Daily Crunch: US law enforcement charges SBF with fraud as he awaits extradition after Bahamas arrest

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Crunchianistas, welcome!

Today, Haje is dancing around the house with a candle in his hand to celebrate Saint Lucia. He’s not that excited, but it’s true. The traditional Scandinavian celebration Or the excitement of candlelight Saffron bunsHe’s not, however, because he’s at his parents and there’s a power outage. This means that there is a lot of excitement in the freezing European December at -7degC. Christine, on the other hand, is chillin’ in 80-degree heat like a villain. That’s in Fahrenheit. Otherwise, we’d be in severe discomfort.

Okay, enough about the weather outside. Let’s look at the wind direction in other places, such as the tech world. — Christine And Haje

TechCrunch Top 3

• Trading suits for trading: It is now clear why Sam Bankman-Fried, who was involved in the collapse of FTX, wasn’t arrested sooner. Darrell According to reports, SBF was detained in the Bahamas under fraud charges brought against several U.S. government agencies. This is only the beginning.
• They can’t be allowed to get awayCustomers will move on if it’s difficult. TheyDo helps large companies organize with the customer in their minds and wants them to take control of their customers’ journeys. Mike reports.
• Oh my!: Twitter has become more colorful recently, as you’ve probably noticed. This is intentional. We can’t keep up, so we are thankful. Ivan To find out what all those badges and check marks mean, visit the Big Tech section. Check out the Big Tech section for more news on check marks.

Startups and VC

After being self-sufficient for seven years, Ngrok announced today that it raised $50 Million in Series A funding Round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from Coatue Shreve tells Kyle Ngrok will use the new capital to expand its operations and make “continued investments” in its core product offerings.

The efficiency of the trillion-dollar construction industry is not well-known. It’s accused of not keeping up with technology and preferring legacy tools over digitization. Paul reports. There are many signs that things are changing. Numerous startups have raised large amounts of cash to modernize the construction industry. German VC firm is a good example of this. Foundamental has today revealed its new fundIt will target $85 million for early-stage construction tech startups worldwide and build on the success it has seen with its inaugural $65million fund, which closed in 2019.

We have five more:

• Push button to preloved: Beni has created an “easy button” for secondhand shoppingWrites Christine.
• There is no accounting for AI: Kyle Reports that Vic.ai raises $52 millionThis proves that automation of accounting processes can be profitable.
• Swoop in with your medicineSwoop Aero’s drones As the company raises funds for expansion, it has delivered over a million itemsReports Devin.
• It’s part car and part party, part website: Rebecca According to reports, Ex-Rocket Lab engineer raises $21 million for Partly, to make it easier to buy car parts.
• This drink makes you feel good.: Poppi raises capital to support its growth in functional beverages, Christine reports.

Three methods to value pre-revenue AI startups

The most common frameworks for costing prerevenue startups are the Berkus method, scorecard value, and venture capital. But when it comes to AI, can traditional yardsticks still be useful?

Ryan E. Long, principal attorney at Long & Associates, says that AI can scale faster than other technologies. Therefore, what works in the beta or minimum viable product stage might not work when an AI product scales up to millions of users.”

Long discusses the limitations of traditional methods to value pre-money “prototype” or “novel AI startups” in an article. He also discusses regulatory issues and shares strategies that “minimize uncertainty.”

Three more members of the TC team are now available:

• We are here to dispel the confusion: Tim Breaks down why it’s so exciting that the World-record fusion experiment produced more energy than expected.
• Meet ouroboros: Becca Writes that We’re going to see more startups buy other startups.
• With 1.3 billion in investments and 1000 portfolio companies: Gener8tor, the largest startup accelerator you have never heard of, is the best.By Haje.

TechCrunch Our membership program helps founders and startups get ahead of the game. Register here. For a 15% discount on your annual subscription, use code “DC”

Big Tech Inc.

Apple’s iOS 16.2 update, along with iPadOS 16.2 & macOS Ventura 13.1 are now available to all users Ivan writes. He takes a look at all the Top features of the updateIncluding improved encryption for iCloud data and Live Activities on your home screen, a karaoke function for Apple Music, and the new Freeform collaborative whiteboard app.

Apple is the perfect example of this. Zack I spent some time locating information from the consumer tech giant and wrote that it confirmed “that an Software update for iPhone It released two weeks ago a fix for a zero-day vulnerability that it now claims was actively exploited.

We have five more:

• Check mark, bye!After trying for ten years, Christine just received the coveted blue twitter check last year. Rebecca Twitter will eliminate all legacy verifications, writes writer Christine took a photo from her profile to prove that she was once well-known “in a few weeks.”
• Virtual reality world, goodbye!“Westworld” fans should organize a binge-watch party soon as the show is coming to an end. HBO Max may soon be removedWrites Lauren.
• New valuation, hello!: It can be difficult to determine the value of private companies, so it is a treat to hear from one company. Companies were more realistic in 2022 than they were in 2021, even though a large valuation was the goal. This is the case. Romain Writes about why Checkout.com has lowered its internal value.
• Hello to compensationUber’s Spanish food delivery company settled with more than 4,000 disqualified couriers. Received severance payment To those who were let go by the labor reform law of the country Natasha L reports.
• Goodbye, and welcome to the future: Paul Writes that Microsoft will end Soundscape 3D audio appIt will, however, make the code available in an open-source format for developers.