In 2021 Verizon sold its media assets, including AOL, Yahoo, and TechCrunch, to the private equity firm
Apollo Global Management. Apollo integrated them into a new entity called
Yahoo! Inc.
In addition to its news reporting, TechCrunch is also known for its annual Disrupt conference, a technology event hosted in several cities across the United States, Europe, and China.
In 2010,
AOL acquired the company for approximately $25 million.[5]
As of 2013,[update] TechCrunch was available in English, Chinese (managed by Chinese tech news company TechNode),[6][7] and Japanese.[8] TechCrunch France was folded into the main TechCrunch.com site in October 2012.[9] Boundless (formerly Verizon Media Japan), the Japanese subsidiary of the TechCrunch's parent company, closed TechCrunch Japan in May 2022 according to its "global strategy".[10][11]
In August 2020, the COO of TechCrunch, Ned Desmond, stepped down after eight years in the company. He announced that he would join the
venture capital firm
SOSV in December 2020 as a senior operating partner.[13][14] His former role at TechCrunch was replaced by Matthew Panzarino,[15] former editor-in-chief, and Joey Hinson, director of business operations.[16][17]
In 2021, Verizon sold its media assets, including AOL, Yahoo, and TechCrunch, to the private equity firm
Apollo Global Management, and Apollo integrated them into a new entity called
Yahoo.[18]
Events
TechCrunch Disrupt
Starting in New York City in 2010,[19][20] TechCrunch hosts an annual tech conference, TechCrunch Disrupt, in several cities in the United States and Europe.
Startup Battlefield
Startup Battlefield is a startup competition. Monetary awards are presented at the TechCrunch Disrupt conferences. Notable startups that have been involved in the competition include
Dropbox,
Intuit Mint,
Yammer, and
CrateDB.[21][22][23]
Former features
Crunchbase
From 2007 to 2015, TechCrunch operated
Crunchbase, a website and
online encyclopedia of information on startups, key people, funds, funding rounds, and events. In 2015, Crunchbase spun out of TechCrunch to become a private entity, and is no longer a part of TechCrunch.[24][25]
Crunchies
From 2007 to 2017, TechCrunch sponsored the annual
Crunchies award ceremony to award startups, internet, and technology innovations.[26] At the first award ceremony in 2007, Facebook won the award for best startup. TechCrunch announced in 2017 that it would end the Crunchies.[27][28]
Controversies
The company was criticized for allowing developers to present the
Titstare application, created by participants in a
hackathon at TechCrunch Disrupt 2013. The application allows users to "stare at tits".[29][30][31]
In 2011, the site's editors and writers were criticized for possible
ethics violations. These included claims that Arrington's investments in certain firms which the site had covered created a
conflict of interest.[32] The controversy that ensued eventually led to Arrington's departure, and other writers, including
Paul Carr and
Sarah Lacy, moved to another technology investment based media company.[33][34]
In popular culture
In 2014, TechCrunch Disrupt was featured in an arc of the
HBO series Silicon Valley.[35] The characters' startup "Pied Piper" participates in a startup battle at TechCrunch Disrupt.[35]