TechCrunch

History

TechCrunch was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $25 million. TechCrunch was available in English, Chinese (managed by Chinese tech news company TechNode), and Japanese. TechCrunch France was folded into the main TechCrunch.com site in October 2012. Boundless (formerly Verizon Media Japan), the Japanese subsidiary of the TechCrunch's parent company, closed TechCrunch Japan in May 2022 according to its "global strategy".

Following the acquisition of AOL and Yahoo by Verizon, TechCrunch was owned by Verizon Media from 2015 through 2021. In August 2020, the COO of TechCrunch, Ned Desmond, stepped down after eight years in the company. He announced that he would join the venture capital firm SOSV in December 2020 as a senior operating partner. His former role at TechCrunch was replaced by Matthew Panzarino, former editor-in-chief, and Joey Hinson, director of business operations.

In 2021, Verizon sold its media assets, including AOL, Yahoo, and TechCrunch, to the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, and Apollo integrated them into a new entity called Yahoo! Inc. TechCrunch's monthly visitors in September 2024 were 12.12 million, according to data from SEMRush. In March 2025, Yahoo! Inc. sold TechCrunch to private equity firm Regent LP. A few months later Sifted reported the website shut down its European operations, which was later denied by TechCrunch Chairman and Publisher Michael Reinstein.

Events

TechCrunch Disrupt

Starting in New York City in 2010, TechCrunch hosts an annual tech conference, TechCrunch Disrupt, in several cities in the United States and Europe. The event brings entrepreneurs, investors and tech enthusiasts together to watch startups pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, participate in networking events, listen to keynote speeches and panel discussions.

Startup Battlefield

Startup Battlefield is a startup competition. Monetary awards are presented at the TechCrunch Disrupt conferences. Startup Battlefield has a reputation for launching some of the most successful companies in the tech industry. Notable startups that have been involved in the competition include Dropbox, Intuit Mint, Yammer, Parallel Health, and CrateDB.

Former features

Crunchbase

From 2007 to 2015, TechCrunch operated Crunchbase, a website and online encyclopedia of information on startups, key people, funds, funding rounds, and events. In 2015, Crunchbase became a private entity and is no longer part of TechCrunch.

Crunchies

From 2007 to 2017, TechCrunch sponsored the annual Crunchies award ceremony to award startups, internet, and technology innovations. At the first award ceremony in 2007, Facebook won the award for best startup. TechCrunch announced in 2017 that it would end the Crunchies.

Controversies

In 2011, the site's editors and writers were criticized for possible ethics violations. These included claims that Arrington's investments in certain firms that the site had covered created a conflict of interest. The controversy that ensued eventually led to Arrington's departure, and other writers, including Paul Carr and Sarah Lacy, moved to another technology investment media company.

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2013, TechCrunch faced criticism for allowing a presentation of a mobile app called Titstare, created by two Australian developers. The app, which purportedly allowed users to share photos of men staring at women's breasts, was widely condemned as sexist and inappropriate. The incident drew negative media attention, including coverage from CNN and The Guardian, and prompted TechCrunch to issue a public apology and pledge stricter content review for future events.

In popular culture

In 2014, TechCrunch Disrupt was featured in an arc of the HBO series Silicon Valley. The characters' startup "Pied Piper" participates in a startup battle at TechCrunch Disrupt.

References

References

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2. (August 16, 2023). "Matthew Panzarino". TechCrunch.
3. "TechCrunch.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools". [[WHOIS]].
4. "About TechCrunch".
5. (2022-11-15). "What Is TechCrunch? We Explain Here".
6. Sweney, Mark. (September 29, 2010). "AOL buys TechCrunch". [[The Guardian]].
7. Desmond, Ned. (June 5, 2013). "TechCrunch Returns To China, For Keeps, COO of TechCrunch and CrunchBase and General Manager of AOL Tech".
8. (September 11, 2013). "We Catch Up With Our TechCrunch China Partner, TechNode, At Disrupt [TCTV]".
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10. Butcher, Mike. (October 31, 2012). "TechCrunch France Integrates With TechCrunch.com". TechCrunch.
11. [https://www.beboundless.jp/press/corporate-announcement-02-15-2022 「TechCrunch Japan」および「エンガジェット日本版」終了のお知らせ] {{Webarchive. link. (February 15, 2022 {{In lang). ja. Boudless. February 15, 2022.
12. [https://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/2202/15/news130.html 「エンガジェット日本版」「TechCrunch Japan」終了へ 5月1日で閉鎖] {{Webarchive. link. (February 15, 2022 {{In lang). ja. ITmedia. February 15, 2022.
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16. "Author: Matthew Panzarino".
17. "Author: Joey Hinson".
18. "TechCrunch's COO, Ned Desmond, steps down.".
19. (May 3, 2021). "Apollo's $5 Billion Bet on Yahoo Aims to Go Beyond Advertising". [[Bloomberg News]].
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21. Fischer, Sara. (2025-03-21). "Yahoo sells TechCrunch to investment firm Regent".
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33. Tiku, Nitasha. (February 9, 2015). "Sexism and consequences at TechCrunch's annual award show".
34. Carr, David. (September 5, 2011). "Michael Arrington's Audacious Adventure". [[The New York Times]].
35. Swisher, Kara. (January 16, 2012). "Sarah Lacy Debuts New Tech Site, PandoDaily — $2M+ in Funding and Guess Who's Working for Her?". [[All Things Digital]].
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37. Gray, Amy. (September 8, 2013). "'Titstare' app at Techcrunch: women in tech deserve better". [[The Guardian]].
38. Grubb, Ben. (September 9, 2013). "TechCrunch forced to apologise over Sydney duo's 'Titstare' app". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
39. Marcotte, Amanda. (September 9, 2013). "Titstare app at TechCrunch Disrupt: What would a tech conference be without the sexism?". [[Slate (magazine).
40. Smith IV, Jack. (June 2, 2014). "'Silicon Valley' Fact Check: HBO Nails TechCrunch Disrupt All the Way Down to the Nametags". [[The New York Observer]].