Kepler Communications has raised $5 million in seed funding to create a network of small, easily replaced satellites to create a real-time network through with internet of things (IoT) devices can communicate, essentially building a cellular network in space through which machinery and equipment can talk to one another and to its handlers. “You can think of it as a cell phone tower… Read More
Facebook is making the HTML of its web ads indistinguishable from organic content so it can slip by adblockers. But in exchange for taking away this option for controlling ads from people, it’s allowing them to opt-out of ad targeting categories and Custom Audience customer lists uploaded by advertisers. Today all desktop users will see an announcement atop the News Feed explaining… Read More
Our world looks very different from when Steve Jobs held aloft the first iPhone in 2007. Marketers didn’t use technology beyond their website analytics, email marketing and display ads. It’s clear that the era of data-driven marketing is just getting started — and privacy is rapidly becoming the defining issue of the digital era. Read More
A total of 1,035 images to be exact – taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has been doing its thing for a decade now. Every month, the JPL-managed spacecraft dutifully sends back images of the red planet, alongside a handful of fellow Mars-orbiting space crafts.
As Popular Science points out, every 26 months or so, the MRO transmits a massive payload of shots… Read More
Twilio’s co-founder and CEO Jeff Lawson will join us at Disrupt SF in September. We last talked to Lawson at Disrupt London last year, but since then, his company, which helps developers build audio, video and text messaging into their apps, has successfully gone public. Read More
There is little in the world of video content as purely enjoyable to me as the work Marvel is doing with Netflix in their original shows. That’s why the above trailer for Luke Cage is so incredibly exciting. Marvel already had me hooked on this show when it showed us a teaser at San Diego Comic Con this year (also embedded below), but the trailer above adds some more meat to the… Read More
The use of Hadoop-based open source big-data technology continues to grow among enterprises, and today MapR Technologies, one of the bigger startups in the space, has announced another $50 million in funding to secure its place as a leading vendor and gear up for an IPO. The investment is being led by Future Fund — Australia’s sovereign wealth fund — and also includes… Read More
Virtual reality broadcasting startup NextVR has closed an $80 million Series B round of funding, WSJ reports. With this latest splash of cash, NextVR is looking to expand beyond US markets and tackle Asian markets where demand for virtual reality content is growing. Last month, regulatory filings in China revealed that NextVR had raised $20M from CITIC Group at a reported $800 million… Read More
Twitter’s curated tweet slideshow Moments has failed to move the user growth needle. But the sagging public company hopes to make itself accessible and indispensable by allowing more than just its in-house curators and partnered news publishers make Moments. Today Twitter announced that “a broader group of creators will be making Moments, including influencers, partners, brands…… Read More
Well, sure. If you’re Fender and you’re looking to join the mobile app race, of course you’re going to start with a tuner. The straightforwardly named Fender Tune marks the latest in the iconic guitar-maker’s recent attempts to diversify its offerings – most notably with the launch of a line of in-ear monitors a few months back. It’s hardly an untapped… Read More
For the past two years, Shyp has been ramping up its efforts to appeal to businesses as a go-to, more simplified shipping service. That started off with a big partnership with eBay to help sellers ship their products. And that’s continuing today with a new model for business shipments that caters directly toward sellers looking to move a large number of products. Starting today, Shyp… Read More
BloomReach has always been about helping online retailers maximize their revenue algorithmically by adjusting content in an automated fashion based on what it knows about the visitor and his or her preferences. In the latest release announced today, the company builds on this by offering data and analytics to help human merchandizers make better daily decisions about how to optimize their… Read More
It’s 2016 and the physical world is slowly being uploaded to the cloud. Matterport, a company creating tools to allow 3D spaces to be scanned into virtual reality, is grabbing some more cash and some more strategic partners as it seeks to continue expanding its laser mapping technology. Matterport has raised $56 million to date, including a $30 million Series C in June of last year led… Read More
Here’s a sentence you might not have expected to read: a service built around crowdfunding is building in a one-to-one payments option in what might be one of the most increasingly crowded spaces in the U.S. That’s what Tilt, an app geared toward crowdfunding events like parties or travel plans, is hoping will make its service even more sticky and a one-stop destination for… Read More
A startup called Farmers Business Network has raised $20 million in new venture funding to support the growth of its professional social network and data-sharing platform for agronomists. FBN co-founder and Vice President of Product Charles Baron said the company’s platform helps farmers do what they’ve always done offline at community meetings, old-fashioned barn raisings or in… Read More
Qualcomm’s busy year in China continues with news that it has agreed to patent licensing deals with two of the world’s fastest-growing smartphone companies: Oppo and Vivo. Read More
UK robotics startup and TechCrunch Disrupt London 2015 battlefield alum Emotech has closed more than $10 million in Series A funding to continue working on its prototype robot assistant. It’s building a personality adapting AI-powered robot called Olly. Read More
If you’ve seen the Condé Nast’s website recently, you’ve seen the Socius platform in action. The startup just raised $400k from 500 Startups’ Nordic Fund and Raa Invest to pour fuel on its social storytelling and curation tool, helping brands leverage the crowd to tell stories from all angles. By using its technology, the idea is that brands will be able to maximize… Read More
Yet one more significant piece of M&A in the online recruitment industry. Today Randstad Holdings, an Amsterdam-based human resources and recruitment specialist, announced that it would acquire job hunting portal Monster Worldwide, for $429 million in cash. The deal works out to $3.40 per share in cash and is a premium on Monster’s share price at closing on Monday of $262 million.… Read More
