The first iteration of Amazon’s Dash Wand wasn’t long for this world. The company trialed the barcode scanner with select Prime Fresh customers in California, but the hardware didn’t seem to really go anywhere. Instead the company switched tactics, moving to those now familiar single product buttons. Now that Amazon’s all bullish about hardware, thanks to the… Read More
As more video providers finding audiences directly through apps and the web — and away from pay-TV-based packages — we’re seeing the emergence of more analytics to measure how those videos are delivered, and who is watching them. Conviva, a company that has developed a set machine-learning-based algorithms to do just that, today announced that it has raised $40 million… Read More
Microsoft is rolling out an update to its AI-powered photo editing app, Microsoft Pix, that aims to give Prisma and others like it some new competition. While the app was originally designed to enhance your iPhone photos by tweaking things like color, exposure and other variables, the newly updated Microsoft Pix will now let you have a little more fun with your photos, too – this time,… Read More
With last fall’s formation of Group Nine Media, four digital media organizations (Thrillist, NowThis, The Dodo and Discovery’s Seeker) came together under a single corporate umbrella. Now the company says it’s seeing real success connecting with readers and viewers, with 114 million social media engagements in May — up from 70 million in January. As Group Nine CEO Ben… Read More
Spotify has been doing well on the revenue front, growing that aspect of its business by over 50 percent last year. The streaming music company reeled in $3.3 billion in revenue in total, as reported first by Recode, and spelled out in financial filings filed on Thursday. The company’s user base also grew to 140 million total people on the service, across both free and paid tiers, up… Read More
How should Facebook decide what’s allowed on its social network, and how to balance safety and truth with diverse opinions and cultural norms? Facebook wants your feedback on the toughest issues it’s grappling with, so today it published a list of seven “hard questions” and an email address — hardquestions@fb.com — where you can send feedback and… Read More
In an effort to better cater to newcomers, Twitter once again is redesigning its app across mobile, desktop and the web. The revamp isn’t a radical departure from its prior look-and-feel or user experience – unlike when it introduced its own stories-like feature called Moments, for example, or when began reordering the tweets in your timeline. Instead, the update involves a series… Read More
It’s been a week with the new Pro — Microsoft’s part-tablet/part-laptop hybrid machine — and I already find myself looking longingly at the Surface Laptop. It’s not that the latest Surface Pro isn’t a good and capable machine (it is), it’s just that, well, the Laptop is much better for my needs — and, I’m sure, the needs of most… Read More
I’m in Columbus this week and I thought we could have a quick meetup in advance of Disrupt SF in September. We’ll be meeting on Thursday at 5pm at the Standard Hall (please note the new location). You can RSVP here. There is limited space so please pick up a ticket early. We’ll have a quick pitch-off in preparation for Disrupt SF and 10 companies will have 90 seconds to pitch… Read More
Sphero continues its partnership with Disney today, with the launch of a new toy based on the Marvel superhero Spider-Man. But where BB-8 and Lightning McQueen could move around the room, Spider-Man is more stationary — his real power involves holding conversations. The simplest thing this Spider-Man can do is tell jokes — he seems to have an infinite simply of eye-rollers. If you… Read More
Europeans traveling through the 28 Member State bloc are now able to use their mobile devices more freely, thanks to a top level abolition of mobile roaming charges across the region. Read More
Salespeople have a lot of things to sell and the latest technology can help them sell even more. Do you think you have the perfect pitch? Highspot will tell you if you’re wrong. Or at least that’s their pitch. Highspot’s software analyzes various communications with prospective clients, including presentations, case studies and training videos. Then it provides… Read More
With high-profile investments from Alibaba and SoftBank fueling an impressive growth story since demonetization last year, you could be forgiven for thinking that Paytm has India’s payments market sewn up. But at least one company will agree to differ on that. MobiKwik, the mobile payments startup that is number two to Paytm in India, is quietly confident that it can take advantage of… Read More
E-book sales may be declining in the U.S. and U.K., but in South Korea, many people still enjoy swiping instead of leafing through their reading material. E-book sales there are growing steadily each year, driven in part by the popularity of web comics. Ridibooks, which claims to be Korea’s largest e-book provider, has raised a $20 million Series C to take advantage of the market. Read More
500 Startups has announced the close of its fund for Japan, more than 18 months after it was first unveiled. The effort is backed by the Japanese government, which has chipped in as an LP via its Cool Japan Fund. (Yes, that really is the name of the fund, which is aiming to use about $1 billion in public money over its lifecycle.) Initially U.S.-based 500 Startups targeted a $30 million close,… Read More
Amid ongoing struggles at Uber, one of its stronger regional rivals in transportation on demand has raised a significant round of funding, picking up a significant strategic investor in the process. Careem, a transportation startup currently in 80 cities across the Middle East, has raised another $150 million — closing out a $500 million Series E round that it confirmed in December when… Read More
Reply threads on Facebook are about to get a lot more animated. To mark the 30th anniversary of the GIF format, all users will get the new GIF comment button that Facebook began testing three months ago. Facebook also announced that almost 13 billion GIFs were sent on Messenger over the past year, with 400 million GIFs sent just on New Year’s Day 2017. Read More
Element AI raises $102 Millon, Another board member resigns from Uber and Chan Zukerberg Initiative invests $5 million into Landed to help teachers afford housing in Palo Alto. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
Trucker Path, a three-year-old, Mountain View-based platform that helps connect drivers, brokers, shippers, and carriers, has just lined up $30 million in debt funding so it can start loaning some of those truckers money right after they deliver their freight. It’s seemingly a win-win. It means truckers needn’t wait 30 to 60 days to get paid by the vendors who hire them. In… Read More
HTC is back at E3 this year for its sophomore turn at the gaming expo, after its first show in 2016 following closely on the heels of the Vive VR headset’s consumer launch. I spoke to HTC VP of VR Dan O’Brien at this year’s E3, to find out a bit about how the company sees the market, its role therein and the state of VR in general now that it’s not the newest kid on… Read More
