Daily Crunch: Apple revises App Store rules

Apple’s making App Store changes, China might stop TikTok’s acquisition and we talk to Polish venture capitalists about the startup scene. This is your Daily Crunch for September 11, 2020.

The big story: Apple revises App Store rules

Apple announced a bunch of changes to its App Store guidelines today, with details about how it will support new iOS features like App Clips and much more.

For one thing, it sounds like the App Store will now support game-streaming services like Microsoft’s xCloud and Google’s Stadia. The main caveat is that games available through these services must have their own listings in the App Store and be available as a separate download.

In addition, Apple is also offering more flexibility to “reader” apps like Netflix, and said it’s supporting a new category called “free stand-alone” apps, which could include email apps like the disputed Hey.

The tech giants

Facebook launches poll worker recruitment push in the News Feed — With the election looming and a pandemic still raging through the U.S., a shortage of poll workers is one of many threats to voting this November.

Elon Musk says Tesla will ‘one day’ produce ‘super efficient home HVAC’ with HEPA filtering — While primarily an automaker, Tesla is also already in the business of home energy and power generation, thanks to its acquisition of SolarCity.

Startups, funding and venture capital

China may kill TikTok’s U.S. operations rather than see them sold — According to reporting by Reuters, the Chinese government may prefer if TikTok simply shutters its U.S. operations instead of allowing it to be sold to an American company.

Santander spins out its $400M fintech venture capital arm, now called Mouro Capital — Santander, the Spanish multinational banking giant, is announcing that its fintech venture arm is to be spun out and will be managed more autonomously going forward.

Toucan raises $3 million to teach you new languages as you browse the web — The startup has developed a Chrome browser extension designed for anyone who wants to learn a new language but hasn’t found the motivation or the time.

Advice and analysis From Extra Crunch

10 Poland-based investors discuss trends, opportunities and the road ahead — The first in a two-part survey series about the nation’s startup ecosystem.

VCs pour funding into edtech startups as COVID-19 shakes up the market — 2020 should crush 2018’s edtech fundraising record.

(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)

Everything else

England’s long-delayed COVID-19 contact-tracing app to launch on September 24 — Scotland and Northern Ireland already have their own COVID-19 contact-tracing apps.

TechCrunch still brings the fun to Disrupt 2020 — Disrupt may be virtual this year, but we’re still making time for levity, swag and kick-ass entertainment.

The 2019 TechCrunch Include Report — TechCrunch is reporting our 2019 events and staff diversity numbers, the fourth report since we started tracking.

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