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Oh heeeee! How are you doing today? We’ve had quite a busy day on the site today, with a veritable cornucopia of news spread across the internet. Below we have selected some of the most interesting parts for you. Enjoy (as long as you can enjoy another day of news about cuts and whispered advice to try and panic as little as possible). – Kristine AND He came
Top 3 TechCrunch
- WhatsUp on WhatsApp: The messaging giant has been preparing us for this moment since August, and it’s finally here: Communities! The new discussion group allows more people to be involved and features voice and video calls for up to 32 people, as well as plenty of emojis, polls and large file sharing, Sarah reports.
- You might want to switch to polka dots: Stripe cuts 14% of its workforce, and Paul writes that its CEO points to “overemployment for the world we’re in” as the cause of the downsizing. Unfortunately, it’s kind of a day off, so head over to Big Tech Inc. if you can read more.
- Where in the world is Ajit Mohan?: Well, the former head of Meta India is now there at Snap and will serve as president of the company’s APAC business, Manisha AND Jagmeet write.
Startups and VCs
“Most designers have no real-life manufacturing experience and are drawing things that are not usable from the factory,” Xianfeng Wang, founder and CEO of Pacdora, tells TechCrunch. To bridge the gap between designers and manufacturers. Wang’s team developed Pacdora, which is like Canva plus Figma for packaging, Rita reports. The platform offers thousands of packaging templates for all kinds of products, from shipping boxes and coffee bags to lotion bottles and yogurt pouches.
“I was always looking for that piece of software that could help us do that internally,” said Juan Meisel. Kristine. He is building a logistics solution with his new startup, Grip. “I started advising some companies on the side. They got their Butcher Box in the mail and were trying to send anything from frozen milk to chocolates, flowers and pharmaceuticals.
Okay, well, there’s a little bit of startup news:
Proptech in review: 3 investors explain how finance-focused tech startups can survive the downturn
Image credits: Kuzma (opens in a new window) / Getty Images
How are financier-oriented property technology investors reacting to the ongoing downturn in public markets?
Senior reporter Mary Ann Azevedo interviewed three VCs to learn more about how they’re advising the companies in their portfolios, which types of startups are best positioned to weather the downturn, and how they’re managing risk:
- Pete Flint, general partner, NFX
- Zach Aarons, co-founder and general partner, MetaProp
- Nima Wedlake, director of Thomvest Ventures
Three more from the TC+ team:
TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can register here. Use code “DC” for 15% off an annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
Stand up, people! We know you don’t like keeping a paper grocery list—hell, we know scrolling through that tiny phone screen is a hassle, too. Well, Amazon and Mojo Vision have a treat for you, or rather, for your eyes. Today, they presented a proof of concept feature that Brian says it’s “the first major third-party consumer app on a smart contact lens.” That’s right, an Alexa Shopping List integration for a contact lens that has a computer interface.
Layoffs, layoffs as far as the eye can see today. While we’ve already shared the Stripe news with you, and as you’ve likely heard over the past week, Elon Musk is also making some downsizing at Twitter. Natasha L reports that he now plans to cut Twitter’s headcount in half. Meanwhile, Kirsten writes that Lyft is laying off 13% of its workforce in an effort to cut operating costs.
And we have five more for you:
