London-based edtech startup pi-top has cut a number of staff, TechCrunch has learned. According to our sources, the company has reduced its headcount in recent weeks, with staff being told cuts are a result of restructuring as it seeks to implement a new strategy. One source told us pi-top recently lost out on a large … Continue reading London edtech startup pi-top sees layoffs after major contract loss
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DoorDash, now valued at $12.6B, shoots for the moon
More than five years ago, Sequoia partner Alfred Lin called Tony Xu, the founder of a small on-demand delivery startup called DoorDash, to say he was passing on the company’s seed round. This was, of course, before venture capital funding in food delivery startups had taken off. DoorDash, launched out of Xu’s Stanford graduate school … Continue reading DoorDash, now valued at $12.6B, shoots for the moon
The lonely death of Jibo, the social robot
We knew this moment was coming — we just never expected it to arrive so soon. Jibo owners all over are reporting a final death rattle from their beloved home robot. The last message finds Jibo announcing the imminent shutdown of it servers, noting that its interactions will soon be limited — likely meaning anything … Continue reading The lonely death of Jibo, the social robot
LemonBox, which brings US vitamins to Chinese consumers, raises $2M
LemonBox, a Chinese e-commerce startup that imports vitamins and health products from the U.S., has raised $2 million to develop its business. The company graduated from Y Combinator’s most recent program in the U.S. and, fueled by the demo day, has pulled in the new capital from 10 investors, which include Partech, Tekton Ventures, Cathexis … Continue reading LemonBox, which brings US vitamins to Chinese consumers, raises $2M
AR startup Blippar in danger of becoming a blip as shareholders fight over future funding
Blippar, the U.K.-based AR startup that raised more than $130 million, may be nearing the end of the road. The company has been burning through cash in a bid to pivot in search of a profitable AR business model, and now shareholders are in dispute over whether to throw Blippar any more money to aid … Continue reading AR startup Blippar in danger of becoming a blip as shareholders fight over future funding
The end of the internet startup
We haven't had a major new technology company in more than 10 years. Silicon Valley is supposed to be a place where a couple of guys in a garage or a dorm room can start companies that change the world. It happened with Apple and Microsoft in the 1970s, AOL in the 1980s, Amazon, Yahoo, … Continue reading The end of the internet startup
Crazy Work Hours and Lots of Cameras: Silicon Valley Goes to China
A group of Silicon Valley executives at the investment firm Sinovation Ventures in Beijing in August. It was part of a trip to China their companies organized to explore how the country has rapidly become a tech power to rival the United States. One Chinese technology executive said he worked 14 to 15 hours a … Continue reading Crazy Work Hours and Lots of Cameras: Silicon Valley Goes to China
Building a great startup requires more than genius and a great invention
Many entrepreneurs assume that an invention carries intrinsic value, but that assumption is a fallacy. Here, the examples of the 19th and 20th century inventors Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla are instructive. Even as aspiring entrepreneurs and inventors lionize Edison for his myriad inventions and business acumen, they conveniently fail to recognize Tesla, despite having … Continue reading Building a great startup requires more than genius and a great invention
The Bitcoin Oracle Who Exited Bitcoin
I have known Vinny Lingham for about 10 minutes when he tells me people want him dead. “I’ve had four death threats in my life,” he says. “And three of them have been in the last nine months.” It’s a few minutes past 7 a.m. on a recent weekday. We’re standing in the lobby of … Continue reading The Bitcoin Oracle Who Exited Bitcoin
Softbank, Baidu Lead $3 Million Funding for Ex-Googler’s Crypto Startup
A team led by a former Google staffer is taking aim at the online advertising giant. Called Atlas Protocol, the startup believes that the data accumulating on blockchains today can be used to better market to internet users tomorrow, an idea that has already received validation from some of the biggest names in Asian business. … Continue reading Softbank, Baidu Lead $3 Million Funding for Ex-Googler’s Crypto Startup
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