Today Politwoops, the service that tracks politicians’ deleted tweets in an effort to hold elected officials accountable for the statements they’ve made on social media, announced it’s now up-and-running in 54 countries worldwide and has added the ability to show realtime statistics. That is, you’re able to see how fast a tweet has been deleted by a politician or… Read More
Tonight is the night! The Miami Meetup + Pitch-off kicks off at 6pm and this is your last chance to get in on the fun! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then please let me explain: The Meetup + Pitch-off is a regional event we hold to get to know the local community. As part of the program, we’ll be joined on stage by ten startups. Each of these startups will have… Read More
If you read stuff on the internet (and obviously you do because hi, you’re reading a blog) then you know the golden rule: never read the comments. Scrolling past the end of a story is an adventure into a realm of racism, conspiracy theories and ad hominem attacks that will quickly make you lose your faith in humanity. But instead of encountering Godwin’s Law in the comments, you… Read More
Born out of technology designed to help price a musician or band’s live performance, based on their social media presence, SocialWall aims to be a smarter way for brands to display social media mentions at events or in venues. Like so many social media management products, the promise is less noise and more signal. Read More
There is generally a lack of data in the criminal justice system. At the national level, for example, there is very little data about police behavior and criminal sentencing. That’s why Google.org is re-upping its commitment to racial justice through its $11.5 million in new grant money to ten racial justice organizations. This comes after Google.org awarded $3 million… Read More
Samsung is about to release a version of the S8 with an even bigger screen than the Note 7. According to this leaked spec page, the S8+ will have a 6.2-inch curved screen. That’s about the size of a phone book. The phone is apparently called the S8+ and is said to be a variant of the S8 — sort of like what Apple offers with the iPhone and iPhone Plus. Samsung, always the creative… Read More
Lyft said it was going to grow fast in 2017, and on Thursday it doubled down on that promise with a launch across 54 cities in the U.S. The launch is the largest simultaneous expansion for the ride-hailing company, second to its earlier kick-off in 40 U.S. cities announced in January, which is also when it first made clear that this would be the year it sought to grow to 100 new… Read More
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which launched on Sunday and is filled with 5,500 pounds of supplies and experiment materials for the crew of the International Space Station has successfully docked. The Dragon craft had missed its first attempt at meeting up with the station, due to a GPS error. It’s the first time since 2012 that SpaceX has had to abort an attempt to dock one of… Read More
As pollution, extreme weather, and over-population threaten the viability of large, outdoor farms, a startup called Bowery Farming Inc. has raised $7.5 million in total venture funding to grow food indoors, even in the middle of a city. The startup’s high-tech approach uses robotics, LED lighting, computer vision, sensors and data analytics to grow leafy greens with no pesticides and… Read More
Media metadata company Gracenote is looking to be the one-stop data provider for TV providers, device manufacturers and various media distribution services. To do so, the company has unified its vast stores of music, TV and sports data into a single database with a common schema and set of APIs to access it. Read More
White AirPods are fine. I guess. If you like boring. But for the rest of us, ColorWare is now offering its aftermarket painting service for Apple’s wireless earbuds and there’s a multitude of color options. The company will even paint the case for an extra few dollars. ColorWare has been around since the early 2000s. These folks know what they’re doing, offering a variety… Read More
Wix.com has made another acquisition to build out the tools that it provides to users to build and administer websites: it has acquired DeviantArt, an online community for artists, designers and art/design enthusiasts with some 325 million individual pieces of original art and more than 40 million registered members, for $36 million in cash, including $3 million of assumed liabilities.… Read More
Lower airspace isn’t crowded with drones quite yet. But as drones become more pervasive, a startup called AirMap is building software and systems to help drone operators fly only where it’s safe and legal to do so. The task will prove completely different from that of managing airliners as we do today, says AirMap CEO and cofounder Ben Marcus who is also serving as the co-chair for… Read More
The near-future of VR is definitely mobile, and for the time-being nobody has more control of the guts of mobile devices than Qualcomm does. It’s definitely in the company’s best interest then to foster VR development amongst ODMs (original design manufacturers) around the globe. The future isn’t just slot-in mobile phone based, in places like China, all-in-one mobile… Read More
K2 Global is announcing a $183 million venture capital fund targeted at early stage startups with global aspirations. The fund is closing significantly larger than the $58 million the firm initially raised. With a decentralized team and no Sand Hill Road office, K2 Global aims to bring Valley hustle to international technology investing. In contrast to well known VC firms like Sequoia and… Read More
Messaging app Viber is today announcing a new feature that taps into the bigger trend of messaging apps becoming multi-functional platforms, and also its ownership by e-commerce company Rakuten. Viber will start to present users with items for sale, inspired by your current chat, when you press a small shopping bag icon at the bottom of the screen and search for items. The feature is due… Read More
Printerous, an Indonesia startup that is bringing the country’s printing industry into the digital era, has raised $1.4 million. The round was led by Golden Gate Ventures with participation from U.S. firm Sovereign’s Capital and Indonesian conglomerate Gunung Sewu Kencana.
The two-year-old company is using the internet to make traditional printing more efficient and convenient. Read More
On January 25, the Trump administration injected a whole new level of uncertainty into the already-fragile EU-US data flow agreement, known as the Privacy Shield. With the stroke of a pen, President Trump signed an executive order entitled “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States,” which directed agencies to “exclude persons who are not United States… Read More
Monzo, one of a number of so-called “challenger” banks in the U.K. aiming to re-invent the current account, has disclosed a new funding round — confirming our scoop from earlier this week. Read More
Indonesia-based early-stage investment firm Kejora has announced the first close of a second fund which is targeted at $80 million for investments in Southeast Asia. Kejora, which is known for its Ideabox accelerator program in Jakarta, has secured one-third of its target, with investment from LPs that include Indonesia’s Barito Pacific Group, Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Family… Read More
