Facebook avoids European blackout as regulators squabble over EU-US data transfers

TechCrunch Newsletter [TechCrunch logo]( [The Daily Crunch logo]( By [Christine Hall]( Thursday, August 11, 2022 Hello, and “happy Friday junior,” as someone put in their email to me today. I hope it has been a productive Thursday for you. [Haje]( is hanging with a bunch of robotics technology, so it’s just me and my trusty Lakeland Terrier companion delivering the juicy morsels of news goodness today. Please enjoy his [Pitch Deck Teardown on Five Flute]( while he’s away. Sadly for this flute player, it’s not a flute maker. See you tomorrow! — [Christine]( [ image] Image Credits: NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty Images The TechCrunch Top 3 - [Data protection woes](: Facebook has managed to avoid being shut down in Europe, but [Natasha L]( writes that its parent, Meta, may be facing a suspension. - [Here and yonder](: I wrote about wealth technology firm Farther, which brought in $15 million in funding to boost its valuation to $50 million. The company provides tools for financial advisors to expand their business, while also enabling users to do fun things like a “cash waterfall,” which means whenever you have the benefit of excess funds, you can designate where the overflow goes. - [Borrowing a little from Apple](: [Ivan]( writes that as Google continues to merge Duo and Meet, it is introducing a new feature that lets users watch YouTube and Spotify together. [Where Founders Go to Grow]( Sponsored by [TechCrunch]( [Whether it’s negotiating your first term sheet, satisfying your crypto curiosity, or learning about the future of no-code, you’ll meet a wide variety of tech leaders and sessions dedicated to helping you expand your business mind at TechCrunch Disrupt this October 18-20. Save $1100 before Sept. 16.]( [Save Now]( Startups and VC I enjoyed [Dominic-Madori](’s story today on supply chain technology company [Stimulus, which raised a $2.5 million seed round](. She writes that Stimulus offers a product “that helps businesses cut costs by avoiding mismatched suppliers while introducing diverse vendors to companies that might have overlooked them.” [Creating internal apps]( can be a huge time-suck for companies. [Kyle]( introduces us to Superblocks, a company that developed a way for businesses to more easily custom-build their own. - It’ll give you wings: [Mike]( writes about the U.K.’s Enterprise Investment Scheme, which has created an [“institutional angel fund”]( to enable smaller companies to get their first big funding break. - Hand me that scalpel: Medical students often learn through doing, but in the age of surgical robots, their [education is now moving in the direction of virtual reality](. One such company is FundamentalVR, which raised $20 million to make simulations more real,[ Paul]( reports. - From onboarding to offboarding: Over the past year, Kenyan B2B e-commerce platform [Marketplace staffed up to onboard thousands of merchants](, and [Tage]( learned that the company laid off 9% of its staff after shifting focus. - Present!: [Natasha M](’s latest TechCrunch+ story looks at if [edtech is still a venture-backable]( industry. She [spoke to seven investors]( in the space to find out more. - Your food can be low-carbon, too: Just like we can see our carbon footprint, [Kuri has developed an app]( that does the same for our food,[Haje]( writes. [7 investors discuss why edtech startups must go back to basics to survive]( Pre-pandemic, edtech was not an especially frothy sector: In 2019, these startups received approximately $7 billion in VC funding, according to Crunchbase. Last year, that figure rose to $20 billion after efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 impacted students of every age. To learn more about how edtech is faring during the current downturn, Natasha Mascarenhas spoke to seven VCs about the advice they’re offering portfolio companies, where edtech is crossing over into other sectors, and how they prefer to be pitched: - Ashley Bittner and Kate Ballinger, Firework Ventures - Jan Lynn-Matern, founder and partner, Emerge Education - Malvika Bhagwat and Kriti Bansal, Owl Ventures - Jomayra Herrera, partner, Reach Capital - Rebecca Kaden, general partner, Union Square Ventures “I would say the past few years have been more of an anomaly, and we are getting back to a more sustainable pace,” said Reach Capital partner Jomayra Herrera. (TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead.[You can sign up here](.) [Read More]( [7 investors discuss why edtech startups must go back to basics to survive image] Image Credits: Boris Zhitkov / Getty Images Big Tech Inc. Recent financial pressures have forced Rivian to take certain measures, including [laying off 900 employees]( in July. Its second-quarter earnings are coming up later today, and [Jaclyn]( shifts into gear with [3 things to watch for on Rivian’s Q2 earnings](. Xiaomi has a pair of new products brought to you by [Brian]( and [Ivan](. The first is about its [new humanoid robot]( that very much has me thinking of the “I, Robot” movie. The second is a [foldable phone]( only available in China. Speaking of phones, anyone nostalgic for their old [Motorola Razr]( will want to check out the newest version. [Brian]( has more. - Let’s check in with the government: [Natasha L]( has a pair of stories about Big Tech and run-ins with local governments. First, the European Union is set to make a decision on [Instagram’s privacy policy]( on how it manages children’s data, and Amazon is facing some fines in Spain over [labor law breaches](. - You’ll want to bite into this Apple: The consumer products giant is [investing in some original podcasts]( that will be turned into Apple TV+ shows,[Amanda]( reports. - There’s an issue with your delivery: Commercial electric vehicle maker Arrival said it is [slashing its production]( from 400 vans to just 20,[Jaclyn]( writes. - Proper protection: Meta is testing an [end-to-end encryption feature]( for individual Messenger chats,[Ivan]( writes. - ICYMI: [Rebecca]( wrote about Ralph Nader asking the NHTSA to [recall Tesla’s “dangerous and irresponsible” FSD](, and [Aisha]( had two Disney items, one on [Disney+ reaching $152.1 million subscribers](, to which the company then said “hold my beer” to itself and announced it was [raising the price of an ad-free subscription](. [Read more stories on TechCrunch.com]( Newest Jobs from Crunchboard - [Lead Policy Researcher (Associate/Full Specialist) - UC Berkeley Labor Center - Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at University of California Berkeley (Berkeley, CA, USA)]( - [Product Support Engineer at Veeva (Columbus, OH, USA)]( - [Senior Software Engineer at Siemens Healthcare (Hoffman Estates, IL, USA)]( - [Software Developer at MedLab2020, Inc. (Irvine, CA, USA)]( - [Full Stack Developer - Remote at TheoremReach (Madison, WI, 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