TechCrunch Week in Review: Coinbase gets hacked

Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got tons of news for you this week, including a hack at Coinbase; YC thinks Google is a ‘monopolist’; layoffs at Microsoft; and much more. Have a great weekend!

Uh-oh: Coinbase says that customers’ personal information, including government-issued IDs, was stolen in a data breach. The hackers demanded $20 million from the company, CEO Brian Armstrong said in a post on X. Coinbase said it will not pay the hackers’ ransom.

IPO time, baby: After filing confidentially in December, Chime filed for an IPO this week. There are a ton of blanks in the S-1, so we didn’t get much information, like how many shares insiders plan to sell as part of the IPO. But we did learn one tidbit: Chime entered a deal with the Dallas Mavericks in 2018, which gained it the Chime logo on the team’s jersey, among other marketing benefits.

Knock on wood: This story has been popping off all week — InventWood created wood called “Superwood” that’s as strong as steel. Ultimately, InventWood is planning to use wood chips to create structural beams of any dimension that won’t need finishing.

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News

A big bowl of Granola: VCs and founders love talking up the apps they’re using. The most recent case: Granola, an AI note-taking app that’s recently seen a boost in usage, even though it launched a year ago. And when there’s usage, money follows. The company announced it has raised $43 million in a Series B funding round at a valuation of $250 million. 

Choice words: “Google has chilled independent firms like YC from funding and accelerating innovative startups that could otherwise have challenged Google’s dominance,” YC wrote in an amicus brief it submitted in the U.S.’ antitrust case against the search giant. But YC isn’t calling for a complete breakup of Google.

Love to see it: Apple announced a bunch of accessibility features, including Accessibility Nutrition Labels that will inform users of accessibility features within apps and games in the App Store; a new magnifier for Macs; a new Braille experience; and more. 

Layoffs at Microsoft: The company is reportedly laying off 3% of its workforce, or around 6,500 people, affecting all levels, locations, and teams. This follows a solid quarter for Microsoft, with $70.1 billion in revenue (up 13%) and net income profits of $25.8 billion (up 28%). In Washington, around 40% of the 2,000 people laid off were engineers. 

Gemini in your car: At the Android Show — Google’s Android-only event a week ahead of Google I/O — the company announced that it’s bringing Gemini to cars that support Android Auto. Drivers (and passengers) will be able to send texts, play music, and all the other things a smart assistant does, but using natural language. 

LOL: What once was called HBO Go before it changed its name to HBO Now, which later became HBO Max, before settling on Max, announced this week that it’s once again changing its name back to HBO Max.  

Just call it a bus: Uber is introducing Route Share, a commuter shuttle service that will pick up passengers at pre-set stops in 20-minute intervals. “You can see a natural extension of us being able to bring Route Share to autonomous vehicles as well,” Sachin Kansal, Uber’s chief product officer, told us.

Wait, what? The New York Times spoke with two investors who said they were pitched a new startup that aims to deliver “human health optimization” using blood testing. Sound familiar? But wait till you hear who pitched the startup: Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ partner, Billy Evans. Maybe it’ll work out better this time? 

Analysis

And speaking of Uber: In 2022, senior reporter Rebecca Bellan wrote an article titled “The Amazonification of Uber” about how the company was becoming more of a closed loop to keep customers engaged. Now the company is taking it a step further, introducing Uber One Member Days, a week of discounts designed to boost its subscription program and expand its role beyond transportation.