Technology

In what will be seen as a big recruiting and retention win for Cruise, employees will be offered equity in GMself-driving technology subsidiary rather than shares of GM. The securities offering was disclosed in a recent SEC filing for GM Cruise Holdings LLC.

The filing, which also lists the initial officers of GM Cruise Holdings LLC, is a result of SoftBankinvestment in Cruise earlier this year. SoftBank Vision Fund announced in May plans to invest $2.25 billion in Cruise. Once that deal closes, GM will invest another $1.1 billion.

GM Cruise Holdings LLCboard of directors includes CruiseCEO and co-founder Kyle Vogt, GM chairman and CEO Mary Barra, GM president Dan Ammann, GM general counsel Craig Glidden and GMVP of autonomous technology Doug Parks. Vogt, CruiseCFO Geoff Richardson and Cruise general counsel Matt Gipple are executive officers of GM Cruise Holdings.

The equity structure gives all Cruise employees the chance to own actual shares of Cruise, not in GM. Ita critical development for a company, even one flush with new capital like Cruise, that is working to deploy autonomous vehicles on a commercial scale.

&The goal was primarily to create a new equity structure so that we could recruit and retain the best talent by giving them direct participation in potential upside in Cruise through owning actual shares in Cruise, which we didn&t have before,& Cruise CEO and co-founder Vogt told TechCrunch.

Itsimilar to the idea that went behind the acquisition of Argo.ai, Gartner analyst Mike Ramsey noted to TechCrunch.

&The compensation structure at companies like GM and Ford make it difficult for them to compete with the Googleof the world,& Ramsey said. &The potential for a giant, strike-it-rich pay out from an IPO is a carrot that will attract and keep talent that is in high demand.&

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Only a few years ago, talking to your phone or computer felt really weird. These days, thanks to Alexa, the Google Assistant and (for its three users) Cortana and Bixby, itbecoming the norm. At this yearDisrupt SF 2018, we&ll sit down withAISensefounder and CEO Sam Liang and GoogleCathy Pearl to discuss the past, present and future of voice — both for interacting with computers but also as a way to help us capture and organize information.

Itprobably a fair guess that you&ve heard of Google, and Cathy Pearl has literally written the book on designing voice user interfaces. You&re probably also quite familiar with the Google Assistant.

AISense, on the other hand, may not be a household name yet, but its flagship product, Otter.ai, is quickly gaining a following. Otter.ai is a mobile and web app that automatically transcribes phone calls, lectures, interviews and meetings in real time. The team built its own voice recognition tech that can distinguish between speakers, making for pretty clean transcripts that aren&t always perfect but are still very usable.Otter.ai is also the exclusive provider of automatic meeting transcription for Zoom Video Communications.

We&ll be using Otter.ai to provide real-time transcripts of all the panels on the Disrupt stage next week, so you&ll be able to see it in action at the event.

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Twitter head Jack Dorsey sent out a tweet this afternoon hinting the social platform might get a couple of interesting updates to tell us who else is currently online and to help us more easily follow Twitter conversation threads.

&Playing with some new Twitter features: presence (who else is on Twitter right now) and threading (easier to read convos),& Dorsey tweeted, along with samples.

The &presence& feature would make it easier to engage with those you follow who are online at the moment and the &threading& feature would allow Twitter users to follow a conversation easier than the current embed and click-through method.

However, several responders seemed concerned about followers seeing them online.

Twitterhead of product Sara Haider responded to one such tweeted concern at the announcement saying she &would definitely want you to have full control over sharing your presence.&

So it seems there would be some sort of way to hide that you are online if you don&t want people to know you are there.

There were also a few design concerns involved in threading conversations together. TC OG reporter turned VC M.G. Siegler wasn&t a fan of the UIflat tops. Another user wanted to see something more like iMessage.

I personally like the nesting idea as it cleans the conversation up and makes it easier to follow along. However, I really don&t care as much how itdesigned beyond that (flat tops, round tops) as long as I don&t have to click through a bunch of tweets like I do with the @reply, which is annoying and makes it hard to follow the thread.

I also don&t think I&d want others knowing if I&m online and itnot a feature I need for those I tweet at, either. Conversations often happen at a ripping pace on the platform. You are either there for it or you can read about it later. I get the thinking on letting users know wholive but itnot necessary and seems to be something a lot of people don&t want.

Its unclear when either of these features would roll out to the general public, though it seems they&re available to those in a select test group. We&ve asked Twitter and are waiting to hear back for more information. Of course, plenty of users are still wondering when we&re getting that edit button.

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Listen, if you&re the kind of person who wants to watch a rap video about scooters, herea rap video about scooters. Don&t let me stop you.

Also, if you make it to the end, you might as well stick around for the credits. For one thing, you&ll learn that it was directed by Andrew Oleck, the man who created that fake Mark Zuckerberg video, &A World Without Facebook.&

And then therethe disclaimer: &This video is not an advertisement. It is comedic satire. Bayview Drive Films is not endorsed, affiliated or otherwise sponsored by Bird .&

Itthe kind of message that raises more questions than it answers. Like: Whatthe joke here Is the video pro-scooter, anti-scooter, neither, both Was I supposed to laugh I mean, I chuckled a little at the rubber chicken, but mostly I cringed. Is that normal Would I have gotten more out of it if I listened to more rap Or if I&d ever been on a scooter Right now, in the year 2018, is &satire& even possible

In related news, herea synth-pop song about Elon Musk . Happy Labor Day weekend!

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Disrupt SF (Sept 5-7) approaches with just a few days until things kick off. We have an all-star lineup that only TechCrunch can assemble, and we&re expecting our largest number of attendees yet. Check out our star-packed agenda here, and keep reading to find out everything you need to make for a stellar conference experience.

Pre-Event Badge Pick Up

Disrupt is 3x the size as previous years! Skip the Wednesday rush by picking up your badge early on Tuesday, September 4th from 12pm & 4pm at Moscone West. Please have your Universe ticket confirmation email and a government-issued photo ID on you.

You can also pick up your badge at the WeWork Welcome Reception, also on Tuesday from 5:30pm & 7:30pm at their Montgomery Street location (44 Montgomery St.). Space is limited. Please register your interest here. Please have your ticket and a government-issued photo ID on you.

Event Registration - Badge Pick Up

Universe is the official ticketing platform of Disrupt. If you signed up for a pass, you used Universe. We love them and we think you will, too. If you haven&t purchased you pass, please go do that here.

Sessions begins at 9am each day. Print out your Universe ticket or pull it up on your phone for quicker entry.

Please bring your government-issued photo ID each day of the conference.

Registration opens at 7:30 am each day (7:00am for Startup Alley exhibitor).

Lost Badge Fee

Don&t forget your badge every day & there is a $75 reprint fee for lost or misplaced badges.

Venue

Disrupt is moving to Moscone West with three floors of glorious TechCrunch content. Basic pass holders only have access to the Startup Alley Expo Hall. If you have a Basic pass and want to see sessions, workshops, demos, Startup Battlefield or come to the official TC After Party, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or stop by our help desk to upgrade.

Driving - Parking

Ridesharing and public transportation are always the suggested mode of travel to Disrupt. If you do need to drive, there are paid lots around the venue. The designated rideshare pickup/drop off zone is located on the south side of Howard Street between 4th Street and 5th Street. Riders and drivers can also utilize nearby hotel passenger loading zones.

Public Transportation

Take Bart or MUNI to Powell Street Station. Exit to 4th and Market Streets. Turn right on 4th. Walk two blocks south to Howard St. Moscone West is located at Fourth and Howard streets. The main entrance is on Howard.

Women of Disrupt Breakfast

All women who are registered for Disrupt SF are invited to the Women of Disrupt breakfast on Thursday from 8:00am & 9:30am. Look out for your invitation via email to attend. If you have already registered for Disrupt SF and have not received your invitation, just indicate your interest here. Your badge is all you need for entry into the breakfast.

CrunchMatch

Founders and Investors attending Disrupt SF will receive access to CrunchMatch, our premier matching service connecting founders and investors at the event. If you have a Founder or Investor Pass type, you&ll receive an invitation to join. There are already several hundred meetings scheduled and we anticipate holding at least 2500 meetings during Disrupt SF. If you have registered for a Founder or Investor Pass and haven&t received your invitation, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. directly for assistance.

On-site Nursing Suite

Mamava is returning to provide a private nursing suite on site at Disrupt SF. A dedicated cooler is stationed at the help desk, if you&d like to store bottles during the show. Ask for more information at the Help Desk table in the first floor lobby.

After Party

Break out your hightops and your fanny packs. The Disrupt After Party is going 90&s. Hangout with TechCrunch at for some free drinks, games, music and a secret lounge sponsored by Universe on Thursday night at the Midway. Your badge gets you into the event. This party is 21+. Make sure to bring your badge and your government-issued photo ID! Basic pass holders will need to upgrade for access & email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for info or visit the help desk in the first floor lobby.

FAQs & If you have any other questions, check out our Event Info page.

Disrupt would not be able to exist without the help of our sponsors.

Byton is the official AI track sponsor of Disrupt SF. Swing by their booth to check out what they&re working on and don&t miss their innovation break on the Next Stage.

HERE Technologies is the official Mobility track sponsor of Disrupt SF. Discover why the question of ‘where& is more relevant than ever before.

Novartis is the official healthtech and biotech track sponsor of Disrupt.

Sequoia Capital is the official sponsor of the 2018 Startup Battlefield cohort. Don&t miss the Startup Battlefield competition, going down on the main stage.

Dassault Systèmes3DEXPERIENCE Lab is awarding ‘The Most Innovative Hardware Startup&. Win a trip to Paris! Submit here!

Looking forward to seeing you all at Disrupt SF on Wednesday!

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Rappi, the Colombian on-demand delivery startup, has brought in a new round of funding at a valuation north of $1 billion, as first reported by Axios and confirmed to TechCrunchby a source close to the company. DST Global has led the more than $200 million financing, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia — all of which were existing investors in the company.

Rappi kicked off its business delivering beverages and has since expanded into meals, groceries and even tech and medicine. You can, for example, have a pair of AirPods delivered to you using Rappiapp. The company also has a popular cash withdrawal feature that allows users to pay with credit cards and then receive cash from one of Rappidelivery agents.

Rappi charges $1 per delivery. To help keep costs efficient, the companyfleet of couriers use only motorcycles and bikes.

Simón Borrero, Sebastian Mejia and Felipe Villamarin launched the company in 2015, graduating from Y Combinator the following year. From there, Rappi quickly captured the attention of American venture capitalists. A16zinitial investment in July 2016 was the Silicon Valley firmfirst investment in Latin America.

The new capital will likely be used to help Rappi compete with Uber Eats, which is active across Latin America.

The tech investment wave has reached Latin America

The round for Rappiis notable for a Latin American company, as is its new unicorn status. Only one other Latin American startup, Nubank, has surpassed a billion-dollar valuation with new venture capital funding so far in 2018. São Paulo-based Nubank makes a no-fee credit card and is also backed by DST.

Investment in Latin American tech continues to reach new highs. In the first quarter of 2018, more than $600 million was invested. That followed a record 2017, which was the first time VCs funneled more than $1 billion into the continenttech ecosystem during a 12-month period.

The rise in investment is mostly due to sizable fundings for companies like Rappi and Nubank, as well as Brazil-based 99, which sold to fellow ride-hailing business Didi Chuxing inadeal worth $1 billion earlier this year.

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