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We hope you meet the week with open arms and that the week loves you right back. Unrequited love in the abstract conceptual measurements of time is so heartbreaking.
Let’s start by reminding you that there are only 5 days left to save $1,000 on Disrupt passes! — Christine and He came
TechCrunch Top 3
- Nobody likes a cheater: Certainly not Russian game developer Battlestate Games, which banned and removed 6,700 cheats from its Escape from Tarkov game. Lorenzo has more
- You get a loan and you get a loan!: Ingrid writes that UK open banking lending platform Abound has secured $601 million in new funding to “supercharge” its consumer lending business, which makes loans between £1,000 and £10,000, with several options generous repayment of up to five years.
- Microsoft’s next stop: Microsoft’s automation journey sees the software giant make a stop in Business App Suite City to drop AI-powered Copilot capabilities, Kyle reports.
Startups and VCs
Also today, we’re releasing the final episode of our Inside Startup Battlefield podcast miniseries, which covers TechCrunch’s pitch competition. It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – the winner is announced!
And we have five more for you:
Creating remote work rituals that stick
Image credits: bABY (opens in a new window) / Getty Images (Image has been modified)
Remote teams have a lot of flexibility when it comes to when and how they work, but adding structure can increase productivity and transparency without sacrificing freedom.
“Ultimately, asynchronous work only works for you when you compartmentalize work phases with your team,” says Stefanie Palomino, Product Director and General Manager at ROOM 3D.
This post offers some tips that can help managers implement active listening techniques that drive engagement, improve communication, and ideally reduce the number of meetings that take place.
Palomino says, “The routines that people create are negotiated over time, but it’s something we’ve come to take for granted.”
Three more from the TC+ team:
TechCrunch+ is our subscription program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for 15% off an annual subscription!
Big Tech Inc.
Natasha L has the latest things about WhatsApp. The Meta-owned messaging platform agrees to clean its users’ messages in the European Union so that its terms of service for users are more transparent.
European and American police organizations arrest suspected members of the DoppelPaymer ransomware gang. Carly says that this particular gang has targeted at least 601 companies worldwide, one of the worst attacks targeting the University Hospital in Düsseldorf, which resulted in the death of a patient.
More for your Monday: