At a press conference in San Francisco today, Ford Motor Co. president and CEO Mark Fields announced that the company had both acquired a rideshare startup called Chariot and made a significant investment in expanding the region’s bike-share program. Ford’s sponsorship will see the Bay Area’s supply of shareable bikes expand from 700 to 7,000 by 2018, with 1,350 bikes going… Read More
The Honest Company, the consumer products startup that has largely operated in the limelight thanks to its famous cofounder, actress Jessica Alba, is talking with larger, more traditional consumer packaged goods outfits that are interested in purchasing the company. Recode wrote yesterday that the company was engaged in acquisition discussions that may or may not result in a… Read More
Facebook has backtracked on its decision to censor a Norwegian journalist and newspaper’s posts, reinstating the nude photo of a child fleeing napalm during the Vietnam war. Facebook had originally told The Guardian that “We try to find the right balance between enabling people to express themselves while maintaining a safe and respectful experience for our global community.”… Read More
Seattle-based Rover is in the process of closing a $40 million round of funding, according to sources with knowledge of the deal. The Series E round would value Rover at nearly $300 million, and it comes from existing investors Menlo Ventures, Madrona Venture Group and Foundry Group. The company had previously raised more than $50 million. When we reached out to Rover for comment, a… Read More
Here’s a cool feature from Square Cash – the company launched a virtual card product yesterday, which gives every user a virtual Visa debit card number that they can use to spend their balance anywhere that accepts Visa. This means that you could spend your Square Cash balance on Amazon (or any online shopping site) by simply entering this virtual card number as a payment option.… Read More
Editor’s note: This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. This is a condensed version of several Wirecutter guides; you can find links to the full guides in the discussions below. We go to conferences to meet people, learn things, and maybe set up some deals. But often we end up meeting sore muscles in our shoulders that we… Read More
Ford Smart Mobility, the company founded by Ford Motor Company to help provide alternate means of transportation, just made its first acquisition: Chariot, the San Francisco-based commuter ride-sharing startup. For Ford, the move will make Chariot the cornerstone of its shuttle and mobility programs in cities going forward. Ford sees the startup as the path forward for its fledgling… Read More
Facebook Moments, the company’s private photo-sharing application which took the place of mobile photo sync late last year, is now expanding beyond the confines of your mobile phone and your personal network. While previously, the app allowed you to share your photos with select Facebook friends, the new version allows you to share a web link to your private album with anyone –… Read More
Online tools like Office 365 have changed the way we work and collaborate with our colleagues, but often projects involve people outside of your organization, whether partners, consultants or vendors. Microsoft acknowledged that reality today when it announced the ability to invite guests to view or edit Office 365 content. It’s not going to all happen at once, but over time Office 365… Read More
Disrupt SF is right around the corner. The event starts on September 12 and we’re delighted to reveal the agenda. The lineup is stacked and we are excited to return to Pier 48 in San Francisco to host the best Disrupt yet.
The conference kicks off on September 12 and is a packed three days that feature inspiring entrepreneurs, savvy investors and TechCrunch’s… Read More
Instead of cheering a reduction of needless government involvement, some — including a few members of Congress — are arguing that the U.S. needs to insert itself in a clerical role for certain coordination functions for the internet. The companies, organizations and individuals that actually use the functions have agreed that the U.S. government involvement isn’t needed. Read More
The Google Photos iOS app can now do more with your Live Photos, thanks to the addition of rendering and advanced stabilization technology it previously rolled out in a photo editing app called “Motion Stills” this June. The Motion Stills app improves your Live Photos by helping you to do things like crop out the blurry frames (like when you’re lifting the phone), freeze… Read More
Tumblr announced on Thursday it intends to roll out affiliate codes across its site – meaning all users’ blogs – as a means of generating additional revenue. The Yahoo-owned blogging platform teamed up with VigLink to make this transition, which will affect all users who have not specifically opted out of affiliate links via a new option in Tumblr’s Settings.… Read More
Beeswax, a startup founded by a trio of former Google ad executives, has raised $11 million in Series A funding. The company offers what it calls a bidder-as-a-service — a set of customizable technologies that allows customers to participate in real-time bidding for ad inventory. Beeswax’s offerings include access to inventory, bidding algorithms and analytics, but CEO Ari… Read More
On September 1, one of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets exploded during pre-launch prep, and now Elon Musk has taken to Twitter to seek clues about the cause from any third-party footage of the incident that may exist. Plus, he’s not ruling out some kind of third-party interference. In a series of tweets early Friday, Musk noted that SpaceX is “still working” on the… Read More
The Raspberry Pi Foundation has finally put out an official starter kit for its low cost microcomputer — offering what it dubs an “unashamedly premium” bundle for the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, complete with optical mouse and keyboard in a very Apple-looking shade of white, plus all the cables you need to get up and running. The only thing missing is a screen. Read More
Africa’s artists have a new online stage to showcase their talent. Nigeria based digital entertainment startup Iroko has launched IrokoX, a multi-platform Pan-African network for filmmakers, musicians, and other creative aspirants to produce, distribute, and monetize short-form content. The new medium will provide select artists production assistance, studio resources, and the opportunity… Read More
There are just about 1,000 Fisker Karma luxury cars on the road today. The vehicle was a hit amongst design-obsessed luxury car owners when it was introduced in 2012, but the average person’s main interactions with the brand (okay, possibly just my own) may have been related to Justin Bieber’s misadventures jetting about in his custom chrome version back in 2013.
Much like Mr. Read More
When Apple announced the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 2 earlier this week the company said pre-orders would start Friday September 9th, which in recent years has meant as early as 12:01am Pacific Time or 3:01am Eastern Time on the 9th.
This year is no different, as the company just flipped the switch on its retail website as well as in the Apple Store app, so customers can now start… Read More
It’s no secret that Hillary Clinton is well ahead of her presidential opponent Donald Trump when it comes to fundraising from Silicon Valley — but the second-largest donation of the election season just pushed her financial lead even further. The $20 million infusion comes from Asana and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna. Several funds, PACs, and… Read More
