TechCrunch Newsletter [TechCrunch PM Logo]( By [Christine Hall]( Friday, March 08, 2024 Good afternoon, and welcome to Fridayâs TechCrunch PM. We made it through another week. Today was another busy news day. Weâve got a lot of car talk, led by your favorite electric vehicle maker Rivian. And Russian spies keep hacking Microsoft. Meanwhile, Fortnite is coming back to iOS in Europe, there were some layoffs at Inscribe.ai and one company is doing so well it doesnât need investor money. So itâs giving it back. Have a great weekend! â[Christine]( [ image] Image Credits: Phillip Faraone / Getty Images TechCrunch PM Top 3 Everybody wants you: Well, not âyou,â but a Rivian. [Over 68,000 people put down a $100 (refundable) deposit]( to reserve their spot in line to get the electric vehicle makerâs new R2 SUV. This comes just a day after the reveal. Then, in âwhat else will they think of next?” news, [Rivian has a new treehouse rooftop tent](. With a movie projector! Who saw that coming? [Russian spies keep hacking Microsoft](: Russian government hackers continue to break into Microsoftâs systems using information obtained during a hack last year. This time, the Russian hackers, dubbed Midnight Blizzard, have targeted Microsoftâs source code and other internal systems. [Read what the company had to say about it](. [Layoffs at Inscribe.ai](: Fraud detection software startup Inscribe cut nearly 40% of its staff, which equates to dozens of employees. Sources say Inscribeâs board recommended the job cuts after current market conditions caused the startup to miss its revenue goals for over a year. [TechCrunch PM Top 3 image] Image Credits: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images / Getty Images More top reads More car talk: [General Motors resumed the sales of the all-electric Chevy Blazer]( three months after stopping sales when early customers reported problems with the SUVâs infotainment screen and charging at DC fast-charging stations. And the prices get cheaper. Meanwhile, troubled EV startup Faraday Future has issued its first [recall](, covering all 11 vehicles it built last year. [More here](. [Fortnite is coming back to iOS in Europe](: For real! After [terminating]( Epic Gamesâ developer account a few days ago, Apple said it will reinstate the Fortnite makerâs access to publish iOS apps in Europe. Hereâs what [CNN had to say on the matter](. [Artemis Fund closes second fund](: The Artemis Fund, which invests in underrepresented founders, closed on $36 million in capital commitments to invest in economic problems its general partners say other VCs write off too quickly. [Turo-ing toward an IPO](: Turo, the venture-backed, peer-to-peer car rental service, reported its [fourth-quarter and full-year financial performance]( this week in an updated IPO filing. Alex read it so you donât have to and dives into how well the company did in 2023. [Throne returns investor money](: Not because it is doing badly, but because it is doing so well. The website, which lets fans gift items to creators from their wish list, decided to go back to bootstrapping. [New Reddit tools](: Ahead of Redditâs [initial public offering](, the community network [announced]( a suite of free tools called Reddit Pro to help businesses grow an organic presence on the platform. This is the first time they have offered free tools to help businesses with their social strategy, and we think itâs a move to get more brands on the platform and possibly convert them into paying advertisers. [Spyware sanctions aftermath](: Spyware makers have some concerns after peers Tal Dilian and Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou were [sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury]( after claims were made that they developed and sold spyware that was then used to target Americans. [Pitch Deck Teardown](: Astek Diagnostics wants to solve the problem of antibiotic sensitivity and let Haje have his way with its $2 million seed-round deck. [Just when Threads thought it was out of politics, it gets pulled back in](: Metaâs app tried to stay out of politics. However, while testing a trends feature, the app found that three of the top five search trends on Threads were related to President Bidenâs State of the Union address, including peopleâs reactions to the speech itself, as well as the Republican response and the heckling from Marjorie Taylor Greene. [DMA gatekeepers speak](: The European Unionâs Digital Markets Act is live, and Natasha goes through the first set of gatekeeper compliance reports, pulling out the juicy bits. [Women in AI](: Meet Sarah Kreps, a political scientist, U.S. Air Force veteran and analyst who focuses on U.S. foreign and defense policy. Krepsâ recent research explores both the potential and risks of AI tech such as OpenAIâs GPT-4, specifically in the political sphere. [Apple Vision Proâs Personas get less creepy](: Brian takes the Persona feature out for a spin. See what happens. [More top reads image] Image Credits: General Motors (Image has been modified) Before you go [TechCrunch Disrupt](: Just seven days remain between you and the price of tickets to Disrupt going up. Youâve got until March 15 at 11:59 p.m. PT to lock in our super early-bird pricing and save $1,000. [Secure your TC Disrupt pass now and pocket those savings](. [Before you go image] On the pods On the Friday episode of [Equity](, Mary Ann and Alex dug into a whole mess of news, including Mewsâ massive new round, whoâs taking on Carta, Deelâs purchase of Africaâs PaySpace and venture capital musical chairs. [Listen here](. [On the pods image] Image Credits: Bryce Durbin [Read more stories on TechCrunch.com]( Newest Jobs from Crunchboard - [Principal Software Engineer/Developer at Health Research, Inc. (Menands, NY, USA)](
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