Monthly Archives: August 2022

Tillis, Leahy Introduce Legislation Mandating Reports, USPTO Improvements on Patent Quality

Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) today announced the introduction of the Patent Examination and Quality Improvement Act of 2022, which is aimed at “evaluat[ing] and improv[ing] the patent examination process and the overall quality of patents issued by the USPTO,” according to a press release. Last week, Tillis told IAM that he would…

Tinder to kill virtual currency, metaverse plans amid Match Group earnings loss; Tinder loses its CEO

Dating giant Match Group announced a series of changes to Tinder’s management team alongside the announcement of disappointing second quarter earnings on Tuesday. Notably, Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg will be departing the company after less than a year in the top job. Match Group is also killing Tinder’s plans to adopt new technology, like virtual…

Daily Crunch: Sheryl Sandberg is out at Meta, and Zuckerberg’s not looking for a new COO

To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here. The SEC leapt in this week, charging 11 people associated with Forsage, which the government watchdog says was running a pyramid scheme. I’m not one to embrace drama, but I also can’t…

Y Combinator narrows current cohort size by 40%, citing downturn and funding environment

Y Combinator says it has intentionally shrunk the number of startups within its accelerator for the Summer 2022 batch. As first reported by The Information and independently verified by TechCrunch, Y Combinator’s Summer 2022 cohort — currently in action — boasts nearly 250 companies, down 40% from the previous cohort, which landed at 414 companies….

Meta is being sued for giving US hospitals a data-tracking tool that allegedly ended up disclosing patient information to Facebook

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks about &quotNews Tab&quot at the Paley Center, in New York on October 25, 2019. AP Photo/Mark Lennihan A new lawsuit alleges that Meta has used people’s medical data without permission for targeted ads on Facebook.  This is the second recent lawsuit accusing hospitals of sharing sensitive patient data with Meta….

The Fulton County DA’s experience prosecuting teachers with a crime typically used against the Mafia offers clues to how she may charge Trump

Fulton County Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis. AP Photo/Ben Gray, File District Attorney Fani Willis is expanding her probe into former President Donald Trump. Willis has prosecuted high-profile racketeering cases. Experts familiar with state law say racketeering charges may be her best avenue to convict Trump.  The Georgia prosecutor pursuing one of the most high-stakes…

Robinhood lays off almost a quarter of its staff

For the second time this year, Robinhood is cutting its headcount. On Tuesday, the company announced it would lay off 23 percent of its workforce. According to CEO Vlad Tenev, the cuts will affect every part of Robinhood’s business but will primarily target the company’s “operations, marketing and program management functions.” Tenev blamed a deteriorating…