Daily Crunch: No-code app development platform Abstra raises $2.3M

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Hello and welcome back to Daily Crunch for January 3, 2022! It’s a new year, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to reinvent the wheel. This newsletter is going to stick to its tried-and-true format, so expect few surprises and lots of news.

Before we start, a big thanks to Greg for taking over while I was off. Now, to work! —Alex

The TechCrunch Top 3

• Apple’s value touches the $3T mark: It’s easy to forget just how big the biggest tech companies are. The numbers simply scale past our ability to understand them. U.S. tech behemoth Apple made that point in spades today by briefly becoming worth three trillion USD. It’s a little hard to sum up just how much money that is, but it’s enough money that if you distributed the sum to all current Americans it would work out to around $9,000.
• Abstra raises $2.3M for no-code apps: The boom in no- and low-code services in recent years is partly thanks to demand for traditional developers outstripping supply, and technology itself advancing to allow the method of development to, well, work. Brazil’s Abstra’s latest round further indicates that the no- and low-code phenomenon is a global affair.
• Twitter completes MoPub sale: The October-announced sale of Twitter’s MoPub service to AppLovin, a deal worth $1.05 billion, is now complete. MoPub is a mobile advertising platform, but Twitter is not done with ads. The company intends to keep building its in-house ad tech now that the deal is done, TechCrunch reports.

Startups/VC

The new year is already paying drama dividends, with the latest coming from an investor and the former CEO of Twitter. You see, Chris Dixon doesn’t agree with Jack Dorsey’s criticisms of non-Bitcoin crypto companies. You can imagine the fun that we are having with this.

• Smarter Health raises $3.8M for better healthcare data sharing: If you have ever had to port your own data for your healthcare providers, you are aware of how much fun it is. None. That’s how much. Happily Smarter Health is working on the issue in Singapore, working to allow for a “smoother exchange of data between different parties in the healthcare system, improving patient care and reducing administrative costs.”
• What’s ahead for wheels? The TechCrunch transit desk has a great look back at 2021 and a forecast for 2022. If you care about e-scooters, autonomous driving or anything related, we have you covered.
• AIMMO raises $12M Series A for data labeling: AI is neat but needs lots of data to function. And to get that data, sometimes you have to do lots of tagging. Startups are taking this problem on, including Scale AI. AIMMO, a South Korean startup, has a neat take on the work varietal and, now, a full bank account.

And because you deserve a treat for making it through the first working day of the year: The “Cheugiest tech moments of 2021” from three of TechCrunch’s best.

If you need even more diversion, TechCrunch also has stories today on zen balls and driving fish.

When fundraising, New Zealand startup founders should play the “Kiwi card”

In the final article in a series about New Zealand, Rebecca Bellan spoke to four stakeholders to learn more about how foreign investment and a fund of funds program are juicing up the nation’s burgeoning startup ecosystem:

• Peter Beck, CEO/CTO Rocket Lab
• Cecilia Robinson, founder and co-CEO, Tend Health
• Phoebe Harrop, principal, Blackbird Ventures
• Robbie Paul, CEO, Icehouse Ventures

“While starting on a rock at the bottom of the world comes with challenges, there are plenty of advantages, too,” said Paul, who advises native founders to “play the Kiwi card.”

Almost one of every five New Zealanders lives abroad, and that diaspora has helped the nation build a great deal of international goodwill. “It’s an easy conversation starter and chances are most interesting people offshore have some sort of affinity or connection to New Zealand,” Paul said.

(TechCrunch+ is our membership program, which helps founders and startup teams get ahead. You can sign up here.)

Big Tech Inc.

• Why is Delivery Hero buying more of Glovo? The latter company previously said that it wanted to stay indie and go public. And yet it was recently announced that Delivery Hero would acquire a majority stake in the business. TechCrunch digs into what might have happened.
• BlackBerry’s network is done: You really, really have to get rid of your BlackBerry. Why? Because the company “will end access to legacy services” tomorrow, which means no “key features like data, phone calls, SMS and 911 access.” It is time. At long last. All seven of you who still use a BlackBerry.

TechCrunch Experts

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