Matt Burns
Senior Editor
The Latest from Matt Burns
Weedmaps adds in-app cannabis purchasing for iPhone users
Thanks to Apple loosening App Store restrictions, Weedmaps users can now purchase cannabis within the popular app. This means Weedmaps users can browse, select and purchase cannabis and have it set fo
Scotts Miracle-Gro announces cannabis investment entity, and a $150M investment in RIV Capital
Scotts Miracle-Gro knows how to make plants grow, and now the company is looking to cannabis companies to grow its balance sheet. The company today announced an investment entity specifically for cann
Cannabis giant Leafly is going public through a SPAC merger
Leafly is turning to a SPAC with Merida Merger Corp. I to go public. The deal, valued at about $532 million and expected to generate proceeds of up to $161.5 million, includes Leafly’s recent capita
SOSV partners explain how deep tech startups can fundraise successfully
'In deep tech, it's essential to think about founder-investor fit. And what we mean by this is understanding why an investor is even in VC in the first place.'
Silicon Valley comms expert Caryn Marooney shares how to nail the narrative
"You may think that the message is boring because you've said it once. But repetition never spoils the prayer."
Vyrill, winner of the TC Early Stage Pitch-Off, helps brands discover and leverage user-generated video reviews
Vyrill helps brands discover and leverage video reviews created by authentic customers and users. The company presented its product at TechCrunch Early Stage: Marketing & Fundraising, where it bea
Dodge challenges: Can the automaker bring muscle into the electric future?
The term muscle car has always been a euphemism for concessions. Want the most power for the money? Forget about a sports car from Porsche or Lotus. Buy a muscle car and just take corners a bit slower
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto speaks on Duolingo’s IPO and luring venture capital to the Steel City
Pittsburgh is known as the Steel City, but these days, the city is turning to startups rather than steel. Mayor Bill Peduto led this charge since taking office in 2014. He recently spoke at TechCrunch
Last call for our Pittsburgh City Spotlight Pitch-Off
We’re about a week away from TechCrunch Spotlight: Pittsburgh, and one of the uniquely-TechCrunch things we do at events is a pitch-off. Be it the big Disrupt Battlefield, or the flash pitch-offs th
Pitch us, Pittsburgh
We’re getting closer to putting our spotlight on Pittsburgh, and there’s quite a bit going on behind the scenes. We’ve been spending a ton of time chatting with folks who are on the ground in t
Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian is speaking at TechCrunch City Spotlight: Pittsburgh
TechCrunch is thrilled to announce Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian is speaking at our Pittsburgh event on June 29. You can register here. It’s free to participate and hear P
Mint House claims top NYC hotel after COVID changed its hospitality business
What’s the top-rated hotel in New York City? According to TripAdvisor users, it’s Mint House at 70 Pine, and it’s easy to see why as you click through the photos. Throughout NYC, hot
iPadOS 15 announced at WWDC, features improved multitasking and surprising Swift Playgrounds features
Apple today introduced the next version iPadOS, with more widgets and a better multitasking system. The announcement was by Apple SVP Craig Federighi at Apple’s annual developer’s conferen
Amazon to stop screening employees for marijuana
Amazon in a brief blog post announced it will no longer include marijuana on its drug screening program. In short, the company is now treating weed like alcohol, which means off-work employees can par
Calling all Yinzers, TechCrunch is (virtually) headed to Pittsburgh!
We’ve had a blast meeting new folks in different cities this year and we’re keeping the train rolling. We learned quite a bit about what’s happening now in Miami and got up to speed on what’s
Airspace Link raises $10M to make drones safer for both operators and communities
Airspace Link is today announcing it raised a $10 million Series A from Altos Ventures, Thales and others. The Detroit, Michigan-based startup anticipates using the additional funds to expand its dome
Axle raises $10M Series A to advance its freight financing services
Axle recently announced it raised $10 million Series A financing after a stellar year of growth. The round was led by Crosslink Capital with participation from FJ Labs, Flexport, Tribeca Early Stage P
Credit Karma reinvents cash-back rewards with instant payback
Credit Karma Money, a new checking and savings account from the company best known for its credit monitoring service, recently launched a significant new feature. Called Instant Karma, the program rew
Comms expert and VC Caryn Marooney will detail how to get attention at TC Early Stage
We’re thrilled to announce Caryn Marooney is speaking at our upcoming TechCrunch Early Stage virtual event in July. She spoke with us last year and we had to have her back. Just look at her resu
Jim Belushi is chasing the magic in cannabis
I don’t think Jim Belushi was high while we talked on Zoom this week. Instead of a joint, he was puffing on a cigar, but he was still happy and smiling. “I have my brother’s face on