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Hello, I hope it’s a good Thursday for you so far. For me, it’s the little things that turn me on and today is Delta Air Lines’ announcement that SkyMiles frequent flyers, including yours, will get free Wi-Fi starting February 1. . May you also find something you are passionate about today. Let’s get into the news. — Christina
TechCrunch’s top 3
- More layoffs: Yesterday was Salesforce; today it’s Amazon. Although these layoffs were announced in recent months, the number of people laid off was today’s surprise. Knowing doesn’t take anything away from the employees, I guess. Paul takes you inside the cups.
- Secret secrets hurt someone: Secret secrets are no fun. Just ask CircleCI customers, who were asked to rotate their passwords and private keys after a breach compromised the company’s system, Carly reports.
- Take a bite of this apple: Apparently you’ve all resolved to read more in 2023. Among the announcements Apple made today, the one that got a lot of the clicks was the company’s new AI-powered book narrations for some titles on Apple Books, Ivan reports. If fitness is more your goal this year, Apple Fitness+ is adding new features, such as kickboxing workouts and sleep meditation, Aisha writing.
Startups and VCs
Continuing what appears to be a trend of layoffs, Natasha MThe story of is very important to get the perspective of former employees laid off from startups to see how they handle things and how their next jobs might evolve. It also asks the question, “Where do tech workers go from here?” I won’t spoil you, but there seems to be a cycle going on.
Here are four more:
- This next text could be from Fido: My dog has trouble telling me when to go out, so I’m looking at FluentPet’s Talking Button System which has programmable buttons that when pressed speak voice commands and text you. Sarah see you.
- Virtual reality is not just for young people: Rendever, a leading virtual reality startup, acquired Alcove from AARP, showing that “virtual reality is coming of age”, Ingrid reports.
- The neighbors do not shake hands; the neighbors must kiss each other!: Ok, maybe not a hug, but if you live in an apartment complex and want to know about others living nearby, you might want to check out my story on OneRoof for funds to help apartment dwellers to get closer to their neighbours.
- Here is an optimistic metaverse: Conversational AI startup MeetKai expands its offerings with new room scanning technology and a metaverse builder focused on capturing objects and spaces, Kyle writing.
Teach Yourself Growth Marketing: How to Set Up a Landing Page
Picture credits: Bright Star59 (Opens in a new window) /Getty Pictures
In the first article of a five-part series on the fundamentals of growth marketing, Jonathan Martinez explains how to create an essential part of every startup’s sales funnel: a landing page.
This overview includes basic steps for crafting a clear headline, providing visitors with social proof that builds credibility, and crafting calls to action that drive results.
Next week, Martinez, who has helped scale startups like Uber, Postmates and Chime, will share his tips for launching a paid acquisition channel.
Three others from the TC+ team:
Tech Crunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get a head start. You can register here. Use code “DC” to get 15% off an annual subscription!
Big Tech inc.
If you couldn’t tell by your Twitter feed, CES is happening. brian presents CES and how you can get all the juicy details for the rest of the conference. Kyle also helped you by making a list of the best AI-powered products seen at the conference.
One of the stories that particularly caught our attention today is Kyle‘s story about Ring bringing back its Judas Cam. It was something ahead of its time apparently, with Ring shutting down the product in 2021. Now it’s back in all its glory and can be yours for the starting price of $129.
Here are some favorites from today’s batch of stories from CES:
Our team wrote 51 Big Tech stories today, so I’m giving you one more of the usual five:
- Back in the saddle: Who allowed the former CEO of Stitch Fix to take over the helm of their BINGO 2023 card? Person? Connie fills in some details about Katrina Lake returning for an interim term, adding to a CNBC report that included another round of layoffs, this time 20% of the company’s 1,700 employees.
- You have to fight for your right to communicate in private: And WhatsApp is behind you 100%. Aisha reports that the messaging giant has launched proxy support so that users around the world can maintain access even if their connection is blocked or interrupted.
- Art is in the eye of the beholder powered by AI: Kyle reports on Picsart’s AI-powered SketchAI app that turns images and outlines into digital art.
- And the streaming crown goes to…: lauren writes about Roku ending in 2022 with a new milestone – over 70 million active accounts. The streaming company claims it is still No. 1 among TV streaming platforms in the United States, Canada and Mexico in streaming hours.
- Another byte crypto dust: Jacqueline reports that the New York Attorney General has sued Alex Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius, for defrauding crypto investors. The crypto lender filed for bankruptcy over the summer.
- Privacy Ping: As Natasha L notes, Apple received a rare fine. France’s data protection watchdog group has fined the consumer tech giant around $8.5 million over Apple’s practice of “not obtaining the consent of local mobile users before placing (and/or read) advertising identifiers on their devices in violation of local data protection law.”