After the conclusion of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, I got a chance to talk to John Boyega, of Star Wars and Attack the Block fame — and erstwhile competition judge. We chatted about his relationship with technology, what he’d like to see people create, and yes, Pokémon GO. Read More
The media industry is changing rapidly, and publications are forced to adapt accordingly. That’s where Spectrm, a new Berlin-based startup, comes into play. Spectrm bets big on bots, delivering news content via messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, Slack, and Telegram on behalf of publishers.
Since launch in the summer of 2015, Spectrm has been able to give unique insights to… Read More
All right all you procrastinators out there, the time to act is now. Early-bird tickets to Disrupt SF 2016 are on sale now through Friday, August 12, and while you’ll still be able to buy tickets on Saturday, they’re going to set you back an additional $1,000. So what are you waiting for? Head to our ticketing page to snag your discounted tickets for just $1,995 apiece. Read More
Engineering problems can sometimes appear simple beside the amorphous challenges of regulating and managing cutting edge technology use within existing societal structures. But early stage startup Flock is viewing the knotted intersection of technology and regulation as just another business opportunity. Read More
Twitch has been expanding its video content beyond gaming for some time, thanks to classic shows featuring Bob Ross and Julia Child, as well as its own “Creative” channel where artists and musicians can showcase their work. Now, the Amazon-owned streaming video platform will soon offer a few more reasons for non-gamers to tune in: Amazon Video pilots. Read More
FireChat, the messaging service from Disrupt Battlefield finalist Open Garden that allows you to chat with people around you even when there is no regular Internet connection, is getting a major update today. This new version of FireChat introduces private group chats on top of its existing private one-on-one chats and public chatrooms. Read More
Lyft is giving riders a way to make a multi-stop trip, letting them use the Lyft app to add an extra destination for two stop trips. The logic is simple: With more users, especially city-dwellers, tapping ride-sharing and on-demand services in place of owning a vehicle, it’s more likely they’ll want some flexibility in how those trips are routed, since a multi-errand excursion is… Read More
Managing your finances can be tough, especially if no one has ever taken the time to sit down with you and explain how it all works. SmartPath, a Y-Combinator backed company, aims to help low-income people, and the 75% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, better manage their finances by enabling them to make sure they spend less than they make. “You haven’t taught people how… Read More
Late last week we reported that Bitfinex, a popular Hong Kong-based Bitcoin exchange was hacked, losing about $70M worth of customer’s bitcoin. The loss caused the price of Bitcoin to drop about 20%, and it still hasn’t fully recovered to pre-hack levels.
In the days following the hack little information was known about how it happened and how Bitfinex would reimburse affected… Read More
About a month ago, Incipio acquired Skullcandy, and now Roland is getting in on the action with a headphone company purchase of its very own. The Japanese instrument manufacturer revealed plans to pick up a majority (70-percent) stake in Hollywood-based audio company V-Moda.
It’s a deal that, unlike most acquisitions, has its own baked-in hashtag: #808Day. That is, of course, both a… Read More
The accelerating drive to get autonomous cars on the road is being accompanied by a parallel push to improve Lidar technology, aka the 3D laser-based sensors that can be used for real-time mapping and navigation for vision systems in driverless cars. Read More
Google today announced another acquisition that will help the company improve how it competes against Amazon’s AWS, Salesforce and Microsoft in the area of enterprise services, and specifically selling enterprise services in the cloud: it has acquired Orbitera, a startup that developed a platform for buying and selling cloud-based software. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed but… Read More
I’ll be in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, August 10, to hold a night of pitches and open mic shenanigans so bring your guitar and pitch deck. The event will be at O’Toole’s 4796 W Broad St, right off I-270. We’ll start at 7 p.m. sharp with pitches, so get there after work. And at 8 p.m. we’ll have an open stage with live music – I’m going to play with… Read More
In an interview with Fast Company, Apple executives looked back at the launch of the Maps app and its current state. The company has been hard at work on improving the mapping app, and it’s interesting to see the learnings from the launch fiasco. In particular, Apple Maps bugs led to today’s public beta program for major iOS releases. The year was 2012. Scott Forstall introduced… Read More
New rules from the FDA that go into effect today are set to make it a lot tougher for youngsters under 18 to get their hands on e-cigarettes and related paraphernalia. Among the regulations are rules that prohibit the sale of vapes in vending machines, the distribution of free customer samples from distributors and the sale of e-cigarettes to anyone under age. Shop owners are now required to… Read More
Wanxiang Group, which acquired the assets of plug-in hybrid pioneer Fisker and renamed it Karma Automotive, is planning a large-scale $375 million electric car factory with an output capacity of 50,000 vehicles per year, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Karma Automotive also revealed its distribution model for the Revero plug-in hybrid it plans to release later this year, with a big… Read More
NBCUniversal is expanding its relationship with social networking platform Snapchat, according to an announcement out this morning detailing a new content and advertising partnership between the two companies. The deal will see the media and entertainment brand developing mobile, short-form versions of several of its popular shows, including NBC’s “The Voice” and E! Read More
I feel the grouchy old man part of me (about 75-percent of me, at this point) starting to complaining about how in his day throwing the old football around was enough fun and we didn’t need to, well, gamify games. But who am I kidding? We played video games, too. And hey, if you can make throwing a ball even more fun, more power to you. Earlier this year, sporting goods giant Wilson… Read More
A startup called Verifly is making insurance on-demand, and per-flight, available to drone users today with a new mobile app and service that’s been in the works since late 2014.
The service launches just in time to support a burgeoning consumer, and commercial, market for unmanned aerial vehicle use in the U.S.
Over half a million drones that weigh more than half a pound have been… Read More
Consumer debt remains one of the biggest challenges with the American economy. The average household has $130,922 in debt, and debt interest payments represent 9 percent of the average household income. The silver lining is that with tough problems comes the opportunity for tech companies and investors to build solutions to address them. Here are some of the startups helping us get out of debt. Read More
