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Crypto exchange Crypto.com is cutting its global workforce by 20%, it said on Friday, as it navigates ongoing economic headwinds and “unforeseeable” industry events.

This is the second major layoff at the Singapore-headquartered Crypto.com, which cut 250 jobs in mid-last year — though a report suggested that more than 2,000 people were either let go or left at their own will. The company did not say what roles were being eliminated in the new round of layoff but blamed the collapse of FTX, whose misappropriation of customers’ funds and bankruptcy “significantly damaged trust in the industry.”

“We grew ambitiously at the start of 2022, building on our incredible momentum and aligning with the trajectory of the broader industry. That trajectory changed rapidly with a confluence of negative economic developments,” Kris Marszalek (pictured above), co-founder and chief executive of Crypto.com, said in a blog post.

As with firms in other industries, crypto companies are aggressively undertaking major decisions to survive the downturn in the broader market, which has reversed much of the gains from the 13-year bull run. Coinbase cut about 20% of its workforce earlier this week in its second round of major layoffs at the firm. Kraken said in November that it plans to lay off 1,100 people, or 30% of its workforce.

Even then Crypto.com had a especially rough last year. The firm received some criticism for its cringey/overly enthusiastic Matt Damon ad; accidentally sent an Australian customer more than $10 million in a snafu, and grappled with industry concerns over its financial health performance.

The firm received a vote of confidence from auditing firm Mazars, which said Crypto.com users’ crypto assets were fully backed one-to-one. But days later, Mazars, which also audited Binance, said it had paused its work with crypto clients.

“The reductions we made last July positioned us to weather the macro economic downturn, but it did not account for the recent collapse of FTX, which significantly damaged trust in the industry. It’s for this reason, as we continue to focus on prudent financial management, we made the difficult but necessary decision to make additional reductions in order to position the company for long-term success,” Marszalek added.

Crypto.com cuts 20% jobs amid ‘unforeseeable’ industry events by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch

People using third-party Twitter clients are facing a number of issues including unable to log in and access Twitter feeds. Tweetbot, Echofon, and Twitterrific, three popular third-party Twitter apps, confirmed the issues and noted that they are not sure what has triggered the glitch.

Makers of these apps also complained about these issues on Mastadon. Twitterrific developer Sean Heber said ” Did Twitter just kill 3rd party clients?” while Tweetbot’s Paul Hadad said “I’m hoping whatever is going on at Twitter is just some automated spam protection bot that is incorrectly suspending proper apps”.

In an email response to TechCrunch Haddad said that the issue started around 7.30 PM PT today. He also mentioned that all API requests from the apps are failing.

It’s likely that Twitter made some changes to its API for third-party clients that resulted in these apps breaking down. It’s not clear if this is a step to thwart access to the platform.

Apart from the above-mentioned apps, users complained about being unable to access Twitter from clients like Fenix, Twitpane, Feather, and Talon. So the only way to access Twitter is through the official client or the website.

A post on Twitter’s developer forum said that on the developer portal, these apps show up as “Suspended”.

Since Elon Musk’s takeover, Twitter has killed many developer programs including Twitter Toolbox for app discovery. Third-party developers have been cautious about their development plans around Twitter as the company hasn’t communicated its plans for the ecosystem. Last month, the company’s former head of developer platforms, Amir Shevat, wrote for TechCrunch that the new management broke the trust of developers.

Earlier this week, Twitter decided to make the algorithmic timeline — named “For You” — the default feed on iOS.

The story is developing…

Third-party Twitter apps are facing issues, users say by Ivan Mehta originally published on TechCrunch

There’s still nothing quite like thumbing the pages of a real-life print magazine, but the latest evolution of E Ink’s color tech is creeping tantalizingly close — at least as far as my eyes are concerned.

You’ve heard it all before: A lifetime of staring at screens has worn out my eyes, leading me down a rabbit hole of lifehacky solutions to ease the fatigue. Some of the tricks I picked up over the years have helped — especially the one where I simply take breaks and go for walks — but one thing hasn’t changed: I still spend more time than I’d like gazing at glossy displays.

I don’t want anything less for videos or gaming, but for reading I typically ignore the latest tech and instead turn to a 2016 Kindle Oasis or old-fashioned books. My hands can obviously tell the difference between the two, but when I’m lost in a story, I don’t think my eyes can. With paper and e-paper alike, a sense of ease washes over me as I read. Is it how the light bounces off the page? Or, is it because I know ads and notifications won’t bombard me at every turn? I’m not sure, and I don’t really care why; I just prefer it, and E Ink reminded me of that when I stepped into its little conference room last week in Las Vegas.

E Ink posted up at the Venetian for CES 2023, and inside its makeshift showroom, the MIT spinoff crammed its latest tech, including pieces of its wacky BMW wrap and its latest Gallery 3 color displays. The latter tech is now trickling into the market, starting with devices like the PocketBook Viva. And let me tell you, these displays look outright vivid next to the washed-out hues in E Ink’s Kaleido color displays, which debuted just two years ago. Gallery 3’s CMYK displays can spit out 50,000 colors at 300 DPI — way, way up from Kaleido’s 4,000 colors, the company said.

“We aren’t ever going to be the best movie-showing screen,” U.S. business lead Timothy O’Malley stated the obvious in an interview with TechCrunch. But E Ink’s goals are still stretching well into iPad territory. Eventually, E Ink aims to build a magazine reading experience that’s good enough to win over even the most demanding publishers, O’Malley told TechCrunch.

“Fashion magazines in particular really have strict standards on color [and] that’s a great goal for us,” the 22-year company veteran said. “I do believe we will get there and the tech fundamentally supports it.”

O’Malley added, “We’ll work on the material response and the controls, and we will get the saturation up to that.” Reaching that bar could win over comics fans and picturebook readers, too.

For now, E Ink’s Gallery color tech is at its best when it’s used in signage, where the company can sacrifice refresh speed for clarity. But in handheld readers, where you don’t want to wait ages for the next page to display, the colors are still looking muted next to a retina screen. As I swiped on a Gallery 3 prototype, large images lagged and flashed clumsily. But when the same prototype displayed small color illustrations alongside black-on-white text, the tech actually seemed ready for the masses.

E Ink’s in-house Gallery 3 stats illustrate the current trade-off. The company said in December that its black-and-white update time is now at 350 milliseconds, while its color speeds range from 500 ms (which E Ink calls “fast color mode”) to 1500 ms (for “best color”). E Ink lets manufacturers decide how they’ll balance speed and clarity, so your proverbial mileage may vary.

Brands like PocketBook, Bigme and BOOX already seem to be embracing Gallery 3, yet there’s still no word if Amazon is willing to throw its considerable weight behind color e-readers. Amazon could help legitimize the tech, but crucially, the retail giant recently bailed on magazine and newspaper subscriptions for its black-and-white Kindles, amid broad cost cuts.

When I asked O’Malley what the holdup might be for a full-color Kindle, the executive speedily deflected. “It’s a two step dance — we have our part, and each customer has their own part,” he said.

A Kindle rep quickly declined to comment when I asked a similar question over email, but hey, a girl can dream.

E Ink’s latest color displays have me dreaming of electronic paper magazines by Harri Weber originally published on TechCrunch

To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PST, subscribe here.

Hello, dear readers! We’re back once again (like a renegade master) with a wall of great tech news stories. Plug in some headphones and bop your head to that song while you catch up on what’s happening out there in the wider worlds. Remember: There’s no such thing as a standing desk. It’s a dancing desk. Aw yessss. (We may have had a little bit too much coffee this morning. That might explain our ill behavior.) — Christine and Haje

The TechCrunch Top 3

Get your woof on: With pet ownership up since the pandemic, veterinarians are being stretched to their limits. Here comes Romania-based Digitail, a company that automates the administrative work for veterinarians so they can focus on our four-legged friends. Mike reports that the company closed on $11 million in new funding to scale its operations in the U.S. and Canada.
Your move: Amanda writes that proposed changes to Dungeons & Dragons’ Open Gaming License threatens an entire cohort of D&D content creators, and they are fighting to protect their livelihoods.
SBF starts a Substack: In an effort to explain his side of the FTX debacle, Sam Bankman-Fried took to Substack to say, “I didn’t steal funds, and I certainly didn’t stash billions away.” Mary Ann has more.

Startups and VC

The outlook of investing in China is suddenly brightening as the country gradually phases out its draconian zero-COVID policy, which has caused disruptions in businesses of all kinds and kept the country’s borders shut for the last three years, Rita reports. For venture capitalists, the pandemic has been a tumultuous ride. Tony Wu, a partner at Northern Light Venture Capital, a China-focused VC firm with $4.5 billion assets under management, calls 2022 the “toughest” in his 15 years of investing in Chinese startups.

Another fistful of headlines for your edification:

That’s a hell of a loot box, y’all: Kakao Entertainment lands $966 million from sovereign wealth funds, including Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Kate reports.
Irony is not dead: Career Karma’s latest layoff underscores edtech’s new challenge, Natasha M writes.
Learning how to make the world a better place: The Logic School wants to teach tech workers activism for free, Haje writes.
From merger to layoffs: The company created by the Citrix-Tibco merger confirms it has laid off 15% of its staff, Ron reports.
Gimme all your A/S/L: Carly reports that The Guardian confirms ransomware attacks stole employee data.

Why Africa had no unicorns last year despite record fundraising haul

Unicorns are becoming an endangered species in Africa’s startup ecosystem, reports Tage Kene-Okafor.

Although funding in the region increased slightly in 2022, “no unicorns popped up throughout the year, compared to five in 2021,” he writes.

“So what happened in Africa in 2022 that made it so … weird?”

And there’s more for our trusty TC+ subscribers:

Sunny times ahead: U.S. solar manufacturing gets a $2.5 billion boost, reports Tim.
What is going on with your team slide?: Haje gets grumpy in his Pitch Deck Teardown of the Mint House’s $35 million Series B deck.
DeFigure it out: DeFi startups need to experiment with new use cases and build solutions, investors say. Jacquelyn has more.

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription!

Big Tech Inc.

We started some of this yesterday, but Natasha L brings us a warning article to other ad-funded programs to take heed of Meta’s ads being found unlawful in the European Union. She writes that “just because Facebook has — for years — processed and profited off of Europeans’ data by running unlawful ads does not mean other ad-funded platforms are going to get the same free ride from the bloc’s regulators. Enforcement is here at last.”

And we have five more for you:

Stopping the stealing: Christine reports on Nvidia’s new AI workflows to help the retail industry with loss prevention amid increased organized theft.
Give your Benz the premium charging treatment: At least that’s what Mercedes-Benz is hoping its electric vehicle customers will want to do. As such, Tim Stevens writes that the carmaker is creating its own charging network.
Google Meets emojis: Taking a nod from Zoom, Google Meet video calls finally get emojis, Ivan reports.
Cover girl: Fashion rentals marketplace Rent the Runway’s clothing comes to Amazon, including preworn items and design exclusives, Sarah writes.
More layoffs: Lauren writes that DirecTV plans to lay off about 10% if its management amid the ongoing shift to streaming.

Daily Crunch: Pet tech startup Digitail fetches $11M Series A led by Atomico by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch

It’s a strange week. Strange and strangely familiar. You stay at the same hotel in a nearly identical room to the one you stayed in for the last 10 years or so. You see friends and colleagues you’ve not seen in a while. Everyone is three years older and a bit worse for wear. A global pandemic will do that to a person.

Last year was supposed to be your triumphant return to the show, after two years away. But you got cold feet when the omicron numbers started spiking around the holidays. The subsequent holiday travel, coupled with exhibitors flying in from all over the world, was sufficient cause for concern. And you were far from alone. Attendance numbers — which had hit 170,000 in 2020 — were down to ~40,000, representing a 75% drop in attendance.

The year between — 2021 — there was no in-person CES at all. The CTA, which puts on the event, ultimately made the right decision and went all-virtual for the first time in its history. That was its own kind of mess. The infrastructure simple wasn’t in place for an event this size and scope. One also suspects that the CTA would rather not let people get too used to covering shows like this virtually, for fear that they’d deem it unnecessary to return.

But the world has slowly gotten back to normal, and so, too, has CES. It’s a bit like returning to your old school a few years after graduating. There are some familiar faces and some new ones. For better or worse, life went on without you. Hell, the school even built a big, new wing. In this case, it’s the shiny West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. With the South Hall more or less shuttered for the event, the growing army of mobility firms have since migrated here. At some point when we weren’t looking, CES became a car show.

That’s due, in part, to timing — both one of CES’s biggest strengths and weaknesses. Strength, in the sense that it’s the first show of the year. Weakness because who really wants to be thinking (stressing) about the big show over holiday dinners or sitting on a plane January 2?

In the weeks leading up to the event, the CTA announced that it was expecting 100,000 people at the event. That’s nowhere near pre-pandemic levels, but it certainly represents a respectable bounceback for a live event. After the dust cleared, it revised that number upward to 115,000. Speaking purely anecdotally, it didn’t feel that high, but feelings are certainly no replacement for official attendance numbers.

I will say, there were spots (big chunks of Central Hall, for example) that felt as crowded as any year prior. Certainly I felt it attempting to get lunch in the cafeteria on day one. Other spots, like North Hall, appeared largely empty the handful of times I went back. I’m not sure that bodes particularly well for the concentration of robotics companies there. I probably jumped the gun with my “Consumer Robotics Show” headline, even if it was done with tongue semi-planted in cheek.

Most, if not all, of the media outlets I spoke to sent fewer people than 2020 for a variety of reasons. First, we’ve all adapted to remote coverage. Second, plenty of people are still (rightfully) worried about a pandemic. Turns out it hasn’t actually gone away, despite our best efforts to pretend otherwise. Third, journalism is getting crushed yet again by the economic downturn. Budgets are tightening and many outlets simply have fewer reporters.

The full name is The International CES, for obvious reasons. One could make a fairly credible case that CES 2020 was one of the first major COVID-19 superspreader events. There are, however, still travel restrictions in place. Most notable is China. A day after the show officially ended, The Wall Street Journal ran the headline, “China Reopens to the World as International Travel Restrictions End.” China is obviously a huge player on the scene, and restrictions are invariably going to hurt your bottom line. Plenty of places were well represented at the show, including Korea and France.

I discussed this a bit in the preview post, but it’s worth mentioning again. The CTA is very insistent we call it “CES,” and not the “Consumer Electronics Show.” Pedantic? Sure. Telling? Absolutely. The organization wants CES to be more things to more people. That includes cars, robots and plenty of software/apps. There are ways in which the event is still very much tied to tradition, but its organizers have also done a fine job adapting its scope.

Size, too. CES is sprawling. It takes over the city — or least the area surrounding the Strip — and sometimes feels like a temporary city unto itself. Like any urban area, it has its pockets of concentration and its share of traffic jams. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t attempt to catch a car outside of the Venetian Expo (RIP, The Sands) around 6 PM. You should also know that you’ll need a 20- to 30-minute buffer, regardless of your mode of transportation, up to and including Tesla Small World tunnel.

For the first time in 11 (!) years, the Adult Entertainment Expo coincided with CES and took the AVN Show (the porn Oscars, if you will) along with it. A fun bit of trivia: The whole thing is actually an outgrowth of a CES adult software section that existed in the ’80s and ’90s. I regret not having the time to check out the event and all its idiosyncratic tech this year. We did, however, get dinner at a great vegan restaurant in the new Resorts World tower our final night, and managed to encounter some of that show’s overflow. They’re a fun bunch.

One of the most positive changes to the show in recent years is its shift in focus to startup culture. There’s little question that the two floors of Eureka Park are far and away the most vibrant section. The booths and aisles are far smaller and more tightly packed together. Not everything you’ll see in there is a winner, but the people showing it to you project a kind of genuine excitement you rarely see with the bigger companies. I would have loved to have spent more time there, but it just didn’t work out that way for me this year.

The trend over the last several years is big companies opting to announce new stuff on their own stages and time. The move to virtual presses over the last several years has only accelerated this. But as the big companies move away from the show, bright-eyed startups are more than happy to fill that void.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this was the year of putting stuff on my face. I tried out the Magic Leap 2, Meta Quest Pro, Vive XR Elite, PSVR2 and Dyson Bane mask. VR/AR/XR once again reigned supreme. How that manifests itself in the broader consumer world, on the other hand, is another question entirely. It is, however, quite telling that everyone but Sony and its pure gaming headset are looking to enterprise. It’s simple where the money is right now, at least until the prices significantly come down for quality headsets.

Another theme I found in talking to folks in that world is a genuinely eager feeling around Apple’s headset play. The consensus with these companies appears to be that the rising tide will lift all ships here, as the company reinvigorates the scene. Truth of the matter is that it’s been the “next thing” for so long there’s a genuine fatique here.

Ditto for crypto/web3, albeit for entirely different reasons. There’s been a steady drumbeat of bad news for the category and many of the folks who would have otherwise been shouting their message from the rooftops are currently licking their wounds. I’ve not been shy with regards to my feelings around the technology, and it was frankly a relief not to be bombarded by those pitches this year.

No doubt my inbox will be full of them this time next year.

TechCrunch staff has spent the last several days building their Hot or Not lists, so I’ll include those here:

Mobility
Robotics
Climate
Batteries
*Ahem* Pee(The glee in Haje’s eyes when he wrote that headline)

Some of the shine has worn off around smart home tech. It’s hard not to see that reflected in Amazon Echo’s struggles. At the very least, it’s clear that things didn’t go exactly as planned for many companies. It is, however, quite heartening to see a kind of unified front in the form of the Matter Alliance.

Health tech, meanwhile, remains a going concern, be it home fitness or wearables. We’ve seen a widespread push to get some of these products taken more seriously as medical devices, and that was very much on display here. Meanwhile, it was a genuine bummer to see what happened to Mojo Vision, after covering them for so many CESes.

Economics loomed large, of course. Overall, the release cadence of new products seems to have slowed for the industry. The end of 2022 didn’t see the same sort of rush of new products we usually get before the holiday. The reasons are clear. For one thing, money is tight and inflation is high, so people are spending less on non-necessities. For another, supply chain constraints are having a tangible effect on the industry’s ability to ship.

Ahead of the show, I asked Sony what they planned to show off. For the first time I can recall, I got an official statement from a rep telling me what the company isn’t showing. “Sony will not be sharing any TV details during CES 2023,” a spokesperson told me. “However, please stay tuned for an upcoming announcement coming soon.” That’s a new one. The company did have movie trailers, though.

I won’t say this felt like a transitional year — only because that can be said about pretty much every CES from the past decade. I also recognize that it’s note entirely fair to judge it by its first full-fledge show in three years. It was strange, and there was zero chance it was going to be anything but. For the CTA’s sake, attendance exceeding what seemed like optimistic expectations is a genuinely good sign. As for us, I’m certain we’re not alone in rethinking how we handle CES going forward.

CES 2023 debrief by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch