In 2017, Matthew Peltier walked barefoot into a pitch meeting with venture capitalists. Young, male, man bun intact, he certainly resembled the stereotypical successful entrepreneur, but it was his startup, an app designed to bring social media stars and their fans into conversation, that drew skepticism. Shimmur, as it was called, ultimately succeeded in raising … Continue reading An inside look at the startup behind Ashton Kutcher’s weird tweets
Entrepreneurship
Elon Musk’s Boring Company snags $120 million in new funding
Elon Musk’s tunneling and transportation startup The Boring Company has raised its first outside investment through the sale of $120 million in stock, according to a securities filing. The details of authorized sale of stock were first reported by Bloomberg News, which reviewed the filing obtained by Prime Unicorn Index. Steve Jurvetson, a longtime friend, adviser … Continue reading Elon Musk’s Boring Company snags $120 million in new funding
Websites are (probably) making less money because of GDPR
The news: A new working paper suggests that websites are making less money because of the General Data Protection Rule (GDPR). It’s the first study of how the European privacy law affects the revenue of online businesses. GDPR went into effect in May 2018. The authors analyzed data from web marketing service Adobe Analytics and … Continue reading Websites are (probably) making less money because of GDPR
Forget the fine—we should have taken Facebook to court, says FTC commissioner
The $5 billion fine and accompanying order won’t force accountability or impose any restrictions on the way Facebook collects or uses people’s data, warned one of the FTC's five commissioners. It ain’t about the money: As it announced the fine yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission boasted that it has slapped Facebook with the biggest fine … Continue reading Forget the fine—we should have taken Facebook to court, says FTC commissioner
DeepMind is helping Waymo evolve better self-driving AI algorithms
Waymo’s self-driving cars now have something in common with the brains that guide regular vehicles: their intelligence comes partly from the power of evolution. Engineers at Waymo, owned by Alphabet, teamed up with researchers at DeepMind, another Alphabet division dedicated to AI, to find a more efficient process to train and fine-tune the company’s self-driving … Continue reading DeepMind is helping Waymo evolve better self-driving AI algorithms
In-N-Out Files Lawsuit Against Food Delivery Startup DoorDash
Fast food restaurant In-N-Out, known for its delicious burgers and secret sauce, is suing food delivery startup DoorDash, TMZ reported earlier today. In-N-Out, which filed the lawsuit on Nov. 6, 2015, claims trademark infringement and unfair competition. Basically, In-N-Out wants DoorDash to stop delivering their delicious food because of concerns around quality, food handling and safety. … Continue reading In-N-Out Files Lawsuit Against Food Delivery Startup DoorDash
Uber tests monthly subscription that combines Eats, rides, bikes and scooters
Uber is actively testing a monthly subscription pass that combines rides, Eats, bikes and scooters. In this pilot phase, Uber is testing a few different iterations in San Francisco and Chicago but each version includes a fixed discount on every ride, free Uber Eats delivery and free JUMP (bikes and scooters) rides. The pass costs … Continue reading Uber tests monthly subscription that combines Eats, rides, bikes and scooters
Microsoft invests $1 billion in OpenAI in new multiyear partnership
Microsoft is making a $1 billion bet on OpenAI, the company formed by notable founders including Elon Musk and Sam Altman three years ago with the aim of doing research and development work to steer the growth of artificial intelligence toward the “friendlier” end of the spectrum, in order to help mitigate what Musk sees … Continue reading Microsoft invests $1 billion in OpenAI in new multiyear partnership
VMware acquires ML acceleration startup Bitfusion
VMware today announced that it has acquired Bitfusion, a former participant in Techcrunch's Startup Battlefield competition. Bitfusion was one of the earliest companies to help businesses accelerate their complex computing workloads on GPUs, FPGAs and ASICs. In its earliest iteration, over four years ago, the company’s focus was less on AI and machine learning and … Continue reading VMware acquires ML acceleration startup Bitfusion
Parrot’s getting out of the low-end drone business
Parrot announced the AR.Drone back at CES 2010, three years before DJI’s Phantom 1. It was a seemingly odd move by a company best known for making Bluetooth speakers and headsets, but over the years it’s continued to release fairly novel takes on the growing category. Two years back, the French company announced its intentions … Continue reading Parrot’s getting out of the low-end drone business
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