Daily Crunch: Terraform Labs CEO goes public with strategy to re-peg sliding UST stablecoin

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It’s Wednesday, May 11, aka the start of GooglePalooza, which the company insists on referring to as the far less entertaining “Google I/O 2022.” Our “GoogleCrunch team” has prepared a bevy of stories on Google’s hardware and software lineup, including Pixel Watch, Pixel 6A — a tease of the Pixel 7 — and a new tablet. All the details are below in the Big Tech section. – Christine and Haje

The TechCrunch Top 3

• ‘Stable’ coin: Jacquelyn has all the details about the dramatic fall of Terra USD, a “stablecoin” known as UST, and its founder’s plans for avoiding a UST crash. Jacquie then collected crypto market participants’ thoughts about what UST’s meltdown means for the broader crypto market and other stablecoins.
• Hits keep coming for crypto: Just kidding; Coinbase’s first-quarter results not only sent its share prices down but informed us that the number of monthly transacting users is expected to continue to fall. What does this mean for crypto? Well, it might have to weather the storm for a while. To make matters worse, Coinbase revealed it had to halt trading in India after some pressure from the Reserve Bank of India.
• Airbnb plans for a hot house summer: As Jordan reports in a pair of very enjoyable stories today — including a Q&A with Brian Chesky, who believes “a new era of travel is about to begin” — the company is getting its beach bod ready for the summer with some new features, a category search, being able to book two listings in one flow for stays over a week, and AirCover travel insurance for guests.

Startups and VC

Few things blow our minds as much as the sheer scale of Tiger Global — the firm took a battering with $17 billion in losses. Connie reports it has burned through most of its most recent VC fund. Yikes.

As tech reporters, we love the rapid rise and we observe with occasional glee the unscheduled descent of the startups we cover. Natasha and Alex remind us in today’s episode of the Equity podcast that while founders couldn’t have seen a pandemic coming, they should have been better prepared for the world returning to whatever “normal” means. Or, as they put it: Layoffs happen to people, not companies.

Sure, go on, I’ll have another:

• Working remotely, or not remotely working? Rumor has it that Deel just raised at a $12 billion valuation fueled by the remote-work revolution.
• Well oi’ll say: You know change is afoot when Harri reports climate change company Carbon Clean is able to raise a $150 million round, led by famous climate change activists <checks notes> … Chevron?
• Propiedad y unicornios: Property tech startup Habi says it has become the second unicorn in Colombia and the only LatAm unicorn with a female founder and CEO, Mary Ann reports.
• You’ve got to be trippin’: While startups like Lemonade came along to attack the tired world of insurance, the travel insurance market is getting the same treatment from the likes of Safetywing and Battleface – and now, Mike reports that Faye is entering the fray.
• The three R’s of education: Reading, Riting, and Rithmatic: Educapital raised a $160 million fund to focus on edtech and the future of work, Romain reports.
• I want to raise my bicycle, I want to raise my bike: Berlin-based GetHenry, which provides electric last-mile delivery bikes to couriers and logistics companies, raised a $17.4 million seed round to expand its business across Europe, Rebecca reports.
• A little less freight and a little more spark: Traditional commercial trucks are terrible for the environment. Xos, an EV company that specializes in commercial trucks, took the wraps off two new vehicles this evening, Harri reports.

Finding your startup’s valuation: 5 factors to consider

In her latest TC+ column, angel investor Marjorie Radlo-Zandi addresses a question that’s on every founder’s mind these days: What is my current valuation?

For early-stage startups, finding that figure requires more art than science, since pre-revenue companies are still gathering data and fine-tuning their products.

“Many traditional valuation methods, such as discounted cash flow, aren’t as useful for valuing early-stage startups,” she writes. “This means investors have to gauge other factors that aren’t so easily measured.”

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

Big Tech Inc.

• All things Google I/O: Excuse us while we O-H to catch that I/O. Sorry, Michigan fans, it had to be done. On to Google, where it’s hardware, software and wallets, oh my! News so far includes language additions to Translate, a multisearch feature that has us thinking AR glasses may be in Google’s future, a virtual credit card, and some personalization features regarding ads.
• All things EV: Today we unplug a few things in hopes of giving you a jolt of news on electric vehicles. Jaclyn lays out a few predictions for Rivian’s first-quarter earnings. A lot of things are hammering at this company right now, but analysts expect to hear some news regarding the supply chain, the Ford relationship and its Georgia plant. In Canoo’s case, it is already warning that it may not have enough funds to bring its electric vehicles to market. Plus, the company sued one of its largest shareholders related to share sales. Driving over to Tesla, Jaclyn bullet-points some comments Elon Musk made about the carmaker’s demand (it may stop taking orders so it can catch up) and other things that delight him.
• iPod, how we will miss ye: The day started off with Ron’s obituary of sorts to the Apple iPod, which turned into fodder about where some of us are keeping these reminders of how we consumed music in the early 2000s, and how the Apple Store would sell you one without telling you they were dropping a brand-spanking-new version the next day. Ah, memories.

Don’t miss out on these beauties:

• Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment did what now? That’s right, it acquired Redbox for $375 million. Chicken Soup already owns the streaming channel Crackle, but wants to leverage Redbox’s streaming service and footprint of red boxes outside of grocery stores.
• Catch up with Indiegogo’s new CEO: Becky Center speaks with Brian and how to provide a better crowdfunding experience and the potential for some equity crowdfunding.
• Carvana taps the brakes: The used-car retailer announced 2,500 layoffs. Alex tells you why.