Daily Crunch: After raising $3M seed, global fintech platform Payday plans to secure licensing in Canada, UK

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Hello and welcome to Wednesday Crunch!

What everyone is thinking about today is the power of AI and whether we are all doomed. Connie reports that more than 1,100 prominent signatories have just signed an open letter calling for “immediate suspension of all AI labs for at least six months.” in the meantime, Amanda Explore how it’s all ‘Goncharov’ as meme makers are becoming mainstream with the help of AI technology.

— Christine and he came

TechCrunch Top 3

• The future of work is borderless: Payday has now raised $3 million in new capital and plans to expand its Africa-based operations into Canada and the UK. took I am writing. The company offers a way for people working remotely to receive payments in their currency of choice.
• “Alexa, call grandma”: A new feature from Amazon will allow T-Mobile customers to make and receive calls through their Alexa-enabled devices. Ivan report.
• Guarantee of new funds: India-based insurtech company Acko, already backed by Amazon, is in talks to raise $120 million in new funding. mannish There are more.

Startups and VC

With the investment scene drier than usual, founders are looking for more effective ways to reach the right VCs. Thousands of founders apply for land capital through a common app, Natasha M. report. The platform they use is Seed Checks. Founders are invited to apply using her one-minute form asking for decks, notes and regions. The app will then be sent to her 16 investors.

Autio, a location-based audio entertainment app co-founded by actor Kevin Costner and formerly known as HearHere, has raised $5.9 million. The funding round was led by iHeartMedia, Aisha report. Autio aims to use GPS to narrate stories of nearby landmarks, cities, and towns, fostering a deep connection and understanding of where users are navigating.

In addition, there are five

Ask Sophie: What if I am selected/not selected in the H-1B lottery?

Dear Sophie

After trying 3 times, I won this year’s H-1B lottery! what’s next?

— mysterious winner

Dear Sophie

I have a STEM OPT. My employer told me that this year he won the H-1B lottery three times and never won again!What do I do?

— Lottery Loser

Three more from the TC+ team:

TechCrunch+ is a membership program that keeps founders and startup teams a step ahead. You can sign up hereUse code ‘DC’ and get 15% off your annual subscription!

Big Tech Co., Ltd.

There are a lot of Google-related news today, so let’s summarize. The TechCrunch audience was particularly enthralled Aisha‘s story about the new feature regarding the heat wave warning. why? Probably because our weather is not consistent with this month. in the meantime, Frederick We are pleased to announce that Google Cloud has launched AlloyDB Omni. Ivan Check out our new Advertising Transparency Center. mannish Report on Android antitrust litigation in India. Aisha I’m writing about the new Google Search feature.and Lorenzo and curly We conclude with a story of hackers using spyware to target UAE users.

Have a great day at Google!

Here are five more.