TechCrunch is pleased to offer Microsoft Accelerator’s London Demo Day today at 4:00 p.m. GMT, 8:00 a.m. PST. The Microsoft Accelerator is a six-month program aimed at helping entrepreneurs scale to global markets. There are seven accelerators located around the world, from Seattle to Beijing, from London to Tel-Aviv. The Microsoft Accelerator in London has a diverse mix of… Read More
Messaging company Kik has made its second major acquisition after it scooped up Israel-based mobile video app maker Rounds in an undisclosed deal. Though neither side is giving a price, you would imagine that it is more than what Kik payed for GIF Relay, its first acquisition from 2014, given that Rounds had raised over $20 million from investors and claimed 40 million registered users.… Read More
GM is opening up to app makers in a way that’s unique among carmakers; it created a software development kit for those looking to build apps for its in-car infotainment system that exposes 400 data points from the car itself for developer use. The SDK allows creation of apps using HTML5 and JavaScript, running off of Node.js, that many front-end web developers already know, and… Read More
We tend to think of robots disrupting the world of work by looking like us. In fact it’s rarely the case. The combination of sensors and IoT are going to have a far-reaching impact in our workplaces and will happen much faster than The Terminator. Thus, it’s interesting to note the news today that Australian startup Lighthouse.io has closed AUS$1.25 million in a seed funding led… Read More
Four years ago TechCrunch Disrupt went to Europe for the first time, welcoming the continent’s startups, entrepreneurs and investors at our show in Berlin. We later moved to London for a three-year stint, which has proved to be fantastic. But with the continental startup scene growing like a weed, it’s time to get back into the thick of it. There is renewed excitement in the… Read More
Welcome to the Jungle isn’t yet another recruitment company that is going to automagically find the perfect engineer for your startup. It’s a media company that wants to make recruitment sexy again. The company just raised $2.1 million from various business angels (€2 million) and is about to launch different verticals for different competitive industries. Welcome to the Jungle… Read More
Dalia, a Berlin-based startup that gathers real-time market and opinion data by pushing micro-surveys to smartphone users, has raised $7 million in Series A funding. The round is led by Balderton Capital, with participation from existing investors Wellington Partners, and IBB-Bet. Read More
Samsung isn’t the only major phone maker who won’t be announcing a new device at Mobile World Congress, the telecom industry’s largest event, next month. China’s Xiaomi will skip the event entirely, a spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch. The move is an unexpected one since it was widely assumed Xiaomi would attend. Barcelona-based Mobile World Congress is one of… Read More
Education tech startup Teachable (formerly known as Fedora) has raised $4 million in a Series A round of funding according to CEO and founder Ankur Nagpal. The company provides a platform that’s like a Shopify or a SquareSpace for tutors or teachers. Its platform allows subject matter experts to quickly construct online courses and sell or give them away to their followers, setting their… Read More
Hugo Barra, who previously held a positions as a key VP for Android at Google, and led Xiaomi’s international efforts in a VP role at the Chinese company, is now joining Facebook. Barra announced his departure from Xiaomi on January 22, after a three-and-a-half year stint at the company. Barra will lead all of Facebook’s VR efforts, including Oculus, according to Facebook CEO… Read More
Cisco acquires AppDynamics for $3.7 billion, Facebook launches a Snapchat story clone in its app in Ireland, Amazon owns more of its shipping logistics, Apple isnt giving up on India, and Apple hires Dropcam co-founder Greg Duffy. All this on Crunch Report. Read More
As the first planned public offering of 2017, AppDynamics was supposed to be a bellwether for other upcoming tech IPOs. If it went public and performed well, the “IPO window” would have been wide open, as bankers like to say. That’s because the performance of a big tech IPO is often seen as indicative of investor appetite, and can set expectations for future offerings.… Read More
Syfy’s fantasy show The Magicians kicks off its second season tonight, but New York City residents also have a chance to explore a real-world installation tied to the show for the next few days. I got a chance to stop by the Hall of Magic last week, where each room offered a different type of fantasy-themed experience. Some of them simply provided fun gimmicks, like the ability to take… Read More
After a couple months of restricting development on Daydream, Google has opened the floodgates, now allowing anyone to submit an app or experience for the company’s mobile VR platform. Previously, the company had worked with a select group of partners to build out apps for the platform, assumedly to give developers interested in Daydream a taste of what works well on it. Apps and games… Read More
Hmm. Twitter users searching for the word “asshole” will receive a recommendation for the profile of our 45th president of the United States, Mr. Donald J. Trump.
Why is this happening? We reached out to Twitter for comment and will update if we hear back. Our best guess is that Trump’s mentions are full of people calling him an asshole, and so this has convinced… Read More
We are now in a day and age where cyborg insects no longer even raise an eyebrow. Hell, you can order kits! But this particular cyborg insect is especially interesting: a dragonfly that has been modified inside and out to follow the path programmed into a solar-powered electronic backpack the size of a fingernail. Read More
If caught early, skin cancer isn’t particularly deadly. But unfortunately for many, signs and symptoms go unnoticed until health has irreversibly deteriorated. Research findings published in Nature today hint at a future where anyone, anywhere, might be able to perform a basic skin cancer screening on a smartphone. Utilizing machine learning, a Stanford team, including… Read More
It’s been a rough day, and maybe what you need is a few chiptunes from Sega’s arcade and console hits. Many cartridges’ worth have just been added to the company’s Spotify channel. Read More
President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to launch a trade war with China, threats that the country is beginning to take ever more seriously. Over at GGV Capital, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that’s been actively investing in China for more than 15 years, managing director Hans Tung seems to be watching the jockeying with some wonderment – and patience.… Read More
Technology and the internet have empowered science just as they have business and communication. As with the others, tech has helped make scientific endeavors global in scope, robust against interference, and accessible by billions — with or without the consent of the powers that be. That’s just one reason why the current administration’s efforts to muzzle scientific inquiry… Read More
