Daily Crunch: Dronamics lands $40M pre-Series A for cargo drones that ‘can cross all of Europe in 12 hours or less’

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Okay, NOW it’s Friday. Got immoderate nosy plans for nan agelong weekend? Haje is moving location (ugh), and Christine is browsing GIFs of puppies until her artillery runs out. Probably.

Most group aren’t straight-up racist, but it turns retired unconscious biases sneak into our brains successful each sorts of nasty, sneaky small ways. Stereotypes and prejudices exist, and being alert of yours is simply a bully spot to commencement moving on. The Cornerstone Foundation has a free 30-minute people you tin return to uncover and activity on them.

We dream you person a good Monday and don’t miss america excessively overmuch while we are disconnected for nan holiday. Look for our return connected Tuesday. — Christine and Haje

The TechCrunch Top 3

• It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a drone: Dronamics raised $40 cardinal successful a pre-Series A information (or really large seed information if you’d alternatively look astatine it that way) to commencement an autonomous cargo drone hose successful Europe, Mike writes. It has immoderate eager goals, too: The CEO says it will beryllium capable to present to each of Europe successful nan aforesaid time from a azygous warehouse.
• Preempted: Some Disney+ Hotstar customers were nary excessively pleased erstwhile nan watercourse went down successful nan mediate of a celebrated cricket match. Manish has more, including specifications that this type of point is not an isolated incident.
• Pointing fingers: Carly and Zack study that a information breach has Atlassian and Envoy concisely blaming each different for what went down that led to thousands of Atlassian labor having their information exposed.

Startups and VC

With truthful galore fintechs laying disconnected staff, it tin beryllium easy to presume that nan full manufacture is successful distress, but that’s not nan case. In fact, immoderate companies are uncovering opportunity successful nan masses of layoffs, Mary Ann discovers. Here’s who is hiring. Meanwhile, Natasha M and Alyssa collected a broad database of 2023 tech layoffs.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged nan collapsed blockchain patient and stablecoin usability Terraform Labs and its laminitis Do Kwon pinch defrauding U.S. investors who purchased nan integer assets Terra USD and Luna, Kate reports.

And we person 5 much for you:

• Internet astatine nan velocity of light: Catherine reports that Singapore-based Transcelestial uses lasers to build affordable net networks.
• Bike and subscribe: Mike reports that micro-EV subscription startup Dance pulls successful different €12 cardinal from existing investors.
• Fantas3 sports: Binance-backed web3 gaming startup Unagi gets funding to grow imagination sports platform, Paul reports.
• Keeping an oculus connected those drivers: VivaCity raises astatine a $42 cardinal valuation to make U.S. cities safer, starting pinch New York, Haje writes.
• The check’s successful nan mail: Ledge intends to build automation tools for finance teams, reports Kyle.

So that laminitis you backed turned retired to beryllium problematic. Now what?

Early-stage investors don’t intimately negociate nan entrepreneurs they ablution pinch cash, moreover erstwhile things spell disconnected nan rails. And successful immoderate cases, they whitethorn not beryllium capable to exert overmuch authority.

Assuming a VC makes an finance via a SAFE note, “if that liking hasn’t converted to equity, they don’t person overmuch opportunity if things commencement to spell wrong,” reports Rebecca Szkutak.

To study much astir really investors grip problematic CEOs, she said to:

• Cameron Newton, laminitis and wide partner, Relevance Ventures
• Eric Bahn, co-founder and wide partner, Hustle Fund
• Angela Lee, task partner, professor, Columbia Business School

We besides person a fewer much for nan weekend:

• A highly charged decision: Tesla opening its Superchargers to each EVs mightiness beryllium a masterstroke — aliases a unspeakable mistake, Tim writes.
• We’re okay?: The tech jobs marketplace mightiness not beryllium arsenic shaky arsenic it feels, writes Ron.
• You decidedly person competitors: Haje discusses how to deliberation astir your competitor descent for your transportation deck.

TechCrunch+ is our rank programme that helps founders and startup teams get up of nan pack. You tin motion up here. Use codification “DC” for a 15% discount connected an yearly subscription!

Big Tech Inc.

The pandemic forced america to find caller ways to collaborate successful a distant workplace, and immoderate companies person been capable to leverage that need. Rita reports that Feishu, ByteDance’s Slack-like tool, was 1 of them, generating $100 cardinal successful 2022. She writes, “ByteDance’s dense finance successful Feishu is telling of nan authorities of endeavor package successful China. At a clip erstwhile Silicon Valley investors are heralding product-led growth — services that person users done their products, arsenic exemplified by Calendly — package successful China still mostly counts connected sales, trading and services to enlistee users.”

Now here’s 5 much for you:

• Fee for service: Some Lyft drivers opportunity they person not yet seen nan benefits of the company’s caller wait-time fees charged to customers successful their wallet, Rebecca writes.
• A-I judge it: Connie speaks to a technologist who says it is going to beryllium 1 heck of a thrust trying to keep AI successful check.
• Get your grilling on: If your crushed still has snowfall connected it, possibly Matt’s reappraisal of Traeger’s latest pellet grill will thief you envision your first outpouring cookout.
• What’s caller successful iOS: Ivan runs down nan database of features coming to iOS 16.4, from emoji to push notifications.
• Your caller shopping buddy: Brian spent a time astatine nan Toyota Research Institute getting to cognize its robot residents.