Security technology services provider Armor is getting ready to do some shopping for new technology thanks to $89 million in fresh funding. The company, which was majority owned by the private equity firm The Stephens Group, now counts SST Telemedia, a large telecommunications investor, as a co-owner. The Dallas-based company counts 1,200 customers using its managed internet security services… Read More
If you were a fan of Master of None, the original comedy series exclusive to Netflix starring and led by Aziz Ansari, then you’ll be happy to hear that it’s coming back on May 12. The second season will be available to stream then, picking up where the first left off with what looks like a Very European Adventure for Ansari and friends, including Tim & Eric’s Eric… Read More
Time Inc. is getting into the influencer marketing business in a bigger way, with a new offering called Time Inc. Connect.
This influencer network will be “powered by” startup Speakr — as explained to me by Time Inc’s senior vice president of digital business development and business operations Regina Buckley, this means Time Inc. Connect will combine Speakr’s… Read More
Disrupt NY is right around the bend, and with it comes a brand new type of content: The Startup Spotlight.
Each of these companies will have a total of 15 minutes to tell their story, from origin to potential pivot to real solution, with all the highs and lows that come with it.
Today, I’m pleased to announce three of the companies we’re highlighting at the Disrupt NY Startup… Read More
Amazon this morning rolled out new tools for developers of Alexa apps, aka “Skills,” which aim to give them more insight into their app’s users, as well as allow them to build location-based skills. The first is a new metrics dashboard – similar to those used by developers of mobile applications, but designed for these voice apps – which lets Alexa developers… Read More
Talla, a Cambridge, Mass. startup, wants to help companies ease into artificial intelligence, and they have come up with a new service assistant bot that gives companies whatever degree of intelligence-fueled power they are looking for. The tool, called ServiceAssistant, works as an IT or HR help desk inside of Slack or Microsoft Teams and gives customers a few options on how to use it. First… Read More
Netflix’s new way of rating the shows and movies you watch on its platform is binary: Thumbs up if you like it, thumbs down if you don’t. The streaming service is looking for clear-eyed decisions on what you like and what you don’t, in place of the wishy-washy five star system that it had in place until today. The change is about making content recommendations more relevant… Read More
A self-driving shuttle will ferry around 100 people in Greenwich, London along a short route on a public cycle and pedestrian path over the next three weeks, in a trial using Oxbotica’s driverless vehicle technology. The goal, according to Oxbotica, is to show average people that they can safely share space with autonomous cars, helping dissuade any perception of threat and generally… Read More
Facebook has implemented a new photo-matching technology to ensure people can’t re-share images previously reported and tagged as revenge porn — intimate photos of people shared without their consent. That means if someone tries to share a photo that Facebook has previously taken down, that person will see a pop-up saying the photo violates Facebook’s policies and that… Read More
Uber introduced Instant Pay last year, as a way to use the revenue from their Uber fares right away, without waiting for it to be deposited into their own bank account. The company first launched the program with GoBank and a dedicated Visa card, but eventually opened it up to virtually all U.S-based MasterCard, Visa or Discover debit card tied to checking and savings accounts. Opening things… Read More
As Microsoft announced last week, the Windows 10 Creators Update will start rolling out to users on April 11. As part of this update, the company is also making some changes to the privacy settings in Windows 10 and how it informs its users about the data it collects from them (because it doesn’t give them the option to completely opt out of its data collection system). The overall… Read More
Snowflake Computing, the company that built a Data Warehouse as a Service cloud solution, announced a $100 million Series D investment led by Iconiq Capital with help from Madrona Venture Group. Early investors Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Wing Ventures also participated. Snowflake last raised $45 million in June, 2015. Today’s investment brings the… Read More
The German cabinet has backed proposals to hit social media firms with fines of up to €50 million if they fail to promptly remove illegal hate speech from their platforms — within 24 hours after a complaint has been made for “obviously criminal content”, and within seven days for other illegal content. Read More
Zunum Aero, a company backed by funding from Boeing HorizonX and JetBlue’s tech venture arm, has revealed its plans to create a hybrid electric aircraft designed for regional flights with plans to fly by 2020. The aircraft would have a range of around 700 miles at launch, and the plan is to get that up to over 1,000 miles by 2030, which means it could service many popular commuter routes… Read More
At 26 years of age, Ramtin Naimi, has already made a small fortune as a hedge fund investor. Now, the founder of Abstract Ventures, an early-stage venture investment firm, is looking to rethink how early stage deals are done. Specifically, he’s hoping to combine an emphasis on community and philanthropy with investing to both draw in deal flow while also helping his network of young… Read More
Fred Destin, one of European VC’s biggest personalities, is leaving Accel, the London-headquartered VC firm he joined from Boston’s Atlas Ventures in mid 2014, to focus more on Seed and earlier-stage investing.
Specifically, I understand that the plan is for the Belgium-born VC to create his own franchise, either with a team or as a solo GP, “focused on very early-stage… Read More
European VC firm 83North (formerly Greylock IL), which since 2008 has focused on backing startups in Europe and Israel, has closed its fourth fund — taking $250M in a raise that it says was both oversubscribed and its largest to date, and bringing its total capital under management to $800M. Read More
Forward Partners, the London-based VC firm originally founded by Forward Internet Group and Nic Brisbourne, has closed a new £60 million fund to continue investing in tech startups from idea to late Seed stage. Read More
With the appointment of Ajit Pai as the new FCC chairman and his public opposition to current regulations, the death of net neutrality is likely upon us. As a result, an internet toll road – and higher costs for more data – is probably in your future. Read More
