Facebook has acquired Nascent Objects, a small California startup founded in 2014 that focuses on creating a modular electronics system that consumers could use to build their gadgets, using reconfigurable components including batteries, camera, sensors and more. The startup worked with design firm Ammunition (also responsible for the design of Beats products pre-Apple acquisition) to create… Read More
Canaan Partners, the multi-stage venture capital firm, is beefing up its enterprise software investment team and looking to spend more time in San Francisco in addition to its longtime home on Sand Hill Road. Joydeep Bhattacharyya and Rich Boyle are joining Canaan as partners where they’ll focus on artificial intelligence and marketplace creation, and mobile-based software as a… Read More
In case you missed it, Aircall announced last week that it had raised another $8 million dollars in funding for its call center software-as-a-service. New York-based VC firm FJLabs as well as existing investors put money into this Series A round. I’m a bit late to the news because last week was TechCrunch Disrupt SF. It’s worth mentioning that because Aircall also participated in… Read More
Did you hear? Twitter would like you to know that its service is now easier to use, thanks to a series of rule revisions announced in May, which have just gone live. Starting today, Twitter is cutting down on what counts towards your 140 characters. As a refresher, that means media content like photos, videos, GIFs, polls and Quote Tweets no longer eat into your character count. Links still… Read More
It was only a few years ago that streaming services were included in the Primetime Emmy awards, when Netflix scored its first win for its drama series “House of Cards.” Today, streaming services are mopping up the awards that used to be reserved for traditional TV networks, and last night’s 2016 Emmys were no exception. Both Netflix and Amazon again took home several… Read More
You can scratch what you heard just a few months ago about the end of SpoonRocket because its new owner, Brazil-based iFood, is bringing it back. Well, sort of. SpoonRocket, the on-demand meal delivery startup that shut down in the U.S. in March, is relaunching in Brazil under its parent company, iFood. At the time of the acquisition, iFood said it planned to use SpoonRocket’s… Read More
Stripe, the startup that competes against the likes of PayPal’s Braintree and WePay to provide payment services to digital businesses, is taking the wraps off its newest product to set it apart from the rest of the pack. Stripe is launching Instant Payouts, a service tailored specifically for marketplaces to pay their contractors “within minutes” to a contractor’s… Read More
One of Google Photos‘ standout features has long been its ability to automatically create short movies whenever it recognizes you went on a trip. Until now, though, the system that built those movies mostly used time and location (as well as some image recognition tools) as markers for which photos to include. Starting today, Google is going beyond simply making these… Read More
Google today is launching a new feature for Google Books which aims to offer a better challenge to Amazon’s Kindle app when it comes to helping you find new things to read. Called “Discover,” this new section in the Google Books application will help point users to new content, including both personalized suggestions as well as other recommendations based on what’s… Read More
Foundry Group, the 10-year-old, Boulder, Colorado-based early-stage venture firm, announced this morning that it as closed its sixth fund, Foundry Group Next, with $500 million. It comes hot on the heels of the firm’s fifth fund, which closed last summer with $225 million. The firm’s fourth fund, called Foundry Group Select, closed with exactly the same amount in 2013 ($225… Read More
GoPro is revealing many new goodies today, including a few new accessories with run the risk of getting the lost in the noise. They’re actually pretty interesting, though – there’s the Quik Key, a micro-USB card reader that lets you grab pics and video from your GoPro and pop them right onto your phone for sharing and editing; and the REMO, a voice-powered remote control… Read More
GoPro would have been hard-pressed to find a more scenic locale with which to launch its latest offers. Some 2,800 feet above sea level, couched at the feet of the Sierra Nevada mountains that straddle the California/Nevada state line. We’re still several months away from ski season here in the mountains, but the action cam company is clearly lining up the runway in anticipation for… Read More
GoPro needs a win. The company’s name may be synonymous with action cameras, but the market it helped pioneer nearly 15 years has long since become overcrowded by cheaper and more specialized option designed by big and small names alike. The company recently outlined plans to adapt its small and nimble cameras into a virtual reality play with the Omni, but it’s the Karma that… Read More
The future of GoPro is not hardware. It’s services. Editing video is hard but GoPro is moving it to the cloud in a bid to make it a bit easier. The service, called GoPro Plus, is a subscription-based service that GoPro says gives owners access to their photos and videos from any device, and allows for sharing and editing. This service addresses one of GoPro’s main hurdles: How do… Read More
Swiggy, one of India’s top food delivery services, has refueled its tanks after raising $15 million led by Bessemer Venture Partners. The company said a number of existing investors also participated, but it didn’t name them directly. Read More
Uber VP Sherif Marakby told attendees at the SAE Convergence conference in Novi, Michigan today that it will open a new facility in the metro Detroit area in the “coming months,” in order to better partner with car companies and tier-1 suppliers, according to The Detroit News. Marakby is actually an ex-Ford employee, having worked for the company for 25 years prior to joining Uber,… Read More
Google today is launching a new mobile application, aimed at helping you better plan your vacations and other travels. Called Google Trips, the iOS and Android app pulls in a combination of data from Google Maps and crowdsourced contributions from other travelers, in order to offer a personalized travel guide that helps you keep track of your day trips, reservations, points of interest,… Read More
Google’s further expansion into travel services isn’t limited to trip planning via the launch of its new Google Trips mobile app – the company has also quietly launched its “Destinations” trip planning feature in Google Search on the web. Originally designed for mobile users only, Google Destinations is focused on connecting web searchers looking for travel… Read More
GoPro needs a hero. And then some. The action camera company hasn’t issued a major release to the flagship device that bears its name in a couple of years. Of late, it’s been making a big push into the world of VR, through new software and the Omni camera rig. But is that enough to keep the company moving into 2017 and beyond? This morning at 9:00AM PT, from the mountains high… Read More
