Daily Tech Roundup: March 24, 2021

Slack has introduced a new direct messaging capability, a change in leadership is occurring at Amazon Web Services, and we've compiled a selection of noteworthy startups from Y Combinator. This summarizes the key tech news for March 24, 2021.

Slack's Connect Feature: Addressing Concerns

Slack recently unveiled Connect, a new feature designed to facilitate direct messaging between employees across a vast network of organizations – currently exceeding 74,000.

This functionality allows individuals to connect with others both within and outside their respective companies. However, it’s been confirmed that Connect operates on an opt-in basis, at least from an organizational perspective.

According to a company spokesperson, IT administrators retain control over feature access, with the ability to disable it for teams and monitor all external connections, including direct messages initiated through Slack Connect. Once enabled, direct messaging can commence without further administrative authorization.

Updates from Tech Giants

The appointment of Adam Selipsky to lead AWS was a predictable decision – Andy Jassy, the current CEO, announced yesterday via email that Adam Selipsky, CEO of Tableau, will be returning to Amazon Web Services to assume leadership.

Facebook has identified and taken action against Chinese hackers who were employing fabricated profiles to target individuals within the Uyghur community abroad. The platform is actively working to dismantle this malicious network.

Twitter is currently evaluating the implementation of emoji reactions, similar to those found on Facebook. User feedback is being gathered through surveys to assess preferences for an expanded range of expressive reactions.

Startup Funding and Venture Capital Activity

Hopper secured $170M in funding and has established a partnership with Capital One to launch a new travel booking portal for cardholders. This investment follows a challenging year for the travel sector.

Blockchain.com, a cryptocurrency wallet and exchange, has raised $300M, resulting in a valuation of $5.2B. The company provides a noncustodial wallet, granting users complete control over their private keys.

Ketch has obtained $23M in funding to streamline privacy and data compliance processes. The startup was founded by Tom Chavez and Vivek Vaidya, the original creators of Krux.

Extra Crunch Insights

We’ve highlighted our top picks from Y Combinator’s W21 Demo Day: Part 1 – Discover the companies that impressed us during the first half of the event.

Our favorite companies from Y Combinator’s W21 Demo Day: Part 2 – This selection includes a diverse range of ventures, from a formalwear resale marketplace to a developer of autonomous street cleaning technology.

Ten proptech investors anticipate a more favorable climate for residential and retail real estate following the pandemic. As restrictions ease, investors are discussing the lasting impacts of the pandemic on the real estate landscape.

(Extra Crunch is a membership program designed to empower founders and startup teams. Sign up here.)

Additional News

The startups participating in the TC Early Stage Pitch-Off have been announced. The event will be held on April 2 and hosted by our team.

TechCrunch provides important corporate updates.

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