Say 'fromage'! French startup PhotoRoom captures $19M Series A

TechCrunch Newsletter [TechCrunch logo]( [The Daily Crunch logo]( By [Christine Hall]( and [Haje Jan Kamps]( Monday, November 07, 2022 Hello, dear crunchers! We hope you’ve had a peaceful weekend and that you were able to stay clear of social media for a few days. LOL Who are we kidding? We’ve all been glued to the slow-moving, painful, Elon-catalyzed bird crash over at Twitter. Now, if only Mastodon would call its posts something other than “toots,” we might be able to get behind those. In the meantime, come say hello to us on Mastodon! Much love from Christine ([@ChristineHall@mastodon.social]() and Haje ([@Haje@mastodon.social](). And, given that those social handles don’t exactly roll off the tongue, we’ll probably go back to linking to our Twitter accounts tomorrow. We are nothing if not creatures of habit, after all. [ image] Image Credits: PhotoRoom The TechCrunch Top 3 - [Get ready for your close-up](: PhotoRoom, a photo-editing app for e-commerce sellers that enables users to remove the background behind objects, has attracted 40 million app downloads and now raised $19 million,[Romain]( reports. - [Twitter wants you back](: If you were recently laid off from Twitter, would you return? [Ivan]( writes that after laying off half of its staff, the social media giant is reportedly compiling a list of people who could be asked to come back. Better read the fine print on that rehiring contract. - [Putting the “super” in super app](: Organizing all the facets of your life in one app seems to be quite popular, and Yassir is proof of that. The Africa-based super app, offering ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery and payments, grabbed $150 million. [Tage]( has more. [Automate compliance, simplify security]( Sponsored by [Vanta]( [There’s a reason why thousands of fast-growing companies use Vanta to automate their security monitoring and get ready for audits in weeks, not months. Watch the on-demand demo to learn how to automate compliance for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and more.]( [Watch on Demand]( Startups and VC Evidently, the downturn hasn’t soured investors on the travel industry. Travel booking startup [Hopper today announced that it closed a $96 million follow-on investment from Capital One](, bringing the company’s total raised to close to $730 million, [Kyle]( reports. The fresh cash will be put toward several efforts, CEO and co-founder Frederic Lalonde said in a press release, including supporting Hopper’s new social commerce initiatives. Want to start a DAO? It’s not that hard. [Want to join a DAO? It’s even easier, but there are several steps to get connected](. Some of those steps are daunting. [Matt]( is here to help, and he’s invited Alex Taub and one of his investors to learn more about how starting and onboarding for a DAO is about to become a lot easier, at least if they have something to do with it. Tune in to our next episode of TechCrunch Live on Wednesday to hear from Alex and investor Karin Klein from Bloomberg Beta. A smattering more: - Like concrete, but a little less carbon-y:[Carbon Re spins out of academia-land]( to take on cement pollution,[Haje]( reports. - More money from more places: [Ron]( explores the story behind the [folks who are working to bring more diversity to the venture LP investing pool](. - Fintech free fall: [Mary Ann]( and [Kyle]( tag-team a summary of what’s happening in the land of fintech in our newsletter the Interchange. “[The fintech layoffs just keep on coming](,” they report. - The rumors of its death were greatly exaggerated:[Benitago Group exec confirms it didn’t close, but did lay off some employees](, reports [Christine](. - Co-CEOs no more: [Tage]( reports that [Jumia co-CEOs Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec step down](. [Dear Sophie: How can I stay in the US if I’ve been laid off?]( Dear Sophie, I was laid off and I’m on an H-1B. I have enough savings to survive for a while. What should I do if I have been let go from my job? I am on an H-1B, have an approved I-140, and an I-797 that expires in March 2024. If I have to leave the U.S., can my current I-797 be transferred to my next employer? Are there any issues I should be aware of? — Upended & Unemployed Three more from the TC+ team: - New math: [Alex]( wonders if perhaps [we were valuing software companies the wrong way all along](. - The high highs, the low lows: [Anna]( dives into new data, which suggests that [SaaS founders have been dealing with whiplash from public markets](. - Where’s the beef?: [Haje]( explored how [ButcherBox grew to $600 million in revenue](, without taking external investment. [TechCrunch+]( is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack.[You can sign up here](. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! [Read More]( [Dear Sophie: How can I stay in the US if I’ve been laid off? image] Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/TechCrunch Big Tech Inc. [Romain]( has your look at the [Devialet Mania](, a $790 high-end portable speaker. And he actually uses the term “portable” lightly because it weighs five pounds, so more like a speaker you can pick up and change rooms with, not one you carry around in a backpack. Business marriage is in the air, with [Ouster and Velodyne agreeing to merge](. [Rebecca]( writes that this move “signals consolidation in the lidar industry” and also describes the background and what led up to this. Ready for five more? - That’s a lot of cryptocurrency: The U.S. Department of Justice said it seized[$3.36 billion in cryptocurrency]( from James Zhong, who[Jacquelyn]( reports is accused of unlawfully obtaining that large chunk from the dark web. - Game on: [Paul]( updates us on the completion of the $4.4 billion merger of[Unity and ironSource](. Together, the companies are building a platform for the development and monetization of games. - Flocking to something new: Boosted by all the Twitter drama over the past week, people have been on the lookout for another place to enjoy social media. Mastodon has been one of the benefactors, [reaching 1 million active monthly users](,[Kyle]( reports. - All the prices that are fit to post:[Airbnb is tweaking its search]( so that it will soon show prices inclusive of all fees in search results,[Ivan]( writes. - Say farewell: Over the weekend, [Lauren]( had a story about[HBO canceling “Westworld.”]( [Read more stories on TechCrunch.com]( Newest Jobs from Crunchboard - [Technology Support Technician at Town of Needham (Needham, MA, USA)]( - [Mobile/Web Developer (.Net) at Air Line Pilots Association (West McLean, VA 22103, USA)]( - [Director of Health Plan Strategy & Sales (New 911 Telehealth Technology) at MD Ally Technologies, Inc. (Anywhere)]( - [New Business Manager at Rock Paper Scissors, Inc (Bloomington, Indiana, USA)]( - [SENIOR POLICY & RESEARCH ANALYST POLITICAL VOICE at Catalyst California (Los Angeles, 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