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Every year, TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield pitch contest draws thousands of applicants. We whittle those applications down to the top 200 contenders, and from them, the top 20 compete on the big stage for the Startup Battlefield Cup and a cash prize of $100,000. But the remaining 180 startups blew us away, too, in their respective categories and in their own pitch competition. Here is the full list of the agtech and food tech Startup Battlefield 200 selectees, along with a note on why they landed in the competition. ÄIO What it does: Äio has developed a method to produce edible…
by Sarah Kuta Last updated: 11:10 AM ET, Tue December 23, 2025 Norwegian Cruise Line is getting rid of all non-commissionable fares.The change is permanent and will take effect December 26, 2025, for all sailings departing May 1, 2026 and beyond. The full cruise fare (excluding taxes and fees) is now commissionable, boosting travel advisors’ revenue on every booking. Norwegian has also simplified its fare structure so that travel advisors can more easily understand their earning potential upfront.“Travel advisors are the backbone of our industry, and their success is our success,” says John Chernesky, senior vice president of sales for…
After a federal judge on Tuesday blocked Texas from implementing a new age verification law for app stores, Apple announced it will pause previously announced plans for the state as it continues to monitor the “ongoing legal process.” Apple said its previously announced developer tools for age assurance would remain available for testing and use. The law, SB2420, or the App Store Accountability Act, would have required app stores, like those run by Apple and Google, to verify user ages and require parental consent for those under 18 to download apps or make purchases. In addition, it would have required…
PAPIRI, Nigeria (AP) — In a Christmas reunion, families and villagers in north-central Nigeria cried and hugged schoolchildren who were held for a month after being seized in one of the largest mass abductions in the country’s history. The 130 schoolchildren and teachers were released on Sunday and brought home in Niger state’s Papiri community late Wednesday night, marking the last batch freed since the Nov. 21 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri.Mothers with teary eyes hugged their kids tightly while other children were lifted high in the air, their faces beaming with joy as villagers called out…
Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesTubi hit profitability this year doing what other streaming services are trying to: attract younger audiences who are willing to sit through ads. The Fox Corp.-owned free streaming platform has long been among a sort of second tier of streaming services alongside lower-budget and less popular offerings like Pluto and The Roku Channel. But the free service is gaining traction and finding its footing in conversations with the big players. In November, Tubi made up 2.1% of total streaming minutes on The Gauge, Nielsen’s monthly analysis of viewing trends, ahead of NBCUniversal’s Peacock and…
There’s good news and bad news for air travelers renting a car this winter.Firstly, new survey data from Cheapcarrental.com shows that average car rental rates this winter are down by more than 17 percent compared to the summer. However, seasonal pricing varies widely by destination, and the average daily rental rate across 100 U.S. airports is $62.25, up 1 percent from the same period last year. To find out which airports will set you back the most and which will allow you to stretch your budget this winter, the team at Cheapcarrental.com compared rental car rates at 100 U.S. airports…
The former Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, refuses to sit on the sidelines of the generative AI revolution. After spending the last six years running Sunshine, a photo-sharing and contact-management startup with little success, the storied tech leader has shuttered the company to launch Dazzle, a new startup focused on building the next generation of AI personal assistants. While Mayer is not yet sharing specifics about Dazzle’s functionality, she has revealed that the new company has raised an $8 million seed round at a $35 million valuation. The round was led by Forerunner’s Kirsten Green, with participation from Kleiner Perkins, Greycroft,…
Nick Donahue’s parents were in the business of building houses, which means he spent his childhood hearing about the U.S. construction industry. His dad built homes for major developers, and his mom sold to big-box builders across the East Coast. Donahue was particularly interested in why designing a custom home cost a fortune and took forever, and why most people had to settle for whatever the developers were offering that year. So when he dropped out of NC State and moved to the Bay Area, he eventually did what you might expect a college dropout to do in San Francisco:…
In June, U.S. insurance giant Aflac disclosed a data breach where hackers stole customers’ personal information, including Social Security numbers and health information, without saying how many victims were affected. On Tuesday, the company confirmed it has begun notifying around 22.65 million people whose data was stolen during the cyberattack. In a filing with the Texas attorney general, Aflac said that the stolen data includes customer names, dates of birth, home addresses, government-issued ID numbers (such as passports and state ID cards) and driver’s license numbers, and Social Security numbers, as well as medical and health insurance information. And, in a…
This week on StrictlyVC Download, Connie Loizos spoke with Colin Angle, the founder and former CEO of iRobot. From his living room into a household name, Angle spent 30 years turning iRobot into one of the most pioneering companies in the robotics industry, stepping down as CEO following the failed Amazon acquisition. In this conversation, he unpacks why he considers iRobot’s bankruptcy “avoidable and a tragedy,” what regulators got catastrophically wrong in blocking the $1.7 billion Amazon deal, and why the FTC’s office walls covered with “blocked deals” as trophies revealed a deeply misguided approach to protecting innovation. Angle also shares the brutal reality of fighting regulators for 18 months…