Technet: Daily Crunch - Quibi might be shutting down

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

The big story: Quibi might be shutting down

The much-hyped streaming video app led by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman, which raised nearly $2 billion in funding, is shutting down, according to reports in The Information and The Wall Street Journal.

Katzenberg, a longtime Hollywood executive, had blamed the coronavirus pandemic for a lackluster launch in May — an app designed for on-the-go viewing didn’t have much appeal when people were largely stuck at home. And whatever the reason, none of Quibi’s shows ever became a breakout hit.

Quibi did not respond to requests for comment, but Katzenberg is reportedly notifying investors that the company is shutting down.

The big story: Quibi might be shutting down image

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The tech giants

PayPal to let you buy and sell cryptocurrencies in the US — In partnership with Paxos, PayPal plans to support Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin at first.

Facebook is working on Neighborhoods, a Nextdoor clone based on local groups — Facebook said that Neighborhoods currently is live only in Calgary, Canada.

Netflix to test free weekend-long access in India — The streaming service recently stopped offering a month of complimentary access to new users in the United States.

Image Credits: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

Startups, funding and venture capital

Syte, an e-commerce visual search platform, gets $30M Series C to expand in the US and Asia — Launched in 2015 to focus on visual search for clothing, Syte's technology now covers other verticals, like jewelry and home decor.

June's third-gen smart oven goes up for pre-order, starting at $599 — It’s been two years since the smart oven’s last major update.

Mine raises $9.5M to help people take control of their personal data — Mine scans users' inboxes to help them understand who has access to their personal data.

Startups, funding and venture capital image

Image Credits: Syte / Syte

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(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)

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Everything else

Sam's Club will deploy autonomous floor-scrubbing robots in all of its US locations — Sam's Club parent company Walmart is already using robotics to perform inventory in its own stores.

AOC's Among Us stream topped 435,000 concurrent viewers — The purpose of the stream, which drew a massive crowd, was to get out the vote as we head into the general election.

Coalition for App Fairness, a group fighting for app store reforms, adds 20 new partners — The coalition claims that both Apple and Google engage in anti-competitive behavior.