Last year, Google released a fun app that let curious kids perform a handful of science experiments by monitoring light, sound and motion using a smartphone. Following some feedback, the app has been updated with a more open-ended approach, allowing kids to simply record and annotate the world around them. (It’s also on iOS now.) Read More
Current announced today it has raised $5 million in Series A funding for its debit card aimed at kids that parents can control with an app. The company first introduced its Visa debit to the market in May. Kids can use the card to shop in stores or online using funds from their own bank account linked to the card, after receiving a digital allowance from mom or dad. The new round was led by… Read More
When it comes to music and technology, the bulk of attention has been focused on companies building digitised services to help deliver music to the masses, such as Spotify and Soundcloud. But an equally interesting development is how tech innovations have bridged into the world of music hardware, from devices to appreciate it to devices to create it; and today, one of the bigger movers in… Read More
“Peak startup” is a phrase that no doubt strikes terror in the hearts of entrepreneurs and startup investors alike. But saying “peak startup” is not the same as saying that the market is at the very height of a bubble. Peak startup merely means that the market is running out of steam for this cycle. And that’s what we’re going to examine here. Read More
DJI took to the roofs of Washington DC to demonstrate AeroScope, a new identification technology the company has taken to calling an “electronic license plate for drones.” The feature is designed to offer up quick information to authorities on a given UAV, should it, say, come to lose to an airport, prison or other restricted airspace. The D.C. location was no doubt chosen to… Read More
Uber is getting into the credit card business. Announced today in partnership with Barclays and Visa at the Money2020 conference in Las Vegas, the new card gives Uber yet another point of access to incredibly valuable customer information and marks another front in its campaign to assume a larger role in online and offline commerce. Read More
Facebook’s success has led to gentrification and hardship in some towns close to its Menlo Park headquarters. So while the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has committed more than $45 billion to solving health and education problems worldwide, today it’s strengthening its hyper-local philanthropy. Read More
DoorDash CFO Mike Dinsdale has left the company less than a year after he joined, TechCrunch has learned. The food ordering and delivery startup is actively looking for a replacement. He is now gearing up to join Gusto, formerly known as ZenPayroll, according to a source familiar with Dinsdale’s situation. Read More
Coding schools and bootcamps were booming a few years ago. But many of them only offered entry-level education, and quite a few of them are now shutting down. From the beginning, Holberton always aimed to stay above this fray by branding itself less as a bootcamp and more as an alternative to a four-year college degree. Read More
As Slack moves more and more into trying to become a go-to tool for workplace collaboration — especially in the face of competition from Atlassian and other incumbents — it has to first make sure it has the table stakes down. Today, the company is looking to take another step in that direction as it starts rolling out an updated screen sharing feature that allows users to mark… Read More
There’s little question that former Facebook executive and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya thoroughly enjoys challenging the way that startups are funded. Because he has the hot hand, so to speak, he’s able to get away with it, too. Read More
A Bloomberg report today made claims that Apple had reduced its requirements from suppliers on the accuracy level of Face ID. Apple has issued a statement stating that the report is “completely false” and that it expects Face ID to be the new gold standard of facial authentication. The statement from Apple: Customer excitement for iPhone X and Face ID has been incredible, and… Read More
With over four million listings across more than 65,000 cities worldwide, Airbnb has not just upended the global hospitality industry — it has inadvertently created an industry within an industry: demand for services that help hosts manage their properties efficiently and professionally. It’s a hot space, for sure. GuestReady, a one-year-old contender based in London, has pulled in… Read More
WeWork and Techstars are buddying up, the organizations announced today. Techstars, the global accelerator program responsible for companies like ClassPass, Sphero and Digital Ocean, will be bringing its program into the WeWork community by running its curriculum at WeWork locations in Toronto, Boston, Kansas City, and New York City. As a part of the deal, Techstars alumni will now get a… Read More
Hopper, a top-ranked travel app that helps you figure out the best time to fly to save money, is today expanding its price prediction service to hotels. The company claims its price tracking technology is able to save users $34 per night, on average, when booking a hotel room through its service, or up to $90 per night in the best cases. The Hopper application is already one of the better… Read More
Patreon wants to colonize the internet with its perks for artist crowdfunding subscribers the same way Facebook login brought your social graph and profile to other sites. Pay a monthly subscription to a content creator on Patreon and now it will earn you exclusive access to their patron-only WordPress blog, Discourse forums, Discord chatrooms and, soon, other apps like Slack. Read More
French startup Convargo is a marketplace for shippers and carriers so that you can find a truck and send goods across France more efficiently. The startup just raised a $19 million Series A round led by Inventure Partners and Earlybird.
Tony Fadell, Patrick Sayer and Oskar Hartmann, Roger Crook, Clément Benoit and Romain Afflelou are also participating in today’s round.
As always… Read More
Dish became the first U.S. pay TV provider to integrate with Alexa for hands-free TV back in May, when it introduced a way for Hopper and Wally DVR users to search for programs and control their playback experience using their voice. Today, the company says it’s expanding this support to its Joey clients, meaning Dish customers can now take advantage of voice control throughout their… Read More
In February of 2010, Warby Parker launched into the world and became a global brand and eventually a unicorn. And today, Pair Eyewear wants to do the same. Pair, the brainchild of Sophia Edelstein and Nathan Kondamuri, wants to be the Warby Parker for children, giving kids and parents a way to affordably shop for glasses online. But Pair takes it one step further with customizable frames,… Read More
Grab, Uber’s chief rival in Southeast Asia, finally has a new CTO more than two years after its previous one departed. Today the company introduced Theo Vassilakis, a former Googler who also spent time with Microsoft, as its second ever CTO. There were high hopes for the first, Wei Zhu, who helped create Connect with Facebook, but he left in 2015 after just a year and later sued… Read More
