-
BBC boss says disinformation ‘trust crisis’ putting social fabric of UK at risk
Tim Davie pitches BBC as unifying force as he announces plans to make more news content for YouTube and TikTok Britain’s status as a cohesive, democratic society is at risk for the first time in a generation as the rise of social media platforms and disinformation fuel a “trust crisis”, the BBC’s director general has…
-
Thatch raises $40M to give employees more control of their health care choices
Thatch, a startup that aims to transform the health insurance experience for employers and employees alike, has raised $40 million in a Series B round of funding, it tells TechCrunch exclusively. Index Ventures led the financing, which included participation from existing backers Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), General Catalyst, SemperVirens, PeopleTech Partners, The General Partnership, and new…
-
Fintech founder charged with fraud after ‘AI’ shopping app found to be powered by humans in the Philippines
Albert Saniger, the founder and former CEO of Nate, an AI shopping app that promised a “universal” checkout experience, was charged with defrauding investors on Wednesday, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Founded in 2018, Nate raised over $50 million from investors like Coatue and Forerunner Ventures, most recently raising…
-
Bolt’s Ryan Breslow pins his hopes on a new app that takes on Coinbase, Zelle, and PayPal
Ryan Breslow is officially back. While the founder of one-click checkout company Bolt re-assumed its helm as CEO in March, Breslow is unveiling Wednesday a new “superapp” that he hopes will formally mark his return as the fintech’s leader. He describes the new product as “one-click crypto and everyday payments” in a single platform, in…
-
We’ve entered an era of fintech maximalism according to Mark Goldberg
“We are in a period of what I’ll call fintech maximalism,” says Chemistry founder and GP Mark Goldberg. “By that, I mean the companies that grew up in the last five to 10 years in fintech, those that quietly executed through the winter of the 2021 to 2024 period, have emerged as compounders in a…
-
Rippling wants Revolut to reveal who paid off Deel’s alleged ‘spy’
Another highly valued startup has just been added to the mix in the ongoing legal drama between Rippling and Deel: U.K. fintech giant Revolut. In his blockbuster affidavit that reads like it’s straight out of a movie, Irish Rippling employee Keith O’Brien claimed that Deel paid him about $6,000 a month to spy on Rippling.…
-
Ramp is trying to get the US government as a customer after seeing a tweet from DOGE
Expense management startup Ramp is being considered for a charge card pilot program by the U.S. government’s General Services Administration, the company confirmed to TechCrunch on Thursday. The government’s internal expense card program, dubbed SmartPay, is a $700 billion program. It is estimated that the charge card pilot program contract for which Ramp is being…
-
Stripe unveils AI foundation model for payments, reveals ‘deeper partnership’ with Nvidia
Fintech giant Stripe announced Wednesday a slew of new product launches at its annual Stripe Sessions user event. The highlights include a new AI foundation model for payments; stablecoin-powered accounts; a new Orchestration offering, and a recent migration with chip behemoth Nvidia. Stripe’s payments foundation model has been trained on tens of billions of transactions,…
-
Congressman is investigating fintech Ramp’s attempt to win $25M federal contract
Rep. Gerald Connolly, ranking member of the U.S. House Oversight Committee, has initiated an investigation into whether expense management startup Ramp is receiving preferential treatment in its bid for a $25 million government contract. Connolly sent a letter to General Services Administration (GSA) Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian demanding information and documents related to the GSA’s…
-
As #Revolut and #N26 move into mobile, never say never
It is notable that a few challenger neobanks are expanding footprint into telecoms, namely Revolut and N26. N26 joins Revolut in disrupting the telecommunications market The interesting thing here is that there have been many telco’s trying to move into banking – think Orange – and vice versa, but it rarely works. Orange checks out……
