Day by day Crunch: ‘Reproduction-from-China’ social media app Lemon8 squeezes its approach into US best 10

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Hi, and welcome in your Friday. Did the week drag on, or did it cross via briefly for you? Or perhaps you had as of late off. Regardless of, I’m right here to deliver you all of as of late’s techy goodness. The lesson for as of late: “Don’t ever leak information.”

Oh, and fortify our colleagues over on the Chain Response and Discovered podcasts: They had been nominated for a Webby, so please fortify them with a vote via April 20. — Christine

The TechCrunch Best 3

• That’s one a-spicy software: ByteDance’s newest hit, Lemon8, which some describe as a move between Instagram, Pinterest and Amazon, is now sitting a number of the best 10 apps within the U.S. Alternatively, Rita says Lemon8 is extra like any other app known as Xiaohongshu and discusses why ByteDance can have taken any other web page from the China playbook.
• Get your unicorn horn in a position: You’re going to desire a TechCrunch+ subscription to learn this subsequent one, however I promise, it’s value it. Alex went unicorn IPO searching and got here again with a listing of names, pronouncing, “The primary crew of upcoming doable unicorn IPOs is shaping up neatly.”
• In a galaxy a long way, a long way away: For those who’re a Superstar Wars fan, Disney+ will debut a brand new sequence known as “The Acolyte” in 2024. Aisha writes that this storyline takes position on the finish of the Top Republic generation ahead of the occasions of the primary Superstar Wars motion pictures.

Startups and VC

Everybody wishes some excellent festival to get the creativity flowing. Kyle, Devin and Manish teamed up to take a look at Anthropic’s $5 billion, four-year plan to tackle OpenAI. Going in the course of the corporate’s pitch deck, the trio describe the industry type that may take Anthropic there and the traders in the back of it.

Wrapping up the week, as discussed the day gone by, there used to be a bunch folks staring at Y Combinator’s Iciness 2023 Demo Day. Synthetic intelligence and open supply had been giant buzzwords on Day 1, whilst Day 2 had us questioning if crypto is again and why accountants are unexpectedly getting a large number of love.

VCs to recommerce startups: Let’s pop some tags

Symbol Credit: Kinga Krzeminska (opens in a brand new window) / Getty Pictures

Thank you largely to Gen Z’s hobby in sustainable buying groceries, recommerce is hovering to new heights, and VCs are in search of the arise.

Since Etsy went public in 2015, corporations like Poshmark, The RealReal and thredUP adopted swimsuit, attracting much more traders to the field. Ultimate yr, VCs flowed roughly $6 billion to resale platforms, writes Brian Schwarzbach, an investor with Cathay Innovation.

In a submit for TC+, he explores 3 recommerce spaces attracting VC price range and stocks “some meals for idea for founders development startups on this (re)rising area.”

TechCrunch+ is our club program that is helping founders and startup groups get forward of the pack. You’ll join right here. Use code “DC” for a fifteen% bargain on an annual subscription!

Giant Tech Inc.

Occasionally issues don’t cross as deliberate. In India, its central financial institution made up our minds to press pause on plans it had for a rival to the country’s dominant cost machine, Unified Bills Interface. Manish writes that the mission, known as New Umbrella Entity, had made some traction, attracting hobby from massive corporations and monetary establishments, and alluring bids in 2021 for licenses to function new retail cost and agreement programs throughout India. Alternatively, the mission simply didn’t have that sizzle and pa that the Reserve Financial institution of India used to be in search of.

Catch a falling iPod and put it to your pocket…Harri stories on Apple’s patent software for what seems to be a teeny, tiny iPod that may do all of it: track, movies and books, no smartphone or smartwatch wanted. Although no longer certain how you’ll be able to learn on one thing that small. I assume we’ll see.

And we’ve 5 extra for you: