Daily Crunch: “Copy from China” social media app Lemon8 hits the top 10 in the US

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Hey, welcome to your Friday. Has the week been robust or has it gone quick for you? Or perhaps you have been off right now. It would not matter, I am right here to carry you all of the technological goodness of right now. At present’s lesson: “By no means leak knowledge.”

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TechCrunch Prime 3

• It is a spicy app: ByteDance’s newest hit, Lemon8, which some describe as a mixture of Instagram, Pinterest and Amazon, is presently among the many prime 10 apps within the US. Rita He says Lemon8 is extra like one other app referred to as Xiaohongshu, and he discusses why ByteDance may need taken one other web page from the Chinese language playbook.
• Put together your unicorn horn: You may want a TechCrunch+ subscription to learn the following one, however I promise, it is value it. Alex The unicorn went on the hunt for the IPO and got here again with a roster and stated, “The primary batch of potential unicorn IPOs to come back are shaping up effectively.”
• In a galaxy far, distant: If you happen to’re a Star Wars fan, Disney+ will launch a brand new sequence referred to as “The Acolyte” in 2024. Ayse writes that this story takes place on the finish of the Excessive Republic period, earlier than the occasions of the principle Star Wars films.

Newcomers and VC

Everybody wants good competitors to maintain creativity flowing. KyleDevin and Manish They received collectively to have a look at Anthropic’s four-year $5 billion plan to take over OpenAI. Reviewing the corporate’s pitch, the trio discuss concerning the enterprise mannequin that can get Anthropic there, and the traders behind it.

Closing the week, as talked about yesterday, we have been watching a bunch of Y Combinators’ Winter Demo Day 2023. Synthetic intelligence and open supply have been massive buzzwords on Day 1, and Day 2 left us questioning if crypto was making a comeback and why accountants have been instantly so in love.

VCs to re-trade startups: Let’s unpack some tags

Picture Sources: Kinga Krzeminska (opens in a new window) / Getty Footage

Thanks largely to Gen Z’s curiosity in sustainable buying, re-commerce is taking to new heights and VCs are on the lookout for the upswing.

Since Etsy went public in 2015, corporations like Poshmark, The RealReal, and thredUP have adopted swimsuit, attracting much more traders to the trade. Brian Schwarzbach, an investor at Cathay Innovation, writes that just about $6 billion flowed into VCs resale platforms final yr.

In a submit for TC+, she explores three areas of re-trading that has attracted VC funds and shares “some thought-provoking insights for founders constructing startups on this (re)rising house.”

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup groups keep forward of their rivals. you’ll be able to register right here. Use code “DC” for 15% off annual subscription!

Large Know-how Inc.

Generally issues do not go as deliberate. In India, the central financial institution has determined to halt its plans to rival the nation’s dominant cost system, Unified Funds Interface. Manish He writes that the venture, referred to as New Umbrella Entity, has garnered some curiosity, attracting main companies and monetary establishments, and is inviting bids for licenses to function new retail cost and clearing programs throughout India in 2021. However the venture did not get the sizzle and increase the Reserve Financial institution of India was on the lookout for.

Catch a falling iPod and put it in your pocket…harri It reviews on Apple’s patent submitting that appears tiny, seems to be like a tiny iPod, and may do all the pieces from music, movies, and books to a smartphone or smartwatch. Though you are undecided how one can learn one thing so small. I suppose we’ll see.

And there are 5 extra for you: