As Airbnb, the $30 billion private accommodation renting portal, continues to mature and very slowly inch its way to an IPO, it is adding more ways to bring in more properties and hosts to its platform. TechCrunch has learned that Airbnb is working on a new service under the name “Experienced Hosts,” where it connects would-be hosts (those who have homes or space in their… Read More
Imagine walking into a store, picking up a pair of shoes, and seeing specs for the kicks appear on a TV next to the display. Or imagine standing in front of an airport departures screen and seeing your flight appear and then a map displaying the best route to your gate. These use cases were supposed to be the killer app for beacons and, finally, these dreams are being realized. The Mirror… Read More
Sapphire Ventures, a Palo Alto, Ca.-based venture firm funded solely by the German software giant SAP, has secured a whopping $1 billion to invest across two new funds: a $700 million growth fund, and a $300 million early-stage tech fund.
The capital places the group into a ever-growing circle of venture groups that have raised north of a billion dollars in 2016, including Founders Fund… Read More
It can take a lot to build a positive habit — whether that’s stretching every morning, drinking enough water or remembering to go on a run. Kayla Matheus and Laura Day hope to make that a little easier with a small robot that sits on your table or desk called MOTI, which is currently running a Kickstarter campaign. But how would that help? Basically, the duo want to try to… Read More
Fabrice Mishiki wanted to create a social media tool to help connect influencers, fans, and friends together in a way that hadn’t been done before. He created Tuurnt. The app starts with your traditional social sharing system. You take videos or photos and post them. Your friends can reply with their own videos and, if you get enough responses, the video stays up and popular for longer.… Read More
Smartphone accessory brand Anker is mostly known for its battery packs, chargers and other popular gizmos for gadget fans. In addition to its tech-on-the-go brand, it today announces the launch of Eufy, a new brand for a line of products aimed to make your home life a bit more high-tech.
One of the company’s inaugural products is RoboVac 20, a curiously named intelligent light switch. Read More
Looks like that was fast. According to a report published this afternoon by CNBC, former Google GV CEO Bill Maris is talking with investors about raising his own fund, with “preliminary plans” to raise between $350 million and $500 million. We haven’t been able to confirm the report just yet; we hope to update this post shortly. Maris founded GV, formerly known as… Read More
Things are starting to get a bit crowded in the world of automated home brewing, with startups like PicoBrew, Brewie and BrewBot all more or less vying for the same small sliver of space. And while these machines have raked in their share of dough through crowdfunding efforts, it seems pretty likely that actual retail interest will be enough to maintain all comers. Alchema, on the other hand,… Read More
I’m a big fan of massages, so I stopped dead in my tracks when I came across a company in the TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2016 Startup Alley earlier today. Taiwan-based U-Gym is a deep layer muscle massager that you can wear while exercising. U-Gym uses medium-frequency electrotherapy to stimulate your muscles, nerves and meridians. The company says it can help with muscle stiffness and… Read More
Andela, a company working to bring the top 1% of African tech talent to engineering teams in need of capable, skilled developers, will eventually invest in the startups from those who complete its four-year program.
According to Andela co-founder and COO Christina Sass, speaking on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt SF, the company has a broader agenda beyond simply connecting businesses with… Read More
New York City’s transit authority is understandably jumpy about the Galaxy Note 7. A week or so after the FAA issued a strongly worded warning asking travelers not to check or fly with Samsung’s new phablet, the MTA is following suit. The organization hasn’t officially banned the device, but it has issued the following warning over social media this week: MTA customers… Read More
The days of startups being able to hit the ignition and, Uber-like, accelerate away from the law are done. The regulation disruption party is over. That was the loud-and-clear message coming out of a panel discussion grappling with the intersection of red tape and entrepreneurship here at TechCrunch Disrupt SF. Read More
$29 will get you a Stilla if you act fast. The startup’s simple security system hit Indiegogo about a week ago, and it’s already managed to pull in around $44k, courtesy of more than 600 backers.
The little pebble-shaped device’s strongest selling point is its simplicity. It’s got an accelerometer, a small speaker (or will in its final version, at least), a Bluetooth… Read More
Connected car startup Vinli has accumulated a lot of traction since it started shipping 10 months ago, following a launch at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2014. The company began by offering a hardware dongle for vehicle diagnostic OBD-II ports, but has since expanded to focus on its software platform, which makes it possible or app makers to target their products to connected vehicles. Now,… Read More
For a brief moment, the sleaze and smut of old school sleaze and smut returned to the streets of Manhattan, albeit in a decidedly 21st century form. Since launching earlier this year to much fanfare by New York mayo Bill de Blasio, the hundreds of Internet kiosks designed to replace the city’s pay phones have been a source of much handwringing among city officials, particularly along… Read More
Following the controversial firing of the editorial team who managed the Trending Topics that appear next to Facebook’s News Feed, the company is now actively working on technology that will help prevent fake news stories from showing up in the Trending section. Similar systems have been rolled out to News Feed in recent months, and now that same technology is making its way to… Read More
Instacart is one of the most well-known companies in what can be an extremely difficult on-demand delivery economy. It’s known for being one of the pioneers of a new age of online grocery delivery, especially in light of the previous failure of companies like Webvan, but it’s going to have a long uphill battle to profitability and sustainability. Instacart CEO Apoorva Mehta,… Read More
GitHub is hosting its Universe developer conference in San Francisco today. Unsurprisingly, the company used this event to announce a number of new features for its Git-based code hosting service. The company calls it its “biggest update to the platform yet,” though how important these changes really are probably depends on how you use GitHub. If you’re working on a team,… Read More
General Motors snapped up Silicon Valley-based Cruise Automation for more than $1 billion earlier this year with plans to plant its self-driving tech inside its own car brands. It was a fine move for GM, which has been aligning itself with several automotive ventures over the past year — including a partnership with Lyft, acquiring assets from the now defunct rideshare competitor Sidecar… Read More
Twitch’s co-founder wants the site to reach beyond gaming as it seeks to capture the market on all live-streamed online media. Onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt SF, Twitch co-founder Emmett Shear discussed the future of non-gaming content on the world’s most populous online e-sports arena. When Amazon bought Twitch for $1 billion back in June of 2014, no one really understood… Read More
