Only a few days after announcing that it was selling 29 of its data centers to Equinix, Verizon today announced that it is selling its cloud and managed hosting business to IBM. The acquisition is expected to close later this year.
This move pretty much puts an end to Verizon’s loftier ambitions in the cloud — an area it started pursuing in earnest back in 2011 when it acquired… Read More
SoundCloud made a name for itself among the landscape of music streaming services as the one where creators themselves uploaded music and other sound recordings — picking up the moniker “the YouTube of audio” in the process. Now the company is launching a new discovery feature that plays on that idea and highlights what’s getting added. The Upload, as it is called,… Read More
Slack wants to become a kind of lexicon of information, with everything easily accessible, and it’s starting to do that today with a big update to its search function. Read More
GV (formerly Google Ventures) is leading a $10 million investment in Abundant Robotics, a company building apple-picking robots that could eventually be adapted to harvest other fruits. Joining GV in the round were BayWa AG and Tellus Partners, along with the company’s earlier backers Yamaha Motor Company, KPCB Edge and Comet Labs. Read More
Are you headed to Disrupt SF 2017? Do you like saving money? Is the sky blue? If you answered yes to all these questions, we have a pretty good ticket deal for you. Tomorrow, TechCrunch will release a limited supply of Disrupt tickets at the special rate of 2 for the price of 1, but in order to take advantage of this rare opportunity, you need to sign up today. Read More
Maven, GM’s dedicated mobility wing, is launching Maven Gig on Wednesday, giving occasional gig economy workers a way to easily gain access to a vehicle for short stints to do things like deliver groceries and food on demand, and provide ride sharing services. For $229 per week, inclusive of insurance, unlimited miles, free charging and regular maintenance, Maven Gig provides access… Read More
If you’re a big fan of some more mid-core or hardcore games on your smartphone, you might periodically get a reminder to pop in the game to do something. But that requires booting up the game — and it may also require digging through a labyrinth of menus to figure out what you’re trying to accomplish. Blackstorm Labs is trying to make the process of getting into that game… Read More
Coinbase has just rolled out full support for Litecoin, its third cryptocurrency. Users will be able to buy, sell, send and store Litecoin from Coinbase’s website or mobile apps, using easy payment methods like a credit/debit card or PayPal. Coinbase was founded as a platform to transact only with Bitcoin, but has since announced its intent to add other cryptocurrencies. Read More
Ecobee unveiled its latest connected thermostat at the Collision conference today. Far and away the most interesting bit is its inclusion of a microphone that utilizes Amazon’s far-field voice recognition to deliver Alexa functionality. And if that wasn’t enough Alexa in your life, the company will also be building Amazon’s smart assistant directly into smart light switches… Read More
Have a robotic startup or project? We want you on stage at TechCrunch Session: Robotics this July 17 at MIT. We’re looking for students to demo and early stage startups to pitch. If selected, both will get free tickets and exhibit space at the event. Use this form to apply. This opportunity will put participants in front of the companies, founders and engineers driving the robotics… Read More
SoftBank is making quite a name for itself, but in ways it might not expect. Hardly a week has passed in 2017 when a headline hasn’t reported that SoftBank — the multinational conglomerate currently raising a stunning $100 billion fund — is in financial talks to invest in yet another tech company. Read More
Shopping for furniture online is often difficult, especially given that you can’t really know how a sofa or lamp will actually look in your room until you get it home. Houzz, which has added more and more shopping features to its app over the last few years, wants to make this easier. A few months ago, it allowed its users to add to images 2D cutouts of products so you can better… Read More
It is with great pleasure that we announce that Mark Thompson, CEO and president of The New York Times Company, is heading over to Disrupt NY. We’re thrilled to have Thompson on our stage to discuss the evolution of the media industry, the role social media plays in it and how media organizations can hold on to their credibility while under fire from the Oval Office. Read More
Nissan has released details of a new prototype it designed to help drivers keep their mind on the super dangerous and highly complicated task of driving, which is the only thing they should be paying attention to when behind the wheel of many thousands of pounds of high-speed metal and combustible gas. The Nissan Signal Shield is an arrest compartment that doubles as a Faraday cage, blocking… Read More
A week after news broke of multiple videos of suicides posted on Facebook remaining on the site for hours, the company has announced a new plan to add 3,000 more people to its operations team to screen for harmful videos and other posts to respond to them more quickly in the future. Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook said that this would be in addition to the 4,500 people already working… Read More
The new app for Hulu’s just-announced live TV service has now hit the app stores. Instead of offering the ability to upgrade to the live TV offering within Hulu’s existing app, the company has instead rolled out a new app, called “Hulu with Live TV.” The app features Hulu’s revamped user interface which is arriving alongside the launch of the live TV service,… Read More
While much of the US is settling into spring, the fall, and Disrupt SF 2017, isn’t that far away. And while it may be way too early to think about the leaves falling, it’s not too soon to think about Disrupt tickets. Next week, we’ll be releasing a batch of deeply-discounted tickets at the special rate of two for the price of one. To sign up, all you need to do is enter… Read More
Dots. Two Dots. Dots & Co. It seems like Dots (that’s the name of both the startup and its first game) is following a pattern with each release — a pattern it’s breaking with its fourth game, Wilds. Wilds isn’t scheduled to launch until late 2017, but the company has just released a live-action trailer for the game, directed by Radical Friend and choreographed… Read More
Hulu is announcing this morning at its Upfront presentation in New York a new affiliate agreement with lifestyle media company Scripps Networks Interactive, that will bring a host of its top channels to both Hulu’s existing on-demand service as well as its now-launched live TV service. The channels being added include HGTV, Travel Channel and Food Network – helping to round… Read More
Hulu is officially launching the beta version of its live TV product today, offering access to more than 50 channels for $39.99 per month. Those channels will include ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and local affiliates, along with ESPN, CNN, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, FX, USA Network and many more. Hulu also announced that it’s signed a deal with Scripps Networks Interactive to bring their… Read More
