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We’re beyond amazed at the collective creativity, ingenuity and technical prowess of the Startup Battlefield 200 . Out of thousands of applications, only 200 early-stage startups made the final cut, and you’ll find all of them — and only them — exhibiting on the TechCrunch Disrupt show floor on October 18-20 in San Francisco. That’s a whole lotta noteworthy startups, so we’re going to break it down a bit for you and highlight them by vertical. Today it’s hardware, robotics and mobility. Hungry for more? You can find them all listed in the Exhibitor Directory . Startup Battlefield 200: Hardware, Robotics, AI+ML & Mobility + Transportation edition Aether Biomedical Pvt Ally Robotics Boundless Robotics Buzr Labs, Inc. Deep Render Ltd. FLUIX Helios Life Enterprises Hidden Door Impossible Metals Jasper KATAKEM LintrinsIC Metabob PantheonDesign PseudolithIC Inc. RIF Robotics Studiobox Swap Robotics (opens in a new window) (opens in a new window) Swap Robotics ...

Florida’s Space Coast continues to make preparations for the extremely powerful and slow-moving Hurricane Ian, with officials rolling rockets back to the safety of hangars and delaying launches until the storm passes. The massive storm made landfall near Fort Myers Wednesday afternoon, coming in at just a few miles per hour shy of the Category 5 threshold. Forecasters expect Ian to travel in a northeastern direction across the state, with major storm bands hitting the Space Coast — the section of Florida’s east coast that includes Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Base. That means strong winds and rain are all but likely, and the threat of storm surge and flooding remains distinct. By Wednesday afternoon, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center entered HURCON I, indicating that 50-knot sustained winds are likely within 12 hours. In light of these impending conditions, all non-essential facilities closed and the majority of staff were sent home. N...

Digital mortgage lender Better.com continues to lay off staff, and seemingly in as callous a way as possible. Indeed, whereas most companies try to avoid repeated layoffs, the outfit — which gained notoriety by laying off about 900 employees over Zoom on December 1, 2021 — has since been laying off smaller groups very systematically, say sources. The tactic accomplishes two things. One, it has a disconcerting effect on existing employees, who never know when the axe might fall so begin seeking to leave on their own, enabling Better.com to avoid laying them off and paying out related severance payments. Secondly, sources say Better.com is navigating around large severance payments by letting go 249 people or fewer at a time. Why that matters: The company’s recent layoffs are believed to have not triggered the WARN Act , which means it would not be required to pay out as much in severance to the affected employees. According to New York state law, by not laying off more than 250 peop...

After a weeks-long suspension, Pornhub’s account has been permanently removed from Instagram. Instagram told TechCrunch that Pornhub has repeatedly violated community guidelines, prompting the account’s removal. Meanwhile, Pornhub declared in an open letter to Meta and Instagram that Instagram’s enforcement of these platform rules are “opaque, discriminatory and hypocritical.” Addressed to four Meta executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram head Adam Mosseri, the letter was endorsed by 60 signatories from the adult entertainment industry. To @Meta and @instagram pic.twitter.com/NNMgvl2YmS — Pornhub (@Pornhub) September 27, 2022 Before its permanent ban, the popular porn site’s Instagram account was suspended three weeks ago. Instagram’s content guidelines prohibit  nudity and sexual content , but Pornhub claims its account was “PG.” “We know that there are times when people might want to share nude images that are artistic or creative in nature, but for...

Porsche plans to go public on Thursday at a $73 billion valuation, catapulting the company to become the world’s fourth-most valuable automaker and netting billions of dollars for parent company Volkswagen to advance its drive toward electric vehicles. The initial public offering for Porsche AG on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange values the brand at $79 a share in one of Europe’s largest-ever listings. Volkswagen , Europe’s biggest carmaker, is poised to receive more than $9 billion for its stake, positioning it to challenge Tesla for the EV crown. The juggernaut is poised to overtake Tesla in EV sales in 2024, according to an analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence . Volkswagen set a goal for EVs to comprise a quarter of its sales by 2026, assisted by the launch 16 battery-electric models, including the Audi A4 e-tron, Audi A6 e-tron and Volkswagen ID. Buzz van. Proceeds from the IPO could help fund the $50 billion Volkswagen plans to invest in electrification over the next five years. The ...

The crypto industry seemed to age several decades over the past bull run, maturing in some places while barreling ahead in ambitious new pursuits, including DeFi, NFTs and web3. And while scams continued to proliferate and hacker heists became a weekly occurrence, the space onboarded an onslaught of retail investors and fostered feverish excitement among young technologists eager to bet their careers on the blockchain. We’re thrilled to tap into this controversy and excitement once again as we announce the star-studded agenda for TechCrunch Sessions: Crypto 2022 . The event — taking place November 17 in Miami — will offer an opportunity for founders and investors to hear war stories from some of the crypto world’s most powerful decision-makers, while also picking up learnings from industry veterans who have weathered a crypto winter or two. Take advantage of our special launch pricing — save $250 on General Admission passes while supplies last. Buy your pass  today, and then join...

The crypto industry seemed to age several decades over the past bull run, maturing in some places while barreling ahead in ambitious new pursuits, including DeFi, NFTs and web3. And while scams continued to proliferate and hacker heists became a weekly occurrence, the space onboarded an onslaught of retail investors and fostered feverish excitement among young technologists eager to bet their careers on the blockchain. We’re thrilled to tap into this controversy and excitement once again as we announce the star-studded agenda for TechCrunch Sessions: Crypto 2022 . The event — taking place November 17 in Miami — will offer an opportunity for founders and investors to hear war stories from some of the crypto world’s most powerful decision-makers, while also picking up learnings from industry veterans who have weathered a crypto winter or two. Take advantage of our special launch pricing — save $250 on General Admission passes while supplies last. Buy your pass  today, and then join...