Solid-state batteries might get a lot of press, but they’re still years away from powering an EV near you. But it appears a breakthrough is just around the corner: silicon anodes.
A number of companies have been racing to commercialize silicon anode battery technology, which promises double-digit-percent increases in lithium-ion cell energy density based on today’s chemistries. Lifepo4 Battery China
One such company, Sila, today said it has signed a deal to supply Panasonic with its Titan Silicon anode material. Production will happen at Sila’s future Moses Lake facility, where the startup recently broke ground.
The supply agreement marks a significant milestone for the 13-year-old company, which has raised over $900 million to date, not including a $100 million Department of Energy grant announced in October 2022 that was earmarked for scaling up manufacturing.
“In these early, early years, as we scale up, we’ll sell our material such that the batteries have a small premium, a few percentage points more expensive for higher performance,” Sila’s co-founder and CEO, Gene Berdichevsky, told TechCrunch+.
Higher performance cells containing Titan Silicon will initially be used in luxury vehicles like the Mercedes’ electric G-Class SUV, which is scheduled to debut in 2025. Because cells with silicon anodes hold more energy, automakers can either use the same number of cells for greater performance or opt to maintain the same performance but use fewer cells. “Toward the end of the decade, that higher performance will actually lead to lower price at the battery pack level,” Berdichevsky said.
Ford executives signaled in October during its third-quarter earnings call plans to “adjust” production of its all-electric vehicles and delay about $12 billion in investments<\/a> due to softening demand for higher-priced premium electric vehicles.<\/p>\n The automaker didn’t explicitly refer to the Lightning during the earnings call, instead pointing to other examples such as the reduction in Mustang Mach-E production and the decision to delay a second battery factory in Kentucky.<\/p>\n A memo to suppliers, which was viewed and reported first by Automotive News<\/a>, indicated plans beginning in January to produce an average of about 1,600 Lightning trucks a week at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford had planned for an annual production capacity of 150,000 Lightnings a year, or about 3,200 a week. That means its production target for 2024 has been halved.<\/p>\n A Ford spokesperson would not confirm the memo. The spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the company “will continue to match Lightning production to customer demand.”<\/p>\n The move is a reversal from January 2022 when Ford \u2014 reveling in the 200,000 reservations it had received for the truck \u2014 announced it would nearly double production capacity<\/a> to 150,000 vehicles a year by mid-2023 in response to customer demand. The company idled the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan in early 2023 to implement plant upgrades to accommodate that new production capacity.<\/p>\n Even as those improvements were being made, demand for EVs was softening across the industry. EV sales in the United States are still growing and on pace to surpass 1 million vehicles for the year \u2014 a 50% increase year-over-year. Still, that growth hasn’t matched the ambitious plans of major automakers, causing many to curb investments, delay factory improvements or new buildouts and reduce production capacity.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ford will cut production of its all-electric pickup truck in 2024 in an effort to match consumer demand. Ford executives signaled in October during its third-quarter earnings call plans to “adjust” production of its all-electric vehicles and delay about $12 billion in investments due to softening demand for higher-priced premium electric vehicles. The automaker didn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574188,"featured_media":2609144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"b3cede6e-2414-3b0d-9231-36d246e73e31","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T23:21:09Z","apple_news_api_id":"740082bf-79a2-488f-af2e-ca923a0996b8","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-12T00:28:13Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AdACCv3miSI-vLsqSOgmWuA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[2401],"tags":[197443,76801,19071,576904832],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nFord slashes production target for all-electric F-150 Lightning to match demand | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The automaker didn’t explicitly refer to the Lightning during the earnings call, instead pointing to other examples such as the reduction in Mustang Mach-E production and the decision to delay a second battery factory in Kentucky.<\/p>\n
A memo to suppliers, which was viewed and reported first by Automotive News<\/a>, indicated plans beginning in January to produce an average of about 1,600 Lightning trucks a week at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford had planned for an annual production capacity of 150,000 Lightnings a year, or about 3,200 a week. That means its production target for 2024 has been halved.<\/p>\n A Ford spokesperson would not confirm the memo. The spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the company “will continue to match Lightning production to customer demand.”<\/p>\n The move is a reversal from January 2022 when Ford \u2014 reveling in the 200,000 reservations it had received for the truck \u2014 announced it would nearly double production capacity<\/a> to 150,000 vehicles a year by mid-2023 in response to customer demand. The company idled the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan in early 2023 to implement plant upgrades to accommodate that new production capacity.<\/p>\n Even as those improvements were being made, demand for EVs was softening across the industry. EV sales in the United States are still growing and on pace to surpass 1 million vehicles for the year \u2014 a 50% increase year-over-year. Still, that growth hasn’t matched the ambitious plans of major automakers, causing many to curb investments, delay factory improvements or new buildouts and reduce production capacity.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ford will cut production of its all-electric pickup truck in 2024 in an effort to match consumer demand. Ford executives signaled in October during its third-quarter earnings call plans to “adjust” production of its all-electric vehicles and delay about $12 billion in investments due to softening demand for higher-priced premium electric vehicles. The automaker didn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574188,"featured_media":2609144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"b3cede6e-2414-3b0d-9231-36d246e73e31","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T23:21:09Z","apple_news_api_id":"740082bf-79a2-488f-af2e-ca923a0996b8","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-12T00:28:13Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AdACCv3miSI-vLsqSOgmWuA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[2401],"tags":[197443,76801,19071,576904832],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nFord slashes production target for all-electric F-150 Lightning to match demand | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
A Ford spokesperson would not confirm the memo. The spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the company “will continue to match Lightning production to customer demand.”<\/p>\n
The move is a reversal from January 2022 when Ford \u2014 reveling in the 200,000 reservations it had received for the truck \u2014 announced it would nearly double production capacity<\/a> to 150,000 vehicles a year by mid-2023 in response to customer demand. The company idled the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan in early 2023 to implement plant upgrades to accommodate that new production capacity.<\/p>\n Even as those improvements were being made, demand for EVs was softening across the industry. EV sales in the United States are still growing and on pace to surpass 1 million vehicles for the year \u2014 a 50% increase year-over-year. Still, that growth hasn’t matched the ambitious plans of major automakers, causing many to curb investments, delay factory improvements or new buildouts and reduce production capacity.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ford will cut production of its all-electric pickup truck in 2024 in an effort to match consumer demand. Ford executives signaled in October during its third-quarter earnings call plans to “adjust” production of its all-electric vehicles and delay about $12 billion in investments due to softening demand for higher-priced premium electric vehicles. The automaker didn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574188,"featured_media":2609144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"b3cede6e-2414-3b0d-9231-36d246e73e31","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T23:21:09Z","apple_news_api_id":"740082bf-79a2-488f-af2e-ca923a0996b8","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-12T00:28:13Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AdACCv3miSI-vLsqSOgmWuA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[2401],"tags":[197443,76801,19071,576904832],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nFord slashes production target for all-electric F-150 Lightning to match demand | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Even as those improvements were being made, demand for EVs was softening across the industry. EV sales in the United States are still growing and on pace to surpass 1 million vehicles for the year \u2014 a 50% increase year-over-year. Still, that growth hasn’t matched the ambitious plans of major automakers, causing many to curb investments, delay factory improvements or new buildouts and reduce production capacity.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ford will cut production of its all-electric pickup truck in 2024 in an effort to match consumer demand. Ford executives signaled in October during its third-quarter earnings call plans to “adjust” production of its all-electric vehicles and delay about $12 billion in investments due to softening demand for higher-priced premium electric vehicles. The automaker didn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574188,"featured_media":2609144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"b3cede6e-2414-3b0d-9231-36d246e73e31","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T23:21:09Z","apple_news_api_id":"740082bf-79a2-488f-af2e-ca923a0996b8","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-12T00:28:13Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AdACCv3miSI-vLsqSOgmWuA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[2401],"tags":[197443,76801,19071,576904832],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nFord slashes production target for all-electric F-150 Lightning to match demand | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Ford will cut production of its all-electric pickup truck in 2024 in an effort to match consumer demand. Ford executives signaled in October during its third-quarter earnings call plans to “adjust” production of its all-electric vehicles and delay about $12 billion in investments due to softening demand for higher-priced premium electric vehicles. The automaker didn’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574188,"featured_media":2609144,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"b3cede6e-2414-3b0d-9231-36d246e73e31","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T23:21:09Z","apple_news_api_id":"740082bf-79a2-488f-af2e-ca923a0996b8","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-12T00:28:13Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AdACCv3miSI-vLsqSOgmWuA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[2401],"tags":[197443,76801,19071,576904832],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nFord slashes production target for all-electric F-150 Lightning to match demand | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
A close up of a gray Ford F-150 electric pickup truck showing a new badge called “Flash.”<\/p>\n"},"alt_text":"F-150 Lightning Flash EV","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_details":{"width":2000,"height":1333,"file":"2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg","filesize":326536,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=150,100","width":150,"height":100,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=150"},"medium":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=300,200","width":300,"height":200,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=300"},"medium_large":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=768,512","width":768,"height":512,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=1024"},"large":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=680,453","width":680,"height":453,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=680"},"1536x1536":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=1536,1024","width":1536,"height":1024,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=1536"},"tc-social-image":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=1200,800","width":1200,"height":800,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=1200"},"guest-author-32":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=32,32","width":32,"height":32,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=32&h=32&crop=1"},"guest-author-50":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=50,50","width":50,"height":50,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=50&h=50&crop=1"},"guest-author-64":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=64,64","width":64,"height":64,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=64&h=64&crop=1"},"guest-author-96":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=96,96","width":96,"height":96,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=96&h=96&crop=1"},"guest-author-128":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=128,128","width":128,"height":128,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=128&h=128&crop=1"},"concierge-thumb":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?resize=50,33","width":50,"height":33,"filesize":326536,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg?w=50"},"full":{"file":"F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg","width":1024,"height":682,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg"}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"11","credit":"Eric Perry","camera":"ILCE-7M4","caption":"","created_timestamp":"1696010834","copyright":"eric perry 2022","focal_length":"48","iso":"125","shutter_speed":"0.008","title":"","orientation":"1","keywords":[]}},"source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/F-150-Lightning-Flash-3.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2609144"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/attachment"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2609144"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/tc\/v1\/users\/133574188"}]}}],"wp:term":[[{"id":2401,"description":"Transportation news includes all the present and future ways people and packages get from Point A to Point B. Coverage includes scooters and e-bikes to autonomous vehicles, EVs, transit, and evTOLs. We cover auto tech players big and small, from Tesla, GM, Uber, and Lyft, to small startups entering the automotive tech space.","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/category\/transportation\/","name":"Transportation","slug":"transportation","taxonomy":"category","parent":0,"yoast_head":"\nTransportation & Auto News | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n
Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers<\/a>, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, according to lawyers who specialize in representing victims of data breaches and the arbitration process.<\/p>\n Three lawyers interviewed by TechCrunch called the changes in 23andMe\u2019s terms of service<\/a> with their customers \u201ccynical,\u201d \u201cself-serving,\u201d and \u201ca desperate attempt\u201d to protect itself and deter customers from exercising their legal rights following the massive breach of customer data.<\/p>\n The lawyers all agreed that the new changes are designed so that customers give up on the possibility of filing arbitration claims together \u2014 a process also known as mass arbitration<\/a> or arbitration swarms<\/a> \u2014 against 23andMe.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is some of the most pernicious and cynical attempts I’ve seen of \u2018we’ve already made it hard for you to get to court. Now we’re gonna make even it harder for you to get to arbitration,\u2019\u201d Doug McNamara, a partner at the Cohen Milsten law firm, told TechCrunch in a phone call. \u201cIt screams a desperate attempt to dissuade and deter people from suing them, which if you’ve done nothing wrong, why do you have to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n \t\n\t\tContact Us<\/h4>\n\t\tDo you have more information about the 23andMe incident? We\u2019d love to hear from you. You can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram, Keybase and Wire @lorenzofb, or email lorenzo@techcrunch.com. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.\t<\/div>\n\t<\/p>\n In its previous terms of service<\/a>, 23andMe already included a clause that forced customers to go through arbitration rather than \u201cjury trials or class action lawsuits.\u201d<\/p>\n Arbitration is essentially an alternative legal system to resolve disputes. As opposed to a lawsuit, arbitration is a private process<\/a> that \u2014 in theory \u2014 is faster and more cost-efficient. But critics say that the forced arbitration process skews in favor of corporations<\/a>, and research shows that customers are often unaware<\/a> that they have given up their constitutional right to file a lawsuit when they accepted a company\u2019s terms of service.<\/p>\n The email sent by 23andMe to its customers about Terms of Service changes. Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n The new terms of service essentially forbids 23andMe customers from joining forces in this mandatory arbitration process, according to the lawyers TechCrunch spoke with. The lawyers pointed to a new section of the terms, which refers to an initial period in which customers have to first talk to 23andMe before filing an arbitration claim:<\/p>\nThe Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Three lawyers interviewed by TechCrunch called the changes in 23andMe\u2019s terms of service<\/a> with their customers \u201ccynical,\u201d \u201cself-serving,\u201d and \u201ca desperate attempt\u201d to protect itself and deter customers from exercising their legal rights following the massive breach of customer data.<\/p>\n The lawyers all agreed that the new changes are designed so that customers give up on the possibility of filing arbitration claims together \u2014 a process also known as mass arbitration<\/a> or arbitration swarms<\/a> \u2014 against 23andMe.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is some of the most pernicious and cynical attempts I’ve seen of \u2018we’ve already made it hard for you to get to court. Now we’re gonna make even it harder for you to get to arbitration,\u2019\u201d Doug McNamara, a partner at the Cohen Milsten law firm, told TechCrunch in a phone call. \u201cIt screams a desperate attempt to dissuade and deter people from suing them, which if you’ve done nothing wrong, why do you have to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n \t\n\t\tContact Us<\/h4>\n\t\tDo you have more information about the 23andMe incident? We\u2019d love to hear from you. You can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram, Keybase and Wire @lorenzofb, or email lorenzo@techcrunch.com. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.\t<\/div>\n\t<\/p>\n In its previous terms of service<\/a>, 23andMe already included a clause that forced customers to go through arbitration rather than \u201cjury trials or class action lawsuits.\u201d<\/p>\n Arbitration is essentially an alternative legal system to resolve disputes. As opposed to a lawsuit, arbitration is a private process<\/a> that \u2014 in theory \u2014 is faster and more cost-efficient. But critics say that the forced arbitration process skews in favor of corporations<\/a>, and research shows that customers are often unaware<\/a> that they have given up their constitutional right to file a lawsuit when they accepted a company\u2019s terms of service.<\/p>\n The email sent by 23andMe to its customers about Terms of Service changes. Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n The new terms of service essentially forbids 23andMe customers from joining forces in this mandatory arbitration process, according to the lawyers TechCrunch spoke with. The lawyers pointed to a new section of the terms, which refers to an initial period in which customers have to first talk to 23andMe before filing an arbitration claim:<\/p>\nThe Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The lawyers all agreed that the new changes are designed so that customers give up on the possibility of filing arbitration claims together \u2014 a process also known as mass arbitration<\/a> or arbitration swarms<\/a> \u2014 against 23andMe.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is some of the most pernicious and cynical attempts I’ve seen of \u2018we’ve already made it hard for you to get to court. Now we’re gonna make even it harder for you to get to arbitration,\u2019\u201d Doug McNamara, a partner at the Cohen Milsten law firm, told TechCrunch in a phone call. \u201cIt screams a desperate attempt to dissuade and deter people from suing them, which if you’ve done nothing wrong, why do you have to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n \t\n\t\tContact Us<\/h4>\n\t\tDo you have more information about the 23andMe incident? We\u2019d love to hear from you. You can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram, Keybase and Wire @lorenzofb, or email lorenzo@techcrunch.com. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.\t<\/div>\n\t<\/p>\n In its previous terms of service<\/a>, 23andMe already included a clause that forced customers to go through arbitration rather than \u201cjury trials or class action lawsuits.\u201d<\/p>\n Arbitration is essentially an alternative legal system to resolve disputes. As opposed to a lawsuit, arbitration is a private process<\/a> that \u2014 in theory \u2014 is faster and more cost-efficient. But critics say that the forced arbitration process skews in favor of corporations<\/a>, and research shows that customers are often unaware<\/a> that they have given up their constitutional right to file a lawsuit when they accepted a company\u2019s terms of service.<\/p>\n The email sent by 23andMe to its customers about Terms of Service changes. Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n The new terms of service essentially forbids 23andMe customers from joining forces in this mandatory arbitration process, according to the lawyers TechCrunch spoke with. The lawyers pointed to a new section of the terms, which refers to an initial period in which customers have to first talk to 23andMe before filing an arbitration claim:<\/p>\nThe Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
\u201cThis is some of the most pernicious and cynical attempts I’ve seen of \u2018we’ve already made it hard for you to get to court. Now we’re gonna make even it harder for you to get to arbitration,\u2019\u201d Doug McNamara, a partner at the Cohen Milsten law firm, told TechCrunch in a phone call. \u201cIt screams a desperate attempt to dissuade and deter people from suing them, which if you’ve done nothing wrong, why do you have to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\n\t\tContact Us<\/h4>\n\t\tDo you have more information about the 23andMe incident? We\u2019d love to hear from you. You can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram, Keybase and Wire @lorenzofb, or email lorenzo@techcrunch.com. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.\t<\/div>\n\t<\/p>\n In its previous terms of service<\/a>, 23andMe already included a clause that forced customers to go through arbitration rather than \u201cjury trials or class action lawsuits.\u201d<\/p>\n Arbitration is essentially an alternative legal system to resolve disputes. As opposed to a lawsuit, arbitration is a private process<\/a> that \u2014 in theory \u2014 is faster and more cost-efficient. But critics say that the forced arbitration process skews in favor of corporations<\/a>, and research shows that customers are often unaware<\/a> that they have given up their constitutional right to file a lawsuit when they accepted a company\u2019s terms of service.<\/p>\n The email sent by 23andMe to its customers about Terms of Service changes. Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n The new terms of service essentially forbids 23andMe customers from joining forces in this mandatory arbitration process, according to the lawyers TechCrunch spoke with. The lawyers pointed to a new section of the terms, which refers to an initial period in which customers have to first talk to 23andMe before filing an arbitration claim:<\/p>\nThe Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
In its previous terms of service<\/a>, 23andMe already included a clause that forced customers to go through arbitration rather than \u201cjury trials or class action lawsuits.\u201d<\/p>\n Arbitration is essentially an alternative legal system to resolve disputes. As opposed to a lawsuit, arbitration is a private process<\/a> that \u2014 in theory \u2014 is faster and more cost-efficient. But critics say that the forced arbitration process skews in favor of corporations<\/a>, and research shows that customers are often unaware<\/a> that they have given up their constitutional right to file a lawsuit when they accepted a company\u2019s terms of service.<\/p>\n The email sent by 23andMe to its customers about Terms of Service changes. Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n The new terms of service essentially forbids 23andMe customers from joining forces in this mandatory arbitration process, according to the lawyers TechCrunch spoke with. The lawyers pointed to a new section of the terms, which refers to an initial period in which customers have to first talk to 23andMe before filing an arbitration claim:<\/p>\nThe Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Arbitration is essentially an alternative legal system to resolve disputes. As opposed to a lawsuit, arbitration is a private process<\/a> that \u2014 in theory \u2014 is faster and more cost-efficient. But critics say that the forced arbitration process skews in favor of corporations<\/a>, and research shows that customers are often unaware<\/a> that they have given up their constitutional right to file a lawsuit when they accepted a company\u2019s terms of service.<\/p>\n The email sent by 23andMe to its customers about Terms of Service changes. Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n The new terms of service essentially forbids 23andMe customers from joining forces in this mandatory arbitration process, according to the lawyers TechCrunch spoke with. The lawyers pointed to a new section of the terms, which refers to an initial period in which customers have to first talk to 23andMe before filing an arbitration claim:<\/p>\nThe Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The email sent by 23andMe to its customers about Terms of Service changes. Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n The new terms of service essentially forbids 23andMe customers from joining forces in this mandatory arbitration process, according to the lawyers TechCrunch spoke with. The lawyers pointed to a new section of the terms, which refers to an initial period in which customers have to first talk to 23andMe before filing an arbitration claim:<\/p>\nThe Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The email sent by 23andMe to its customers about Terms of Service changes. Image Credits:<\/strong> TechCrunch<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n The new terms of service essentially forbids 23andMe customers from joining forces in this mandatory arbitration process, according to the lawyers TechCrunch spoke with. The lawyers pointed to a new section of the terms, which refers to an initial period in which customers have to first talk to 23andMe before filing an arbitration claim:<\/p>\nThe Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The new terms of service essentially forbids 23andMe customers from joining forces in this mandatory arbitration process, according to the lawyers TechCrunch spoke with. The lawyers pointed to a new section of the terms, which refers to an initial period in which customers have to first talk to 23andMe before filing an arbitration claim:<\/p>\nThe Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The Initial Dispute Resolution Period must include a conference between you and us to attempt to informally resolve any Dispute in good faith. You will personally appear at the conference telephonically or via videoconference; if you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference. The conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same conference unless all parties agree.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In other words, according to the lawyers, 23andMe wants to avoid mass arbitration, a process that has already cost companies millions of dollars.<\/p>\n
In 2022, a judge ruled that Uber had to pay $92 million in fees<\/a> to the American Arbitration Association as a result of a mass arbitration demand against the ride-sharing company for allegedly discriminating against Black-owned restaurants in its food delivery service, Uber Eats. In the last few years, DoorDash<\/a> and Amazon have had to fight mass arbitration demands, rather than individual ones. Amazon gave up on arbitration altogether<\/a> after lawyers filed more than 75,000 arbitration demands on behalf of Echo users who alleged the devices recorded them without permission.<\/p>\n \u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
\u201cIs it better for the consumer? No. Is it better for 23andMe? Yeah. It makes it much less likely they’ll face a mass arbitration and have to spend a lot of money to deal with these claims,\u201d said McNamara, who described 23andMe\u2019s strategy as an attempt to weaken its customers\u2019 legal position. \u201cIt’s almost like \u2018Let’s play ball. But I get to pick the umpires, I get to pick the field, I get to pick the number of innings, I get to pick the pitches that you’re allowed to throw, I get to pick your batter, and make it so that you can’t really hire any of the good batters to go to the plate for you.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Julia Duncan, the senior director of government affairs for the American Association of Justice, told TechCrunch that the other disadvantage of individual arbitration is that it is a confidential process, so consumers cannot learn from other people\u2019s cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s much easier to bury customers’ claims one by one by one, than facing millions of customers who have joined together to try to seek accountability from the same company. This is all about corporate leverage and power and the power to keep things secret,\u201d Duncan, who has been outspoken against forced arbitration<\/a>, said in a phone call.<\/p>\n Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n \u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n 23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n 23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Duncan also said that arbitration in general is more favorable to corporations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor most consumers and workers, forced arbitration and mass forced arbitration are tantamount to immunity for the corporations. These systems are rigged, inherently biased, and operate in secret,\u201d said Duncan.<\/p>\n
23andMe spokesperson Andy Kill said in an email that \u201cthe recent revisions to our terms of service provide more details and clarity around the arbitration process.\u201d Kill added that the company \u201cmade changes that make arbitration more efficient for customers when multiple similar claims are filed, and provide more opportunities for disputes to be resolved without customers incurring the expense of litigation or arbitration.\u201d Kill did not respond to a follow-up asking what were the changes that increase the efficiency of arbitration for customers.<\/p>\n
The company also made a change that now compels customers to try to negotiate a dispute for 60 days before even filing an arbitration demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re hoping that some people, who are very upset at initially hearing that their genetic data has been stolen, would give up within that 60-day window and never follow through and file in forced arbitration,\u201d said Duncan. \u201cThey are hoping to make forced arbitration so burdensome and so difficult that most consumers don’t use it at all. And then they get away with never being held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
23andMe gave customers 30 days to reject the new terms of service. Confusingly, in the new terms of service, 23andMe wrote that customers who want to do that should email arbitrationoptout@23andme.com<\/a>, but in the email sent to customers, the company wrote that the address to use is legal@23andme.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Two 23andMe customers told TechCrunch that they have emailed the company requesting to opt out from the recent terms of service changes, but they have not yet heard back.<\/p>\n
Duncan said that even though the terms of service exclude class action lawsuits, victims should still file them, because \u201cthe way that 23andMe went about changing their forced arbitration provisions to make them even more burdensome for consumers should absolutely be evaluated in a court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jules D\u2019Alessandro, a lawyer based in Rhode Island, also said that if he were a victim, he \u201cwould jump into a class action suit or mass arbitration and let 23andMe try to convince a judge that I agreed to limit my involvement to an individual suit.\u201d<\/p>\n
And victims are already doing just that.<\/p>\n
On November 13, a woman in Illinois filed a class action lawsuit<\/a> against 23andMe. Last week, two law firms in Canada have also filed class action lawsuits together<\/a> on behalf of Canadian victims of the breach. Sage Nematollahi, one of the lawyers working on the case, told Global News<\/a> that \u201cthousands\u201d of victims have already reached out to the firm to join the lawsuit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Two days before 23andMe disclosed that hackers had accessed the personal and genetic data of almost 7 million customers, the genetic testing giant updated its terms of service. The changes are an effort to make it more difficult for the victims of the breach to band together in filing a legal claim against the company, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574594,"featured_media":2640496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"973121b6-20d8-3c9e-9c0b-425ba500f3ce","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:06:04Z","apple_news_api_id":"d960b874-2dfc-49cc-80d6-c77dc1cde380","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:36:37Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAg==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/A2WC4dC38ScyA1sd9wc3jgA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[21587494],"tags":[1156876,586007,230117,965824,67372,61188,1816,2054,621903],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\n23andMe changes to terms of service are 'cynical' and 'self-serving,\u2019 lawyers say | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
This illustration picture shows a saliva collection kit for DNA testing displayed in Washington DC on December 19, 2018. – Between 2015 and 2018, sales of DNA test kits boomed in the United States and allowed websites to build a critical mass of DNA profiles. The four DNA websites that offer match services — Ancestry, 23andMe, Family Tree DNA, My Heritage — today have so many users that it is rare for someone not to find at least one distant relative. (Photo by Eric BARADAT \/ AFP) (Photo by ERIC BARADAT\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n"},"alt_text":"This illustration picture shows a saliva collection kit for DNA testing displayed in Washington DC on December 19, 2018. - Between 2015 and 2018, sales of DNA test kits boomed in the United States and allowed websites to build a critical mass of DNA profiles. The four DNA websites that offer match services -- Ancestry, 23andMe, Family Tree DNA, My Heritage -- today have so many users that it is rare for someone not to find at least one distant relative. (Photo by Eric BARADAT \/ AFP) (Photo by ERIC BARADAT\/AFP via Getty Images)","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_details":{"width":7360,"height":4912,"file":"2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg","filesize":2022374,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=150,100","width":150,"height":100,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=150"},"medium":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=300,200","width":300,"height":200,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=300"},"medium_large":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=768,513","width":768,"height":513,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=1024"},"large":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=680,454","width":680,"height":454,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=680"},"1536x1536":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=1536,1025","width":1536,"height":1025,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=1536"},"2048x2048":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=2048,1367","width":2048,"height":1367,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=2048"},"tc-social-image":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=1200,801","width":1200,"height":801,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=1200"},"guest-author-32":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=32,32","width":32,"height":32,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=32&h=32&crop=1"},"guest-author-50":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=50,50","width":50,"height":50,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=50&h=50&crop=1"},"guest-author-64":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=64,64","width":64,"height":64,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=64&h=64&crop=1"},"guest-author-96":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=96,96","width":96,"height":96,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=96&h=96&crop=1"},"guest-author-128":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=128,128","width":128,"height":128,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=128&h=128&crop=1"},"concierge-thumb":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?resize=50,33","width":50,"height":33,"filesize":2022374,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg?w=50"},"full":{"file":"23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg"}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"AFP via Getty Images","camera":"","caption":"This illustration picture shows a saliva collection kit for DNA testing displayed in Washington DC on December 19, 2018. - Between 2015 and 2018, sales of DNA test kits boomed in the United States and allowed websites to build a critical mass of DNA profiles. The four DNA websites that offer match services -- Ancestry, 23andMe, Family Tree DNA, My Heritage -- today have so many users that it is rare for someone not to find at least one distant relative. (Photo by Eric BARADAT \/ AFP) (Photo by ERIC BARADAT\/AFP via Getty Images)","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"US-DNA-TESTING","orientation":"0","keywords":["Horizontal","ILLUSTRATION","SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY"]}},"source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/23-and-me-terms-of-service-changes.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2640496"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/attachment"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2640496"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/tc\/v1\/users\/133574594"}]}}],"wp:term":[[{"id":21587494,"description":"Security news coverage encompasses investigative cybersecurity reporting and analysis on the latest security breaches, hacks and cyberattacks around the globe.","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/category\/security\/","name":"Security","slug":"security","taxonomy":"category","parent":0,"yoast_head":"\nSecurity News | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n
Asteroid mining startup AstroForge<\/a> is racing against the clock to complete its refinery demonstration on orbit after encountering a number of unexpected setbacks before and after launch, the startup said in a candid blog post<\/a> published today.<\/p>\n This demonstration mission may prove to be a case study in the difficulties of putting hardware on orbit for the first time. Such challenges are often gestured to in the common refrain that \u201cspace is hard,\u201d but they are rarely elaborated upon with much detail.<\/p>\n AstroForge is changing that. In the blog post, the company dives into the problems it encountered — some even before the mission launched. One of the most consequential issues cropped up during final integration with OrbAstro, the satellite bus provider for the mission. AstroForge learned that its refinery system generated a magnetic field that would prevent the satellite from being able to actively orient itself in space.<\/p>\n The issue was massive: Essentially, it meant that the spacecraft would wobble, making communications difficult. Even worse, it meant that the spacecraft would eventually settle into an orientation that would sever communication with Earth completely.<\/p>\n AstroForge faced a decision: delay the mission by at least nine months and eat the launch costs, or move forward with the understanding that the satellite would wobble and eventually settle into an orientation that would cut off communication with Earth.<\/p>\n \u201cWe made a decision to go as fast as possible,\u201d AstroForge co-founder and CEO Matthew Gialich said in a recent interview. \u201cWe had the magnetic field problem that we knew about before we launched but we decided, hey, we’re a company that wants to go as fast as possible. We’re going to take some risk here. Let’s go for it. Let’s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n As a stopgap, the company worked with OrbAstro to incorporate an extra antenna on the satellite, so they could at least downlink data on the health status of the spacecraft. There wasn\u2019t enough time to also add an uplink antenna, but the mission moved ahead regardless.<\/p><\/div>\n A separate issue occurred immediately after the satellite separated from the launch vehicle, and AstroForge had trouble identifying it among the 50 other payloads discharged by SpaceX close to the same time. It\u2019s an issue that\u2019s more common than is often talked about, AstroForge co-founder and CTO Jose Acain said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can think that you’re tracking one satellite, but in reality, it could be somebody else’s. So that whole time you’re spending trying to talk to this one object, it could be completely not yours,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re finding other companies having to deal with this as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Engineers were finally able to connect with the spacecraft on May 5, 20 days after launch. The nominal health packets were a good sign, but the magnetic field issue reared its head when it came time to deploy the solar arrays. Because the satellite was unable to orient itself well, there was a decreased chance of the onboard antennas for telemetry and command aligning with ground stations.<\/p>\n The answer was to establish more ground station passes. Contracting and licensing with a ground station can take up to a year, but with the help of Australian ground segment venture Capricorn Space, AstroForge was able to complete it in just three months.<\/p>\n The company finally managed to deploy the solar arrays on September 2, and completed checkouts on November 8, around seven months after launch. AstroForge now has just three months to complete its initial baseline check of its onboard sensors and the refinery demonstration before it loses the ability to command the satellite completely.<\/p>\n Of course, errors are not without value: The two co-founders said the mission has added up to lessons learned that are already informing the next, considerably more ambitious, mission to deep space. Oddly enough, that mission, which is scheduled to take place next year, will benefit enormously from these first mistakes.<\/p>\n Some of those changes include: establishing protocols to get fast tracking and communications established with spacecraft after launch vehicle separation; adding an uplink capability; and adding sequences to command critical systems, like the solar arrays, to deploy automatically.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a project that I care a lot about,” Gialich said. “This is what I want to do with my life’s work. When you do something that really you see as your life’s work, there’s two outcomes: either we are the successful company that does it, or we show other companies the kind of mistakes we made along the way that they can avoid to become the successful company.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Acain echoed these comments: “We always said that if we fail, if this business fails, learnings that people can take away from that is just as important. And that’s part of the reason why we were as transparent as we were in that blog.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Asteroid mining startup AstroForge is racing against the clock to complete its refinery demonstration on orbit after encountering a number of unexpected setbacks before and after launch, the startup said in a candid blog post published today. This demonstration mission may prove to be a case study in the difficulties of putting hardware on orbit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574433,"featured_media":2325310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"3cd8c9ab-e0a3-31ee-bf28-c20b6e3d39f1","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T21:46:58Z","apple_news_api_id":"09100d15-aebd-4752-9a64-95e7b65fc3da","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:54:44Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ACRANFa69R1KaZJXntl_D2g","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[174],"tags":[577021199],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nAsteroid mining startup AstroForge faces setbacks \u2013 and successes \u2013 on demonstration mission | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
This demonstration mission may prove to be a case study in the difficulties of putting hardware on orbit for the first time. Such challenges are often gestured to in the common refrain that \u201cspace is hard,\u201d but they are rarely elaborated upon with much detail.<\/p>\n
AstroForge is changing that. In the blog post, the company dives into the problems it encountered — some even before the mission launched. One of the most consequential issues cropped up during final integration with OrbAstro, the satellite bus provider for the mission. AstroForge learned that its refinery system generated a magnetic field that would prevent the satellite from being able to actively orient itself in space.<\/p>\n
The issue was massive: Essentially, it meant that the spacecraft would wobble, making communications difficult. Even worse, it meant that the spacecraft would eventually settle into an orientation that would sever communication with Earth completely.<\/p>\n
AstroForge faced a decision: delay the mission by at least nine months and eat the launch costs, or move forward with the understanding that the satellite would wobble and eventually settle into an orientation that would cut off communication with Earth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe made a decision to go as fast as possible,\u201d AstroForge co-founder and CEO Matthew Gialich said in a recent interview. \u201cWe had the magnetic field problem that we knew about before we launched but we decided, hey, we’re a company that wants to go as fast as possible. We’re going to take some risk here. Let’s go for it. Let’s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a stopgap, the company worked with OrbAstro to incorporate an extra antenna on the satellite, so they could at least downlink data on the health status of the spacecraft. There wasn\u2019t enough time to also add an uplink antenna, but the mission moved ahead regardless.<\/p><\/div>\n A separate issue occurred immediately after the satellite separated from the launch vehicle, and AstroForge had trouble identifying it among the 50 other payloads discharged by SpaceX close to the same time. It\u2019s an issue that\u2019s more common than is often talked about, AstroForge co-founder and CTO Jose Acain said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can think that you’re tracking one satellite, but in reality, it could be somebody else’s. So that whole time you’re spending trying to talk to this one object, it could be completely not yours,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re finding other companies having to deal with this as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Engineers were finally able to connect with the spacecraft on May 5, 20 days after launch. The nominal health packets were a good sign, but the magnetic field issue reared its head when it came time to deploy the solar arrays. Because the satellite was unable to orient itself well, there was a decreased chance of the onboard antennas for telemetry and command aligning with ground stations.<\/p>\n The answer was to establish more ground station passes. Contracting and licensing with a ground station can take up to a year, but with the help of Australian ground segment venture Capricorn Space, AstroForge was able to complete it in just three months.<\/p>\n The company finally managed to deploy the solar arrays on September 2, and completed checkouts on November 8, around seven months after launch. AstroForge now has just three months to complete its initial baseline check of its onboard sensors and the refinery demonstration before it loses the ability to command the satellite completely.<\/p>\n Of course, errors are not without value: The two co-founders said the mission has added up to lessons learned that are already informing the next, considerably more ambitious, mission to deep space. Oddly enough, that mission, which is scheduled to take place next year, will benefit enormously from these first mistakes.<\/p>\n Some of those changes include: establishing protocols to get fast tracking and communications established with spacecraft after launch vehicle separation; adding an uplink capability; and adding sequences to command critical systems, like the solar arrays, to deploy automatically.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a project that I care a lot about,” Gialich said. “This is what I want to do with my life’s work. When you do something that really you see as your life’s work, there’s two outcomes: either we are the successful company that does it, or we show other companies the kind of mistakes we made along the way that they can avoid to become the successful company.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Acain echoed these comments: “We always said that if we fail, if this business fails, learnings that people can take away from that is just as important. And that’s part of the reason why we were as transparent as we were in that blog.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Asteroid mining startup AstroForge is racing against the clock to complete its refinery demonstration on orbit after encountering a number of unexpected setbacks before and after launch, the startup said in a candid blog post published today. This demonstration mission may prove to be a case study in the difficulties of putting hardware on orbit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574433,"featured_media":2325310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"3cd8c9ab-e0a3-31ee-bf28-c20b6e3d39f1","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T21:46:58Z","apple_news_api_id":"09100d15-aebd-4752-9a64-95e7b65fc3da","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:54:44Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ACRANFa69R1KaZJXntl_D2g","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[174],"tags":[577021199],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nAsteroid mining startup AstroForge faces setbacks \u2013 and successes \u2013 on demonstration mission | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
A separate issue occurred immediately after the satellite separated from the launch vehicle, and AstroForge had trouble identifying it among the 50 other payloads discharged by SpaceX close to the same time. It\u2019s an issue that\u2019s more common than is often talked about, AstroForge co-founder and CTO Jose Acain said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can think that you’re tracking one satellite, but in reality, it could be somebody else’s. So that whole time you’re spending trying to talk to this one object, it could be completely not yours,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re finding other companies having to deal with this as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Engineers were finally able to connect with the spacecraft on May 5, 20 days after launch. The nominal health packets were a good sign, but the magnetic field issue reared its head when it came time to deploy the solar arrays. Because the satellite was unable to orient itself well, there was a decreased chance of the onboard antennas for telemetry and command aligning with ground stations.<\/p>\n
The answer was to establish more ground station passes. Contracting and licensing with a ground station can take up to a year, but with the help of Australian ground segment venture Capricorn Space, AstroForge was able to complete it in just three months.<\/p>\n
The company finally managed to deploy the solar arrays on September 2, and completed checkouts on November 8, around seven months after launch. AstroForge now has just three months to complete its initial baseline check of its onboard sensors and the refinery demonstration before it loses the ability to command the satellite completely.<\/p>\n
Of course, errors are not without value: The two co-founders said the mission has added up to lessons learned that are already informing the next, considerably more ambitious, mission to deep space. Oddly enough, that mission, which is scheduled to take place next year, will benefit enormously from these first mistakes.<\/p>\n
Some of those changes include: establishing protocols to get fast tracking and communications established with spacecraft after launch vehicle separation; adding an uplink capability; and adding sequences to command critical systems, like the solar arrays, to deploy automatically.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a project that I care a lot about,” Gialich said. “This is what I want to do with my life’s work. When you do something that really you see as your life’s work, there’s two outcomes: either we are the successful company that does it, or we show other companies the kind of mistakes we made along the way that they can avoid to become the successful company.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Acain echoed these comments: “We always said that if we fail, if this business fails, learnings that people can take away from that is just as important. And that’s part of the reason why we were as transparent as we were in that blog.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Asteroid mining startup AstroForge is racing against the clock to complete its refinery demonstration on orbit after encountering a number of unexpected setbacks before and after launch, the startup said in a candid blog post published today. This demonstration mission may prove to be a case study in the difficulties of putting hardware on orbit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574433,"featured_media":2325310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"3cd8c9ab-e0a3-31ee-bf28-c20b6e3d39f1","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T21:46:58Z","apple_news_api_id":"09100d15-aebd-4752-9a64-95e7b65fc3da","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:54:44Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ACRANFa69R1KaZJXntl_D2g","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[174],"tags":[577021199],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nAsteroid mining startup AstroForge faces setbacks \u2013 and successes \u2013 on demonstration mission | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Acain echoed these comments: “We always said that if we fail, if this business fails, learnings that people can take away from that is just as important. And that’s part of the reason why we were as transparent as we were in that blog.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Asteroid mining startup AstroForge is racing against the clock to complete its refinery demonstration on orbit after encountering a number of unexpected setbacks before and after launch, the startup said in a candid blog post published today. This demonstration mission may prove to be a case study in the difficulties of putting hardware on orbit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574433,"featured_media":2325310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"3cd8c9ab-e0a3-31ee-bf28-c20b6e3d39f1","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T21:46:58Z","apple_news_api_id":"09100d15-aebd-4752-9a64-95e7b65fc3da","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:54:44Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABA==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ACRANFa69R1KaZJXntl_D2g","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[174],"tags":[577021199],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nAsteroid mining startup AstroForge faces setbacks \u2013 and successes \u2013 on demonstration mission | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Near-Earth asteroid, computer artwork.<\/p>\n"},"alt_text":"asteroid on path to earth","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_details":{"width":4644,"height":3763,"file":"2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg","filesize":4033762,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=150,122","width":150,"height":122,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=150"},"medium":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=300,243","width":300,"height":243,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=300"},"medium_large":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=768,622","width":768,"height":622,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=1024"},"large":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=680,551","width":680,"height":551,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=680"},"1536x1536":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=1536,1245","width":1536,"height":1245,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=1536"},"2048x2048":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=2048,1659","width":2048,"height":1659,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=2048"},"tc-social-image":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=1200,972","width":1200,"height":972,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=1200"},"guest-author-32":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=32,32","width":32,"height":32,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=32&h=32&crop=1"},"guest-author-50":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=50,50","width":50,"height":50,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=50&h=50&crop=1"},"guest-author-64":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=64,64","width":64,"height":64,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=64&h=64&crop=1"},"guest-author-96":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=96,96","width":96,"height":96,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=96&h=96&crop=1"},"guest-author-128":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=128,128","width":128,"height":128,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=128&h=128&crop=1"},"concierge-thumb":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg?resize=50,41","width":50,"height":41,"filesize":4033762,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg?w=50"},"full":{"file":"GettyImages-160936163.jpg","width":1024,"height":830,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg"}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images","camera":"","caption":"Near-Earth asteroid, computer artwork.","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"Near-Earth asteroid, artwork","orientation":"0","keywords":["illustration","science","computer generated","artwork","no people","black background","planet","solar system","globe","space","no people","colour image","horizontal","light","shadow","darkness","round","two objects","sun","asteroid","earth","near miss","close","collision course"]}},"source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/GettyImages-160936163.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2325310"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/attachment"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2325310"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/tc\/v1\/users\/133574433"}]}}],"wp:term":[[{"id":174,"description":"The latest news and updates on space, including launches and funding rounds about satellite communications systems like Starlink and Kuiper, and of course the latest research taking place on the ISS, the Moon, Mars and beyond.","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/category\/space\/","name":"Space","slug":"space","taxonomy":"category","parent":0,"yoast_head":"\nSpace News | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n
Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help <\/span>improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it<\/span><\/a>. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0<\/span>Relevance AI<\/span><\/a>, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI agents for any use case or function to maximize productivity with its SaaS-based low-code platform.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Our mission is to enable teams only to be limited by their ideas, not their size — from the seasoned industry player to the ambitious newcomer,” co-founder of Relevance AI Daniel Vassilev said. “We take out the complexity and make it possible for AI agents to work autonomously and complete detailed workflows or accomplish complex tasks with accuracy and predictability that companies can trust.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The startup said it had raised $10 million (AUD 15 million) in a Series A funding round led by King River Capital with participation from global investors Peak XV’s Surge, Galileo Venture and its previous investor Insight Partners. <\/span>Relevance AI will use the new capital, which brings its total raised to $13.2 million, for its low-code platform that lets companies build and deploy custom AI agents to automate repetitive tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n Relevance AI claims approximately 6,000 companies signed up with Relevance AI over the previous three months alone and run over 250,000 tasks, such as answering customer inquiries, managing outbound sales or conducting market research. The company says it is now working with some of the biggest household names in tech, retail and fast-moving consumer goods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “From a go-to-market perspective, we are starting out by focusing on two verticals, such as sales and support teams, as they tend to be text-based and have a significant return on investment (ROI),” Vassilev told TechCrunch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It launched two products that customers are using today: AI Tools and AI agents. Users can plug and play into their existing workflows to automate repetitive tasks with the startup’s AI Tools and complete entire workflows, from research to marketing to sales with Relevance’s AI agents. Its latest flagship AI agent, the business development representative (BDR) agent, helps sales teams spend more time on calls selling and less on inbox management, follow-ups and answering basic questions. Relevance AI is currently onboarding customers to it, according to Vassilev.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The company believes “every team will have hired at least one AI agent by 2025, and by 2030 have full-fledged AI team supporting them.”<\/p><\/div>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Relevance AI<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
“Our mission is to enable teams only to be limited by their ideas, not their size — from the seasoned industry player to the ambitious newcomer,” co-founder of Relevance AI Daniel Vassilev said. “We take out the complexity and make it possible for AI agents to work autonomously and complete detailed workflows or accomplish complex tasks with accuracy and predictability that companies can trust.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The startup said it had raised $10 million (AUD 15 million) in a Series A funding round led by King River Capital with participation from global investors Peak XV’s Surge, Galileo Venture and its previous investor Insight Partners. <\/span>Relevance AI will use the new capital, which brings its total raised to $13.2 million, for its low-code platform that lets companies build and deploy custom AI agents to automate repetitive tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n Relevance AI claims approximately 6,000 companies signed up with Relevance AI over the previous three months alone and run over 250,000 tasks, such as answering customer inquiries, managing outbound sales or conducting market research. The company says it is now working with some of the biggest household names in tech, retail and fast-moving consumer goods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “From a go-to-market perspective, we are starting out by focusing on two verticals, such as sales and support teams, as they tend to be text-based and have a significant return on investment (ROI),” Vassilev told TechCrunch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It launched two products that customers are using today: AI Tools and AI agents. Users can plug and play into their existing workflows to automate repetitive tasks with the startup’s AI Tools and complete entire workflows, from research to marketing to sales with Relevance’s AI agents. Its latest flagship AI agent, the business development representative (BDR) agent, helps sales teams spend more time on calls selling and less on inbox management, follow-ups and answering basic questions. Relevance AI is currently onboarding customers to it, according to Vassilev.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The company believes “every team will have hired at least one AI agent by 2025, and by 2030 have full-fledged AI team supporting them.”<\/p><\/div>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Relevance AI<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The startup said it had raised $10 million (AUD 15 million) in a Series A funding round led by King River Capital with participation from global investors Peak XV’s Surge, Galileo Venture and its previous investor Insight Partners. <\/span>Relevance AI will use the new capital, which brings its total raised to $13.2 million, for its low-code platform that lets companies build and deploy custom AI agents to automate repetitive tasks.<\/span><\/p>\n Relevance AI claims approximately 6,000 companies signed up with Relevance AI over the previous three months alone and run over 250,000 tasks, such as answering customer inquiries, managing outbound sales or conducting market research. The company says it is now working with some of the biggest household names in tech, retail and fast-moving consumer goods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “From a go-to-market perspective, we are starting out by focusing on two verticals, such as sales and support teams, as they tend to be text-based and have a significant return on investment (ROI),” Vassilev told TechCrunch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It launched two products that customers are using today: AI Tools and AI agents. Users can plug and play into their existing workflows to automate repetitive tasks with the startup’s AI Tools and complete entire workflows, from research to marketing to sales with Relevance’s AI agents. Its latest flagship AI agent, the business development representative (BDR) agent, helps sales teams spend more time on calls selling and less on inbox management, follow-ups and answering basic questions. Relevance AI is currently onboarding customers to it, according to Vassilev.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The company believes “every team will have hired at least one AI agent by 2025, and by 2030 have full-fledged AI team supporting them.”<\/p><\/div>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Relevance AI<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Relevance AI claims approximately 6,000 companies signed up with Relevance AI over the previous three months alone and run over 250,000 tasks, such as answering customer inquiries, managing outbound sales or conducting market research. The company says it is now working with some of the biggest household names in tech, retail and fast-moving consumer goods.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “From a go-to-market perspective, we are starting out by focusing on two verticals, such as sales and support teams, as they tend to be text-based and have a significant return on investment (ROI),” Vassilev told TechCrunch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It launched two products that customers are using today: AI Tools and AI agents. Users can plug and play into their existing workflows to automate repetitive tasks with the startup’s AI Tools and complete entire workflows, from research to marketing to sales with Relevance’s AI agents. Its latest flagship AI agent, the business development representative (BDR) agent, helps sales teams spend more time on calls selling and less on inbox management, follow-ups and answering basic questions. Relevance AI is currently onboarding customers to it, according to Vassilev.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The company believes “every team will have hired at least one AI agent by 2025, and by 2030 have full-fledged AI team supporting them.”<\/p><\/div>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Relevance AI<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
“From a go-to-market perspective, we are starting out by focusing on two verticals, such as sales and support teams, as they tend to be text-based and have a significant return on investment (ROI),” Vassilev told TechCrunch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It launched two products that customers are using today: AI Tools and AI agents. Users can plug and play into their existing workflows to automate repetitive tasks with the startup’s AI Tools and complete entire workflows, from research to marketing to sales with Relevance’s AI agents. Its latest flagship AI agent, the business development representative (BDR) agent, helps sales teams spend more time on calls selling and less on inbox management, follow-ups and answering basic questions. Relevance AI is currently onboarding customers to it, according to Vassilev.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The company believes “every team will have hired at least one AI agent by 2025, and by 2030 have full-fledged AI team supporting them.”<\/p><\/div>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Relevance AI<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
It launched two products that customers are using today: AI Tools and AI agents. Users can plug and play into their existing workflows to automate repetitive tasks with the startup’s AI Tools and complete entire workflows, from research to marketing to sales with Relevance’s AI agents. Its latest flagship AI agent, the business development representative (BDR) agent, helps sales teams spend more time on calls selling and less on inbox management, follow-ups and answering basic questions. Relevance AI is currently onboarding customers to it, according to Vassilev.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The company believes “every team will have hired at least one AI agent by 2025, and by 2030 have full-fledged AI team supporting them.”<\/p><\/div>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Relevance AI<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The company believes “every team will have hired at least one AI agent by 2025, and by 2030 have full-fledged AI team supporting them.”<\/p><\/div>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Relevance AI<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Image Credits:<\/strong> Relevance AI<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Image Credits:<\/strong> Relevance AI<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Relevance’s target customers are companies and teams looking to put repetitive work on autopilot with a trusted AI co-worker, Vassilev told TechCrunch. “Unlike a typical chat interface for speaking with an assistant, Relevance AI is focused on task-based outcomes with an experience for delegating work rather than individual conversations,” Vassilev said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Many applications could benefit from automating repetitive tasks with Relevance’s platform, Vassilev continued. For example, product managers can use the agents to help produce specs and research or engineers to assist with code reviews. The startup is already experimenting with more multi-modal use cases involving image and audio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Vassilev, Jacky Koh and Daniel Palmer founded Relevance AI in 2020. It has 19 staff, aiming to be around 30 by mid-2024. The plans are to scale its team and expand its U.S. presence with an office in San Francisco next year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Many companies already use generative AI tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can help improve workers’ performance by as much as 40% compared with workers who don’t use it. However, only businesses with large engineering teams can build their own AI workforces. An Australia-based startup,\u00a0Relevance AI, wants to help companies of all sizes build custom AI […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574478,"featured_media":2088943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"363d0450-bb60-3dfa-857b-84eceb056e30","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_id":"9f059aba-2cfe-46fc-8a77-16932d4cdc44","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-12-11T22:31:50Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AnwWauiz-RvyKdxaTLUzcRA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[577047203,20429],"tags":[576858653,577201096],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[577037502,577037501],"yoast_head":"\nRelevance AI's low-code platform enables businesses to build AI teams | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Workforce organization and management. Workflow processes, workflow process design and automation, boost your office productivity concept. Bright vibrant violet vector isolated illustration<\/p>\n"},"alt_text":"Workforce organization and management. Workflow processes, workflow process design and automation, boost your office productivity concept. 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This encompasses generative AI, including large language models, text-to-image and text-to-video models; speech recognition and generation; and predictive analytics.","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/category\/artificial-intelligence\/","name":"AI","slug":"artificial-intelligence","taxonomy":"category","parent":0,"yoast_head":"\nAI News & Artificial Intelligence | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n
It seems the<\/span> younger a startup is today, the better its fundraising prospects.<\/p>\n Recent data from Carta<\/a> pushes back against the narrative that 2023 has been tough on startups that are not building an AI product. In fact, grouping startups by maturity yields a very different picture.<\/p>\n\n The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Read it every morning on TechCrunch+<\/a> or get The Exchange newsletter<\/a> every Saturday.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n Earlier-stage startups are seeing stronger valuations and smaller declines in total capital availability, welcome boons in a year of mostly negative news. However, late-stage investment has been in retreat, and since this segment usually accounts for the most dollars, people have been making the mistake of conflating a dramatic late-stage recession with general startup malaise.<\/p>\n <\/a>We don\u2019t mean to be glib. There are certainly many early-stage startups that are struggling and late-stage startups that are thriving. And Carta’s data is predicated on its customer base, which makes the information useful and directional, but not whole.<\/p>\n Still, the trends that we can spy are an effective argument against the logic of startups being encouraged to stay private as long as possible. For private-market investors looking to make the most of their investment, baking startups in the oven until they were fully ready worked for some time, but this method of running and scaling tech companies no longer looks so winsome.<\/p>\n Perhaps taking an early path to an IPO was the right idea all along. Let\u2019s explore.<\/p>\nHow fare startups today?<\/h2>\n Parsing data from Carta on the third quarter of 2023, it\u2019s clear that grouping startups by stage makes sense. For instance, the seed-stage was deemed to be immune to decline<\/a>, but there’s only been a 58% decline in capital raised by seed-stage startups in Q3 2023 compared to Q4 2021. Meanwhile, Series A, B, and C rounds were all down 80% or more in value in the third quarter compared to Q4 2021.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The trends that we can spy inside the data are an effective argument against the era in which startups were encouraged to stay private as long as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574450,"featured_media":2569394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"77694c18-1e61-34b0-908e-084347880ca6","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[20429,577030455],"tags":[576623485,576847237,577025428,5858894,576765839],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nStartups are doing fine, but scale-ups and unicorns are in deep water | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Recent data from Carta<\/a> pushes back against the narrative that 2023 has been tough on startups that are not building an AI product. In fact, grouping startups by maturity yields a very different picture.<\/p>\n\n The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Read it every morning on TechCrunch+<\/a> or get The Exchange newsletter<\/a> every Saturday.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n Earlier-stage startups are seeing stronger valuations and smaller declines in total capital availability, welcome boons in a year of mostly negative news. However, late-stage investment has been in retreat, and since this segment usually accounts for the most dollars, people have been making the mistake of conflating a dramatic late-stage recession with general startup malaise.<\/p>\n <\/a>We don\u2019t mean to be glib. There are certainly many early-stage startups that are struggling and late-stage startups that are thriving. And Carta’s data is predicated on its customer base, which makes the information useful and directional, but not whole.<\/p>\n Still, the trends that we can spy are an effective argument against the logic of startups being encouraged to stay private as long as possible. For private-market investors looking to make the most of their investment, baking startups in the oven until they were fully ready worked for some time, but this method of running and scaling tech companies no longer looks so winsome.<\/p>\n Perhaps taking an early path to an IPO was the right idea all along. Let\u2019s explore.<\/p>\nHow fare startups today?<\/h2>\n Parsing data from Carta on the third quarter of 2023, it\u2019s clear that grouping startups by stage makes sense. For instance, the seed-stage was deemed to be immune to decline<\/a>, but there’s only been a 58% decline in capital raised by seed-stage startups in Q3 2023 compared to Q4 2021. Meanwhile, Series A, B, and C rounds were all down 80% or more in value in the third quarter compared to Q4 2021.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The trends that we can spy inside the data are an effective argument against the era in which startups were encouraged to stay private as long as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574450,"featured_media":2569394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"77694c18-1e61-34b0-908e-084347880ca6","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[20429,577030455],"tags":[576623485,576847237,577025428,5858894,576765839],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nStartups are doing fine, but scale-ups and unicorns are in deep water | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The Exchange explores startups, markets and money. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Read it every morning on TechCrunch+<\/a> or get The Exchange newsletter<\/a> every Saturday.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n Earlier-stage startups are seeing stronger valuations and smaller declines in total capital availability, welcome boons in a year of mostly negative news. However, late-stage investment has been in retreat, and since this segment usually accounts for the most dollars, people have been making the mistake of conflating a dramatic late-stage recession with general startup malaise.<\/p>\n <\/a>We don\u2019t mean to be glib. There are certainly many early-stage startups that are struggling and late-stage startups that are thriving. And Carta’s data is predicated on its customer base, which makes the information useful and directional, but not whole.<\/p>\n Still, the trends that we can spy are an effective argument against the logic of startups being encouraged to stay private as long as possible. For private-market investors looking to make the most of their investment, baking startups in the oven until they were fully ready worked for some time, but this method of running and scaling tech companies no longer looks so winsome.<\/p>\n Perhaps taking an early path to an IPO was the right idea all along. Let\u2019s explore.<\/p>\nHow fare startups today?<\/h2>\n Parsing data from Carta on the third quarter of 2023, it\u2019s clear that grouping startups by stage makes sense. For instance, the seed-stage was deemed to be immune to decline<\/a>, but there’s only been a 58% decline in capital raised by seed-stage startups in Q3 2023 compared to Q4 2021. Meanwhile, Series A, B, and C rounds were all down 80% or more in value in the third quarter compared to Q4 2021.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The trends that we can spy inside the data are an effective argument against the era in which startups were encouraged to stay private as long as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574450,"featured_media":2569394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"77694c18-1e61-34b0-908e-084347880ca6","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[20429,577030455],"tags":[576623485,576847237,577025428,5858894,576765839],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nStartups are doing fine, but scale-ups and unicorns are in deep water | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Read it every morning on TechCrunch+<\/a> or get The Exchange newsletter<\/a> every Saturday.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n Earlier-stage startups are seeing stronger valuations and smaller declines in total capital availability, welcome boons in a year of mostly negative news. However, late-stage investment has been in retreat, and since this segment usually accounts for the most dollars, people have been making the mistake of conflating a dramatic late-stage recession with general startup malaise.<\/p>\n <\/a>We don\u2019t mean to be glib. There are certainly many early-stage startups that are struggling and late-stage startups that are thriving. And Carta’s data is predicated on its customer base, which makes the information useful and directional, but not whole.<\/p>\n Still, the trends that we can spy are an effective argument against the logic of startups being encouraged to stay private as long as possible. For private-market investors looking to make the most of their investment, baking startups in the oven until they were fully ready worked for some time, but this method of running and scaling tech companies no longer looks so winsome.<\/p>\n Perhaps taking an early path to an IPO was the right idea all along. Let\u2019s explore.<\/p>\nHow fare startups today?<\/h2>\n Parsing data from Carta on the third quarter of 2023, it\u2019s clear that grouping startups by stage makes sense. For instance, the seed-stage was deemed to be immune to decline<\/a>, but there’s only been a 58% decline in capital raised by seed-stage startups in Q3 2023 compared to Q4 2021. Meanwhile, Series A, B, and C rounds were all down 80% or more in value in the third quarter compared to Q4 2021.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The trends that we can spy inside the data are an effective argument against the era in which startups were encouraged to stay private as long as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574450,"featured_media":2569394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"77694c18-1e61-34b0-908e-084347880ca6","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[20429,577030455],"tags":[576623485,576847237,577025428,5858894,576765839],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nStartups are doing fine, but scale-ups and unicorns are in deep water | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Earlier-stage startups are seeing stronger valuations and smaller declines in total capital availability, welcome boons in a year of mostly negative news. However, late-stage investment has been in retreat, and since this segment usually accounts for the most dollars, people have been making the mistake of conflating a dramatic late-stage recession with general startup malaise.<\/p>\n
<\/a>We don\u2019t mean to be glib. There are certainly many early-stage startups that are struggling and late-stage startups that are thriving. And Carta’s data is predicated on its customer base, which makes the information useful and directional, but not whole.<\/p>\n Still, the trends that we can spy are an effective argument against the logic of startups being encouraged to stay private as long as possible. For private-market investors looking to make the most of their investment, baking startups in the oven until they were fully ready worked for some time, but this method of running and scaling tech companies no longer looks so winsome.<\/p>\n Perhaps taking an early path to an IPO was the right idea all along. Let\u2019s explore.<\/p>\nHow fare startups today?<\/h2>\n Parsing data from Carta on the third quarter of 2023, it\u2019s clear that grouping startups by stage makes sense. For instance, the seed-stage was deemed to be immune to decline<\/a>, but there’s only been a 58% decline in capital raised by seed-stage startups in Q3 2023 compared to Q4 2021. Meanwhile, Series A, B, and C rounds were all down 80% or more in value in the third quarter compared to Q4 2021.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The trends that we can spy inside the data are an effective argument against the era in which startups were encouraged to stay private as long as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574450,"featured_media":2569394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"77694c18-1e61-34b0-908e-084347880ca6","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[20429,577030455],"tags":[576623485,576847237,577025428,5858894,576765839],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nStartups are doing fine, but scale-ups and unicorns are in deep water | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Still, the trends that we can spy are an effective argument against the logic of startups being encouraged to stay private as long as possible. For private-market investors looking to make the most of their investment, baking startups in the oven until they were fully ready worked for some time, but this method of running and scaling tech companies no longer looks so winsome.<\/p>\n
Perhaps taking an early path to an IPO was the right idea all along. Let\u2019s explore.<\/p>\nHow fare startups today?<\/h2>\n Parsing data from Carta on the third quarter of 2023, it\u2019s clear that grouping startups by stage makes sense. For instance, the seed-stage was deemed to be immune to decline<\/a>, but there’s only been a 58% decline in capital raised by seed-stage startups in Q3 2023 compared to Q4 2021. Meanwhile, Series A, B, and C rounds were all down 80% or more in value in the third quarter compared to Q4 2021.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The trends that we can spy inside the data are an effective argument against the era in which startups were encouraged to stay private as long as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574450,"featured_media":2569394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"77694c18-1e61-34b0-908e-084347880ca6","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[20429,577030455],"tags":[576623485,576847237,577025428,5858894,576765839],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nStartups are doing fine, but scale-ups and unicorns are in deep water | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Parsing data from Carta on the third quarter of 2023, it\u2019s clear that grouping startups by stage makes sense. For instance, the seed-stage was deemed to be immune to decline<\/a>, but there’s only been a 58% decline in capital raised by seed-stage startups in Q3 2023 compared to Q4 2021. Meanwhile, Series A, B, and C rounds were all down 80% or more in value in the third quarter compared to Q4 2021.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The trends that we can spy inside the data are an effective argument against the era in which startups were encouraged to stay private as long as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574450,"featured_media":2569394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"77694c18-1e61-34b0-908e-084347880ca6","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[20429,577030455],"tags":[576623485,576847237,577025428,5858894,576765839],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nStartups are doing fine, but scale-ups and unicorns are in deep water | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The trends that we can spy inside the data are an effective argument against the era in which startups were encouraged to stay private as long as possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574450,"featured_media":2569394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"77694c18-1e61-34b0-908e-084347880ca6","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[20429,577030455],"tags":[576623485,576847237,577025428,5858894,576765839],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nStartups are doing fine, but scale-ups and unicorns are in deep water | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
Alex Wilhelm is Editor In Chief of TechCrunch+. He previously worked for Crunchbase News as Editor in Chief as well as The Next Web, TechCrunch, and Mattermark.<\/p>","cbAvatar":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screen-Shot-2021-04-30-at-12.12.07-PM.png","twitter":"alex"},{"id":133574450,"name":"Anna Heim","url":"","description":"","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/author\/anna-heim\/","slug":"anna-heim","avatar_urls":{"24":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d13d660551612def3a9b989dd7504c4c?s=24&d=identicon&r=g","48":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d13d660551612def3a9b989dd7504c4c?s=48&d=identicon&r=g","96":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d13d660551612def3a9b989dd7504c4c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g"},"yoast_head":"\nAnna Heim, Author at TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Reporter at TechCrunch+, exploring SaaS and more. Former LATAM & Media Editor at The Next Web, startup founder and Sciences Po Paris alum.<\/p>","cbAvatar":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/frtvjqwmk7of4y2m2xcw.jpeg","twitter":"abracarioca","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/tc\/v1\/users\/133574450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/tc\/v1\/users"}]}}],"author":[{"id":133574450,"name":"Anna Heim","url":"","description":"","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/author\/anna-heim\/","slug":"anna-heim","avatar_urls":{"24":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d13d660551612def3a9b989dd7504c4c?s=24&d=identicon&r=g","48":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d13d660551612def3a9b989dd7504c4c?s=48&d=identicon&r=g","96":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d13d660551612def3a9b989dd7504c4c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g"},"yoast_head":"\nAnna Heim, Author at TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Reporter at TechCrunch+, exploring SaaS and more. Former LATAM & Media Editor at The Next Web, startup founder and Sciences Po Paris alum.<\/p>","cbAvatar":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/frtvjqwmk7of4y2m2xcw.jpeg","twitter":"abracarioca","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/tc\/v1\/users\/133574450"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/tc\/v1\/users"}]}}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"id":2569394,"date":"2023-07-14T07:12:26","slug":"bullish-vs-bearish-markets-bull-and-bear-face-off-in-stock-market-exchange-up-and-down-market-competition-stock-market-trends-graph-stock-exchange-financial-bitcoin","type":"attachment","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/07\/14\/seed-market-deal-counts-down\/bullish-vs-bearish-markets-bull-and-bear-face-off-in-stock-market-exchange-up-and-down-market-competition-stock-market-trends-graph-stock-exchange-financial-bitcoin\/","title":{"rendered":"Bullish vs Bearish Markets. Bull and bear face off in stock market exchange. Up and down market competition stock market trends. Graph, Stock exchange, Financial, Bitcoin."},"author":133574554,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"license":{"source_key":"getty images"},"authors":[133574554],"caption":{"rendered":"
While seed-focused investors are seeing good deal flow, seed deal count is going down. <\/p>\n"},"alt_text":"seed deals, deal count, venture capital","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_details":{"width":2951,"height":1889,"file":"2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg","filesize":415385,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=150,96","width":150,"height":96,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=150"},"medium":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=300,192","width":300,"height":192,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=300"},"medium_large":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=768,492","width":768,"height":492,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=1024"},"large":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=680,435","width":680,"height":435,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=680"},"1536x1536":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=1536,983","width":1536,"height":983,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=1536"},"2048x2048":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=2048,1311","width":2048,"height":1311,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=2048"},"tc-social-image":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=1200,768","width":1200,"height":768,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=1200"},"guest-author-32":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=32,32","width":32,"height":32,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=32&h=32&crop=1"},"guest-author-50":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=50,50","width":50,"height":50,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=50&h=50&crop=1"},"guest-author-64":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=64,64","width":64,"height":64,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=64&h=64&crop=1"},"guest-author-96":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=96,96","width":96,"height":96,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=96&h=96&crop=1"},"guest-author-128":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=128,128","width":128,"height":128,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=128&h=128&crop=1"},"concierge-thumb":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?resize=50,32","width":50,"height":32,"filesize":415385,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg?w=50"},"full":{"file":"GettyImages-1400003953.jpg","width":1024,"height":655,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg"}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"Getty Images\/iStockphoto","camera":"","caption":"Bullish vs Bearish Markets. 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Graph, Stock exchange, Financial, Bitcoin.","orientation":"1","keywords":["up","versus","vs"]}},"source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/GettyImages-1400003953.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2569394"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/attachment"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2569394"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/tc\/v1\/users\/133574554"}]}}],"wp:term":[[{"id":20429,"description":"Tech startup news that breaks down the funding, growth, and long-term trajectory of companies across every stage and industry. Startup coverage includes climate, crypto, fintech, SaaS, transportation, and consumer tech.","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/category\/startups\/","name":"Startups","slug":"startups","taxonomy":"category","parent":0,"yoast_head":"\nStartups | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n
Solid-state batteries might<\/span> get a lot of press, but they\u2019re still years away from powering an EV near you. But it appears a breakthrough is just around the corner: silicon anodes.<\/p>\n A number of companies have been racing to commercialize silicon anode battery technology, which promises double-digit-percent increases in lithium-ion cell energy density based on today\u2019s chemistries.<\/p>\n One such company, Sila<\/a>, today said it has signed a deal to supply Panasonic with its Titan Silicon anode material. Production will happen at Sila\u2019s future Moses Lake facility, where the startup recently broke ground.<\/p>\n The supply agreement marks a significant milestone for the 13-year-old company, which has raised over $900 million to date, not including a $100 million Department of Energy grant announced in October 2022<\/a> that was earmarked for scaling up manufacturing.<\/p>\n \u201cIn these early, early years, as we scale up, we\u2019ll sell our material such that the batteries have a small premium, a few percentage points more expensive for higher performance,\u201d Sila\u2019s co-founder and CEO, Gene Berdichevsky, told TechCrunch+.<\/p>\n Higher performance cells containing Titan Silicon will initially be used in luxury vehicles like the Mercedes\u2019 electric G-Class SUV<\/a>, which is scheduled to debut in 2025. Because cells with silicon anodes hold more energy, automakers can either use the same number of cells for greater performance or opt to maintain the same performance but use fewer cells. \u201cToward the end of the decade, that higher performance will actually lead to lower price at the battery pack level,\u201d Berdichevsky said.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The supply agreement marks a significant milestone for the 13-year-old lithium-ion battery company, which has raised over $900 million to date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574548,"featured_media":2261215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"4c770daf-9f86-3d0f-9cae-02761f40cd15","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[576957003,2401],"tags":[576858236,576856615,524514,38321,576754636,576654168],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nSila inks supply deal with Panasonic for its breakthrough battery material | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
A number of companies have been racing to commercialize silicon anode battery technology, which promises double-digit-percent increases in lithium-ion cell energy density based on today\u2019s chemistries.<\/p>\n
One such company, Sila<\/a>, today said it has signed a deal to supply Panasonic with its Titan Silicon anode material. Production will happen at Sila\u2019s future Moses Lake facility, where the startup recently broke ground.<\/p>\n The supply agreement marks a significant milestone for the 13-year-old company, which has raised over $900 million to date, not including a $100 million Department of Energy grant announced in October 2022<\/a> that was earmarked for scaling up manufacturing.<\/p>\n \u201cIn these early, early years, as we scale up, we\u2019ll sell our material such that the batteries have a small premium, a few percentage points more expensive for higher performance,\u201d Sila\u2019s co-founder and CEO, Gene Berdichevsky, told TechCrunch+.<\/p>\n Higher performance cells containing Titan Silicon will initially be used in luxury vehicles like the Mercedes\u2019 electric G-Class SUV<\/a>, which is scheduled to debut in 2025. Because cells with silicon anodes hold more energy, automakers can either use the same number of cells for greater performance or opt to maintain the same performance but use fewer cells. \u201cToward the end of the decade, that higher performance will actually lead to lower price at the battery pack level,\u201d Berdichevsky said.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The supply agreement marks a significant milestone for the 13-year-old lithium-ion battery company, which has raised over $900 million to date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574548,"featured_media":2261215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"4c770daf-9f86-3d0f-9cae-02761f40cd15","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[576957003,2401],"tags":[576858236,576856615,524514,38321,576754636,576654168],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nSila inks supply deal with Panasonic for its breakthrough battery material | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The supply agreement marks a significant milestone for the 13-year-old company, which has raised over $900 million to date, not including a $100 million Department of Energy grant announced in October 2022<\/a> that was earmarked for scaling up manufacturing.<\/p>\n \u201cIn these early, early years, as we scale up, we\u2019ll sell our material such that the batteries have a small premium, a few percentage points more expensive for higher performance,\u201d Sila\u2019s co-founder and CEO, Gene Berdichevsky, told TechCrunch+.<\/p>\n Higher performance cells containing Titan Silicon will initially be used in luxury vehicles like the Mercedes\u2019 electric G-Class SUV<\/a>, which is scheduled to debut in 2025. Because cells with silicon anodes hold more energy, automakers can either use the same number of cells for greater performance or opt to maintain the same performance but use fewer cells. \u201cToward the end of the decade, that higher performance will actually lead to lower price at the battery pack level,\u201d Berdichevsky said.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The supply agreement marks a significant milestone for the 13-year-old lithium-ion battery company, which has raised over $900 million to date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574548,"featured_media":2261215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"4c770daf-9f86-3d0f-9cae-02761f40cd15","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[576957003,2401],"tags":[576858236,576856615,524514,38321,576754636,576654168],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nSila inks supply deal with Panasonic for its breakthrough battery material | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
\u201cIn these early, early years, as we scale up, we\u2019ll sell our material such that the batteries have a small premium, a few percentage points more expensive for higher performance,\u201d Sila\u2019s co-founder and CEO, Gene Berdichevsky, told TechCrunch+.<\/p>\n
Higher performance cells containing Titan Silicon will initially be used in luxury vehicles like the Mercedes\u2019 electric G-Class SUV<\/a>, which is scheduled to debut in 2025. Because cells with silicon anodes hold more energy, automakers can either use the same number of cells for greater performance or opt to maintain the same performance but use fewer cells. \u201cToward the end of the decade, that higher performance will actually lead to lower price at the battery pack level,\u201d Berdichevsky said.<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The supply agreement marks a significant milestone for the 13-year-old lithium-ion battery company, which has raised over $900 million to date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574548,"featured_media":2261215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"4c770daf-9f86-3d0f-9cae-02761f40cd15","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[576957003,2401],"tags":[576858236,576856615,524514,38321,576754636,576654168],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nSila inks supply deal with Panasonic for its breakthrough battery material | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
The supply agreement marks a significant milestone for the 13-year-old lithium-ion battery company, which has raised over $900 million to date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":133574548,"featured_media":2261215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"amp_status":"","relegenceEntities":[],"relegenceSubjects":[],"carmot_uuid":"4c770daf-9f86-3d0f-9cae-02761f40cd15","footnotes":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[576957003,2401],"tags":[576858236,576856615,524514,38321,576754636,576654168],"crunchbase_tag":[],"tc_stories_tax":[],"tc_ec_category":[576796356],"tc_event":[],"tc_regions_tax":[],"yoast_head":"\nSila inks supply deal with Panasonic for its breakthrough battery material | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n
China Lead Acid Battery Factory panasonic-auto-battery<\/p>\n"},"alt_text":"EV battery production","media_type":"image","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","media_details":{"width":1920,"height":1083,"file":"2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=150,85","width":150,"height":85,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=150"},"medium":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=300,169","width":300,"height":169,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=300"},"medium_large":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=768,433","width":768,"height":433,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=1024"},"large":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=680,384","width":680,"height":384,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=680"},"1536x1536":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=1536,866","width":1536,"height":866,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=1536"},"tc-social-image":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=1200,677","width":1200,"height":677,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=1200"},"guest-author-32":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=32,32","width":32,"height":32,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=32&h=32&crop=1"},"guest-author-50":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=50,50","width":50,"height":50,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=50&h=50&crop=1"},"guest-author-64":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=64,64","width":64,"height":64,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=64&h=64&crop=1"},"guest-author-96":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=96,96","width":96,"height":96,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=96&h=96&crop=1"},"guest-author-128":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=128,128","width":128,"height":128,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=128&h=128&crop=1"},"concierge-thumb":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?resize=50,28","width":50,"height":28,"filesize":332354,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg?w=50"},"full":{"file":"panasonic-auto-battery.jpg","width":1024,"height":578,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg"}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"1","keywords":[]},"filesize":332354},"source_url":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/panasonic-auto-battery.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2261215"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/attachment"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2261215"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-json\/tc\/v1\/users\/5302483"}]}}],"wp:term":[[{"id":576957003,"description":"Our climate news coverage consists of the latest startups and investments in solar energy, greentech, renewables, food tech, alternative proteins, as well as circular economy and carbon capture efforts. We also cover research into climate change and how technology can be used to track and mitigate severe weather and climate-related disasters.","link":"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/category\/climate\/","name":"Climate","slug":"climate","taxonomy":"category","parent":0,"yoast_head":"\nClimate News | TechCrunch<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n