TechCrunch

 For a decade and a half, FreshBooks has worked to establish itself as one of the most popular accounting software platforms for small businesses and the self-employed around the world. To accelerate growth, the company has raised $43 million in Series B funding led by existing investor Georgian Partners, with participation from previous investors Accomplice and Oak Investment Partners. Read More

 The worlds of VR and AR may deeply change how we interact with computers but it may also change how we follow celebrities as well. ObEN, which uses artificial intelligence-powered tools to create avatars that look and sound like the real deal, announced today that it has raised $5 million in strategic investment from Tencent as it looks to tackle the AI celebrity scene. Li Ruigang, Chairman… Read More

 Artificial intelligence is now powering a growing number of computing functions, and today the developer community today is getting another AI boost, courtesy of Yandex. Today, the Russian search giant — which, like its US counterpart Google, has extended into a myriad of other business lines, from mobile to maps and more — announced the launch of CatBoost, an open source… Read More

 It’s already been a year of multiple high profile ransomware attacks and now cybersecurity startup Corelight has bagged a $9.2 million Series A round, led by Accel Partners. Read More

 As data protection — a set of laws and practices created across different markets to ensure that our sensitive information does not get leaked or shared without our permission — continues to gain priority in our rapidly expanding digital world, a UK startup called Privitar that is building tools to help organizations keep that data private has picked up $16 million in funding… Read More

 Founder of Estimote, Jakub Krzych, expects the world to be a far kinder place. His beacons are already appearing in museums, stores, and public places and helping folks find their way around indoor spaces. Now he expects them to help us by sending us the data we need where we need it. Estimote is a Polish success story, one of the few businesses to build global reach in Central Europe. I spoke… Read More

 We’re excited to be partnering with Facebook to bring our illustrious startup competition, the Startup Battlefield, to Nairobi, Kenya later this year. We gave you an extension, but if you’re part of a startup in sub-Saharan Africa, the time to act is now. You have just five more days to put together an application to TechCrunch’s inaugural Startup Battlefield Africa. Read More

 TechCrunch was in Hong Kong last week for tech conference Rise — where we watched two robots talking together on stage, among other things. The event is well-known for its after-parties and social activities, but one night we sneaked away from the crowd with a few friends to check out a virtual reality arcade. Playdium is a new entry to the city, having only opened its doors at the start… Read More

 Samsung Electronics announced today that it will recycle parts from Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, which gained notoriety last year after a battery defect caused several to burst into flame. The company said in a statement on its Korean site (via Google Translate) that it also expects to recover 157 tonnes of rare metals, including gold, from the devices. Read More

Disney plans to open an epic Star Wars hotel, new emoji are being released to the world, Amazon could be the latest to get into the meal delivery kit business and the latest Atari game console. All this on Crunch Report! Read More

 An investigation into alleged sexual misconduct at an event in 2013 has led to AngelList employee Lee Jacobs going on indefinite paid leave of absence, sources tell TechCrunch and the company has now confirmed. AngelList was informed of the incident two weeks ago. According to a source familiar with AngelList’s internal working, on July 13th, AngelList told employees via Slack that… Read More

 WeWork is gearing up to launch its co-working spaces in Japan, thanks to a joint-venture with SoftBank, SoftBank said today. As part of the arrangement, SoftBank and WeWork will each own 50 percent of the joint-venture, which will go by WeWork Japan. WeWork Japan’s first location will launch early next year in Tokyo. In addition to the U.S., WeWork operates co-working spaces in 16… Read More

 Back at the end of May, Disney opened an Avatar-themed area within its Animal Kingdom park. Given that it’s only been open for a few weeks, most folks still haven’t been inside — but if you do go, do yourself a favor and take the time to check out the Na’vi River Journey ride. At our TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics event in Boston this afternoon, we got a look at… Read More

 Porsche Design’s Book One laptop is a prime example of when aesthetics completely take over — when other parts of the device suffer and you lose focus on how well it actually works. The form factor set by Microsoft’s Surface Book is probably one of the best approaches to a convertible laptop. Why? Simplicity: the screen detaches from the body to become a tablet, then can… Read More

 Comcast has filed its official commentary on the FCC’s proposal to roll back 2015’s Open Internet Order, and it’s about what you’d expect: a selectively thorough takedown that relies heavily on analysis by friendly economists to support the ISP’s view. Read More

 In April, Digit announced that in 100 days it would begin charging $2.99 a month to people using its service to automatically save for a rainy day or help pay their bills. Well, 100 days have almost passed, and it’s almost time for those changes to go into effect. Read More

 Touch. When it comes to virtual reality, it’s a problem no one has quite cracked. At TechCrunch Sessions: Robotics this afternoon, a researcher out of MIT demonstrated a portable “shape-display” — a wheeled robot that follows your hand, simulating the surface or object your VR-self is touching. He calls it the “ReVeal” system. Read More

 Tesla has added two new independent directors to its board, including 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch and Johnson Publishing Company CEO and Chairman Linda Johnson Rice. The two new board members were added just a few months after Tesla confirmed it was seeking additional independent directors without ties to CEO and founder Elon Musk. Until now, Tesla’s board included five (of six… Read More

 The Gillmor Gang — Doc Searls, Denis Pombriant, Kevin Marks, Frank Radice, and Steve Gillmor. Recorded live Friday, July 14, 2017. Apologies for the annoying echo G3: Culture Club recorded live Thursday, July 13, 2017 with Mary Hodder, Elisa Camahort Page, Halley Suitt Tucker, Kristie Wells, and Tina Chase Gillmor. @stevegillmor, @dsearls, @kevinmarks, @fradice, DenisPombriant / @tinagillmor Read More

 For the second quarter in a row, Netflix has handily beaten industry watchers — and its own expectations — in adding a mountain of additional new subscribers. Netflix today said it added 5.2 million additional new subscribers this quarter, a number well above the 3.2 million new subscriber additions that it set itself — and the stock promptly jumped nearly 9 percent. Read More