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1. 300M-user Imgur launches Melee, a gaming meme app
Melee, the company’s first app beyond its flagship product, lets users subscribe to the games from which they love to get memes and gameplay clips. You also can scroll through a popular post’s feed if you’re curious about unfamiliar games.
If you’re worried about the risk that gaming communities might turn toxic, Imgur says Melee has multiple layers of community and staff moderation, will remove obscene content and won’t tolerate bullying.
2. SpaceX nears milestone on key crew launch system test
SpaceX is keeping relatively close to schedule on one of the bold timelines pronounced by its CEO Elon Musk. Specifically, the company notes that it has now completed seven system tests of the latest, upgraded version of the parachutes it plans to use with its Crew Dragon capsule when it launches with astronauts on-board.
3. Flipkart leads $60M investment in logistics startup Shadowfax
Shadowfax operates a business-to-business logistics network in more than 300 cities in India. The startup works with neighborhood stores to use their real estate to store inventory, and with a large network of freelancers for delivery.
4. A Sprint contractor left thousands of US cell phone bills on the internet by mistake
A contractor working for cell giant Sprint stored hundreds of thousands of cell phone bills for AT&T, Verizon (which owns TechCrunch) and T-Mobile subscribers on an unprotected cloud server.
5. How to build or invest in a startup without paying capital gains tax
Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) presents a significant tax savings opportunity for people who create and invest in small businesses. (Extra Crunch membership required.)
6. Volvo invests in autonomous vehicle operating system startup Apex.AI though its VC arm
Apex.AI is working on developing a robotic operating system qualified for use in production automobiles. Its offerings include a set of simple-to-integrate APIs that can give automakers and others access to fully certified autonomous mobility technology.
7. Check out the prizes for TC Hackathon at Disrupt Berlin
One team gets $5,000, but we’ve got additional prizes from a range of sponsors. Also: This is next week!
