Live streaming video platform Twitch (a subsidiary of Amazon) is doubling down on video games with the acquisition of a significant player in the world of video game communities: Curse. The terms of the deal are undisclosed and Twitch declined to comment beyond the official announcement. Curse operates myriad websites and services — some of them were created in-house over the past… Read More
While the US waits to get Super Cruise in Cadillacs next year, Toyota has already rolled out a pretty robust V2V, or vehicle-to-vehicle, system in three models available in Japan. The latest version of the Prius, the Lexus RX, and the Toyota Crown, a luxury sedan sold in Japan, all have the ITS Connect system available as an option. The cars communicate using a channel abandoned by analog… Read More
Big purchases are scary to make online without anyone there to quell your fears and answer questions. Operator’s app wants to give you the same peace of mind, not with mechanical chat bot responses, but through real humans with knowledge about whatever you’re buying. Today Operator 2.0 launches with a new Discovery tab where curators assemble recommendations about their… Read More
With more and more unguarded IoT devices becoming connected to the internet every day, malicious bot lords are having an easier time conscripting new recruits into their undyingly loyal armies of zombie machines — and their next target can be your smart fridge, light bulb, kettle or door lock. Here’s what you need to know about IoT botnets and what can be done to fight this… Read More
We’ve all had crappy customer service calls. Primed by staticky elevator music and the ever-mysterious agitating echo, most of us come into calls with strained patience. On the line, customer service and sales agents are paid to build relationships, but after a long day of working with callers (who typically only call if they’re having a problem), even the bubbliest of people can… Read More
Silicon Valley’s gig economy isn’t known for being very supportive of its core workers — the ones working on the ground, making deliveries and picking up and dropping off passengers. The “best” cases in point are Uber and Lyft, two on-demand ride companies that have been resistant to allow drivers to access their fair share of wealth. Josephine, the startup… Read More
Congratulations are in order for China: by launching the world’s first quantum communications satellite, the country has achieved an interesting — if somewhat difficult to explain — milestone in space and cryptography. Read More
Eventually, we’ll never leave our VR-enabled domiciles. But until that happens, we occasionally need to go outside – and Nvidia’s GeForce GT 10-series notebooks mean that when you do, you can at least take VR with you. The new 10-series GPUs for notebooks follow the 10-series desktop line launched earlier this year, which includes the GTX 1080, the first card by the company… Read More
Today marks the grand opening of Apple’s new retail store at One World Trade Center, located in the Oculus at the brand-spanking-new Westfield Mall. The space has two floors, a 6K video screen that spans half the length of the space itself, and a living wall. Oh, and there’s no genius bar. We took a tour of the space today during the grand opening, and brought home some pics to… Read More
Planning a wedding is right up there with moving and job hunting as one of the most stressful things you’ll do in life. I would know. I’m getting married in 10 days. So when Y Combinator startup Joy approached me about their intelligent wedding planner startup I was already in the eye of the storm using the most popular wedding site in the U.S. TheKnot.com. Both sites – and… Read More
Interested in a lactose-free, animal-free, nut-free nutritional bar made with soy protein, algal flour, and some sort of sugar made from beets? If that sounds delicious to you (???), then you’ll be glad to hear that the Soylent bar is now shipping. The latest in the growing lineup of meal replacement products from the Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup aiming to change the way people… Read More
Ford outlined a few of the ways it’s aiming to ship driverless cars by 2021, and part of the plan involves acquisitions. CEO Mark Fields revealed at a press event in Palo Alto today that the automaker acquired SAIPS, an Israeli company focusing on machine learning and computer vision. It’s also partnering exclusively with Nirenberg Neuroscience, to bring more “humanlike… Read More
Ford says it’s going to deliver self-driving cars by 2021 – and these will ship in volume, and will also lack steering wheels, brake or gas pedals, offering full Level 4 self-driving features which don’t require a human driver at all, the company announced at a press conference in Palo Alto today. The car maker says that it has held off making any announcements about when… Read More
Looking to participate in the hackathon at Disrupt SF 2016, but missed out on the first round of tickets? You’re in luck!
Today, we’re opening up the second round of hackathon tickets, so everyone who wants to spend a grueling, fun-filled weekend building something great should head on over to ticketing page and grab your free hackathon tickets before they’re gone. Read More
Intel’s new Joule maker board is designed to provide a platform for makers to create powerful computer vision products, and “seamlessly transition from prototype to at-scale robotics, machine vision,” drone and other products, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich explained on stage today at Intel’s annual developer conference. Case-in-point, PivotHead’s use of the the… Read More
Windows 10 users will be able to dive into mixed reality starting next year, with an update planned that can let any “mainstream” Windows 10 PC run the Windows Holographic shell the company first revealed in January 2015. The update will allow users to multi-task in mixed reality environments, which combine traditional 2D Windows 10 apps with immersive, 3D graphical environments.… Read More
A startup called Simbi has raised $1.2 million in seed funding to popularize its marketplace where people can barter skills and services online. Greylock Discovery fund, Crunchfund and Ranch Ventures invested in the round along with Y Combinator. The company is part of Y Combinator’s current batch. Founder and CEO Kjerstin “KJ” Erickson said her five-person team intends to… Read More
No big surprise here: Tsu, a social network that worked around the App Store’s rules on pay-per-installs, incentivized its users to create content, rewarded people for signing up friends, and got banned from Facebook for spamming, has now shut down. Yes, “pay you to post” and “pay you to friend” turns out to be an unsustainable business model, after all.… Read More
All right, startup fans in the U.K. and across Europe. We’re thrilled to announce that TechCrunch Disrupt is once again headed across the pond for Disrupt London 2016, and you are cordially invited to join us. The festivities kick off December 3-4 with the hackathon, followed by Disrupt on December 5-6. We had so much fun last year that we’re excited to be returning to the… Read More
