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On the one hand, we may very well be upset that Punxsutawney Phil noticed his shadow, however the solar hasn’t come out the place Christine lives for a number of days, so she’s fairly stoked that wherever Phil lives has a ray of sunshine or two. In different information, Haje has to maneuver home on account of a flooded condo, climate is actual, and maybe it’s time we begin taking local weather change severely, y’all.

In the meantime, for immediately’s Black Historical past Month advice, we’re watching Angela Davis speaking about how we will’t eradicate racism with out eradicating racial capitalism.  — Christine and Haje

The TechCrunch Prime 3

• The Listing: Ron has been following the Salesforce layoffs introduced final month and writes that though these have been introduced in January, some staff are simply now discovering out they’re on the listing. Ouch.
• Grocery retailer going digital…forex that’s: Reliance Retail, India’s largest retail chain, is now accepting funds in digital rupees, often known as Central Financial institution Digital Forex, Manish stories.
• The password is…: Dashlane, a password administration firm, printed its supply code to GitHub, which Paul writes is likely one of the first steps the corporate is taking to supply transparency about its platform.

Startups and VC

Lex, the hookup and social app that launched in 2019 with a nod to lesbian private adverts from the ’80s, is altering. Solely, exactly how a lot will change continues to be an open query, Harri writes. Positive, the venture-backed startup behind the queer app gave it a brand new lick of paint final week, however in refocusing on “pals and group,” some customers worry that Lex may even scrub away its beloved raunchy essence. “Maintain Lex filthy,” the customers are chanting.

The rising ease with which anybody can create convincing audio in another person’s voice has lots of people on edge, and rightly so, Devin writes. Resemble AI’s proposal for watermarking generated speech might not repair it in a single go, but it surely’s a step in the best course.

Right here’s one other bucket o’ tales to your studying pleasure:

Optimizing freemium merchandise: Challenges and alternatives

Picture Credit: Richard 0rury (opens in a brand new window) / Getty Pictures

Providing a free pattern within the hopes that the recipient turns into a paying buyer is a core tactic at meals courts, beauty counters, and inside software program startups.

Freemium merchandise are in every single place, however except firms revisit and optimize their technique, there’s no efficient approach to optimize conversions.

“Enabling freemium, particularly for established merchandise, can carry organizational and operational challenges even when it provides worth to the enterprise,” writes Konstantin Valiotti, product director of development at PandaDoc.

On this article, he presents methods for optimizing:

• Consumer activation
• Conversion paths
• Product modifications
• The place to position obstacles and limitations

Three extra from the TC+ workforce:

TechCrunch+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup groups get forward of the pack. You’ll be able to enroll right here. Use code “DC” for a 15% low cost on an annual subscription!

Large Tech Inc.

Samsung, Google and Qualcomm are poised to take us out and in of actuality, Ivan writes. The trio is making a mixed-reality platform that Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon described as “a brand new period of extremely immersive digital experiences that blur the road between our bodily and digital worlds. With our Snapdragon XR tech, Samsung’s wonderful merchandise, and Google experiences, now we have the muse to make this chance a actuality.”

As a follow-up to his Apple HomePod evaluation, Brian spoke to the corporate’s {hardware} VP, Matthew Costello, to debate Apple’s strategy of “if it ain’t broke, don’t repair it.”

There’s going to be six extra weeks of winter, so how about six extra tales?