Shout is a sharing app. Think of it as a stripped-down Pinterest for those with no interest in messing with pretty photos of cookies and you get the general idea. And I think, with a little work, it could be a go-to collaboration tool for partners shopping for supplies, couples interested in not buying two boxes of beans at the grocery store, and a micro-blogging platform for the plugged in.… Read More
WikiLeaks just shared a few new documents as part of the CIA Vault 7 data dump. These documents describe hacking methods allegedly used by the agency to access Apple devices and upload data. Most of today’s exploits are related to the Mac platform. It’s interesting to see the CIA’s old hacking techniques. It’s unclear if some of them still work today. Sonic… Read More
For Mashape CEO Augusto Marietti, the Silicon Valley dream is playing out as well as could be imagined.
In 2009, Marietti and his cofounder Marco Palladino — who’d formed a software company in Milan a year earlier — learned of and were accepted into TechCrunch50, a pitch competition that has evolved into today’s giant TechCrunch Disrupt events.
As the event… Read More
Facebook is introducing a new ad format that should help retailers showcase their products. The last big addition to Facebook’s ad lineup came last year, with the launch of Canvas, a fast-loading, rich media ad. Like Canvas, a collection is created specifically for mobile, and seem designed to win users over in the Facebook app — before directing them to the advertiser’s… Read More
Amazon continues its march across the globe, and one of its newest targets is the Middle East. According to multiple reports that we have confirmed with our own sources, the e-commerce giant has acquired Souq, often described as the Amazon of the Arab world and the region’s biggest e-commerce player, for a price of $650 million, to spearhead its Middle East business. “The ink… Read More
Following Chevrolet’s lead, Jaguar Land Rover is the latest carmaker to offer an unlimited in-car data plan in the U.S. The AT&T prepaid data plan will coast $20 per month, and will be an option for any Jaguar and Land Rover cars with InControl Wi-Fi as an available feature. Up to eight devices can connect simultaneously to the in-car Wi-Fi network enabled by the cellular hotspot.… Read More
A startup called Zently hopes to improve the process of renting a home or apartment by making it easier for renters to split bills, pay for their rent and contact their landlords when something goes wrong. And for landlords, it wants to simplify getting paid while also facilitating the process of fixing problems that renters come across. Read More
Group chat will get a bit less chaotic with the global rollout of two Facebook Messenger features it was previously testing in Vietnam. Users can now @mention friends in a group chat to send them a special notification to reply to your message so they don’t miss it in a noisy thread. You just type @, then the person’s name or in-thread nickname, and the name will be highlighted… Read More
Instagram is already doing a lot to spot and censor posts that violate its community guidelines, like outright porn, but now it’s also taking steps to block out potentially sensitive material that might not technically run afoul of its rules. The social network is adding a blurred screen with a “Sensitive Content” warning on top of posts that fit this description, which… Read More
Super Mario Run hit Android a day early. Originally expected today, March 23, per Nintendo’s earlier announcement, the game arrived on the Google Play Store yesterday instead, along with an update on iOS. The iOS exclusive ran for three months, and brought the app over 78 million downloads, the gaming company said during its earnings in January. Of those players, more than five… Read More
Samsung’s hybrid pocket watch concept raises a lot more questions than it answers. That’s due, in part, to the fact that the company isn’t offering all that much information about what appears to be an analogue pocket watch with smart functionality announced in a press release tied to the Baselworld jewelry and watch show happening next week in Switzerland.… Read More
We reported last month that China-based photo app firm Kuaishou is gearing up for an IPO in the U.S. later this year. Well the company, which also offers live-streaming video in its service, has stopped to refuel its tanks first after it raised $350 million in fresh funding led by Chinese internet giant Tencent. Tencent, Asia’s highest valued tech company, confirmed to TechCrunch that… Read More
Want to build a movie library without having to re-purchase all the DVDs and Blu-rays you already purchased? Walmart’s streaming video service Vudu has you covered, with a new feature available via its iPhone and Android mobile apps. Read More
Founded by serial entrepreneur Adam Dell, Clarity Money makes a personal finance app that aims to help users lower their monthly bills and improve their financial health along the way. Just three months after launch, the company is announcing another $11 million in funding from RRE Ventures and Citi Ventures. Read More
The way Ripcord CEO Alex Fielding discusses chief competitor Iron Mountain, the record keeping company sounds like it runs the warehouse from the last scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The startup comes out of stealth this week with the announcement of $9.5 million in funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers for its goal of taking corporate records paperless through its industrial… Read More
Recent college grads need a better way to search for jobs. Or at least, that’s the thesis of New York-based WayUp, which recently raised $18.5 million in Series B funding to execute on this vision. Trinity Ventures, which led the investment, is also gaining a board seat via partner Karan Mehandru. Existing investors, including General Catalyst, Lerer-Hippeau Ventures and SV Angel… Read More
As augmented reality continues its march into the workplace, new tools are emerging to integrate collaboration and visualization tools into virtual and augmented reality.
One application, which recently launched on both iOS and Android, is DOTTY, which provides three-dimensional visualization tools for augmented reality viewers.
Recently accepted into the Plug and Play [Internet of Things]… Read More
Singapore-based auto classifieds Carro has a double whammy of news today — it has moved into the vehicle financing space and raised $12 million more from investors. Carro was founded in late 2015 and it went on to close $5.3 million in seed financing last summer. CEO Aaron Tan, a former investor with Singtel himself, said the lead investor’s identity is not being disclosed for… Read More
Information security — or what is commonly referred to as ‘cyber’ — has dominated the narrative in this week’s hearings on Capitol Hill about the Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Read More
Lystable, a startup that makes a workflow management platform aimed at businesses needing to manage lots of freelancers, has topped up its Series A again — this time with an additional $10 million, which founder and CEO Peter Johnston says will be use to fund a change of business model with a payments focus. Read More
