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the incomparable mike butcher just celebrated 15 years at TechCrunch. You get less for a kill these days, so that’s a hell of a milestone, and (as far as we know) he hasn’t even badly maimed, let alone kill, anyone. Great job, Mike. Glad to have you here with us! — Christina and haje
TechCrunch’s top 3
- Crowdsourcing in the world of maritime transport: Backers delivered $80 million to Xeneta, on a valuation of $265 million, for the Norway-based company’s crowdsourcing approach to determining air and ocean freight rates, Ingrid reports. Xeneta has already acquired 300 million data points from over 100 of the world’s largest shipping companies to determine the market rate for certain routes.
- sound activated: Sound from the ground just got high – Sonos’ new Sub Mini subwoofer releases October 6th in select markets. Darrell see you.
- Keep looking for this wallet: The digital wallet just got some open source love, Paul reports. The Linux Foundation created the OpenWallet Foundation to develop interoperable digital wallets and evolve them from just a place to hold your currency to a physical wallet replacement.
Startups and VCs
Meta Platforms takes a look at India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem as it bolsters its bet on the metaverse. The social juggernaut has partnered with India’s IT Ministry Startup Center to launch an accelerator in the country to scale up innovation in emerging technologies, including augmented reality and virtual reality, pot holder reports.
Following the closing this week of the Ultimaker/MakerBot merger, the combined company is announcing a new name. The entity will be known as [drumroll, please] Ultimate Maker. Yes really. As for merged names, it’s not particularly exciting, because brian comments in his article – but the management reshuffle contains juicier details: MakerBot’s CEO takes over and Ultimaker’s CEO steps down.
You have sold your business. Now what?
Picture credits: Nodar Chernisey/EyeEm (Opens in a new window) /Getty Pictures
Moving a business from conception to acquisition is a real accomplishment, but it’s not the finish line, according to investor and frequent TC+ contributor Marjorie Radlo-Zandi.
“You may be wondering if the acquirer really understands your products, your values, your culture, or the needs of the customers that drive the business,” she writes. “Staff will wonder if there will be a place for them in another company.”
In her latest column, she shares “six guiding principles that will ensure a successful transaction” and help you realize your full earnout.
(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams grow. You can register here. Use code “DC” for 15% off an annual subscription!)
Big Tech inc.
It’s kind of a one-day Twitter! Elon Musk may regret one of his picks, but today most Twitter shareholders were confident of theirs – they greenlighted Musk’s $44 billion takeover bid , taylor writing. Paul tells us that Twitter and Musk are due in court on October 17 to see if the social media giant can compel Musk to make its purchase. In other Twitter news, we enjoyed Zacklet’s look at what was discovered about the company when Peiter Zatko, who can now call himself “Mudge” and people know who he is, testified before Congress. Also today, Aisha reported on Twitter about the rollout of podcasts to Blue subscribers.
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