billion in October. Last […]

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Tiger Global in talks to back BharatPe at $2.5 billion valuation Jun 18, 2021

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Indian fintech startup BharatPe is in advanced stages of talks to raise about $250 million in a new financing round led by Tiger Global, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCrunch.

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Instagram’s TikTok rival, Reels, rolls out ads worldwide Jun 18, 2021

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Instagram Reels are getting ads. The company announced today it’s launching ads in its short-form video platform and TikTok rival, Reels, to businesses and advertisers worldwide. The ads will be up to 30 seconds in length, like Reels themselves, and vertical in format, similar to ads found in Instagram Stories.

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Lincoln’s first EV will arrive in 2022 with three more to follow Jun 17, 2021

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The first EV will come to market just in time for Lincoln’s 100th birthday celebration.

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Facebook will begin beaming advertisements into virtual reality Jun 17, 2021

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Well, it was only a matter of time. Advertising giant Facebook announced Wednesday that they’re going to begin testing advertising inside virtual reality titles on its Oculus platform soon. The first roll-out is limited enough, with Facebook testing ads inside a single gaming shooter title: BlastonÂ fromÂ Resolution Games. They are interestingly not rolling this out with […]

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