TechCrunch held its Justice Sessions event at the Alamo Drafthouse at San Francisco on Tuesday, dedicated to conversations about underrepresented workers in tech. When it comes to the technology industry, “the reality is the money is there and it’s not trickling down,” said Derecka Mehrens, who helped form Silicon Valley Rising, an organization dedicated to raising wages… Read More
Apple brought its smart speaker into the world with a shoddy name and an unconventional pitch, but anyone brash enough to cast the device to the side so easily will surely pay the price. Apple, unlike Amazon and Google, understands that selling glorified intelligence-in-a-box as a method of human computer interaction lacks foresight — people want a product, not a technology. Launching… Read More
In May of this year, the state of New York opened up an application process for companies that wanted to test autonomous vehicles there. Audi snagged the first license and will begin testing near Albany in the coming weeks. The Audi A7 that will do the first demo at the New York state capital is not new to the company’s fleet of autonomous test cars. With licenses to test in Nevada… Read More
If you’re feeling AirPods envy but don’t want/can’t find/don’t have ears that work ergonomically with Apple’s white tube option, there’s a new top choice alternative – provided you’re willing to pay the price. Bragi’s Dash Pro is the latest set of fully wireless earbuds from the dedicated headset computing company, and its experience with… Read More
Apple doesn’t really talk about the Surface, but was pretty clear from yesterday’s WWDC keynote that Microsoft’s line is beginning to have a direct impact on the company. Between the iMac Pro and a rethink of iOS dedicated, in part, to bringing more functionality to the iPad Pro line, the message is clear: Apple’s not giving up any of its market share without a fight.… Read More
There are many young women who want to get into tech in Lebanon. With top educations under their belts and resilience inherently running through the veins of Lebanon’s tech players, it’s going to take more than electrical outages and spotty internet to keep them from prospering. And it’s going to take more than glass to keep them from rising. Read More
This morning on the stage of TC Sessions: Justice, Matt Mitchell of CryptoHarlem discussed his views on the link between surveillance and minority oppression and the importance of taking a preventative approach to security and privacy. Mitchell, a specialist in digital safety and encryption, is dedicating time to creating Protect Your Org, a free, open source, tool for all organizations… Read More
Pinterest said today that the company has raised $150 million in additional capital at a valuation of $12.3 billion as it makes a further full-court press on its visual recognition and search pitch to investors and advertisers — and perhaps one day Wall Street. Pinterest last raised $367 million in additional financing at an $11 billion valuation in 2015. In recent years, the company… Read More
While shop floors at large OEMs are embracing the beginning of the robotics and automation eras, the actual humans working in these shops have been mostly forgotten by technology. But Tulip, a software platform for shop engineers, operators and managers, is looking to change all that. To that end, Tulip has raised $13 million in Series A led by NEA, with participation from Pitango Venture… Read More
Henrik Fisker, who’s been teasing his new electric vehicle company after a stutter step first attempt with the original Fisker co. and the Karma, is back with the EMotion, the first car from Fisker Inc. The EMotion gets its first official eyes-on today via photos, not renders, that show us the vehicle in the aluminum and carbon fiber, finally. The car also gets its official pricing for… Read More
Apple is introducing a new feature in iOS 11 that will help users free up space on their iPhone by offering personalized recommendations about actions they can take to increase the available storage. The feature will go a long way towards helping all iPhone owners get better control over their phone’s storage, but will be especially useful for those who own one of Apple’s… Read More
Talking about sexual health makes folks squeamish. While sexuality and dating have, for the most part, been taken care of by technology there isn’t much talk of sexual health online. Until Biem. Biem is an app and service that makes it easy to talk to a sexual healthcare representative and get tests taken. It also lets you anonymously notify sexual partners if something is amiss and… Read More
In most businesses, managing freelancers still mostly happens in Excel spreadsheets that are shared across the company. Shortlist wants to make this process more efficient by offering a single platform for managing and paying freelancers and independent contractors. The company, which was founded in 2015 by Martin Konrad (CEO) and Joey Fraiser (COO), today announced that it has raised a… Read More
Last week, ahead of WWDC, there was a ripple of news when it was discovered that Bozoma Saint John — one of the more noticeable execs at the company for being a woman of color, who led an Apple Music demo at the previous year’s WWDC to some acclaim — was leaving Apple. Now TechCrunch has learned where she’s landing: she’s going to Uber. We received the news via… Read More
HONK, the Los Angeles-based startup providing roadside assistance services through a mobile app, is partnering with the massive insurer Farmers Insurance Group to white label its technology. People with knowledge of the deal said it could be worth over $150 million to Honk, as it eyes an international rollout, but chief executive Corey Brundage and president Avesta Rasouli declined to confirm… Read More
Pokémon fans will have a lot to enjoy this coming fall; not only is Pokkén Tournament DX arriving as the first Pokémon Switch title, but Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, follow-ups to Sun and Moon, are arriving on the 3DS family of systems on November 17. We don’t know much about the new games yet, but if they follow the pattern of past releases, they’ll add new story elements,… Read More
If you’ve spent any time in Silicon Valley offices you’ll see the ubiquitous bottles of Hint water splashed out along kitchen counters and desks. Kara Goldin, this week’s Technotopia guest, created the water after discovering that diet soda was making her overweight and overwrought and she has a lot to say about the future of food and drink. Goldin talked to us about what… Read More
MediaMath, a company offering tools and data for automated ad-buying, announced today that it has secured a $175 million credit facility. The deal was led by Goldman Sachs, with participation from Santander Bank. The company says this financing will fund its continued growth and allow it to refinance existing debt. (MediaMath’s 2014 funding round included $105 million in debt.) In a note… Read More
Nintendo hosted on of its Nintendo Direct streaming events today, just ahead of E3, and it had big news to share for one of its most popular and beloved game franchises: Pokémon is coming to Nintendo Switch, with its first appearance courtesy of Pokkén Tournament DX, the Pokémon fighting game. The news came via a dedicated Pokémon Direct edition of Nintendo’s direct show, which gives… Read More
The RealReal, a six-year-old, San Francisco-based company focused on authenticated, high-end resale items for women, men, and the home, has landed $50 million in growth funding from the private equity firm Great Hill Partners. The round, which brings the company’s total funding to $173 million, did not include previous backers; a spokeswoman for the company says Great Hill “wanted… Read More
