After developers complain, Microsoft clarifies new policy on open source monetization

TechCrunch Newsletter [TechCrunch logo]( [The Daily Crunch logo]( By [Christine Hall]( and [Haje Jan Kamps]( Friday, July 15, 2022 Time to do the Friday dance! We’ve mentioned our virtual [TC Sessions: Robotics event]( a few times, but we’ve got some good news for events fans. Hang on to your blockchains and sharpen those crypto wallets — we’re doing a [TechCrunch Sessions: Crypto]( in November as well! Happy weekend! See y’all on Monday. — [Christine]( and [Haje]( [ image] Image Credits: Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images The TechCrunch Top 3 - [Words mean everything](: Microsoft came under fire recently by developers due to the way it worded a new policy banning profiting off of open source software, and while the company clawed back that policy, [Paul]( provides a look at what all this will mean. - [No snakes and frozen statues here](: [Christine]( writes about Medusa’s $8 million seed round to take on Shopify with its open source e-commerce tool for small businesses to grow their business beyond the basic API implementations provided by marketplaces. - [B-O-A-R-D](: No, it’s not today’s Wordle answer — we checked — but fans of the game will be delighted to know that the popular guess-the-word computer game is being turned into a board game,[Ivan]( writes. [Save $1300 on Disrupt 2022 Tickets. Sale Ends July 29!]( Sponsored by [TechCrunch]( [Sign up today for the world's most iconic startup ecosystem conference this October in San Francisco.]( [SAVE NOW]( Startups and VC “We have entered [an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability](, and we need to prepare the company for the possibility of a prolonged downturn,” OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer said, as [Lucas]( reports. The question bouncing around [Alex](’s mind this morning is [why venture investments are slowing when so much capital has been raised by VCs to invest?]((Read about it on TC+, our subscription product.) NGL and Sendit’s apps are problematic, [Sarah]( writes, because [they’ve been using misleading tactics]( to trick their young users into thinking they were receiving engagement from friends when they were not. Kick off the weekend by [bopping along to this wildly dark and weirdly threatening EDM track]( from Rüfüs Du Sol, as you skim the best of the rest: - Hi, is that Nothing? [Brian]( just posted [his review of the Nothing Phone (1)](, sharing that it’s “a refreshing change of pace in a smartphone market that has lost much of its sense of fun.” - Hi, WYD: The race is on, with a number of[startups racing to build a crypto-native, consumer-friendly messaging platforms for web3,]( reports[Connie](. - Shields up: With her new startup, Granitt, Runa Sandvik aims to [help at-risk people, like journalists and activists but also politicians, lawyers, refugees and human rights defenders](, from threats they face doing their work, [Zack]( reports. - You get a credit card, you get a credit card: Stori offers credit cards to underserved populations in Mexico. It has [raised $50 million in equity at a $1.2 billion valuation](, writes [Mary Ann](. - They’re really going places: Vektor Partners raises new $126 million fund [to look specifically at sustainable mobility]( companies, reports[Mike](. - It’s the birds, and the bees, and the flowers, and the vee cees:[Systemiq secures $70 million](to fund early-stage climate tech founders, reports[Harri](. [Pivoting your startup in a bear market: Become undeniably fundable]( Every founder is searching for ways to conserve cash at the moment, but a laser focus on saving money instead of creating efficiencies will only delay the inevitable. In July 2022, investors will not back companies that can’t demonstrate proficiency in five basic KPIs, according to Kraig Swensrud, founder and CEO of Qualified. “We’re not going back to the sugar high of the past decade anytime soon, but with integrity, strong leadership and operational efficiency, we can not only survive, but thrive.” (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead.[You can sign up here](.) [Read More]( [Pivoting your startup in a bear market: Become undeniably fundable image] Image Credits: Eoneren / Getty Images Big Tech Inc. [Brian]( writes that after testing out drone delivery in California, [Amazon is heading over to the Lone Star State](— that’s Texas, y’all — to begin delivering in the town of College Station, where Texas A&M University is located. Now when Texans look at the sky, it kind of gives a new meaning to “the stars at night are big and bright.” As one of our colleagues noted, TikTok wrote a [rather lengthy post]( basically announcing that its [chief security officer stepped down]( from his position. [Aisha]( reduces the news down to a more manageable length. All you Apple Music subscribers out there gained another perk with Apple Music Sessions, which provides access to audio recorded at Apple music studios around the world. [Country stars Carrie Underwood and Tenille Townes]( were the first to give it a go, [Lauren]( writes. [Natasha L]( gave us a good headline today with her story on a [proposal by European lawmakers]( to make it easier to share medical data across borders, but in a way that is also secure. Oh, and [Bungie is now officially part of Sony](, [Taylor]( reports. In case you missed it, our colleagues were working hard yesterday, and here are some late-day stories we don’t want you to miss: - Put it in drive: In car news, [Jaclyn]( wrote about [Hyundai’s N brand](, some [rather expensive]( (multimillion-dollar value) electric vehicles coming this summer and [where VinFast is building]( its new EV factory. Meanwhile,[Rebecca]( is keeping us up-to-date on what’s going on with [Cruise’s robotaxi service](. You may remember [a bunch of its vehicles stalling traffic]( for hours in San Francisco. - Patting yourself on the back: That’s how [Kyle]( described[Meta’s first human rights report](. - We want you to know that your car insurance may have lapsed: The [FCC slapped one robocaller with a $116 million fine]( and now it is ready to go again, [Devin]( wrote. - Ready and willing: [Coinbase may have some competition]( knocking at the door. [Anita]( digs into why Binance.US is prepared to come in. [Read more stories on TechCrunch.com]( Newest Jobs from Crunchboard - [Developer at ProMedia (Anywhere)]( - [Senior Quality Assurance Analyst at Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (Middletown, PA, United States)]( - [Senior Data Scientist at National Association of REALTORS® (Chicago, IL, USA)]( - [Project Manager II at Colorado Department of Education (Denver, CO, USA)]( - [Founding Engineer at Bonterms (San Francisco, CA, USA)]( [See more jobs on CrunchBoard]( [Post your tech jobs]( and reach millions of TechCrunch readers for only $200 per month. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Flipboard]( [View this email online in your browser]( [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms of Service]( | [Unsubscribe]( © 2022 Yahoo. All rights reserved. 110 5th St, San Francisco, CA 94103