Michael Arrington, the editor of the uber-popular tech blog TechCrunch, has announced he is stepping down after six years on the job.
His next step is to head up the $20m private investment fund, CrunchFund, which is backed by AOL (who purchased TechCrunch last year) and several other venture capitalists.
Here’s a brief description of CrunchFund:
CrunchFund is an early stage venture capital firm founded by Michael Arrington and Patrick Gallagher. The fund invests in and works with information technology companies at any stage but is primarily focused on seed and early stage investments.
You can see all of the big name investors here.
Arrington will still have a role as a writer for TechCrunch, but no editorial control. His departure is raising some eyebrows as to the future of TechCrunch under AOL. Rumors of an AOL sale have also been circulating.
The Guardian reports, “More recently, rumors of a sale or plans to go private have swirled around AOL. The content company’s shares have soared 24% since Monday, to $15.19, amid speculation that the company had met bankers Allen & Company. AOL was also rumored to be considering a sale of its dial-up internet business, which accounts for about half of the company’s $1.62bn market capitalization.”
This announcement, the state of TechCrunch and the state of AOL has everyone in the tech blogging world talking.
Here is some clarification as to the relationship between TechCrunch and CrunchFund, written by TechCrunch writer Paul Carr.