In an interview for Flux, I sat down with Helen Greiner, the co-founder of iRobot. We got into how founders should think about timing a market, navigating user adoption cycles and iterating on product. In 2008, Helen made the jump from terrestrial to aerial robotics, founding drone company CyPhy Works to focus on applications including public safety, construction and agriculture. Read More
Google is launching a new feature for IT admins today that will make it easier for them to allow employees to use third-party apps in combination with its G Suite productivity tools. Like similar services, Google uses the OAuth standard to allow users of third-party apps (think email apps or calendaring services) to access their company data. While Google offers plenty of tools to avoid… Read More
Uber’s decision to bring tipping to its app is one of the most notable recent reversals of policy in tech, and now the tipping feature is actually going live in 121 cities across North America, including the biggest markets in the U.S. and Canada like New York, San Francisco, L.A., and Toronto.
When Uber announced that tipping was being added to its rider app, it went live in Seattle… Read More
According to numerous reports out this morning, Amazon entered the wine business with its own label in partnership with Oregon’s King Estate Winery, which has launched a direct-to-Amazon wine label called “Next.” But that’s not actually the case, as it turns out. Amazon confirmed with TechCrunch that Next wines are not owned by, nor were they developed in partnership… Read More
Game subscription services now look like they’re here to stay, and Sony’s Playstation Now just got an exciting update: The first PS4 games on the service are now available to play. The debut list includes 24 games that originally came out on PS4, bringing PS Now to the contemporary console era of games releases for the first time. The games list includes quite a few smaller… Read More
Google wants to simplify content creation in VR so that people have more pretty things to look at and build. The company’s VR painting app Tilt Brush has been one of their most-finessed successes and today Google is launching a new app that allows users to create 3D objects using tools built especially for the virtual reality medium. Blocks, which is available now for free for the HTC… Read More
Driverless AI is the latest product from H2O.ai aimed at lowering the barrier to making data science work in a corporate context. The tool assists non-technical employees with preparing data, calibrating parameters and determining the optimal algorithms for tackling specific business problems with machine learning. Read More
OnboardIQ wants to make applying for hourly work less of a hassle, with a mobile-first platform that businesses can use to reduce the time they spend finding and hiring qualified workers. Now, three years in, the company has raised $9.1 million to expand their product and customer reach. Read More
Some rough news today for SoundCloud, the audio streaming site whose content is largely based around uploads from its 175 million users in 190 countries. The company has announced that it is laying off 173 employees, and it is closing offices in San Francisco and London. The moves are being described as cost cutting measures “to ensure our path to long-term, independent success,”… Read More
Hulu this morning announced it’s finally adding HBO as an optional add-on for subscribers, as well as HBO-owned Cinemax. The premium networks will be offered to those who subscribe to Hulu’s on-demand service plus those who pay for Hulu’s new live TV service, including both the ad-supported and commercial-free versions. As on most other streaming services, including HBO NOW,… Read More
Instagram has updated its Stories feature with the ability to reply to stories with either photos or video. This means you can use all the creative tools found in the Instagram camera, including filters, Boomerang, rewind and stickers to show the original poster exactly how your really feel about what they’re sharing. The replies feature also lets you use a new sticker that actually… Read More
With over 15,000 voice-activated apps and growing, Amazon’s Alexa platform has momentum. And Amazon is expected control 70 percent of the voice-controlled speaker market this year, outpacing Google Home and others. Now the company is doubling down on its investment in the developer community, with the debut of a new event series that trains developers to build for Alexa.
Launching in… Read More
“Markett is seeking to redistribute a piece of these brands’ ad budgets and put it into the pockets of their loyal customers,” says founder and chief executive Franky Bernstein. Read More
Pandascore turns e-sports matches into sets of data that can instantly be manipulated or archived for later. When you watch a basketball game on TV, the screen is filled with stats while the game is still going on. And if you’re missing a match, you can also access all this data from a browser. But this isn’t true for a League of Legends game today. That’s what Pandascore… Read More
One of the greatest problems with tech is that there is little room for nostalgia. Aside from Nintendo and potentially Fujifilm, few companies are willing to stick with what’s comfortable. And with good reason! Take Apple, for instance. I may still be butthurt over the fact that my iPhone doesn’t have a proper headphone jack, dismayed each time I lose my dongle, but it’s hard… Read More
Liberty Interactive, the owner of home shopping company QVC, announced this morning that it’s acquiring HSN in an all-stock deal valued at $2.1 billion. Liberty already owned 38 percent of HSN — now it’s buying the remaining 62 percent. Back in 2015, when Liberty acquired ecommerce company Zulily, there was speculation that the deal could position the companies for a full… Read More
Just one day after we found out that Volvo intends to stop selling cars with exclusively internal combustion engine drivetrains by 2019, France’s minister of the environment Nicolas Hulot has detailed a plan to the Financial Times for the country that includes ending the sale of fossil fuel-powered cars by 2040. The effective ban will be achieved through a mix of financial incentives… Read More
Pippin Barr, Assistant Professor in the Department of Design and Computation Arts at Concordia University in Montréal, has released a game that I’m sure you’re all going to enjoy. It’s called It is as if you were doing work and it simulates the day-to-day activities of the average knowledge worker. Need to write a document? Close a bunch of notifications first. Finished with… Read More
TC Sessions: Robotics brings together the best minds in the industry to chat about current developments and trends shaping the future. The event will be held at MIT on July 17. Let’s get this out of the way: There are few tickets left to purchase, and seating is limited. MIT’s Kresge Auditorium cannot hold everyone. The event will not be live streamed. I haven’t been this… Read More
As more money continues to be poured into startups, we’re starting to see a growing number of venture capital firms and funds emerge that are increasingly focused on specific pieces of the pie, rather than general swipes across the board. One of these — Felix Capital — today announced that it has raised an oversubscribed $150 million fund to continue betting hard on tech… Read More
