At Common Cents Lab, we believe behavioral science can help improve financial well-being. For the past two years, we’ve been applying our insights and an experimental mindset to work with fintech companies, credit unions and nonprofits to test this assumption. Twenty-six experiments in, we thought it was time to assess our progress and share what we’ve learned. Read More
Intel’s quantum computing efforts have yielded a new 17-qubit chip, which the company has just delivered to its partner in that field, QuTech. It’s not a major advance in the actual computing power or applications — those are still in very early days — but it’s a step toward production systems that can be ordered and delivered to spec rather than experimental… Read More
MIT’s researchers spend a lot of time thinking about digestible technology. Indeed, scientists at the school have developed all sorts of swallowable devices, including a robot fashioned from pig parts designed to remove batteries. The school’s Koch Institute in particular has focused on the space, looking at ways in which digestible sensors can be used to monitor things like… Read More
Brandwatch, a social media monitoring company, has acquired BuzzSumo, a content marketing and influencer identification platform, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition adds an important arrow into Brandwatch’s quiver. Expect more from this company, which seems intent on creating a suite of powerful tools for online marketers. Read More
Mark Zuckerberg is apologizing today after his Facebook Live video discussing his company’s efforts to aid Puerto Rico’s recovery raised some serious eyebrows. Yesterday, Zuckerberg used the company’s VR app Spaces to tour through an NPR-produced 360 video of Puerto Rico. Zuck’s cartoon avatar directed attention towards various features of Puerto Rico’s… Read More
Uber, SpaceX and Stripe rely on Solium to keep track of all their shareholders and stock plans; 10,000 smaller startups turn to Capshare for more streamlined equity software that’s not clumsy like spreadsheets. Now Solium is buying out Capshare and letting it run independently, so together they can handle shareholder management from inception to IPO. Read More
It’s hard to build something secret in LA or SF without anyone finding out. So Snap Inc. is building a new R&D office in the remote location of Lehi, Utah — 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. The distance from Facebook and other tech companies could allow Snapchat to develop new app features or hardware devices beyond the prying eyes and ears of its competitors. Read More
Twitter is today releasing a new feature called “Happening Now” aimed to make its service more accessible to newcomers by highlighting groups of tweets about a topic, beginning with sports, before expanding to other areas like entertainment and breaking news. If this sounds similar to Twitter’s existing Moments feature….well, it is. Moments, too, offers a way to learn… Read More
Between Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps, Apple’s original content offerings have been…shaky at best. The company is going to have to score some pretty big deals if it has any hopes of catching up to the likes of Netflix and Amazon. A new deal reported by The Wall Street Journal could be the potential kick in the pants its needs, bringing content from Mr. Movie Magic, Steven… Read More
Want to drive a Porsche, without actually owning one? Porsche’s new Passport subscription program could be just what you’re looking for. The on-demand short-term rental program allows anyone in Atlanta to subscribe for $2,000 per month, which will provide access to eight models of Porsche including the 718 Boxster, Cayenne and Cayman S at launch. Those who want a bit more can sign… Read More
In all likelihood, when former Uber engineer Susan Fowler authored a now-famous post about her “very strange year” at Uber and the culture of sexism she witnessed first-hand at the company, she had no clue it would have such colossal ripple effects. Yet, according to a new report in Deadline Hollywood, Fowler’s story is being made into a film that’s being pitched to… Read More
Big screens apparently mean big money. Virtual reality remote desktop app Bigscreen has added $11 million in Series A funding to its pocketbooks as it looks to weather some waning investor interest in VR and build up its technologies while the VR headset market builds itself up. Read More
Sometimes the journey to success and millions of dollars in venture funding can start with nothing more than a Mexican road trip and crashing a cat convention’s film festival. That’s the story of Vyng, which has closed a round of $3 million after two years spent working on its technology that allows users to use personalized videos that appear on lock screens as ringtones. Read More
There you have it. Steve Jobs’ will + Dow Jones + Apple Park = Google’s buying Apple. I think we finally have algorithmic transparency. This morning Dow Jones shot some fake news out over the wires announcing that Google was acquiring Apple for $9 billion. For a brief second, the news sent Apple’s stock up about $2 to $158 per share. Both stock prices quickly returned to normal. Read More
After raising upwards of $100,000 via a Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, the team at Iconfactory has brought back one of the more popular third-party Twitter clients, Twitterrific for Mac. Effectively abandoned years ago when Iconfactory shifted its focus to mobile, the Kickstarter was meant to establish demand for a Mac app ahead of devoting developer resources to building it.
Today… Read More
In slightly bittersweet news, startup HandUp is selling itself to the Detroit-based South Oakland Shelter. This isn’t your typical Silicon Valley exit where the founders and investors made a bunch of money. HandUp CEO Rose Broome described it to me as a “primary philanthropic acquisition.” But it’s still a solid outcome for a startup that operates as a public benefit… Read More
“So much of it is stranger than fiction. It’s a great story, I knew that if I didn’t write the book, someone else would and I’d regret it,” says Billy Gallagher, author of “How to Turn Down a Billion Dollars: The Snapchat Story.” The book follows CEO Evan Spiegel from the Stanford dorms where Snap was invented, to rejecting Facebook’s… Read More
Uber and Deliveroo execs faced questions from a UK parliamentary committee today as the government continues to deliberate on changes to employment law to account for the rise of gig economy work facilitated by tech platforms. Read More
Like a lot of firms, the 41-year-old venture firm Menlo Ventures has decided to jump into health care investing after a long hiatus, hiring a new partner Greg Yap, to lead the charge. A molecular biology major at Princeton, Yap was most recently the CEO of an early-stage medical startup called Pyrames, as well as an entrepreneur-in-residence with the year-old, life-sciences-focused venture… Read More
A member of South Korea’s parliament who sits on its defense committee is claiming that North Korean hackers have stolen some of his nation’s most sensitive military documents — including a plan to assassinate North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
The South Korean Yonhap news service is reporting that Rhee Cheol-hee, a member of the country’s ruling political party and a… Read More
