Android Wear 2.0 was bound to be a disappointment. There was just too much hanging on the second generation of the wearable operating system. After all, a significant chunk of declining smartwatch shipments was laid at the feet of the OS’s ongoing delay and, as last year drew to a close, studies like this report from IDC pointed to a dismal end to the year for a space so many were once… Read More
As the TV show Silicon Valley has shown, the tech community there is ripe for satire. So it’s not surprising that the next “product” to be born into this satirical “vertical” is a board game where you must go through the sometimes tortuous process of raising money. Read More
Stanford University is regularly credited for playing a key role in the economic and technological success story that is Silicon Valley. So what should universities elsewhere be doing to emulate that same success? One academic says the schools of the future should be great, big incubators. Read More
Following a scathing report of sexual harassment at Uber over the weekend, CEO Travis Kalanick hosted an all-hands meeting today, along with board member Arianna Huffington and Chief Human Resources Officer Liane Hornsey, to discuss the company’s next steps. Read More
One of the remarkable things about the roadshow presentations for hotly-anticipated IPOs — where they’ll make a pitch to investors and answer questions — is that they are often unremarkable.
That seemed about the same case for Snap, which was presenting to potential investors at the Mandarin Hotel in New York this afternoon. Over lunch, a packed ballroom 30 stories up at… Read More
Uber pinned hopes on running its self-driving fleet in San Francisco but motored off to Arizona two months ago when that plan ran up against some local red tape. Now, just as Uber is dealing with an explosive report of sexual harassment within its engineering team, the company has officially rolled out its self-driving cars in the Grand Canyon state. Starting today, those in Tempe, Arizona… Read More
A startup called Exyn Technologies Inc. today revealed AI software that enables drones to fly autonomously, even in dark, obstacle-filled environments or beyond the reaches of GPS. Read More
Aerospace company Boeing is in the process of changing the way satellites are built and made operational, according to the Wall Street Journal, with an eye toward automating much of the process and making it easier to ramp production while also increasing overall efficiency. Boeing’s efforts reflect the general transformation of the private space industry, driven by pressure put on… Read More
A Swiss startup, Terpon SA, is making virtual reality webcams specifically for the adult entertainment industry. The cameras aren’t available for purchase, but customers can rent them for about $30 a month, a price that includes around the clock technical support. Terpon Chief Executive Jean-Claude Artonne said he wants to empower adult performers around the world to create immersive… Read More
As our society continues to devalue facts and statistics, Data.world, a two year old data collaboration startup out of Austin, Texas, is fighting back with its passionate community of data nerds. Today the company is announcing a $18.7 million Series B led by Pat Ryan’s family investment group to further build out its platform for aggregating and analyzing data.
CEO Brett Hurt and… Read More
The amount of money U.S. users are spending on iPhone apps is steadily climbing, but one category in particular saw significant growth last year: Entertainment apps. The category – home to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and HBO NOW – saw consumers’ average spending increase by 130 percent year-over-year, according to a new report from app intelligence firm Sensor… Read More
A week after Michael Flynn’s abrupt fall from grace, President Trump will smooth things over with a national security adviser that at least some people can agree on. Called everything from a “warrior scholar” to the “rarest of soldiers,”, Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster is an about-face from the divisive Flynn, who resigned amid the escalating controversy over his… Read More
Jay Z invested in Uber in 2011 and today it’s worth 200X more. Now he’s getting serious about investing in startups with plans to create his own venture capital firm, according to respected tech journalist Dan Primack’s publication Axios.
Jay Z is building the fund with long-time partner and Roc Nation co-founder Jay Brown. They plan to focus on seed investments in young… Read More
Technology has already upended the current brokerage model and millennials, the largest generation in U.S. history, won’t settle for anything less than a service that puts their interests ahead of company bottom lines. Read More
The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) has partnered with Savari and Brandmotion to create a vehicle-to-everything infrastructure pilot program to help ease commuting and make it safer for everyone — including pedestrians. The program will equip 1,500 cars, 10 buses, and 10 trolleys with Savari’s On-Board Units, or OBUs. That’s the vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) piece.… Read More
Britain’s tech sector faces a “triple whammy” hit to its workforce without government action, according to a new report. Firstly, from a critical fall-off in STEM skills in its own population; secondly, from visa restrictions on the availability of high-skilled specialists from overseas; and, thirdly, from the uncertainty of the impact of Brexit on its highly international… Read More
Devices that compile, analyze and store electronic information are everywhere. Known as the Internet of Things, the number of devices connected to the internet is already double the number of humans on earth. Electronically stored info from smart appliances, home security systems, fitness trackers and personal assistants are compiling a mass of info that is making its way into U.S. courts. Read More
Three months ago, Google announced it would in early 2017 launch support for high-end graphics processing units (GPUs) for machine learning and other specialized workloads. It’s now early 2017 and, true to its word, Google today officially made GPUs on the Google Cloud Platform available to developers. Read More
Skurt, the Los Angeles-based rental car delivery startup, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Upfront Ventures (which also led a $1.3 million seed round), and included a strategic investment from BMW, as well as funding from Troy Carter’s Cross Culture Ventures, Expansion VC, Greycroft and Magic Johnson.
Skurt has an interesting take on the rental car… Read More
Do you dig getting creative in virtual reality? Well, your options for doing so got a little less limited today, as Google has made Tilt Brush available on Oculus Rift. The virtual painting application was previously an HTC Vive exclusive, but now that Rift has its Touch Controllers for more natural interaction, Google has decided to bring Tilt Brush to the Facebook-owned VR platform. The… Read More
