Like startups, most venture capital firms fail- at least in terms of returns. In our latest interview with Dave McClure, Founder @ 500 Startups, he argues that poor venture returns are the fault of ‘focused’ investment strategies. Instead, McClure argues that a high-volume, diversified investment strategy delivers consistently stronger cash on cash returns than a more… Read More
Google announced today that Hangouts On Air will move from Google+ to YouTube Live on September 12; users will be asked to migrate to YouTube Live. In an email to TechCrunch, Google confirmed that Hangouts on Air isn’t shutting down, but will move to YouTube Live. “We’re focusing our live streaming efforts on YouTube Live and consolidating our services there,”… Read More
We’re redefining how we interact with machines and how they interact with us. Advances in AI help make new human-to-machine and machine-to-human interaction possible. Traditional interfaces get simplified, abstracted, hidden — they become ambient, part of everything. The ultimate UI is no UI. Everyone’s getting in on it, but few have cracked the code. We must fundamentally… Read More
Motorcycle makers Alta Motors have opened the doors to their new factory in Brisbane, California, and TechCrunch was on the scene for a first look. A quick trip from downtown San Francisco, the factory is in a low and unassuming concrete structure. Inside, it’s surprisingly quiet, thanks in part to the fact that the motorcycles Alta makes are all-electrics, and final assembly of these… Read More
Snapchat could help you organize a night out with friends or get a digest of the day’s news thanks to its acquisition of mobile search startup Vurb. TechCrunch caught wind of the impending deal over the weekend and now The Information reports Snapchat is in the closing stages of talks to pay $110 million for Vurb (75 percent stock, 25 percent cash). Snapchat is also said to offer $75… Read More
DroneDeploy released a new study of the commercial and industrial drones market this week, revealing bad news for the makers of fixed-wing drones — quadcopters are far outpacing this type of unmanned aerial vehicle in every industry.
Fixed-wing drones, like the SenseFly eBee Ag, 3DR Aero-M and PrecisionHawk Lancaster, promise performance benefits, including endurance and ruggedness.
A… Read More
The New York Times reported yesterday that the Twitter app may be coming to Apple TV — and with it, Twitter’s live streaming content. If the two companies reach a deal by fall, Apple TV users could potentially watch Twitter’s live coverage of NFL games on their screens, since a deal between Twitter and the NFL to live stream the games has already been signed. In an email… Read More
LinkedIn is trying to lock down its exclusive relationship with its users.
The professional networking company filed suit against 100 unnamed individuals last week for using bots to harvest user profiles from its website. The lawsuit is a preliminary step to revealing the identities of the scrapers — LinkedIn intends to ask the court to reveal the true identities behind the… Read More
Picture this: you own a nice building in San Francisco and you want to rent to some good old-fashioned salt-of-the-earth folks for not much money. I realize this is a fantasy but play along. How do you confirm the tenants you bring in are not a bunch of deadbeats? Naborly has some ideas. The startup, founded by Dylan Lenz, Zeke Kan, and Anastasia Fox from the University of British Columbia,… Read More
Everywhere you go on the web, trackers are working to reconstruct your every move. But who tracks the trackers? That’s just what researchers at the University of Washington are doing, with purpose-built tools and liberal use of Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. Read More
Bumble’s been hinting for a while that they are getting ready to turn on monetization features in their girl-dominated dating app, and now they’ve finally done it. Starting today users will be able to pay for a package subscription model that will get them three new features for $9.99 per month, with discounts available if you prepay for 3 or 6 months. The three features are… Read More
Barely a week after Apple released its fifth developer beta builds of its iOS, tvOS, watchOS and MacOS Sierra platforms, the sixth beta releases have now arrived in short order. Given the quick turnaround time, there isn’t much that’s changed between the previous and current builds, besides some minor bug fixing, it appears. In addition, Apple also rolled out the iOS 10 public beta… Read More
If you’re still playing Pokemon Go, then you’ve likely invested enough time and energy to care about this DIY Pokemon Go helmet. Before we go any further, this video is obviously for fun and isn’t available for sale — worth mentioning since I’m sure more than a few people actually got excited about this. YouTuber (and self-proclaimed Queen of Shitty Robots)… Read More
Technology Crossover Ventures has become a major investing powerhouse over its 22-year-old history by funding relatively undiscovered but mature companies; buying sizable stakes in later-stage, venture backed companies; and acquiring positions in publicly traded tech companies that TCV sees as undervalued. The firm, which is headquartered in Palo Alto, has done so well that it just wrapped up… Read More
Digital healthcare investing has gone through several waves: 2013 was the year of consumer wearables, 2014 of healthcare big data, 2015 of virtual care delivery and 2016, so far, has been about payer disruption. 2017 will be a return to the core practice of medicine: technology that enables providers and biopharma to extend their reach and take greater risk for outcomes. Read More
Imagine never having to stop for a red light again – Audi’s upcoming traffic light information system won’t get you all the way there, but it will help you stop with the guesswork around when a light is going to change from red to green. The feature will provide a countdown of exactly when a traffic light will switch from stop to go, starting a few seconds before the… Read More
Getting teens – and in particular, young women – interested in coding is a challenge a number of companies and organizations today have been tackling in recent years. But a newer startup called Vidcode is taking a different approach. Instead of online courses aimed only at teaching coding basics, Vidcode is appealing to teens by having them learn to create things they’re… Read More
Minecraft is now ready for its virtual reality debut: The update for the Minecraft Windows 10 Beta that adds VR support is available today. It’s a free update for people who already own the Windows 10 Edition Beta version of the game, but you can also get on board if you purchase the beta edition now. There’s support for windows and mice, if you’re good enough at operating… Read More
Metapacket, one of YC’s current batch of startups, is hoping to get its SaaS on corporates’ list of essential threat detection software with a technique to stop malware attacks by analyzing outbound network traffic to determine whether it’s human or not. Read More
As we approach the coming mechanical watch apocalypse strange things will begin happening. Dogs and cats shall live together. Beloved watch brands shall buy each other for no good reason. And storied and historical watchmakers will bow to the will of Cupertino. Behold, then the first horseman: it’s called the Sinn Dual Strap System and it consists of two strap halves. On one half you… Read More
