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As TikTok faces a US shutdown, here are some alternative apps to check out

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In this photo illustration, the social media application logo, TikTok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone on an American flag background on August 3, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. - The US Senate voted on August 6, 2020, to bar TikTok from being downloaded onto US government employees' telephones, intensifying US scrutiny of the popular Chinese-owned video app. The bill passed by the Republican controlled Senate now goes to the House of Representatives, led by Democrats. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

TikTok has warned of a looming shutdown in just six days, as the Supreme Court is currently weighing the law that would ban the app. So we thought it’s time to take a look at other platforms that may be able to fill the TikTok-shaped hole in our lives. 

The law gives TikTok parent company ByteDance until January 19 to divest its U.S. operations or face a ban in the country. TikTok is hoping for a pause to the law, but If that doesn’t happen, the app will effectively be banned in the country. 

There’s no 1:1 TikTok replacement, but there are some viable options to consider that offer a similar experience. Many companies have spent the last few years building out TikTok clones within their own products, and several newer companies have looked to challenge the app’s dominance. 

Here’s a look at the different apps that are worth checking out:

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Instagram Reels

Image Credits: MetaImage Credits:Meta

Instagram’s Reels product is arguably the most popular TikTok clone, and for good reason. Many of the videos are the same, as creators often share the same content that they post on TikTok to Instagram Reels. Plus, a lot of the trending sounds and topics on TikTok eventually make their way over to Instagram Reels. Because a lot of the content is the same, Instagram Reels might be the best option for a TikTok alternative.

However, given that TikTok’s algorithm is largely unmatched, Instagram Reels might not be able to surface videos you’re interested in on the same level that TikTok can. But, Instagram has spent the past few years enhancing the Reels recommendation algorithm, so we can probably expect it to get even better over time.

If a TikTok ban becomes a reality, Instagram Reels might become the most popular home for short-form video content because it already largely dominates the social media landscape and has most of the same people and types of content as TikTok.

YouTube Shorts

Image Credits: YouTubeImage Credits:YouTube

YouTube is another platform that has been building out and prioritizing its TikTok-like product. YouTube Shorts might be the best TikTok alternative for you if you’re someone who already spends a lot of time on YouTube, or likes to find new music on TikTok, given that YouTube Shorts has access to YouTube’s vast library of songs and music videos.

YouTube Shorts has an advantage that other services on this list don’t, which is an integration with a popular long-form video content platform. Millions of people around the world already go to YouTube every day to watch content, so if TikTok were to get banned, YouTube has the potential to become the go-to place for short-form content as well, especially if popular TikTok creators choose it as the new home of their content.

Unfortunately, the content on YouTube Shorts often isn’t as engaging as it can be on platforms like TikTok or Instagram Reels, as it sometimes features content that has been reposted from longer YouTube videos. Still, you could search for content that you want to see and find videos based on hashtags or keywords.

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Snapchat Spotlight

screenshots of snapchat's spotlight feature
Image Credits: SnapchatImage Credits:Snapchat

Snapchat’s Spotlight feed is another viable TikTok alternative if you’re looking for short and entertaining content. Unlike TikTok and Instagram Reels, Spotlight generally only surfaces funny and lighthearted videos. You likely won’t find political or news content on the feed, which could be a selling point for some users.

Spotlight features a trending section where you can watch popular videos based on different topics and songs that are having a moment. Similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels, you can search for content based on keywords and hashtags.

However, one of the biggest cons when it comes to Snapchat Spotlight is that it has struggled to go beyond its younger users. Given that adults are more likely to use a platform like TikTok or Instagram Reels, you might not find the content on Spotlight as engaging because it mostly caters to younger audiences.

Triller

Image Credits:Triller

Triller, which started off as a TikTok competitor, could be a good alternative for people who are mainly interested in the music and dance aspects of TikTok. It’s worth noting that Triller has a much smaller user base than TikTok, so content is somewhat limited. 

Triller is already looking to take advantage of the potential TikTok ban in the U.S. The company recently launched a website, SaveMyTikToks.com, to allow TikTok users to save their TikTok videos by transferring them to Triller’s platform, encouraging creators to migrate their content to its app.

Plus, Triller recently hired ex-TikTok exec Sean Kim as its CEO to focus on an overhaul of the app. Kim previously served as TikTok’s head of product from 2019 to 2022, working on things like its “For You” feed, creator monetization, the developer platform, third-party integrations, and more. Triller’s addition of one of TikTok’s top talents could help the platform build out its service to be a better-positioned TikTok alternative.

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RedNote

Image Credits:RedNote

TikTok users in the U.S. are already flocking to Chinese short-form video app Xiaohongshu (known as RedNote in English). Launched in 2013, the app is China’s answer to Instagram. 

The app features a layout that’s similar to Pinterest’s and boasts a number of social shopping features. It provides users with a mix of video and livestreaming features. RedNote includes a lot of the sort of content you see on TikTok, like beauty tutorials and product reviews. 

It’s not clear whether RedNote will sustain the interest it’s getting right now. It’s also not clear whether the U.S. government will want to crack down on the app due to its Chinese ownership if it’s able to get a significant American user base.

Lemon8

Lemon8 screens
Image Credits:ByteDance

In the months leading up to the TikTok ban deadline, the company has been promoting its sister app, Lemon8. TikTok also recently started allowing users to access Lemon8 with their TikTok account.

The app is similar to Instagram and Pinterest, as it lets people share slideshows, photo collections, and browse content through “Following” and “For You” feeds. Lemon8 offers access to creative tools, filters, effects, stickers, text templates, and more.

However, it’s worth noting that Lemon8 could get tangled up in the TikTok ban, especially since lawmakers’ main concern with TikTok is its Chinese ownership. As a result, Lemon8’s presence in the U.S. remains unclear. 

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Likee

Image Credits:Likee

Likee is a short-form video app that, alongside the ability to share videos, features editing tools and livestreams. The app boasts over 100 million users from all around the world. 

Likee is big on AR filters, similar to Snapchat’s, and lets creators use them in their videos and livestreams. Likee also features an extensive music library, so it could be good for people who use TikTok to find new music. 

In addition, the app has monetization features that allow creators to earn money for their content through SuperLikes from their followers. However, as with the other smaller apps on this list, engagement on Likee is somewhat limited since it doesn’t have the same amount of reach as TikTok. Of course, that could change over time.

Fanbase

Image Credits: FanbaseImage Credits:Fanbase

Fanbase is a subscription-based social network that is essentially a combination of TikTok, Instagram, Patreon, Clubhouse, and Snapchat. The app features short-form videos, images, long-form videos, Stories, livestreams, and audio rooms. While the app is free to use, you can pay a subscription to get access to exclusive content.

What makes Fanbase a possible alternative to TikTok is the app’s “Flickz” feed. Like TikTok, Flickz includes a feed for discovery and another feed dedicated to content from creators you follow. You can find all sorts of content on Fanbase, including videos on sports, cooking, music, humor, and more.

The app was founded with the mission of valuing and platforming Black creators, whose content is often appropriated or undervalued on traditional social media platforms. Fanbase is an ad-free platform that promises to never shadowban or suppress content.

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Zigazoo

Image Credits: ZigazooImage Credits:Zigazoo

Zigazoo is a relatively new short-form video platform aimed at young users and could be a good TikTok alternative for kids and teens. The app features lighthearted and playful videos and is considered a safer alternative to TikTok, as it doesn’t have a comments feature and has strict moderation policies.

The app lets users browse through or create short videos based on challenges or educational prompts. Zigazoo also features fun dancing videos, which is one of TikTok’s most popular content categories. Like TikTok and Instagram Reels, the app includes different effects, sounds, and filters for video.

While the app isn’t a TikTok replacement for adults, it’s a great alternative for younger users, especially those with parents who are concerned about TikTok’s potential harm to kids and teens.

Favorited 

Image Credits:Favorited

Favorited is an a16z-backed social app that gamifies livestreaming. The app lets livestream creators interact with their audiences and earn money through virtual gifts from viewers. The app also features a 70/30 revenue split for creators, whereas TikTok has a 50/50 split for live creators. 

Favorited also lets creators link their digital stores. However, unlike TikTok, Favorited doesn’t feature a discovery feed to help people find new content. 

The app has 750,000 users so far this year and is seeing thousands of new signups per day. Unfortunately, the app doesn’t have much of a presence outside of the U.S., but of course, that could change.

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Clapper

Image Credits:Clapper

Clapper is a platform that champions authentic expression and unfiltered interactions. The app is a short-form video platform that’s known for limited moderation, which may not be for everyone. 

Clapper lets you post videos that are up to three minutes long. The app features an audio-only feature that allows users to create a room with up to 2,000 listeners with 20 speakers. Plus, creators can create communities where they can interact with their followers one-on-one. 

The app is ad-free and is more focused on unfiltered content, rather than polished content that is designed to go viral. It includes some video editing features, but they are quite limited when compared to what’s available on TikTok. And, of course, the app’s user base is quite small, so there is somewhat limited social interaction.

Fable

Image Credits:Fable

Fable is a good app for TikTok users who are part of the social network’s reading-focused BookTok community. The app features book clubs where people can discuss the books they’re reading, kind of like they would on TikTok. 

Unfortunately, Fable lacks the video aspect, so it’s nowhere near a complete TikTok alternative. Instead, it could provide a way for BookTok creators and members of the community to continue their discussions on another platform.

Neptune

Image Credits:Neptune

Nepture is an upcoming female-founded social network that promises to put content creators first. The app has started to get buzz on social networks like TikTok and X by users who are wondering if it could become the next TikTok. Their hopes aren’t random, as Neptune’s marketing strategy frames the app as a TikTok alternative, but better. 

The beta version of the app is expected to be released either this month or in February. The public release for the app is expected in the spring. 

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The company says that on Neptune, a creator’s content will get seen not because of an algorithm but because of its quality and impact. The app is also going to feature customizable content feeds and ghost metrics, which would allow users to try out new ideas without worrying about the pressure to perform.

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How to Send Cash | WIRED

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So you need to send some money. Maybe you want to slip a couple of $20 bills in a birthday card. Maybe it’s a larger payment for some not-at-all-sketchy, off-the-books services rendered. Either way, it can be a pain to send paper money without having to worry that it might mysteriously slip out of your envelope into someone else’s pocket.

“Sending cash physically via mail or something is probably one of the least efficient options for moving money around,” says Kevin L. Matthews, a financial advisor who has offered money advice for WIRED before. “It’s not necessarily something that I would recommend.”

The problem, he says, is that if something goes wrong and the cash goes missing, there’s really nothing you can do about it. There are better ways to transfer finances, but if you absolutely have to get your coins from one piggy bank to another, here are the best ways to do so without getting ripped off.

Don’t Get Scammed

To be clear upfront, you should not just stick a wad of cash in the mail and hope for the best. There’s too high of a chance it will get lost, stolen, or otherwise wind up in the hands of someone you don’t intend.

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And to that last point, if you are sending somebody any kind of payment, ask yourself these basic questions: Do you personally know the individual you’re sending money too? Have you vetted the agency purporting to get your dough to the right place? Is there any fine print? Does the method for sending money seem too good to be true? If any of those questions give you pause, it’s probably a scam.

Scams are evolving quickly, Matthews says, and they are getting more difficult to detect all the time. “The number one rule is, don’t ever send any money to anyone that you do not know. And don’t be afraid to call and check. That’s always an option. Be careful of the details, verify the information, and just make sure this makes sense. Because usually once that money walks out the door, it’s absolutely not coming back.”

There are lots of ways to keep yourself and your loved ones from getting ripped off and protect yourself from AI scam calls. (Grandma, I promise you, Charter.bot texting to ask you to send it gift cards is not a legitimate way to pay your cable bill.)

Paper Trail

There are ways to send cash safely. If you’re just sending a small amount, like slapping a fiver in a birthday card, using the regular mail system is probably fine. You run the risk of it getting lost, like with anything you mail. But if you care about the money getting where it needs to go, you should insure it or send a money order.

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In the US, you’re allowed to ship cash up to $500 without having to register it with the US Postal Service. It’s not technically illegal to send more than that through the US Mail, but it’s also not a good idea. If you do need to send cash and don’t mind Uncle Sam knowing about it, you can insure your package for a value of up to $50,000. There are a couple caveats, though.

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Here’s the tech that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single update

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Here’s the tech that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single update

Lights that turn on when you walk into a room and turn off when you leave are one of the most desirable smart home features. But you need to buy additional hardware like motion sensors to make this “magic” happen. A new ambient sensing technology called Sensify could make this easier by turning your light bulbs into motion sensors. And it might be landing on a Philips Hue bridge near you very soon.

“There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; we’re just working on the final touches to light up the full experience.”

Sensify is a wireless network sensing (WNS) technology developed by Ivani that can turn mains-powered Zigbee devices into motion sensors for controlling your lights with just a firmware update — no additional hardware needed. The best part is that it can work on devices already in most homes. “There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; we’re just working on the final touches to light up the full experience,” Ivani cofounder Justin McKinney tells The Verge.

An obvious use case for this is a Zigbee-based smart lighting system such as Philips Hue. There’s been speculation that Hue is working on a Zigbee sensing technology since its sister company Wiz debuted a similar tech called SpaceSense in 2022, which uses WNS over Wi-Fi. The well-informed hueblog.com reports that Zigbee wireless network sensing is the technology Hue will most likely use. The Verge reached out to Signify, which owns Hue, but hasn’t yet received a response.

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McKinney wouldn’t say which companies are using Ivani’s Sensify, which has been in development since 2016, but he did share that the company is working “with some large household names poised to deploy the technology very soon.” He also said it’s the only company offering this capability over Zigbee networks.

Ivani is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), which runs the Zigbee protocol, but Sensify is a proprietary solution that leverages the Zigbee network. Despite reports indicating this sensing tech is coming to all Zigbee devices, the CSA confirmed to The Verge that this is not a new feature within Zigbee itself.

WNS works by detecting disturbances in radio frequencies and can also be applied to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread technologies. McKinney says Sensify requires three or more devices positioned around a detection area to detect motion and occupancy in the space. The tech also allows for precise detection zones based on where the devices are situated. “The devices send messages to each other, look at underlying network diagnostic information, and process it to provide occupancy sensing decisions,” says McKinney.

Wireless network sensing requires three or more devices to work. This diagram from Ivani illustrates typical topologies.
Image: Ivani
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Performance-wise, McKinney says Sensify is “equivalent or superior” to passive infrared sensing (PIR) tech, which is traditionally used for motion sensing. It also doesn’t need line of sight, as PIR does. However, it’s not as precise as technologies like mmWave sensing, which can determine if someone is in a room through as slight a movement as breathing. “The lights will still likely turn off if you’re still, even if you’re in the space,” he says.

The good news is that Sensify can run on Zigbee networks with a range of chipsets working together, meaning it can be deployed as a software update to existing systems. McKinney also confirmed Sensify runs locally on your Zigbee network, there’s no Sensify cloud, and any sensing data is only accessible to the manufacturer deploying the technology.

This video, published by the CSA, illustrates how Ivani’s wireless network sensing works over a Zigbee network.

Motion sensing in the smart home has several use cases, from lighting control and security to energy management and elder care. Two big advantages of WNS here are cost and scale. There’s no need to buy additional hardware to get the capability, and many homes already have devices that can use it.

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Ivani is currently the only company with a Zigbee solution, but there are WNS solutions out there that use Wi-Fi. Origin Wireless and its partner company, Nami, were the first to develop Wi-Fi sensing, and they are leading Matter’s efforts around bringing ambient RF sensing technologies to the smart home standard.

“It really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to be”

Origin’s technology powered Linksys Aware, a feature the router company launched in 2019 that turned its routers into motion sensors, and last year, Threshold launched a smart plug using Origin’s Wi-Fi sensing to allow caregivers to monitor a loved one’s activity remotely.

In 2021, I tested Hex Home, a proof-of-concept security system from Origin that used Wi-Fi sensing instead of motion sensors. But false positives made it virtually unusable. I also tried Wiz’s Wi-Fi-based SpaceSense when it first launched. It was more reliable but still fairly inconsistent. However, according to McKinney, advances in machine learning and AI have brought significant improvements to WNS technology.

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He says Ivani’s Sensify tech is ready for deployment over Zigbee, and they’re just waiting for their partners to fine-tune how best to “introduce the feature within their product lines.” He expects they will update existing products in the next few months. “We have the pleasure of experiencing our partner’s products and their beta tests in our homes, and it really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to be.” 

There have been a lot of promises around home automation over the years, with very few being fulfilled. But the idea of, say, every Philips Hue light bulb in your home turning into a motion sensor overnight, making it simple to automate control of your lights without sticking white plastic sensors everywhere, is a fairly exciting one.

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Sales knowledge automation platform 1up gets a third of its customer leads from memes

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1up, startups, George Avetisov, venture capital

When George Avetisov was the founder and CEO of cybersecurity startup HYPR, he spent a lot of time in the trenches with the company’s sales team. He quickly realized that regardless of how good his sales team was, they were consistently pulling in other departments to answer customer questions or fill out technical questionnaires.

“They don’t know the answers to most questions that get asked of them,” Avetisov told TechCrunch. “They have to ask a product person, they have to pull in a sales engineer. It’s a daunting task, and these people are brilliant, like I’ve worked with some amazing sales reps, but the problem with sales is there’s no easy way for them to automate knowledge.”

Avetisov (pictured above in the center) decided that would be his next problem to solve. He left HYPR in 2021 and took a brief interlude from startups to play and beat video game Elden Ring; Avetisov said he wanted a little downtime before being all consumed by another startup. He launched his new company, 1up, in 2022.

1up is an AI-powered knowledge automation platform for sales teams that pulls information from internal company data sources and databases. Sales professionals can turn to 1up to find answers to their product or technical questions, execute requests for proposal and also use it help fill out technical questionnaires.

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The company launched publicly in January 2024 and has since amassed nearly 100 customers that range from startups to large enterprise customers including WalkMe and Deliveroo. The company has been able to land a not insignificant portion of these customers through an unorthodox marketing strategy: memes.

“We run one of the biggest sales meme libraries in the community, and we get millions of impressions on LinkedIn,” Avetisov said. “People follow us just from our memes. I know it’s a little weird, but like, one out of three of our leads comes from a meme.”

Now the company is announcing a $5 million funding round led by Upfront Ventures with participation from RRE Ventures, 8-Bit Capital, and individuals like Friendster founder Jonathan Adams, among others. Upfront general partner Kobie Fuller is the lead investor and will take a seat on the company’s board.

Fuller told TechCrunch that he got a cold email from Avetisov just days after one of his portfolio companies mentioned 1up might be a good fit for Fuller’s investment thesis regarding how AI will change enterprise’s approach to knowledge. When talking about this thesis to Avetisov, Fuller said they were speaking the exact same language.

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“So much of how we make investment decisions is around the founder and George, a second-time founder, saw the problem and pain point first hand,” Fuller said. “When we talk with George, he can dive in at whatever level or depth in a manor you don’t see all the time with CEOs. You can tell he’s mission driven, he has 1up tattooed on his inner wrist. He’s really, really in it; he’s incredibly scrappy.”

Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, AI startups building for sales departments have exploded, especially when it comes to building AI tools that help customers generate sales leads and with client outreach. Companies looking to provide knowledge centers for enterprises, many of which popped up prior to 2022, started gaining momentum, too.

Avetisov isn’t deterred, though. He said that 1up provides such a different service than the AI sales lead generators that he doesn’t think 1up is competing for the same line in a company’s budget. He said that he doesn’t think companies need all-encompassing knowledge centers, but 1up’s approach is different because it solves a specific problem.

“When you talk to the enterprise, knowledge management is not a budget item. It’s not a hair on fire problem,” Avetisov said. “Our philosophy on this is that for knowledge automation to succeed and become a billion-dollar company or industry, it needs to be laser-focused on a persona and on a department.”

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The next steps for 1up, now that its raised this recent funding, is to scale out the sales team. There will also be some feature upgrades, though Avetisov wasn’t ready to share the details on those quite yet.

“Sales teams get a lot of shit,” Avetisov said. “They have one of the hardest jobs in the company, and their tool set is horrible. They’ve got so many tools for prospecting and CRMs and all that stuff. But when it comes to knowledge management, they have been completely neglected. So that’s our hot take. That’s our laser focus.”

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Trump pardons Silk Road dark web market creator Ross Ulbricht

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Trump


  • President Donald Trump has signed a “full and unconditional” pardon for Ross Ulbricht
  • The Silk Road operator had received two life sentences and a further 40 years
  • Trump said the same “lunatics” were behind the fight against him

President Trump has signed a “full and unconditional” pardon for Silk Road foudner and operator Ross Ulbricht.

Silk Road was a notorious dark web marketplace selling illegal drugs, hacking tools and stolen passports during its operation between 2011 and 2013.

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UK appoints ex-Amazon executive Doug Gurr as interim chair of antitrust body

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Doug Gurr attends the Kindle Storyteller Award 2018 at The Royal Society on October 3, 2018 in London, England.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has a new interim chairman: former Amazon executive Doug Gurr (pictured above).

The announcement comes as the U.K. seeks to position itself as a pro-growth, pro-tech nation by cutting red-tape and bureaucracy, with artificial intelligence (AI) taking center stage. The country is also nearing the end of a long investigation into the domestic cloud services market that had Amazon firmly in the CMA’s crosshairs.

In its announcement on Tuesday, the government leaned into Gurr’s past at Amazon as a means to “boost growth and support the economy,” noting that he will “bring a wealth of experience” from his work in the sector.

“This Government has a clear Plan for Change — to boost growth for businesses and communities across the U.K.,” Jonathan Reynolds, the U.K.’s secretary of state for business and trade, said in a statement. “As we’ve set out, we want to see regulators including the CMA supercharging the economy with pro-business decisions that will drive prosperity and growth, putting more money in people’s pockets.”

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The big tech factor

Gurr joined Amazon’s U.K division in 2011, initially as VP of its “hardlines” division, which focused on products such as gardening and toys. He transitioned into the role of country manager for Amazon’s China business in 2014, before moving back to head up U.K. operations in 2016. Gurr left Amazon in 2020 to become the director of the Natural History Museum.

Outgoing chair Marcus Bokkerink, who has more of a consulting than commercial background, held his post for less than three years, a relatively short tenure as the position typically lasts up to five years. However, reports indicate that chancellor Rachel Reeves was underwhelmed following a meeting with various U.K. regulators last week, prompting a changing of the guard.

It’s worth noting that although Gurr’s appointment is on an interim basis, the CMA’s CEO Sarah Cardell was also initially appointed as interim CEO back in 2022 before she moved into the role permanently.

That’s not to say this is what will happen with Gurr, but it gives a clear indication about the type of person the government wants to see chairing the country’s antitrust regulator — a body currently investigating big tech firms for all manner of alleged contraventions.

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Alex Haffner, competition partner at law firm Fladgate, says it’s no coincidence that Gurr’s appointment has come at a time when the U.K. is “banging the drum for its growth agenda.” He also highlighted that Gurr’s background is “unashamedly commercial” compared to his predecessor.

Over and above that, however, this appointment raises questions about how the CMA might approach its enforcement of rules around big tech across verticals.

“What stakeholders will now be assessing is how the new appointment translates into the CMA’s approach to enforcement,” Haffner said in a statement to TechCrunch. “Recent signs are that it has taken heed of criticism of previous decisions and is perhaps more willing to be flexible — the recent Vodafone / Three clearance decision being a case in point. However, the new Chair also takes on the role at a time when the CMA has taken on significant new powers under the Digital Markets Competition and Consumer Act, particularly in relation to its oversight of big tech, meaning the CMA will likely become more activist, albeit giving considerable attention as to how to enforce in a way which best stimulates competition and therefore economic growth.”

The Open Cloud Coalition, a Google-backed lobby group launched back in October to curry favor with European lawmakers, “congratulated” Gurr on his appointment as interim chair. However, Nicky Stewart, senior advisor to the Open Cloud Coalition, urged the regulator not to lose sight of its ongoing investigation into the cloud services market, which counts Amazon as the runaway market leader.

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“As the CMA’s cloud market investigation enters a critical phase, we urge the regulator to stay the course and take decisive action to create a fairer, more competitive cloud market that benefits businesses, consumers, and the wider digital economy,” Stewart said in a statement issued to TechCrunch. “The cloud industry can only flourish when there is a level playing field, and as outlined in our position paper, meaningful intervention is essential to unlocking innovation and investment across the sector.”

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New Sega Account service offers free rewards for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii and Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis when you sign up

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Sonic Unleashed


  • Sega has launched a new Sega Account service
  • It’s free to sign up and offers exclusive in-game rewards
  • This includes a bonus outfit for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii

Sega has just launched a brand new online account system, simply called ‘Sega Account’.

The official Sega Account website reveals that its “lets you maximize Sega’s online services” and that it “offers a ton of benefits.” Much like Sega’s email newsletter system, Sega Account is free to sign up for and seems like it’ll offer exclusive in-game rewards for those who do.

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Google will let you control your Chromebook with your face

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Google is announcing a variety of classroom and accessibility-focused ChromeOS features today, and one of the standouts is being able to control your computer with your head and facial expressions. The feature — aimed at those with motor impairments — was first announced in early December, but it’s now rolling out to more users with compatible Chromebooks (Google recommends 8GB of RAM or more).

This isn’t Google’s first foray into the face-as-a-cursor space. It previously made an open-source AI accessibility tool for Windows games called Project Gameface, which was also announced for Android. Here’s a sample video from Google of the tech in action, demoed by software engineer Amanda Lin Dietz who helped develop it.

Additionally, Google is also teasing a boatload of new Chromebooks for 2025, with over 20 new devices in its standard Chromebook and Chromebook Plus lines coming this year. That estimate may be a bit of a stretch, since Google seems to be counting the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus that launched back in October, but it does also count the just-announced 14-inch Lenovo Chromebook Plus 2-in-1 and more to come.

Along with laptops aimed at educators and students, Google’s got a new batch of classroom-focused ChromeOS features called Class Tools. These allow teachers to have real-time control of their students’ screens. Once a pairing code is shared, educators will be able to send students direct content on their Chromebook screens, flip on live captions or translations for them, remotely view their screens, and share a student’s work with the whole class.

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An educator’s view of Google’s Class Tools settings.
Image: Google

In addition to these collaborative tools, Google Classroom is also getting an integration with Figma’s FigJam, allowing teachers to assign online whiteboards to students for brainstorming and group work. Maybe the combination of FigJam with the teacher’s ability to snoop on students’ screens will reveal who’s really doing all the work for the group.

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Lindus Health raises $55M to ‘fix the broken clinical trial industry’

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Lindus Health' founders

A four-year-old London startup backed by Peter Thiel has raised a $55 million Series B round as it sets about “fixing the broken clinical trial industry.”

The announcement comes as artificial intelligence is shaping up to revolutionize drug discovery and development, in turn spurring demand for a streamlined clinical trial process to help get new medicines to market quicker.

Lindus Health has built a platform that covers the entire end-to-end process of running clinical trials, with automation playing a central role — as such, Lindus calls itself the “anti-CRO” (contract research organization). A CRO, for the uninitiated, is an external organization used by pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies for carrying out crucial clinical research, which enables those companies to focus more on their core drug development work.

The CRO market was pegged as a $82 billion market last year, and is predicted to grow to $130 billion by the end of the decade.

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Trials and tribulations

While clinical trials vary in size and scope, they typically involve several stages from start to finish, which includes designing the trial as well as building a protocol and regulatory submission package. After that, they have to set up the technology to run the trails, recruit patients, and collect data. Altogether, this can take years, so when a potentially life-saving drug is on the cards, anything that can speed things is a good thing.

Lindus says it can streamline many parts of this process using machine learning, for instance to design the initial protocol (a detailed plan), which can be very labor-intensive. For this, Lindus has built a protocol generation tool trained on historical data that can create an initial draft.

While its software is a large part of Lindus’ offering, co-founder Meri Beckwith (pictured above right with co-founders Michael Young and Nik Haldimann) stresses that the company delivers everything that’s needed for running a full end-to-end clinical trial, including the staff necessary to conduct it.

“We’ve directly enrolled and provided treatment for more than 35,000 patients now. On staff, we have medics, doctors, technologists who are overseeing the trial data, clinical operations and regulatory folks,” Beckwith told TechCrunch in an interview last week.

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Lindus Health' platform in action
Lindus Health’ platform in actionImage Credits:Lindus Health

Founded in 2021, Lindus Health has so far delivered clinical trials across Europe and the U.S., focusing on conditions such as asthma, acne, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, weight management and social anxiety. These trials are either for trialing drugs or testing new medical devices.

“What you might notice is in common with a lot of these, and what gets us excited, is that these are quite complex, prevalent conditions that a lot of people suffer from, and frankly, they have been neglected by the industry,” Beckwith said.

Drug discovery

While the rise of AI is leading to all manner of ethical and legal quandaries, one area that seems to be exciting many people is its potential applications in health care, particularly in drug discovery.

A slew of startups have raised truckloads of capital to apply AI to the drug discovery process, and the company at the heart of much of this is Google’s DeepMind. Back in October, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and John Jumper scooped the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for AlphaFold, a deep learning model capable of predicting the 3D structure of proteins — data that’s crucial for disease research and helping scientists uncover novel drug candidates.

Hassabis predicts that all human diseases could be cured within a decade thanks to these advances. While some of the early indications are positive, clinical trials will be pivotal to proving the technology’s true worth. As with the drug discovery industry, many startups have been raising venture capital to modernize the dusty old clinical trial industry.

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This raises an important question: Is all the hullabaloo around AI drug discovery leading to a greater demand for clinical trial technology?

Beckwith, for his part, thinks there is a correlation.

“Frankly, all these AI drug discovery companies are not going to have the impact they deserve unless we fix this bottleneck in clinical trials,” he said. “The average AI drug discovery company spits out targets and hypotheses about this drug, or that patient population, but you still have to test them.”

For a pure software firm, the concept of rapidly testing, iterating and shipping code is fairly well ingrained in company culture. But in biotech, even where software is central to operations, it has been difficult to adopt such a “move fast and break things” mantra.

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This is for good reason, of course, as there is a world of difference between building a fashion marketplace and developing life-saving pharmaceuticals. However, Beckwith says things can be greatly improved with more efficient clinical trial infrastructure.

“Our mission as a company is to help these biotech companies test and iterate more rapidly, and more safely with patients,” he said.

‘Scratching the surface’

Lindus Health had previously raised around $25 million in equity and grant funding, including an $18 million Series A round in 2023 from the likes of Spotify investor Creandum and billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel. With a fresh $55 million in the bank, the company is preparing to accelerate its expansion, which includes moving its global headquarters from the U.K. to the U.S. — a transition that’s currently underway.

Moreover, Lindus plans to invest more resources in its commercial go-to-market team, expand into “more complex” clinical trial types, and bolster its integrations with third-party tooling such as electronic medical records.

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As with any company worth its salt in 2025, Lindus is also exploring more applications for AI across its business, including ways to analyze clinical trial data in real-time.

“We’re just scratching the surface of what we can do with AI,” Beckwith said.

Lindus Health’s Series B round was led by Balderton Capital, with support from Creandum, Firstminute, Seedcamp, and Visionaries.

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Hindustan Unilever acquires Peak XV-backed Minimalist for over $340M

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Hindustan Unilever acquires Peak XV-backed Minimalist for over $340M

Hindustan Unilever has agreed to acquire beauty startup Minimalist for about $342 million, marking its latest push to expand in India’s fast-growing premium skincare market.

The consumer goods giant will initially acquire a 90.5% stake in the four-year-old direct-to-consumer brand through secondary buyouts and primary investment, with the remaining 9.5% to be purchased from founders in two years, according to a stock exchange filing.

The announcement confirms TechCrunch’s report from earlier this month.

The deal gives Unilever’s Indian unit a stronger foothold in the premium beauty segment, adding to its portfolio that includes brands like Dove, Pond’s and Lakmé. Minimalist, known for its actives-led skincare products, reported an annual revenue run rate of over 5 billion rupees and has been profitable since inception.

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“This acquisition is another key step to grow our Beauty & Wellbeing portfolio in the high growth masstige beauty segment,” Rohit Jawa, CEO of Hindustan Unilever, said in the statement.

Founded in 2020 by Mohit Yadav and Rahul Yadav, Jaipur-based Minimalist sells a range of products from sunscreen to hair-repair serum. The startup had previously attracted investment from Unilever Ventures in its Series A round in 2021. Peak XV was its first institutional investor, leading the seed funding in the startup through its Surge platform in late 2019. Minimalist is one of the earliest Surge portfolio startups.

The acquisition follows Hindustan Unilever’s expansion into health and well-being through the purchases of Oziva and Wellbeing Nutrition last year. The latest transaction is expected to close in the June quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.

The founders will continue to run the business for two years after the deal closes. Minimalist has built a strong presence in e-commerce, which Hindustan Unilever plans to complement by expanding the brand’s offline distribution using its extensive retail network.

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The deal values Minimalist higher than the roughly $300 million valuation it reportedly sought when attempting to raise venture capital in the second half of last year, according to previous media reports.

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