Author: bibhuti

Google closed its $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity company Wiz this week — the biggest acquisition in Google’s history, as well as the largest ever acquisition of a venture-backed startup. On the latest episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan, Sean O’Kane, and I were joined by Shardul Shah, a partner at Wiz’s largest shareholder Index Ventures. Shah walked us through his history with Wiz, which extends before Wiz itself — he previously backed Adallom, the startup previously founded by Wiz’s Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, and Roy Reznik.  We also asked Shah about why he thinks the company was such…

The Bitcoin Policy Institute (BPI) is urging Congress to broaden proposed de minimis tax relief for digital assets beyond payment stablecoins to include bitcoin and other major network tokens. Under current law, bitcoin is treated as property, which means every purchase with the asset triggers a capital gains calculation, regardless of transaction size.  BPI argues that this framework discourages routine payments, such as buying coffee or sending small remittances, because users must track cost basis and report minor gains and losses. Lawmakers have worked on several approaches in the 119th Congress. Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced a standalone bill that would…

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Location : The M48 westbound at junction J1 . Reason : Road Management. Status : Currently Active. Lanes Closed : All lanes are closed. Source link

Unacademy, once a one of India’s most valuable edtech startups, is set to be acquired by rival upGrad in an all-stock deal that would bring together two major online learning platforms in the country. On Sunday, Unacademy co-founder and CEO Gaurav Munjal said in a post on X that the companies had signed a term sheet for upGrad to acquire Unacademy in a 100% share-swap deal, adding that the valuation would not be disclosed until the transaction closes. The announcement comes more than three months after Munjal said that Unacademy’s valuation had dropped below $500 million — down roughly 85%…

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! This newsletter was wrapped and ready to go and then Travis Kalanick brought me back to 2016 by making an eyebrow-raising announcement. Uber’s co-founder and former CEO who resigned in 2017 after a string of controversies is back and building a robotics company called Atoms. And, wait for it, he is on the precipice of acquiring Pronto, the autonomous vehicle startup focused on industrial and mining…

Key Aspects: Norwegian Cruise Line has begun issuing letters to spring break cruisers with conduct reminders. The letters cover policies on drinking and casino ages, stateroom occupancy, and onboard behavior. The policies are not new, but serve as reminders during a busy and often rowdy time for cruising. With the hectic spring break season just getting underway, Norwegian Cruise Line is issuing reminders to embarking guests about stateroom occupancy, drinking ages, and casino participation, as well as general onboard behavior. Guests boarding Norwegian Joy have received such a letter, and while it’s not dated to a specific sailing, it’s likely…

If you haven’t heard, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has another company — his third by our count. And this time it’s focused on robotics. The serial entrepreneur is best known for Rivian, the buzzy EV maker that was thrust into the spotlight in 2018 after debuting an electric truck with its now-famous gear tunnel.  The publicly traded company is now a few months away from delivering its most important EV yet, a mid-sized SUV called the R2. This EV is cheaper to build than its flagship R1 counterpart (Scaringe tells me “roughly half” the cost), and yet, in…

NASA has selected eight student teams as finalists in the 2026 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition, giving them the resources to help address a critical challenge for U.S. aviation: maintenance.  Challenges facing the commercial aviation industry include a shortage of qualified maintenance workers and increasing demands to keep complicated aircraft running for longer. With Gateways to Blue Skies, NASA taps into student innovation to address some of the biggest topics in aviation, and the current competition, RepAir: Advancing Aircraft Maintenance, is looking for solutions that can have immediate impact.  “Through this competition, students will learn about aviation maintenance and be empowered to change its future,” said Steven Holz, associate project manager for NASA’s University Innovation Project and judging panel co-chair for Gateways…

Regulatory uncertainty around stablecoins could place traditional banks at a greater disadvantage than crypto companies, according to Colin Butler, executive vice president of capital markets at Mega Matrix.Butler said financial institutions have already invested heavily in digital asset infrastructure but remain unable to deploy it fully while lawmakers debate how stablecoins should be classified. “Their general counsels are telling their boards that you cannot justify the capital expenditure until you know whether stablecoins will be treated as deposits, securities, or a distinct payment instrument,” he told Cointelegraph.Several major banks have already developed parts of the infrastructure needed to support stablecoins.…