To get a roundup of the biggest and most important stories from TechCrunch delivered to your inbox every day at 3pm PDT, sign up here. Hello, and welcome to another Daily Crunch, this time for Tuesday, June 7, 2022. The last 24 hours have seen a lot of Apple news, and we’ve got full coverage on that front, but we’ve also got a veritable cornucopia of other Apple news. the whole startup world, so let’s jump right in! — Haje and Cristina
TechCrunch Top 3
The Oracle Done Deal: Oracle quietly closed the acquisition of Cerner, which will take effect on Wednesday. Electronic health records are big business and while this merger gives Oracle an important seat at the table, it is not yet known how these companies will combine or if Cerner will be profitable for Oracle. Whatever happens, can this be one more step in enabling medical records to be more easily accessible and transferable for patients?One thing to rule them all, one thing to find them, one thing in the dark to carry them: As fans of the weather and the environment, and as people with an infinite number of chargers in the drawers, we are all in favor of the new EU rules that dictate that most devices must be able to use the USB charging standard -C. We’re curious how this will affect startups in particular; different chargers and giving users the option of not receiving a charger with their device will make supply chains and SKUs that much more complex.Grab the Wite-Out: Alex and ana look at the venture capital activity in Latin America and sense that a fall is coming for the second quarter, hinting at a possible correction.
Startups and VCs
Best known for its open source microcontrollers that have been widely embraced by the developer community, Arduino now has its sights set firmly on the business world, Brian reports. Specifically, the company believes it is well positioned to gain a foothold among Gen Z and millennial engineers in the workforce. Let’s see what else there is:
it’s just a number: It’s often a misconception that silver tech is just for seniors. Primeline Partners wants to turn around and refocus on quality of life, Catalina reports.Fly like a butterfly, sting like a taxi: Volocopter’s drone taxi is one step closer to entering service. The German firm has revealed that its four-seater electric VTOL aircraft, the VoloConnect, completed its maiden flight in May, reports Jon.Don’t call us; We’ll call you: Kyle reports that Take Blip, an online messaging platform for businesses, announced today that it has raised $70 million.Not today, neighbor: Haje covered how Ergeon allows anyone to order construction projects like fences, driveways and more.Whoa, it’s like I’m right there, man: Haje also wrote about Looking Glass’s new 65-inch holographic display.Yes, but what about the second breakfast?: While many millennials are struggling to scrape together the cash to buy their first home, many others are looking to buy their second. The summer is squarely aimed at the latter group, Jordan reports.
The Big Metrics Guide: Product-Oriented Principles
Image credits: John Lund (opens new window) / Getty Images Imagine a world where founders brag about the growth they’ve driven, rather than their fundraising prowess. The ability to raise capital is less impressive than finding sustainable ways to build a growing base of paying customers. Proper training and a strong network can help many founders land a sizable seed round, but that money reflects investor confidence, not market demand. In a post for TC+, Curtis Townshend, Senior Director of Growth at OpenView, shares 11 product-driven growth tactics that drive “customer acquisition, retention, and expansion.” After surveying 14 public B2B software companies, Townshend says that companies that built for discovery and implemented usage-based pricing had an average growth rate of 141%, compared to 21% for traditional SaaS. These companies were also much more efficient with regards to the Rule of 40 and income retention. “In general, the variation in metrics is marked,” says Townshend. (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, helping startup founders and teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)
great tech inc
With WWDC in full swing, let’s take a look at some Apple news first, shall we? Some exciting new security features for macOS 13 Ventura (or as we call it “Mace Ventura”) are coming here; For example, when you plug a device into the USB-C port, it will automatically lock until you give it a green light. Apple is also fixing an annoying “tapback” issue when an iPhone user dares to text an Android user. Some developers are also likely to rejoice, as some restrictions on what can be published on the App Store are being relaxed. Meanwhile, iOS 16 brings with it some redesigned and reimagined features, like better photo sharing capabilities and editing tools. Below, we report on a minor shakeup at Peloton, which named Amazon Web Services executive Liz Coddington as its new CFO, starting next week. She replaces Jill Woodworth, Peloton’s first CFO, who is leaving the company. As she may recall, earnings weren’t that great, which has the company “scrambling” to manage its supply and demand problems. In money news, PayPal took a hint from its crypto-enthusiastic users and revealed a way to transfer your PayPal crypto to other users, wallets, or exchanges. Here’s some more news to gobble up:
Two heads are better than one: Waymo Via, aka Alphabet’s self-driving unit, and Uber Freight, aka Uber’s logistics spinout, are calling the shotgun. Rebecca writes that the partnership involves a few phases, including Waymo Via’s technology entering the Uber Freight network. Speaking of Uber and moving, the company has a new service that will deliver specialty food from select merchants in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles across the US. Sorry, Alaska and Hawaii, but not to you.by the ‘gram– Instagram users can now pin up to three posts to their profile. This was something that the Meta owned unit was testing, so go ahead and score!To hear you better, dear: Devin gives a review of the new Sonos Ray soundbar.finance me please: Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Group has teamed up with Bank of America to offer financing to customers.Polestar does some teasing: The company released images of its first battery electric SUV, the Polestar 3, which is expected to go on sale in October.
