Hello friends and welcome to the Week in Review, TechCrunch’s regular roundup of the best tech news from the past few days. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every Saturday. Here, we highlight the week’s top stories (Apple Vision Pro or anyone?) and other developments in the TC universe, like TC+, our premium subscription service, and TechCrunch’s growing collection of podcasts.
It’s a shame about the content, if I do say so myself, and hopefully a welcome relief to an east coast inundated with smoke from Canadian wildfires. AirNow.gov tells me that air quality in New York is back to average, which I’d say is something to celebrate.
Now that introductions are out of the way, let’s get on with the news.
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Apple Vision Pro: Intrepid TC editor-in-chief Matthew got hands-on with the Vision Pro, Apple’s first attempt at an augmented reality (AR) headset announced at the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), and was impressed. The roughly 30-minute demo convinced him that Apple had made nothing less than a real leap forward in XR, or mixed reality, capabilities, and execution—no doubt high praise. Darrell and Brian have other thoughts, which you can also hear on this week’s TechCrunch Podcast.
New Features in iOS 17: Vision Pro may have dominated WWDC headlines on Monday. However, as Ivan reports, Apple is also planning to release a major iOS update later this year. The upcoming iOS 17 will introduce a number of different nice-to-have features, such as a personalized call poster, standby mode, direct voicemail, and an improved sticker experience.
Major medical malpractice: This year, hackers stole the personal and health information of half a million people in a ransomware attack against a technology vendor. Zack writes that Intelliartx, a Tennessee-based company that manages patient payment balances and collections, has filed a report with the Maine Attorney General’s Office that patient information was stolen in a cyberattack targeting its vendor, Fortra.
WhatsApp launches channels: Meta is rolling out a broadcast-based messaging feature called Channels on WhatsApp—a similar update to the one Instagram sent out recently—as the social giant experiments with giving its 2 billion users more ways to chat. Ivan reports that there’s an obvious angle—the company is looking to monetize the feature.
Apollo more: Popular third-party Reddit app Apollo is shutting down due to Reddit’s recent announcement of new API pricing plans. Apollo’s creator, Christian Selig, says that the pricing for Apollo will be $20 million.
Automatic driving lights up green: Mercedes-Benz has received approval from California regulators that will allow the German automaker to sell or lease cars in the state equipped with a conditional self-driving system that allows hands-free driving on certain highways. Kirsten notes that Mercedes-Benz is the fourth company to receive a license to deploy autonomous vehicles in California and the first to be authorized to sell or lease cars with automated driving systems.
Sequoia splitting: Sequoia plans to split into three entities: Sequoia Capital in the US and Europe, Peak XV Partners in India and Southeast Asia and HongShan in China, as the venture capital firm separates its Asian units from its mothership to help navigate an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. The split comes amid growing geopolitical tensions between China and the US, the world’s two largest economies.
NestAway sells for less: Proptech firm Aurum is acquiring NestAway, a once high-profile Indian startup operating in the same space, for up to $10.9 million. Eight-year-old NestAway raises $115 million a year. USD, and in 2019, 227 million was estimated at the financing stage.
Sound
Looking for a TechCrunch podcast to pass the time? You have come to the right place. Check out Equity’s coverage of WWDC this week, including Affirm’s partnership with Amazon, Cava’s IPO, all things SEC and cryptocurrency, and how real estate could impact the climate crisis. Found was hosted by Eli Ben-Joseph, co-founder and CEO of Regard, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to streamline the clinical side of medicine and hopes to reduce physician burnout. Meanwhile, Chain Reaction interviewed Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at cryptocurrency firm Coinbase.
TechCrunch+
TC+ subscribers get access to the in-depth commentary, analysis, and polls you know if you’re already a subscriber. If not, consider signing up. Here are some highlights from this week:
Investments from ashes: As smoke from wildfires in Canada engulfs large swathes of the east coast, millions of people are stuck inside, staring at orange skies and hazy cityscapes. This can send shockwaves through investors’ systems. Tim writes that, if the past is a prologue, venture capital firms should prepare for a tidal wave of climate tech startups in the coming years.
European startups are slow. The slowdown in risk has long been recognized as a global phenomenon, and according to a new report from venture capital firm Atomico, this “adjusted market reality is here to”stay”—including in Europe. A clear decline, but not necessarily due to alarm, writes Anna.
Beat the SaaS Blues: The data shows that public software companies added fewer annual recurring revenue streams in the first quarter of 2023 than a year ago. But not every startup reports lackluster results. Alex writes as in 2021 Samsara, which went public at the end of last year, recently proved that it’s still possible to scale quickly and, perhaps even more impressively, that it’s possible to maintain value even if you’ve added at the tail end of the VC bubble.