Personnel at Google are continuing their advocacy efforts, Venmo introduces a new check-cashing service, and Slack experienced service disruptions. This is your Daily Crunch for January 4, 2021.

Key development: Google and Alphabet workers establish a union

Over 200 individuals employed by Google and its parent organization, Alphabet, have announced the formation of the Alphabet Workers Union.

While this represents a small percentage of Alphabet’s total workforce, which exceeds 130,000, reports from The New York Times indicate that the group functions as a “minority union” intended to provide a more organized framework for employee activism, rather than engaging in traditional contract negotiations. The union will also be accessible to contract workers.

“This marks a significant moment—the first union within a major technology company established by and for all tech workers,” stated Google software engineer Dylan Baker. “We will be electing representatives, making decisions through democratic processes, collecting dues, and engaging skilled organizers to ensure all employees at Google are aware they can collaborate with us if they desire their company to align with their principles.”

Major technology companies

Slack is currently experiencing difficulties – The precise start time of the outage is uncertain, but TechCrunch staff began noticing issues shortly after 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Venmo launches check-cashing functionality, eliminating fees for stimulus payments — This feature allows users to cash printed checks, payroll checks, and U.S. government checks, including the latest stimulus payments.

Samsung schedules its next Unpacked event for January 14 — The event is themed “Welcome to the Everyday Epic.”

Startups, financing, and venture capital

Color secures $167M in funding at a $1.5B valuation to broaden its ‘last mile’ US health infrastructure — Color experienced a record-breaking year in 2020.

Lidar company Aeva obtains an additional $200M in funding prior to becoming a publicly traded company — Aeva is among a select group of lidar companies choosing to go public through a SPAC merger rather than a traditional IPO.

India’s CRED raises $81M and repurchases shares worth $1.2M from its employees — CRED has almost doubled its customer base to approximately 5.9 million in the last year, representing around 20% of credit card holders in India.

Insights and analysis from Extra Crunch

Predictions for the application of artificial intelligence in 2021 — Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang outlines the most promising emerging applications.

2020 was a landmark year for Israel’s cybersecurity startup sector — A review of significant funding trends, investment rounds, and company exits.

Five key questions regarding the 2021 startup landscape — Each question addresses a change from 2020 that is anticipated to continue.

(Extra Crunch is our subscription service, dedicated to making information about startups more accessible. You can register here.)

Other news

Astronaut Anne McClain discusses the design and operation of the next generation of spacecraft — McClain is among the astronauts scheduled to participate in the Artemis missions.

Mixtape podcast: Examining the realities behind diversity initiatives — Most TechCrunch readers are familiar with diversity reports, but may not be aware of the processes occurring internally.

Original Content podcast: ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ is either a beautifully flawed film or simply flawed — Interestingly, one of my co-hosts actually preferred the sequel to the original.

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s compilation of our most significant and impactful stories. To receive this summary in your inbox daily around 3pm Pacific time, you can subscribe here.