A Japanese cryptocurrency exchange has claimed it lost more than $400 million in tokens following an alleged hack on its service. Coincheck said Friday that some 500 million tokens of NEM, worth around $400 million at the time of writing, according to comments at a press event attended by Bloomberg. NEM, the tenth largest cryptocurrency based on total coin market cap, is a distributed… Read More
Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPsmile Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes and hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team. For a chance to be featured on the Instagram blog, follow @instagram and look for a post every week announcing the latest project. Say “cheese!” This weekend, the goal is to take photos and videos of smiles, as in this featured photo by Jeremy Cohen (@jerm_cohen). Here are some tips to get you started: Capture moments of pure joy, like a selfie after you’ve finished a craft or a teammate after they scored the winning soccer goal. Think about the different smiles you see in your everyday life, from Mona Lisa smirks to tooth-bearing grins. Take portraits of loved ones and strangers alike whose smiles…
HQ Trivia, the number one trivia app in the Apple App Store, has removed the minimum $20 balance to cash out. The company made the announcement earlier today on Twitter. Because the prize money is divvied out among sometimes hundreds of winners, people don’t often walk away with much money from a single game. Up until now, that has meant people were left with less than $20 in their… Read More
With the Superbowl just a few weeks away, the world of football has some relatively unexpected news. Madden NFL, one of the most popular gaming titles in the world, is going even more mainstream. ESPN2 and Disney XD will broadcast Madden e-sports tournaments thanks to a new deal inked by EA, Disney, and the NFL. Madden NFL 18 is one of the top ten best selling games in the last 12 months, and… Read More
Twitter has added a new advertising product to its lineup. The company announced today it’s offering brands the ability to sponsor Moments – the “Stories”-like feature that includes a series of tweets, often including images, GIFs and video – from select publishers. The first Sponsored Moment is already live, Twitter says, and the feature is now broadly available… Read More
Chasing a Dream with @davizinhoradical To learn more about Davi, follow @davizinhoradical on Instagram. Out on the waves is where adaptive surfing champion Davi Teixeira de Aguiar (@davizinhoradical) feels the most free. “I started falling in love with the sport and competing in world championships,” says the surfer Rio de Janeiro who was born with amniotic band syndrome, a rare condition caused in utero. He has big goals for this year, including becoming a world champion and being a part of a Brazilian Paralympic team. “Everybody should chase the dreams with the biggest amount of faith, determination and will, because in this really short life, we have to give our best and motivate the others,” he says.
Facebook Live is launching monetization for video gameplay streamers, allowing users to tip creators a minimum of $3 via the desktop site. The amount Facebook will keep from these tips that it calls “fan support” isn’t clear yet. And right now, the contributor of the tips doesn’t get any special call-out or privileges, though Facebook tells me its considering… Read More
First revision to publish
We are still in the early days of cryptocurrency — or at least that’s what all of the startups that are jumping into this space NOW hope. And when there’s a gold rush, there’s plenty of money to be made by selling shovels (or ASIC rigs) to miners. It’s no surprise, then, that we are now seeing the emergence of a new class of B2B startups in crypto, too. Read More
MoviePass, the monthly subscription service for seeing movies in theaters, has pulled out of 10 high-traffic AMC theaters, as a negotiating tactic with the theater chain. AMC, so far, has shown no interest in working with MoviePass or sharing revenue with the service for the foot traffic it brings to theaters. For instance, in a call with analysts in last year, AMC’s chief executive… Read More
The HomePod is much smaller than I remember. I hadn’t seen one since June, when Apple announced the speaker back at WWDC. Apple pushed back its projected December launch date because the company needed, “a little more time.” That time, it seems, has finally arrived, and I spent a bit more time with the smart speaker this week. Read More
Ozark launched on Netflix back in July — before we’d even started Original Content, our podcast covering the latest streaming news, shows and movies. However, TechCrunch’s Jordan Crook was a big fan, so at her urging, we all checked out the series, which stars Jason Bateman as a financial advisor who moves to the Ozarks with his family (including his wife, played by Laura… Read More
Local news is kind of a mess. While the global platforms have been exploding, making it easier to follow events at a world wide level, local news sources have atrophied. Those two things are, obviously, intertwined. As the news moved online the revenue sources that powered local papers and news stations has taken a hit, resulting in smaller news rooms and outlet closures. What this adds up to… Read More
A growing number of law firms working with startups are beginning to accept their payment in cryptocurrencies, according to a new report by the trade-focused outlet Law.com. The lawyers suggest that they increasingly have no choice. In order to land the growing number of businesses launched by cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, they have to show that they’re invested in what their clients… Read More
Not many people remember the days before television or computers. Imagine a family gathering around the radio to listen to the latest “soap opera.” (Yes,…
Not many people remember the days before television or computers. Imagine a family gathering around the radio to listen to the latest “soap opera.” (Yes,…
Mixer, Microsoft’s answer to Twitch, will soon allow its streamers to start selling games and other downloadable content via its service, and will introduce tipping, the company announced this week in its year-end wrap-up. The game sales will be made possible through the new Mixer Direct Purchase program, which is now in testing ahead of a broad, public launch, Microsoft says. Initially,… Read More
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was delighted to report that Intel had a record year in the company’s quarterly earnings call with analysts yesterday. Of course, he also had to acknowledge the Spectre and Meltdown chip vulnerabilities revealed earlier this month in perhaps the ultimate good news-bad news moment. Like any good salesman, Krzanich led with the good news. “2017 was a record… Read More
If the fourth season of Black Mirror didn’t throughly freak you out, buckle up! Ford has filed for a patent on an autonomous police car. While patent filings don’t always come to fruition, the mere fact that this idea is in development is mildly unnerving. The patent, first spotted by Motor1, describes an autonomous police vehicle that would be able to detect infractions performed… Read More
Google is testing a tool called Bulletin that would allow anyone to publish local news stories and events, according to a report from Slate, which Google later confirmed. The company described Bulletin as a way for others to communicate information of local interest, like bookstore readings, high school sporting events, or information about street closures, for example. Slate found a website… Read More
Are you afraid of human contact? Do you like movies? Do you like buckets? Sister, have I got a product for you. Poptheatr is a bucket that you put over your head. You put your telecommunications device on top of the bucket and then look up at movies, television, and pornography while you lie comfortably on your back. This keeps your hands free to manage your video playback using an included… Read More
Detroit-based Floyd has announced a $5.6 million Series A funding round that will let the company expand its operations and release new products. The company has been in Detroit for the last five years and they’re dedicated to creating better furniture and a better experience around furniture. This injection of cash should go a long way in helping that mission. Floyd launched its… Read More
Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. This week we once again had the full crew on set: Matthew Lynley, Katie Roof, and myself. And even better, we were joined by Sarah Tavel from Benchmark, who helped us unspool a topic or three. And topics we had. This being earnings season, we had little choice… Read More
It’s no secret that we love data.
Instagram scrollers beware: your favorite photo-sharing app recently released a new feature that shows friends when you were last online. Similar to the activity status…
French startup Heetch has an ambitious goal. The company wants to become the second ride-sharing service in France and in the other European countries where it operates. The startup just raised $20 million from Félix Capital, Via ID, Alven Capital and Idinvest Partners. In order to stay competitive with Uber, Heetch is a bit cheaper than a normal UberX ride. But drivers still get paid more… Read More
Robinhood is going to let you buy and sell crypto soon, CNN shuts down Casey Neistat’s Beme and Sotheby’s acquires Thread Genius. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
China’s smartphone market is no longer growing after it witnessed its first annual decline in shipments during 2017, according to new figures released today. The writing was on the wall with a market decline first noted in Q2 but this is the first time a drop has been sustained over a twelve-month period. That’s according to data from analyst firm Canalys which reported that… Read More
Walmart today announced a major expansion in terms of its global e-commerce presence: the retailer is entering a strategic partnership with Tokyo-based Rakuten, which will see the companies collaborating on the launch of a new online grocery service in Japan, and the sale of e-readers, audiobooks and e-books in the U.S., via Rakuten-owned Kobo. The strategic alliance is one that has two of… Read More
It’s no secret that Facebook is big on both AR and VR, both for entertainment and communication purposes. And new research suggests it is working on AR applications that could not just modify or replace your face, but your entire body. Read More
Damien Chazelle, who won last year’s Best Director Oscar for his work on La La Land, will be making a TV show for Apple. The New York Times reports that Chazelle will be writing and directing every episode of the first season, and that the series will be produced by MRC, the studio that’s making House of Cards for Netflix. Nothing else — not the title, the subject, or the… Read More
French startup Blade, the company behind Shadow, is launching its cloud gaming service in the U.K. Just like in the U.S., the company is starting with a pre-sale before accepting all customers. For a flat monthly fee, you can rent a gaming PC in a data center near you. You can then access this beefy computer using desktop and mobile apps as well as the company’s own little box. Read More
Trueface.ai, the stealthy facial recognition startup that’s backed by 500 Startups and a slew of angel investors, is integrating with IFTT to allow developers to start playing around with its technology. Chief executive, Shaun Moore tells me that the integration with IFTT represents the first time that facial recognition technology will be made available to the masses without the need… Read More
AR (mobile AR, smartglasses) could approach three and a half billion installed base and $85 billion to $90 billion revenue within five years. At the same time, VR (mobile, standalone, console, PC) might deliver 50 million to 60 million installed base and $10 billion to $15 billion. That’s a pretty big difference, and it all has to do with AR’s ubiquity and VR’s focus. Read More
Sensors are growing more and more sophisticated as we build machines that can interpret the world with more precision than we can. Occipital is aiming to do this as effectively and cheaply as possible as it morphs its 3D scanning technology into a product that can do much, much more. The company has closed $12 million of what it plans to be a $15 million Series C. Read More
Juni Learning wants to give every kid access to a quality education in computer programming. The company, part of YCombinator’s latest batch of startups, is taking the same approach that turned VIPKID into the largest Chinese employer in the U.S. and a runaway hit in the edtech market, by matching students with vetted and pre-qualified online tutors. While VIPKID focused on teaching… Read More
Paper Plants Spring @scrinkl’s Remix of Our Logo to Life We’re inspired by the ways community members make Instagram’s look come to life. Follow along on #myinstagramlogo and add your own ideas. “I like to work with paper texture and layers,” says Margaret Scrinkl (@scrinkl) of her #myinstagramlogo. “Paper plants give me a sense of spring in the artworks.”
Similar to Uber’s “God View” scandal, Lyft staffers have been abusing customer insight software to view the personal contact info and ride history of the startup’s passengers. One source that formerly worked with Lyft tells TechCrunch that widespread access to the company’s backend let staffers “see pretty much everything including feedback, and yes, pick up… Read More
Tesla’s Model 3 EV delays are well-known, including in the company’s own earnings report and quarterly delivery numbers. A fresh report from CNBC on Thursday claimed that Model 3 production was even more delayed than it appeared, with specific continued issues around battery manufacturing. CNBC also suggested that the company is “not close” to mass-production of the… Read More
Signing on to all of your favorite networks’ apps on Amazon TV just got a little easier. The company, which had teased single sign on for Fire TV in September, is now bringing the service to network apps in the U.S. Users just need to sign in with their pay TV provider credentials and they can access all the networks they need without entering additional passwords. The service works with… Read More
It’s over. Benchmark’s lawsuit against former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has now been dropped, ending one of the biggest VC-founder disputes in history. It was dismissed as a condition of the SoftBank investment in Uber getting done. The deal was completed earlier this month, giving both Benchmark and Kalanick an opportunity to sell a significant Uber stake. The venture firm and… Read More
Airbnb has appointed Kenneth I. Chenault, the outgoing CEO of American Express, to its board of directors. The announcement comes one week after Facebook appointed Chenault to its board of directors. “As the CEO of American Express, Ken has built one of the most successful trust-based companies in the world,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wrote in an open letter today. Read More
If you are a Microsoft Azure customer and want to get 24/7 access to technical and billing support for your company, as well as a response time of less than an hour for your critical issues, but you don’t want to pay $300 per month for this, today is your lucky day. Microsoft today announced that it’s dropping the price of Azure Standard Support from $300 per month to $100 per… Read More
People like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, the game where you basically re-enact a version of Battle Royale with you as one of the contestants in the human survival game. It had huge success in alpha prior to its full launch on PC, and now we know that console gamers also love the heck out of it – despite reports of buggy experiences with the Xbox One version. Bugs aside, Xbox… Read More
Everyone knows that both Main Street and Wall Street investors are going gangbusters for cryptocurrency and blockchain-related technology. But here’s the thing. It’s currently nearly impossible to invest directly in cryptocurrency or in legitimate cryptocurrency companies if you want to limit your investments to SEC-sanctioned ETFs or stocks that are listed on NASDAQ or NYSE. So… Read More
At first, it may seem an odd move. Google makes money on its ads business, and giving advertisers free rein to stalk you on every site seems really good for companies hoping to remind you of that thing you checked out one time. But the search giant wrote in a blog post out today that it wants to give you, the consumer, more transparency and control. Read More
The world’s largest taxi firm, Uber, is buying cars. The world’s most popular media company, Facebook, now commissions content. The world’s most valuable retailer is now Amazon, and has more than 350 stores. And the world’s largest hospitality provider, Airbnb, increasingly owns real estate. Things change. Read More
First Round Capital’s Dorm Room Fund just released VCWiz, a tool to help founders find investors and raise money from them. The platform is one part VC directory and one part CRM tool, essentially letting you find the best investors for your startup then begin the process of reaching out to them. New users input some basic information about their startup including a description, industry… Read More
Smartphone adoption in emerging markets just delivered the highest number of app downloads Google Play has ever seen in a quarter. According to today’s report from App Annie, Google Play app downloads topped 19 billion in Q4 2017, a new record. That also makes Google Play’s download lead over iOS its largest ever, at 145 percent. Specifically, the downloads were driven by… Read More
As AppleInsider first spotted, the first beta of iOS 11.3 includes a subtle change. iBooks is now called Books. And Mark Gurman thinks it could be the sign that there will be bigger changes with Apple’s ebook reading app. According to Bloomberg, Apple is working on a new design for the iBooks app on the iPhone and iPad. It will feature a simpler interface with a new section called… Read More
Mirantis co-founder Adrian Ionel left his CEO role in October 2015, at a time when the company was still solely focused on OpenStack. Now, he is coming back to reprise his role as the company’s CEO at a time when Mirantis is looking beyond OpenStack and toward the still nascent cloud native ecosystem around Kubernetes for its next big business opportunity. Mirantis’ current CEO… Read More
Ford is acquiring Autonomic and TransLoc, two of its partners, in deals that will help its new mobility business take shape. The acquisitions follow Ford’s announcement at CES earlier this month that it would be working with Silicon Valley-based Autonomic, a transportation architecture and technology provider, on its forthcoming Transportation Mobility Cloud open platform for cities… Read More
Every company today is a tech company, a maxim that was proven out today when one of the world’s oldest and biggest art auction houses acquired an AI startup. Sotheby’s has bought Thread Genius, which has built a set of algorithms that can both instantly identify objects and then recommend images of similar objects to the viewer. You can see some examples of how it works… Read More
A backhanded compliment for Uber snuck into UK prime minister Theresa May’s speech to the World Economy Forum in Davos this afternoon — when she said the company’s behavior had made the case for laws being strengthened to stop gig economy workers from being exploited by overly powerful tech platforms. Read More
Apple has expanded its autonomous vehicle test fleet, according to Bloomberg, jumping from just three cars registered with the California DMV last year, to 27 vehicles in total now. The fleet consists entirely of Lexus RX450h SUVs, a popular choice for anyone working on autonomous car tech because they can be fairly easily retrofitted with aftermarket sensors to complement those on board and… Read More
CNN’s attempt at expanding its digital news business by bringing in a top YouTube creator has failed. According to a confirmed report from BuzzFeed, CNN is closing down YouTube star Casey Neistat’s video business, Beme, which it bought for a reported $25 million back in 2016. In addition, the YouTuber and his co-founder, Matt Hackett, are also leaving the company. Neistat spoke… Read More
No-commission stock trading app Robinhood will let you buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum without any added transaction fees starting in February, compared to Coinbase’s 1.5 to 4 percent fees in the US. And as of today Robinhood will let all users track the price, news, and set up alerts on those and 14 other top crypto coins, including Litecoin and Ripple. “We’re planning… Read More
Gfycat, a player on the smaller side of the consumer-facing explosion of GIFs, has generally spent a lot of time trying to build out a suite of creator tools — and now it looks like it’ll get another piece to add to that with a small acquisition today. The startup said it’s acquiring MovieLala in a deal where the terms were not disclosed. MovieLala was originally birthed as… Read More
Nothing’s more frustrating than staring at a blank document without a clue what to write. As the seconds turn to minutes, the blank page taunts…
YouTube Gaming, Google’s rival to game-streaming site Twitch, is starting to pick up traction. According to a new report from Streamlabs, Twitch continues to dominate the live streaming space, but YouTube grew its monthly active streamer base by 343 percent over the course of 2017. Twitch, by comparison, grew 197 percent. Streamlabs has visibility into the live streaming market by way of… Read More
Social media giants have once again been singled out for a high profile public spanking over social responsibility and illegal online content in Europe. Read More
CamSoda, a adult web-streaming service, has announced VIRP – Virtual Intercourse with Real People – a service that lets you simulate sex with on-screen participants using RealDoll robots. Yep. The CamSoda [NSFW LINK] service is partnering with the folks at RealDoll to add teledildonics to already fairly realistic sex dolls. The dolls range in price from $1,500 and up and… Read More
Sneaky Pete, the series created by Bryan Cranston and David Shore, is heading into its second season. Amazon today announced that Season 2 of the drama/thriller will debut March 9 on Amazon Prime Video. Sneaky Pete follows the story of Marius, a conman released from prison who decides to steal the identity of his cellmate Pete to avoid paying back a gangster he robbed in the past. Amazon… Read More
Sonos is offering a special limited deal for its new Sonos One smart speaker, which works with Amazon’s Alexa right now, and is gaining support for Google Assistant in a future update: You can buy two for $349, which is the same price as one of Apple’s HomePod Siri-enabled speakers. This is likely not a coincidence. Individually, the Sonos One retails for $199, so you get a $50… Read More
Some consolidation is underway in the world of crowdfunding and online fundraising: YouCaring — which competes with GoFundMe and others in the area of sourcing fundraising for compassionate and charitable causes — is buying Generosity.com from crowdfunding giant Indiegogo (which originally launched as Indiegogo Life). The latter is using the divestment to further hone its focus… Read More
Ex-hacker Eric Taylor, also known as CosmoTheGod, and another infosec name, Bryant Townsend have colorful pasts. Most recently Taylor stole the social security and personal records of a number of high-ranking Obama administration officials, posting it on a site called exposed.su. Townsend, for his part, was caught up in a denial of service hack that led back to his former DDoS mitigation company. Read More
IBM today announced a partnership with low-code development platform Mendix that will bring Mendix and native integration with many of IBM’s Watson IoT and AI services to the IBM Cloud. This deal is an evolution of a previous partnership that involved what was then called IBM Bluemix (now IBM Cloud). Read More
Square has acquired Entrees On-Trays, a 32-year-old restaurant delivery platform. The plan is to expand the footprint of its on-demand food delivery service, Caviar, in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area. There were a few factors Square took into consideration in its acquisition of Entrees On-Trays, Caviar product lead Gokul Rajaram told TechCrunch via email. For one, the acquisition is designed… Read More
Meet Cozy, a French startup that wants to completely rethink how cloud services work. The startup first launched a Dropbox-like competitor to store, synchronize and share all your files. Now, the company wants to go one step further and create an ecosystem of open-source services that respect your privacy. When I met with Cozy co-founder and CEO Benjamin André earlier this week, he was fed… Read More
Brainly, the edtech startup founded out of Poland but now with a HQ in New York, has acquired Bask to add video to its peer-to-peer learning platform. Read More
It’s high times for the marijuana industry, which has been flourishing in recent years as more regions move to decriminalise the use of it for medical and other purposes. Now, Privateer Holdings, one of the big investors in the space, has raised $100 million to back more cannabis startups and capitalise on that trend. This Series C brings the total raised by Privateer to $200 million… Read More
By 2019, video content is predicted to command a hefty 80% of all web traffic. If you haven’t started thinking about how video fits into…
Snowflake, the cloud-based data warehouse service, announced an enormous investment round today, pulling in a whopping $263 million on a unicorn valuation of $1.5 billion. The round was led by a trio of big-name Silicon Valley VC firms including existing investors Iconiq Capital and Altimeter Capital and new investor Sequoia Capital. Today’s announcement comes on top of the $100… Read More
StoreHub, a startup that helps retailers digitize their business, has closed a $5.1 million Series A round led by Vertex Venture to expand in Southeast Asia. The startup was founded in 2014 and it offers point-of-sale technology and digital services to retailers. The idea is to help bring the long tail of less sophisticated physical merchants online to help them digitize their finances and… Read More
A big blow for Facebook today after Europe’s top court delivered a verdict in a long-running legal challenge that opens the door for plaintiff and privacy campaigner, Max Schrems, to sue Facebook in his home city of Vienna. Read More
Xiaomi couldn’t have wished for better timing of two reports that claim it has toppled Samsung to become India’s top-selling smartphone company. The Chinese firm, which is reportedly on a roadshow ahead of an IPO that could value it as high as $100 billion, is said to have beaten Samsung’s sales efforts in India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market behind… Read More
LG’s smartphone business still continues to lose money at an alarming rate. The Korean firm cut its losses in its Q4 2017 financial period to minus RKW 213.2 billion ($192.33 million), up from KRW 375.3 billion ($331.37 million) in the previous quarter, but there’s is no sign that things will drastically change any time soon. LG Mobile has posted just one quarter of profitability… Read More
Tryb Group, a Singapore-based organization focused on fintech services in Southeast Asia, has landed a $30 million investment from Makara Capital. The investment comes from Makara’s $770 million joint fund with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), which is focused on finding valuable IP in the tech and startup space. TechCrunch understands that Tryb is talking to a… Read More
Apple is preparing to launch Business Chat, Fiverr acquires And Co and The European Union hits Qualcomm with a $1.23 billion fine. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
We are upgrading users of Graph API v2.3 to v2.4.
Reddit has finally joined other major web properties in adding two-factor authentication for all users. It’s been available for mods and some testers for a while, but this is the first time the vast multitudes of redditors will have access to it. Read More
When you logged into LinkedIn around this time last year, you may have noticed something different. Actually, everything was different, because LinkedIn completely reinvented its desktop…
At roughly 17 years old, DN Capital is one of Europe’s oldest venture capital firms, albeit one that, by its own admission, has retained its scrappy roots and a certain kind of reputation to go with it. The VC hasn’t gone without success either, most recently seeing portfolio company Shazam exit to Apple in a reported $400 million deal, apt timing for the announcement of DN… Read More
Call him the ultimate hodler. After being one of the first musicians to accept Bitcoin all the way back in 2014, Rapper 50 Cent (a.k.a. Curtis Jackson) appears to have accumulated a small fortune in the volatile digital currency. As TMZ first reported, and the man himself seems to have confirmed, 50 Cent left his Bitcoin sales untouched until rediscovering them some time recently. At the time,… Read More
While unemployment in the U.S. hit a 17 year low and the stock market keeps humming along, there’s a lingering sense that all is still not well in U.S. labor markets. Most jobs require a college degree these days, a proposition that’s becoming increasingly unaffordable even if it is attainable. Many students who graduate are saddled with so much debt that not even a decent salaried… Read More
Logan Paul, the YouTuber who sparked a public backlash three weeks ago after posting a video in Japan’s ‘suicide forest’, has returned to the platform. In his first post back, he published a video focused on suicide and self-harm prevention. Paul first found himself in trouble when, in early January, he posted a video titled “We found a dead body in the Japanese… Read More
One of Snap CEO Evan Spiegel’s top lieutenants Tom Conrad will leave Snapchat, and the whole tech industry, in March. Coming roughly two years after he joined the company as VP of Product, a source tipped off TechCrunch to Conrad’s impending departure, which Snap now confirms to us. Snap’s director of growth Jacob Andreou who reported to Conrad will step into his role at… Read More
On Wednesday, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) revealed that it has filed a lawsuit against the creators of My Big Coin, an alleged cryptocurrency scam that took naive investors for $6 million. The case, filed on January 16 and unsealed today, charges Randall Crater, Mark Gillespie and My Big Coin Pay, Inc. with commodity fraud and misappropriation of funds raised for a… Read More
When it comes to interior decorating, some people could use a little professional advice. But it’s not cheap, with the average designer charging over $5,000. Havenly, a Denver-based startup, thinks it can change that. Its platform pairs consumers with stylists offering virtual guidance. After gaining early traction since it launched in 2014, the startup is raising a $12.5 million Series… Read More
Alphabet, the company you probably still wrongly refer to as “Google,” today announced the launch of Chronicle, new cybersecurity company that aims to give companies a better chance at detecting and fighting off hackers. Chronicle is graduating out of Alphabet’s X moonshot group and is now a stand-alone company under the Alphabet umbrella, just like Google. Stephen Gillett,… Read More
Google loves it a good puzzle. Each year the company tucks the first details about its annual Google I/O conference behind a puzzle or three, and this year is no different. Whereas last year’s riddle was a math-heavy logic puzzle, this year’s setup is more of an escape room. It has the user click their way through a series of rooms found on Google’s Mountain View campus… Read More
SpaceX has successfully test fired its Falcon Heavy rocket – but this is just the prelude to the big show. The static test fire performed today is a necessary step prior to an actual test launch, firing up all 27 of the rocket’s big Merlin engines prior to trying to do the same but actually following through with a proper take-off. The test fire, completed at the SpaceX Cape… Read More
Meet Setapp, the Spotify of Mac apps. If you pay $9.99 per month, you can download and use more than a hundred Mac apps without spending another cent. All those apps are usually paid apps, but Setapp wants to change the model. Setapp was founded by MacPaw, an independent Mac development company based in Ukraine. While they have been developing their own apps for almost ten years,… Read More
Every inch of the Mavic Air is a testament to thoughtful engineering. Before handing off a review unit, a DJI rep takes us through the process of getting up and running. He flips open the smartphone docking arms from the bottom of the remote, revealing two hidden replacement joysticks nestled inside. Read More
Caterina Fake and Jyri Engeström have much in common beyond the home and family they share. Each has started — and sold — two companies. Fake famously cofounded the photo sharing site Flickr, which sold to Yahoo, before cofounding Hunch, which sold to eBay. Engeström cofounded Jaiku, a mobile social network that sold to Google, before cofounding Ditto, a mobile local… Read More
Tigera, a San Francisco-based startup that helps businesses connect and secure their container-based applications, today announced that it has raised an additional $10 million in a funding round led by Madrona Venture Group, with participation from New England Associates (NEA) and Wing Venture Capital. Madrona managing partner Soma Somasegar will join the company’s board of directors.… Read More
In what amounts to faint praise for the strength physical book NPD reported that print book sales rose 1.9 percent in 2017, less than the 3 percent growth posted in 2013-2016. NPD tracks book sales in the US. They write: “Returning from the huge sales of ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ in 2016, and the rise of adult coloring books, last year’s book sales growth was… Read More
The way Facebook processes what the world writes is about to get a bit more cosmopolitan. As Facebook’s scope continues to grow globally, the way it rolls out features has been complicated by the fact that there are more than 100 languages currently supported on the site. When it comes to building text boxes that users can type status updates into, this isn’t that difficult of a… Read More
It sounds like a natural fit: Fiverr, an online marketplace where businesses can hire freelancers, is acquiring And Co, a New York City startup building online tools that freelancers can use manage their client relationships. What’s surprising is the new price that Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman plans to charge for And Co’s software — absolutely free. Kaufman explained that many… Read More
Microsoft’s and its partners’ engineers use the telemetry data from Windows 10 to diagnose crashes, learn about its users hardware configurations and more. It’s on by default and while Microsoft tells you that it collects this data and gives you a choice between basic (the default setting) and “full” diagnostics, it never allowed you to actually see exactly what… Read More
I’m so ready for these huge robots to fight these huge monsters. I’m ready for John Boyega to pilot his mech to victory over the interdimensional invaders. I’m ready for bright colors, cartoonish levels of destruction and loud sounds. Pacific Rim Uprising isn’t out in theaters until March 23, however, so I do indeed have to wait even though I’m ready now. Just… Read More
On Tuesday, March 13, some of the most well-regarded venture capitalists on the West Coast will converge in L.A. to hear pitches from women-led startups. The day is part of a growing series of events that was originally spearheaded by investor Aileen Lee of Cowboy Ventures, who along with her women friends in venture, wanted to work more closely with the far larger — and growing… Read More
Apple is preparing to roll out a new feature in iMessage that will allow consumers to chat directly with businesses through Apple’s messaging platform. The feature, called Business Chat, was announced last year at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, and will debut this spring with launch partners including Discover, Hilton, Lowe’s and Wells Fargo. The feature will… Read More
If your business is one of the thousands of construction-based companies in the United States, you probably have a solid understanding of the importance of…
It’s probably little consolation for Pebble devotes who’ve slowly watched the hardware startup sink into oblivion, but Fitbit’s offering up a good will gesture by extending support for the smartwatch’s ecosystem for another six months. Those who’ve been clutching onto their crowdfunded wearable for dear life will be able to keep the product up and running through… Read More
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has said major privacy changes are coming to the platform later this year, as it prepares to comply with the European Union’s incoming data protection regulation. Read More
Here Technologies, the mapping company that counts a consortium of car makers, Intel and others among its shareholder/owners, today announced a move that underscores the company’s intention to add more than just data to enhance its outdoor navigation business. The company has acquired Micello, a startup that offers a database of indoor maps and provides a platform for businesses to… Read More
There’s another big financing round led by Softbank’s mammoth vision fund today, with the firm this time pouring $865 million into a construction startup called Katerra that’s a one-stop shop for getting a building up off the ground. Katerra is creating a full-stack provider for, well, buildings. The company runs the process of getting a building up and people inside it from… Read More
The cord cutting trend is having an outsized impact on subscription video apps’ revenue, it seems. According to a new market analysis from Sensor Tower, U.S. consumer spending in the top 10 subscription video on demand apps grew 77 percent last year, to reach approximately $781 million across the App Store and Google Play. The growth was particularly noticeable in the fourth quarter of… Read More
Mo’Nique, legendary comedian and Academy Award winner, is calling out Netflix for allegedly offering her $500,000 for a stand-up comedy special while offering millions to Amy Schumer, Dave Chapelle, and Chris Rock. In a tweet, Mo’Nique called for a boycott of Netflix on the grounds of color and gender bias: #BOYCOTT NETFLIX FIR COLOR BIAS AND GENDER BIAS. PLEASE STAND WITH ME. I… Read More
Front is raising a $66 million Series B round led by Sequoia with DFJ and existing investors also participating. There are now 2,500 companies using Front to manage shared inboxes and collaborate. The startup now wants to go one step further and become the definitive email product. “I decided that I wanted to raise money, I scheduled 11 partner meetings over a single week,”… Read More
After getting its start in theme parks and event centers in Southern California, Appetize, the developer of point of sale technologies for big stadiums and college campuses, has raised $20 million to expand. The new capital came from Shamrock Capital Advisors, which had served as the financial manager for the Walt Disney family for years, with additional support coming from Silicon Valley… Read More
Mophie’s been a solid, consistent maker of external batteries and backup power sources, but its new Powerstation AC just might top them all. The large, 22,000 mAh powerhouse has ample output options – including a crucial one that most backup batteries lack: a standard AC plug, just like you’d find in a wall in your home. The Powerstation AC also has a 30W USB-C port with… Read More
AWS has purchased Sqrrl, a Cambridge, Massachusetts security startup with roots in the NSA. The company helps analyze a variety of sources to track and understand security threats quickly using machine learning. The announcement appeared on the Sqrrl home page in note from company CEO Mark Terenzoni. “We’re thrilled to share that Sqrrl has been acquired by Amazon. We will be… Read More
Apple announced a new health effort as part of iOS 11.3. The new Health Records section in the Health app lets you gather and view all your medical records. The company is partnering with hospitals and clinics. Apple released the first beta version of iOS 11.3 today. While the new version of iOS is going to remain in beta testing for a couple of months, it should be available as a free download… Read More
As part of its broader, long-term strategy to appeal to content producers by offering them more exposure, media software maker Plex today is unveiling its new VR experience, Plex VR. The addition will allow Plex users to not only watch videos in VR, but also co-watch with friends – a social component to media consumption that a number of companies, including, recently, Facebook and… Read More
Fleet, a startup focused on making international logistics less onerous for small companies, announced that it has raised a Series A of $10 million. The round was led by Lufthansa Cargo, the German airline’s air cargo subsidiary, with participation from new and returning investors Hunt Technology, UPS, UP2398 and 1517 Fund. Read More
More big news out of Apple this morning. The company’s offering up a preview of what’s to come in the latest version of its mobile operating system. The biggest updates here are coming to power management, its augmented reality platform ARKit, Animoji and the company’s Health app. You can check out a more in-depth preview of ARKit 1.5 over here. The new platform brings… Read More
Carmudi, a Rocket Internet-backed company that sells cars online in emerging markets, has raised $10 million to develop its business in Southeast Asia after reducing its global footprint. The company was formed in 2013 and, at peak, it grew to cover over 20 markets across Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. To support that global push, Carmudi raised $10 million in 2014 and then… Read More
Apple is rolling out an upgrade to its augmented reality toolbox, ARKit, to developers in a beta version today. ARKit 1.5 adds a few marquee features including one big one: wall detection. Up until this point, ARKit has been focused on offering horizontal plane detection, allowing developers to know where the ‘floor’ is that it can then use to orient or place objects in 3D space.… Read More
Drones may still be having a tough time dispelling the notion that they’re just expensive toys when it comes to the consumer space, but in the world of commercial applications, the autonomous aircraft are having a much easier time proving their worth. PrecisionHawk, a Raleigh, North Carolina-based startup, has closed a Series D round, nabbing $75M in new capital that will help it seize… Read More
It’s the start of a new year, and there couldn’t be a better time to look ahead at what the next 12 months might hold…
Businesses are gathering more and more information than they ever have before, whether it’s a manufacturer or a bank, and to Timescale CEO Ajay Kulkarni the existing database software soon won’t provide the horsepower they need. That’s why he and CTO Mike Friedman started Timescale, a new open source time series database software. The idea is that businesses increasingly… Read More
Nexar, a startup that makes an AI-based dashcam app to monitor road safety, announced today that it has raised a $30 million Series B led by Ibex Ventures. Participants included Alibaba Innovation Ventures (the venture capital investment arm of Alibaba Group), Nationwide Insurance and returning investors Aleph, Mosaic Ventures, Slow Ventures, True Ventures and Tusk Ventures. Read More
The UK government has announced plans to set up a dedicated national security unit to combat state-led disinformation campaigns — raising questions about how broad its ‘fake news’ bullseye will be. Read More
Qualcomm’s longstanding dominance in LTE chipsets for smartphones, and specifically with Apple’s iPhone, is getting a major hit today. The European Commission today announced that it would be fining the company €997 million, or $1.23 billion, for abusing its market position between 2011 and 2016, related to its relationship with Apple. The figure works out to 4.9 percent of… Read More
A new startup in Indonesia wants to car owners in Southeast Asia’s country sell their vehicle with more security and reliability. BeliMobilGue — meaning ‘Buy My Car’ — was quietly started last year as a joint venture from Berlin-based Frontier Car Group and Intudo Ventures. It acts as a middleman between Indonesia’s car dealers and consumers who want to… Read More
