Samsung lowers prices with its latest Galaxy S phones, Google completes its Fitbit acquisition and Beyond Meat is coming to Taco Bell. This is your Daily Crunch for January 14, 2021.
\nThe big story: Samsung unveils Galaxy S21 line
\nSamsung\u2019s new line of phones includes the S21, S21+ and S21 Ultra, priced at $799, $999 and $1,119 respectively, an across-the-board price cut of $200. Brian Heater writes that the Ultra, in particular, \u201chas one very important trick up its sleeve\u201d \u2014 namely compatibility with the S Pen.<\/p>\n
All three phones are available for pre-order now and start shipping on January 29.
\nIn addition, Samsung announced the Galaxy Buds Pro, which cost $199 and come with a stated five hours of battery life. And it\u2019s launching a Bluetooth locator, dubbed the Galaxy SmartTag.
\nThe tech giants
\nGoogle\u2019s Fitbit acquisition is official \u2014 This follows regulatory scrutiny on both sides of the pond.
\nAmazon\u2019s Ring Neighbors app exposed users\u2019 precise locations and home addresses \u2014\u00a0The bug made it possible to retrieve the location data on users who posted to the app.
\nBeyond Meat shares soar after inking deal with Taco Bell on new menu items \u2014\u00a0Taco Bell announced that it would work with Beyond Meat to come up with new menu items due to be tested in the next year.
\nStartups, funding and venture capital
\nMedium acquires social book reading app Glose \u2014\u00a0Glose has been building iOS, Android and web apps that let you buy, download and read books on your devices.
\nTiger Global is raising a new $3.75B venture fund, one year after closing its last \u2014\u00a0Despite being named Tiger Private Investment Partners XIV, this is actually the firm\u2019s thirteenth fund.
\nCarbyne raises $25M for a next-generation platform to improve emergency 911 responses \u2014 The Israeli startup aims to help emergency services get more complete information about callers, and to provide additional telemedicine services.
\nAdvice and analysis from Extra Crunch
\nFive consumer hardware VCs share their 2021 investment strategies \u2014\u00a0Investors are generally bullish on at-home fitness startups.
\nPoshmark prices IPO above range as public markets continue to YOLO startups \u2014\u00a0This is the late-2020, early-2021 IPO market in action.
\nTwelve \u2018flexible VCs\u2019 who operate where equity meets revenue share \u2014\u00a0Founders seeking non-dilutive funding: start here.
\n(Extra Crunch is our membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)
\nEverything else
\nTech and health companies including Microsoft and Salesforce team up on digital COVID-19 vaccination records \u2014 The so-called \u201cVaccination Credential Initiative\u201d includes a range of big-name companies from both the healthcare and tech industries.
\n2020 was one of the warmest years in history and indicates mounting risks of climate change \u2014\u00a02020 either edged out or came in just behind 2016 as the warmest year in recorded history, according to data from U.S. government agencies.
\nThe Daily Crunch is TechCrunch\u2019s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you\u2019d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 3pm Pacific, you can subscribe here.<\/p>\n