Month: October 2018

Google just announced new features for Google Maps on Android and iOS. The update is rolling out this week and features a bunch of new features focused on commuting, music and getting more personal data from you.

While Google Maps is particularly useful for road trips and vacation, the app can also be useful for stressful commutes. Google is resurfacing some of those features with a new ‘Commute’ tab.

After setting up your home and work address, the app will help you know what to expect in the morning and the evening. If you drive to work, Google Maps now tells you how long it’s going to take and if there are any alternative routes. It works pretty much like Waze’s ETA screen and tells you if it’s going to be faster or slower in 30 minutes or an hour.

If you take the bus or train to work, Google Maps can help you find out when you should leave. The app takes into account the walk or drive to the station. Those public transit features compete directly with Citymapper and most likely relies on a lot of open data.

Talking about public transit, you’ll be able to see your bus or train on the map, slowly moving closer to you. The app also tells you how long you have to wait. This feature will be available in 80 regions around the world. In Sydney, the app tells you how full the next bus is going to be.

Unfortunately, this update comes with a privacy drawback. Until very recently, you could associate your home and work address with your Google account in Google Maps.

Now, you need to activate ‘web & app activity’, the infamous all-encompassing privacy destroyer — I used to store my home and work address and I can no longer change those addresses without enabling that. If you activate that setting, Google will collect your search history, your Chrome browsing history, your location, your credit card purchases and more.

And Google nudges you to activate that “feature” all the time. You need to turn on ‘web & app activity’ to use Google Assistant on an Android device for instance. It’s becoming quite clear that Google is monetizing its newest features with your data.

In other news, Google is also adding music controls in Google Maps. You’ll be able to control Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play Music. It looks like the company is taking advantage of taller screens to add a banner near the bottom of the screen with the current song and the ability to skip a song or pause the music.

There will be a new button on the right to open your music app as well. Spotify users on Android will also be able to browse the Spotify library from Google Maps directly.

We are less than a month away from the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, the sequel to one of the most popular games of the PS3/Xbox era. Red Dead Redemption launched in 2010, meaning that fans of the franchise have waited for almost a decade to continue their adventure through the early American frontier.

Today, Rockstar Games has released a little over 4 minutes of gameplay footage, showing off a special glimpse of first-person mode. Usually a third-person game, Rockstar has let slip that the next game will have a first-person mode for folks who want to fully immerse.

Part of the draw to RDR comes from the beauty of its open world experience. With RDR2, Rockstar has challenged itself to make everything bigger, better, and more dynamic. In this trailer, the company shows off small but significant details like the dynamic weather (see Arthur Morgan’s frosty breath in the snow) and also gives us a deeper look at important game mechanics like Dead Eye.

As part of the expansion of the RDR world itself, players are also getting even more customization options, with the ability to decide what Arthur wears, eats, and how well he handles his own physical hygiene. Though it’s not show in this particular trailer, we’ve also learned that players can customize their horses as well.

You can check out the full gameplay trailer below. Red Dead Redemption 2 is available starting October 26.

Universal remote system Caavo is addressing some of the complaints with its first-generation hardware with today’s release of a new, more affordable system. Unlike the original, $400 home theater product, this second device arrives at consumer-friendly price point of $99.95 and adds support for 4K HDR, as well as other features focused on playlist creation and community sharing.

Caavo has always gotten points for being unique. It designed an odd device solving a pain point a number of people don’t have – that of owning too many streamers, game consoles, and other set-top boxes, and struggling with constantly switching remotes and flipping between various devices.

In reality, the people reviewing systems like these – tech reporters, generally – face this exact problem, with Fire TVs, Apple TVs, Chromecasts, Rokus, and other gaming consoles and boxes cluttering up their living rooms. But most consumers they are not.

The mainstream is still just now cutting the cord with cable TV and picking up their first media streaming device, or adding one to the mix in addition to their cable box. They may or may not have a traditional game console. Switching in between a couple of HDMI inputs on a TV set hasn’t felt like an overwhelming struggle to be solved. And finding something good to watch isn’t so hard either – if anything, there’s too much great TV these days.

Caavo then, wasn’t for everyone – it was for a sliver of the market.

The new, low-cost Control Center by Caavo aims for broader appeal.

The Control Center lets you connect up to four devices and a soundbar, compared with the original Caavo’s eight devices. It ditches the pricier device’s fancy cable management system that used posts to organize cables for just a set of standard HDMI ports on the back of its box. It also doesn’t ship with the 3″ red-and-white HDMI cable – you bring your own.

And it drops its design-forward real wood covers and decorative touches for a shiny black look instead.

In the box: Control Center, Universal Remote with batteries, power supply, IR Blaster 

Most importantly, the new device supports 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos – which the flagship product lacked, and was a definite hurdle in getting consumers to buy. (After all, if you’re the type of person with too many streamers, you’re probably rocking a nice TV, too. And at $400, lacking HDR was seen as a non-starter for those in the market for something like this.)

The company says the Control Center will be able to detect that the TV and source are HDR capable. It then negotiates with the source to allow the source to send an HDR bit stream and sends it to the TV.

The Control Center’s universal remote keeps the same button layout as before, for the most part, with its big, centered “Caavo” button for calling up the software’s main menu for switching devices and apps, alongside its various other navigation and TV controls. It’s simple enough to use, and still has the little stand, too, which has always been a nice touch.

Of course, the big selling point for a universal remote system is universal support for TVs. Caavo works to control TV power and volume across a range of top devices, like LG, Panasonic, Phillips, RCA, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio.

Setting up my (crappy!) Polaroid TV was more cumbersome. It figured out the volume controls, but not the power on/off. I still have two remotes. Oh well. (I was never really the target demographic, though. We’re not home media geeks – we watch just as often on mobile devices than the big screen. And we’re generally happy here with just a Roku.)

Caavo can connect a variety of streaming devices – Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV with Siri Remote, Nvidia Shield TV, cable set-top boxes (Xfinity, UVerse, Dish, DirecTV, etc.), DVD/Blu-ray players, and game consoles. But adding something weird – like this goofy AirTV Player from Dish – was more trouble than it was worth. (You would probably need a bit a tech support to try to map the buttons correctly here.)

The Control Center adds support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls through a voice app. (e.g. Alexa, tell Caavo to…”) But it doesn’t feel natural. And if you want to use Alexa with your Fire TV, or Siri on Apple TV for their device-specific commands, you’ll still need their remotes. You can, however, use verbal commands to power on the Control center, search for shows and movies, control the volume, play content, and other remote-control functions.

Some of this still feels gimmicky, but that’s not Caavo’s fault, necessarily. Talking to TVs just isn’t as natural as grabbing a remote and mashing a button. It may not be for everyone.

You can locate a lost remote by pressing a button on the top – a standard feature on Roku’s high-end device, too.

With some of Caavo’s earlier key problems – like lack HDR support and a too-high price point – addressed, the company turned its focus to its software with the launch of Control Center.

“We want to provide a solution for people who are as entertainment obsessed as we are – who want to see all their options across all their devices and apps and subscriptions in one place,” says co-founder Andrew Einaudi. “The only thing we are more obsessed with than watching great shows is talking about them, so we wanted to create a new community where you could always find something great to watch.”

Like the first device, Caavo’s Control Center offers universal search across streaming services – an unbiased list of places where you can watch what you want. (Roku does this too, so it’s not really a Caavo exclusive.)

While individual streaming services like Netflix use a combination of algorithms based on viewing behavior to make suggestions, Caavo is going a different route in Control Center – it’s offering its own editorial suggestions. The interface will now feature hand-picked, curated lists compiled by editors and tastemakers in the Caavo community.

You can contribute, too, through the new “My Lists” feature which let you make lists of things to watch across streaming services and live TV alike, then share them with the Caavo community through the Crowd Surfing feature. You can also keep them private, if you choose.

“We are improving our algorithms on the software side but there’s also something to be said for real recommendations from real people,” noted Einaudi.

I’m not convinced this feature is all that useful, however. Because “anyone” can contribute, the lists section is cluttered with random suggestions, often without titles that make any sense to anyone but the original creator. “Things are about to get weird,” offered one list. “Pumpkin Spiced Scares,” was another. (Frankly, I’d take an algorithm, if I’m being honest.)

Caavo’s team includes those with deep expertise in hardware and media services, and it’s raised over $32 million in funding to get off the ground. The company now has 60 patents and patents-pending on its home entertainment system – something of value for a future acquirer, perhaps.

There’s a sort of obsessive, home media center geek quality to the original Caavo and now this new Control Center. It’s not perfect and even at $100, it’s still not for everyone. At the end of the day, universal remote systems feel like a luxury, not a necessity.

But Caavo has built a lot of technology here in an attempt to make difficult things feel seamless, from switching in between inputs to finding you a movie or show across streaming services then letting you launch it right in your favorite app on the device you prefer. But when it struggles or lags, you definitely notice – and wonder why you needed so many boxes in the first place.

Beyond the upfront cost, the new device requires a Control Center Service Plan of $1.99/month or $19.99/year, in order to use universal search, voice control, editorial guides, My Lists, Crowd Surfing, app launching, deep linked content, and Caavo Cache (a history and privacy feature). It’s, at least, cheaper than TiVo.

Control Center is available at Best Buy, BestBuy.com and Caavo.com beginning today, October 1.

Tech specs are below. 

Main Unit
Size: 263 x 150 x 35 mm
Weight: 1.0kg
HDMI: 4 inputs, 1 output. HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2
USB: Service port only
IR: 3.5mm IR out
Power: Adaptor: 110-240V 50-60Hz AC. Draws up to 700mA; Set: DC 12V 2A
Ethernet: 100Mbps
Wireless: 2.4 and 5 GHz (802.11 2×2 ac) and Bluetooth 4.0

Supported Audio Formats
PCM, 8 Channels, 24 bits, 192kHz
Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos up to 8 channels and up to
192kHz
DTS and DTS-HD Master Audio up to 8 channels and up to 192kHz

Supported Video Formats
max RGB/YUV444/YUV422/YUV420 4K (3840×2160) 10-bit at 60Hz
HDR pass-through (HDR 10)

Remote Control
Size: 38 x 174 x 22 mm
Weight: 0.1kg
Range: 6m-12m, under typical conditions
Connection: Bluetooth LE
Batteries: 2 x AAA

 

I’d like to meet some high-tech folks in Vancouver this week and I need your help. I’d like to hold a micro meet up at about 7pm on October 4 and I need a recommended place. If we can manage it we might be able to have a pitch off as well so let me know if you Vancouverians (Vancouverites?) know of any place with a bar and maybe a little stage and a microphone.

Please let me know if you can think of any good spots and I’ll finalize the meetup tomorrow. Email me at john@techcrunch.com or Tweet me @johnbiggs with ideas/help.

See you soon, eh!

The slow and steady rise of Babbel has been impressive on many fronts. The company is now managing the top-grossing language learning app in the world. That’s why I’m excited to announce that we’ll have founder and CEO Markus Witte as well as CEO U.S. Julie Hansen at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin.

Babbel has been around for over a decade. The company started with a web-based language learning service. It was based on Adobe Flash and HTML. Now, most Babbel users interact with the service using the company’s mobile app.

And Babbel also represents a European success story. Thanks to the European Union, many people live, work and travel all around Europe. It creates a unique market opportunity as the continent is a highly fragmented market when it comes to languages — there are dozens of different languages. That’s why building a language learning startup in Berlin is the perfect fit.

Babbel operates with a freemium, subscription-based model. Downloading the app is free, but you need to pay a subscription to unlock all the features.

More recently, Babbel has been betting on the U.S. as its next market opportunity. Many Europeans want to learn English, and it’s also true in the U.S. Immigrants want to improve their knowledge of English.

It’s a different market that causes a different set of challenges. That’s why the company has named Julie Hansen as CEO of the U.S. division of Babbel.

If you want to hear both Hansen and Witte talk about Babbel’s past ten years and the company’s next ten years, you should come to Disrupt Berlin.

Buy your ticket to Disrupt Berlin to listen to this discussion and many others. The conference will take place on November 29-30.

In addition to fireside chats and panels, like this one, new startups will participate in the Startup Battlefield Europe to win the highly coveted Battlefield cup.

---

Markus Witte

Babbel Founder and CEO

Markus Witte is CEO and founder of Babbel , the world’s top-grossing language learning app. He describes Babbel as a learning company inside and out: “Heading a team in which each and every person, as well as the organization itself, is constantly learning new things is incredibly fulfilling.”

Markus began his career at NYU, and later lectured at Humboldt University in Berlin, where he discovered his passion for teaching. Following his time as an academic, he led the development of online marketing and web infrastructure and managed the online and systems teams at music software company Native Instruments. Coming back to learning and teaching, he founded Babbel with three others in 2007.

Julie Hansen

Babbel CEO U.S.

Julie Hansen is CEO U.S. at Babbel. Based in the company’s New York office she is leading the US expansion of the world’s top-grossing language learning app.

Before joining Babbel, Julie was the COO and President of Business Insider. Under her leadership the news site became the most visited business outlet on the internet. Prior to Business Insider, Hansen held top management roles at sports site NCAA.com, Condé Nast Publications, and Time Inc. Julie has over two decades of experience growing digital media companies, launching interactive web sites, deploying mobile apps, and leading online and offline marketing campaigns. She began her career at Penguin Books, publishing learning software for literature among other products.

Despite a bear market that has seen the price of Ethereum drop by over 80 percent since the start of the year, most projects that raised money via an ICO remain unaffected, according to the findings of a new report.

Bitmex, best known for a crypto trading service, claims to have crunched the numbers on over 200 of the biggest ICOs and found that, on average, most projects have already converted what they had raised in crypto into fiat currency. That’s not to say that they did so immediately or that 100 percent of the proceeds have been converted — many projects didn’t, and haven’t — but the general trend is that most have reaped the paper gains of their ICO without being stung by the crash.

One Ethereum — technically an ‘Ether,’ the crypto token associated with the Ethereum Foundation and the Ethereum Blockchain — was worth nearly $1,400 in January, a then record. That valuation has plunged during 2018, to the point that the cryptocurrency ducked below $200 during September, raising alarm among some in the community over its long-term sustainability.

It’s easy to assume, therefore, that ICO projects — which raise the majority of their funds in Ethereum — have been hit hard. But the Bitmex research appears to suggest that many projects managed to convert their crypto and also retain a decent amount of Ethereum, too. It’s, of course, important to remember that this is a report, not gospel truths, but there’s plenty of insight to dig into.

Bitmex suggests that the projects it looked at collectively still hold 3.8 million Ethereum, or around one-quarter of the crypto total that they originally raised. If that’s true — and the accuracy will vary from project to project — then it’s a big win. Not only do projects get the money they thought they’d earned from their ICO, but they also retain some ‘skin in the game’ and are thus incentivized by the future value of Ethereum.

According to Bitmex, the deficit between total Ethereum value raised and the total amount of Ethereum cashed into fiat is just $11 million. Spread across over 200 projects, that’s quite low and it leaves plenty of Ethereum for future opportunities. Estimated unrealized Ethereum gains — i.e. crypto raised that hasn’t been cashed out — stands at $93 million, and that’s based on the current ‘low’ value of Ethereum.

The Bitmex data is fairly skewed by the huge EOS ICO — which raised around $4 billion in crypto earlier this year. Not only does the EOS project inflate the numbers, but it also continuously offloaded Ethereum during its year-long token sale making it tricky to track value.

Nonetheless, even taking EOS out of the acquisition, the shortcoming between ‘paper’ ICO raises and the net conversion to fiat is $79 million and that’s padded out by the $93 million in estimated unrealized gains.

Despite the industry-wide figures, there are examples of companies who quickly cashed their crypto into fiat in order to plump for a sure thing, and others who held off converting the pile or cashed out small bits when needed. The situation is certainly more challenge for any ICOs happening right now, although — as we wrote recently — the market has shifted towards private sales which makes tracking the flow of money a great detail more challenging.

You can read the full report on the Bitmex website here.

Note: The author owns a small amount of cryptocurrency. Enough to gain an understanding, not enough to change a life.

Vahdam Teas, an India-based e-commerce startup that cuts the supply chain down to sell fresh teas online, has pulled in a $2.5 million Series B investment for growth in the U.S. and other global markets.

The round comes from existing investor Fireside Ventures, a consumer brand-focused VC firm. It follows a $1.4 million Series A round that was announced at the end of 2017, and it takes two-year-old Vahdam to $5 million from investors to date. TechCrunch understands from a source with knowledge of discussions that the deal values Vahdam at the $25 million mark. Vahdam declined to discuss its valuation when asked.

Vahdam founder and CEO Bala Sarda, a 26-year-old who comes from a tea industry family, told TechCrunch that the company could have raised more money but it is aiming to be picky. There’s clearly demand. Teabox, the startup that pioneered the digital distribution model for tea sales, has raised nearly $15 million from its backers to date, for example.

“We’ve chosen to raise patient, intelligent capital from people who know this industry,” Sarda said. “We’re not profitable yet but not burning a lot of money.”

He admitted that the company could look to raise more funds next year if it sees the right growth opportunities to merit it. He expects the company to reach breakeven over that period, too.

Stepping back for a moment, Teabox, Vahdam and others like them are aiming to redesign the way people consume and buy tea by massively cutting the time between picking and drinking.

In traditional corporate circles, that process is something like 9-12 months as produce is kept in warehouses and supply chain takes time. Now, the new standard is freshly-kept teas that can go from plantation to home in as few as 10 days depending on harvest time. That’s thanks to temperature-controlled storage and the efficiencies of e-commerce. For consumers, these digital tea sellers offer not just fresher teas, but an easy way to buy a premium selection that is tough to find on the high street.

Vahdam recently said it had delivered its 100 millionth cup of tea — note: it sells loose leaf tea not bags — having just hit 200,000 customers to date. (Teabox said it had delivered 40 million cups in December 2017, but it hasn’t issued a new figure.) Revenue is on track to grow 2X this year, and CEO Sarda believes the company can reach 500,000 customers before the end of next year.

The company sells in over 85 countries, but it has focused on the U.S. market, which accounts for up to 75 percent of its revenue, according to Sarda.

Vahdam first entered America largely through Amazon — which sells its teas, alongside those of Teabox and others, although Vahdam was part of Amazon’ Launchpad startup accelerator program. While that relationship has helped break into the market, Sarda said that Vahdam is on track to see activity from its own website overtake that of its own Amazon store by the end of 2018. That’s important because it helps establish a direct relationship with customers, which is essential for new products, that will soon include a subscription-based service and also a ready-to-drink teabag option.

That subscription was originally going to launch this year, but Vahdam has delayed it while it set up logistics in the U.S. market. Using its previous Series A financing, the startup opened an office in New York and warehouse in New Jersey and Indianapolis — the location of Fedex’s second-largest U.S. hub and a UPS “super hub” with convenient links between east and west coast consumer markets.

Through these locations — and the use of delivery partners — Sarda said Vahdam can now deliver its product to U.S-based customers more effiently. The CEO said it managed U.S-based inventory mostly predictively, but the new locations make it much easier (and cheaper) to handle smaller packages quickly in the U.S. That’ll help with its upcoming subscription, which will include a ‘surprise box’ or regular orders that can be scheduled over variable times, such as weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.

“We are targeting mainstream tea-drinking customers in the U.S, it’s a multi-billion market,” Sarda told TechCrunch. “Our focus is to disrupt the mainstream brands and we’ve been converting [consumers] because they believe it is much fresher tea that’s also easier to order.”

The company is also giving attention to its native market. Not only is it preparing to begin to sell tea in India — it has focused on global markets to date — but it has also unveiled a CSR project aimed at putting money back into the grassroots industry.

Its TEAch Me project sets aside one percent of company revenue to fund the school fees for the children of workers at its partner plantations, where the tea sold to consumers is sourced. Vahdam works with over a dozen partners which, Sarda said, should mean it covers the education costs of over 1,000 students before this year is out. A pilot with one estate saw it cover 60 students and Sarda said that already Vahdam is planning a follow-up initiative focused on health insurance.

“Education is a big part of their salaries [and it] can become a burden for their families even with the [incoming national] minimum wage. As we have more capital to infuse we’ll also look at health care options,” he said.

While it is involved with its estates through these projects, Sarda said there are no plans to own any outright. In some cases, Vahdam buys up a majority, or all, of an estate’s premium tea products but there are other goods sold on to other merchants or at auction. He did say, however, that the company would consider buying stakes where an estate needs new capital, and it is actively helping its partners to embrace technology.

Africa’s rapidly growing, always evolving tech scene includes more than 300 tech hubs that connect and mentor entrepreneurs across the continent. It’s an exciting time and place to be an early-stage startup — or an investor. And it’s why we’re stoked to host TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa 2018 in Lagos, Nigeria on December 11.

Our premier startup-pitch competition will highlight up to 15 of the best startups in Africa, and this is your chance to book your spectator ticket to an action-packed day of competition, top-notch speakers and world-class networking.

We have a limited number of tickets available. They cost 3,600 NGN, and they’re on sale here — so get yours before they’re gone.

Startup Battlefield is always thrilling to watch, and it’s certainly the main event of the day. However, we’re also building a roster of exciting speakers to discuss what it takes to succeed in Africa’s startup ecosystem — more on that in a moment.

First, a look at how Startup Battlefield works. We’ll hold three preliminary rounds with up to five startups in each round. Competing teams have just six minutes to pitch and present a live demo to a panel of judges consisting of top tech founders and VCs. Judges get six minutes to question each team thoroughly.

No more than five teams move to the finals for another round of pitches and Q&A. Then the judges will declare one startup to be TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield Africa 2018 champion — the continent’s best startup. The winning founders receive US$25,000 in no-equity cash, plus a trip for two to compete in Startup Battlefield in San Francisco at TechCrunch Disrupt 2019 (assuming the company still qualifies to compete at the time).

It’s a nerve-wracking thrill ride and so much fun to watch what could very well be the next big thing in tech launch right before your eyes. Then, of course, there’s the speaker programming we mentioned earlier.

We’ll announce even more speakers in the weeks ahead, but we’re excited to hear what these two phenomenal women will share about local investing when they step on our stage:

• Omobola Johnson, a senior partner at TLcom Capital and the former minister of communication technology for Nigeria. Her 25-year tenure at Accenture — as managing director — informs her expansive knowledge of startup investing.
• Lexi Novitske, the principal investment officer for Singularity Investments, manages the firm’s Africa portfolio. She’s a proponent of understanding local complexities, modifying Western business attitudes and working with companies to ensure desired results.

The TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa 2018 action kicks off in Lagos, Nigeria on December 11. Tickets are limited and when they’re gone, you’re out of luck. Buy your spectator ticket today. We can’t wait to see you in Lagos!

On October 3 — a mere 48 hours from now — the Middle East and North Africa’s startup scene is in for the ride of its life. That’s when 15 of the region’s best early-stage startup founders will gather in Beirut, Lebanon to compete in TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018.

Join us to watch these competitors launch their startups on a global stage and hear directly from MENA’s top tech and VC leaders as they discuss the issues facing the region’s startup scene. It costs $25 + VAT to attend Startup Battlefield MENA 2018, and you can buy tickets here.

The 15 teams will each have six minutes to pitch and present a live product demo in one of three preliminary rounds. Our panel of judges consists of expert technologists and VC investors who will follow up each team’s pitch with a rigorous, six-minute Q&A.

Only five teams move to the finals to pitch again and answer more questions from a new panel of judges. One startup will emerge victorious to become the first TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA champion.

What’s at stake? The winning founders receive a $25,000 cash prize and a trip for two to Disrupt San Francisco in 2019 — where they get to compete in that Startup Battlefield (assuming the company still qualifies to compete at the time).

That’s a lot of action for a one-day conference, but we’re not done yet. We also have an outstanding series of speakers and workshops lined up and focused on the most pressing technology and investing trends and issues facing MENA’s startup scene.

For example, you’ll hear Mandali Khalesi, Toyota’s global head of automated driving mobility and innovation, discuss the company’s latest research findings and its plans for the region. You’ll even have a chance to offer feedback on how Toyota should develop automated driving mobility for MENA and work with entrepreneurs in the region.

You’ll also hear Paul Chucrallah (BeryTech Fund), Hussam Hammo (Tamaten) and Rami Al Qawasmi (Mawdoo3) discuss MENA’s lack of online Arabic language content for consumers — and what they’re doing to fill that void.

There’s plenty more programming on tap — check out the full agenda right here.

Only 48 hours left until TechCrunch Startup Battlefield MENA 2018 takes place in the Beirut Digital District in Lebanon on October 3. Don’t miss out on the thrilling competition, the informative discussions and the business networking opportunities. Buy your ticket today.

The Department of Justice announced on Sunday that it has filed a lawsuit against California to block its new net neutrality law, just hours after it was signed by governor Jerry Brown. The lawsuit was first reported by the Washington Post. Senior Justice Department officials told the newspaper it is filing the lawsuit because only the federal government can regulate net neutrality and that the Federal Communications Commission had been granted that authority by Congress to ensure states don’t write conflicting legislation.

In its announcement, the Justice Department stated that by signing California’s Senate Bill 822 into law, the state is “attempting to subvert the Federal Government’s deregulatory approach by imposing burdensome state regulations on the free Internet, which is unlawful and anti-consumer.”

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said “under the Constitution, states do not regulate interstate commerce—the federal government does. Once again the California legislature has enacted an extreme and illegal state law attempting to frustrate federal policy. The Justice Department should not have to spend valuable time and resources to file this suit today, but we have a duty to defend the prerogatives of the federal government and protect our Constitutional order.”

This is the latest of several legal showdowns between the Trump administration and California, the largest blue state.

Under Attorney General Sessions, the Justice Department has already filed separate lawsuits against California over immigrant sanctuary laws and a law meant to stop the Trump administration from selling or transferring federal land to private corporations. The Trump administration is also clashing with the state over environmental protection regulations.

Senate Bill 822 was introduced by Democratic Senator Scott Wiener to reinstate Obama-era net neutrality protections tossed out by the FCC last year.

Even though Washington and Oregon have also passed their own net neutrality laws, the outcome of the federal government’s battle with California will have ramifications throughout the country because the state’s new net neutrality law is the most stringent one so far, banning most kinds of zero-rating, which allows telecoms to offer services from certain providers for free.

As such, it has been the target of fierce lobbying by telecoms like AT&T and Comcast. While the FCC’s chairman Ajit Pai and telecoms argue that zero-rating allows them to offer better deals (Pai claimed in the Justice Department’s statement today that they have proven popular “especially among lower-income Americans,”) net neutrality advocates say it gives Internet service providers too much power by forcing users to rely on certain services, stifling consumer options and freedom of information.