Google’s core search service has been blocked in China for over seven years, but that isn’t stopping the internet giant from snapping up artificial intelligence and machine learning talent from the country. AI is tipped to become pivotal to the future of tech, with high-profile figures such as former Google China lead Kaifu Lee betting big on its potential to… Read More
Event Pop, a two-year-old digital ticketing startup from Thailand, has raised a Series A round of over $2 million to expand its product and move into new markets. The round was led by Thai investors InVent, a subsidiary of the parent of operator AIS, and Kasikorn Bank’s $30 million Beacon fund. Event Pop had previously raised $500,000. One of its backers is millionaire… Read More
Okay, European startup fans. You’ve procrastinated long enough. Tomorrow Sept. 6 at 12pm CEST, we’ll be releasing our last batch of 50 pairs of tickets to Disrupt Berlin 2017, but in order to take advantage of this limited-time 2-for-1 opportunity, you’ll need to let us know today. Signing up is pretty dang easy, if we do say so ourselves. All you need to do is enter your… Read More
One day after China’s decision to ban ICOs pending an investigation, Hong Kong — the country that is a special administrative region of China — has voiced concern at the growth of ICO fundraising. ICOs, which involve the sale of newly issued crypto coins to raise money, are said to have brought in $1.6 billion in funding for companies so far this year, according to… Read More
In a landmark judgement concerning privacy in the workplace, the grand chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that companies must give employees prior warning if they are monitoring their electronic communications. Read More
Used to be when we thought about identity as it relates to computers and software, it involved a person logging into an application or service. Increasingly though, you also have machines and sensors attempting to authenticate as they access your systems. That creates complications for identity management vendors because instead of managing thousands or tens of thousands of identities, it… Read More
Xiaomi’s newest flagship smartphone will launch the day before the next iPhone, but Chinese firm has offered another new arrival before that date — and it marks a departure from the usual. That’s because Xiaomi has unveiled its first device running Google’s Android One software, and it’s called the Mi A1. The device was launched at a press event in India today… Read More
We are delighted to announce our next wave of speakers for Disrupt Berlin. And what a wave. Index Ventures is one the world’s leading international venture capital firms. And we are incredibly excited to have 3 of its partners on stage at Disrupt Berlin! But before we outline the details, please just be aware that our final batch of Disrupt Berlin 2017 tickets at the deeply discounted… Read More
Aifloo, a Swedish startup that combines hardware sensors and AI to offer a ‘smart wristband’ to help care for the elderly, has raised €5.1 million in new funding. The Series A round is led by EQT Ventures. Read More
Imagine some time in the not-so-distant future. After making your way to the nearest community landing strip, you’ll pull out your phone, and, with a single tap, hail the closest air taxi to take you to your chosen destination. The experience will have Uber-like convenience but the mode of transport couldn’t be any more different. Read More
Blue Apron and Snap had disappointing debuts this year, but others have fared much better. Of the tech companies that have gone public this year, most are trading above their IPO price. But there haven’t been many of them, with just 15 tech companies debuting so far this year, making it the second slowest start since 2009, according to Dealogic. Although it isn’t quite as bad as the… Read More
All you procrastinators — fear not! Applications for Battlefield Australia have now been extended to September 11th at midnight AEST. Now you have an entire week to apply to pitch on the renowned Battlefield stage. For anyone who may be a little late to the game, Startup Battlefield is TechCrunch’s startup launch competition. Companies pitch on stage, provide a live demo and then… Read More
As we continue to see a wide proliferation of artificial intelligence-based startups come to market, one of the persistent and big questions has been is whether an AI system will ever be able to make decisions as well as a human can. A startup out of Cambridge called Prowler.io is developing a new kind of decision-making platform based on probabilistic modelling, reinforcement learning and… Read More
Social media sites have had a pretty interesting year when it comes to approaching filter bubbles and echo chambers and the real world effects that come when they effect something like a national election. Verrit is a fledgling media startup that’s aiming to provide a platform for Hillary supporters to look at infographics with quotes on them about stuff they agree with. Verrit got a… Read More
There’s a difference between clearing your head, and ditching your dying startup to do drugs in the desert. If your ship is sailing smoothly, a vacation full of solitary introspection and artful inspiration could help you improve your decision-making. But if you’re using time off to escape your responsibilities rather than prepare to fulfill them, you’re endangering your… Read More
The first time I saw Sunshine, it was in a movie theater packed with men (in my memory, the audience was at least 90 percent male). When the movie ended, my friend and I spent an extra 10 minutes on the floor, trying to find his misplaced glasses. Despite the sub-optimal viewing conditions, I remember feeling genuinely thrilled by what I’d seen. Sunshine, it seemed to me, was pointing to… Read More
We now exist an interesting interstitial moment, one defined by big corporations producing much of the innovation and some of the world’s richest companies – Apple, Amazon, Uber, Facebook – trying to solve big hairy problems. These are the problems that startups would have once solved but because they are so expensive – I’m talking about commercial VR,… Read More
The cryptocurrency correction may have started. After months of unprecedented appreciation, almost every digital currency is seeing double digit losses over the last 48 hours. While a quick glance at the chart above or at coinmarketcap.com shows how bad things have been, you can get a sense of where things are by looking at losses in the two largest currencies: Bitcoin is down 16.5% over the… Read More
Kristoffer Lawson created one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while: Solu, the social computer. His tiny device uses a unique UI and UX to allow you to connect with friends and collaborate using an icon-based OS that lets you zoom in and out of work. Lawson and I spoke about the future of computing and how his ideas – and the ideas of other OS thinkers – will change the… Read More
Last year’s big Beats announcements revolved around the addition of the W1 chip, the first real collaborative addition to the hardware line since the company was picked up by Apple in 2014. The quick-syncing wireless chip is back for the newly announced Studio 3 over-ear headphones, but active noise canceling is the story the Beats is really looking to tell here. I had the opportunity… Read More
