At this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt NY 2016, TechCrunch introduced a new networking tool called CrunchMatch that helped 19 investors and 65 startups make a total of 88 connection meetings at Disrupt. At Disrupt SF 2016, TechCrunch is looking to take those connections to a whole new level. And to do that, we need all you investors and startup founders out there to get involved. Read More
It’s been a busy week for the Google Maps team. As we reported earlier today, the Google Maps apps are getting a Wi-Fi-only mode and the team is also bringing more crowdsourcing tools to the mobile apps. The company kept the biggest announcement for today, though: Google Maps on iOS, Android and the web is getting a new and cleaner look with a more subtle color scheme. The idea… Read More
As has been the case with so many industries, the pendulum of VR will eventually swing back from dedicated apps toward web-based systems — and when that happens, Google will be ready. It published details of a new method for delivering serious surround sound over the web — a system it calls Omnitone. Read More
First-time VR experiences seem to bring about a pretty wide variety of emotional reactions from the people who try it, but right now there aren’t too many ways to actually convey how you’re feeling inside virtual reality. Veeso is aiming to become one of the first VR headsets to capture how you’re feeling through their sensor technology. The company just launched a… Read More
A new startup called Scale, officially launching today, wants to make it easier for businesses to outsource their core processes and tasks that require people, not algorithms, to handle. This could include anything from appointment scheduling to more complicated matters like content moderation, transcriptions, and more. Today, many companies handle outsourcing themselves by hiring and… Read More
Zenefits has been under fire for skirting regulation, resulting in the ouster of its previous CEO Parker Conrad and a heavy-duty overhaul underway of the company. The results of that effort are now seemingly starting to emerge, starting first with a resolution in Tennessee which will cost the company $62,500 and allow it to continue operating. The company continues to have conversations with… Read More
Cybersecurity experts are constantly trying to keep pace with changes in the volatile landscape of IT security. Despite sophisticated tools and solutions, every IT security officer knows that data breaches eventually happen — and they usually go undetected for a long time. What if we could stay ahead of threat actors and predict their next attack before they take their first… Read More
Launched just 18 months after Kickstarter itself, the original Glif was an early beacon of what was to come for the crowdfunding platform, with an innovative tripod mount for smartphones unlike any other. Studio Neat has taken its sweet time to launch the sequel, but it was worth the wait; it’s a marvelously clever piece of engineering. I spent some time with the prototype to take a… Read More
We’ve found a location for our mini-meetup tomorrow! We’ll be meeting at 7pm in the MakeOffices space in the Loop. There will be some free beers and maybe we can get some pizzas in or something. We’ll hold a pitchoff at 8pm and close up at 9pm and perhaps we can go carousing afterwards. I’ll be picking the pitch-off companies tomorrow morning at 8am so be prepared. I… Read More
Hubris is both the fuel for great disruption, and meteoric failure. Wonder is betting big. The stealth startup funded by Joe Lonsdale’s 8VC, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, and actor Kevin Spacey wants to challenge Apple for the high-end phone market. According to sources close to the team, Wonder plans to create a smartphone for gamers. Apparently the goal is to build an object so… Read More
It is a very competitive landscape for on-demand rides. While Uber dominates the market in the U.S., Didi Chuxing is the leader in China. And in Europe, there is another player that is making headway. Gett, formerly known as GetTaxi, is the “number one on-demand mobility company operating in Europe,” according to CEO Shahar Waiser. TechCrunch sat down with him for a video interview… Read More
Nintendo’s shares plunged after the company said late Friday that the worldwide success of Pokémon Go will not significantly impact its financial results. Nothing Nintendo disclosed about the ownership of the game was new information, but markets were shocked anyway. The stock sank 18 percent to 23,220 yen at the close in Tokyo, the maximum one-day move allowed by the exchange,… Read More
It’s Groundhog Day in the world of European restaurant delivery. Despite Delivery Hero-owned Valk Fleet’s spectacular failure, another startup is trying its hand at letting quick service restaurants or take-outs outsource delivery. Stuart, the heavily-funded “last-mile” delivery startup backed by Le Groupe La Poste, is partnering with take-out marketplace Just Eat in… Read More
The Democratic National Convention kicks off this week in Philadelphia, in the wake of the GOP convention and a massive leak of Democratic National Committee emails that’s been widely attributed to Russian hackers. It should be an interesting event, and not just because of all the DNC drama in the news this week — there’s a lineup of heavy-hitting speakers and panels as well.… Read More
In 2000, Yahoo was worth $125 billion. In 2008, it rejected a $44 billion buyout from Microsoft. And today it sold to Verizon for $4.83 billion. The lesson here is, if you won the last computing platform and are on the cusp of the next one you’re not built for, you might want to sell the company.
Mobile fell on an unsuspecting Yahoo like a piano on a cartoon villain. It was a web portal. Read More
One of the saddest scenes in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy is watching the slow-moving Ents – the massive tree shepherds that took days to decide whether or not to react Sauron’s onslaught – are cut down by the wily Orcs. Only a few fall in the battle but when they do the giants of the forests that at first seemed so powerful are exposed to be easily vanquished. They won… Read More
After a half-dozen years heading the company, Hans Vestberg is out as Ericsson’s CEO. The Swedish telecommunications giant announced today that the exec is stepping down from his post effective immediately. Jan Frykhammar, who has been working for the company since 1991 will be stepping in as interim CEO as Ericsson searches for a full-time replacement. Vestberg joined the company the… Read More
Audi is joining others like Daimler in focusing future investment on emerging tech categories like electric vehicles and self-origin cars, according to CEO Rupert Stadler. Speaking to German newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung (via Reuters) this past weekend, Stadler said that in addition to targeting up to 30 percent electric vehicle sales for Audi overall by 2025, the company is going to create… Read More
It can’t be disputed: Windows 10 has been a wild success for Microsoft, after being installed on more than 350 million devices. To mark this, August 2nd is the release of the Anniversary Update which brings a slew of tweaks, fixes and new features. Read More
A new bot scam on Tinder is tapping into users’ desire to become “verified” on the popular dating service – a process that would allow them to confirm their identity, and legitimize their account for the purposes of trust and safety. According a recent report from security researchers at Symantec, scammers are now using verification as a lure to sign up people to… Read More
