In July, Reddit jumped on the NFT train, launching an NFT-based marketplace that allows users to purchase blockchain-based profile pictures for a fixed rate. Given the general sentiment around NFTs today, you might assume — like me — that the experiment ended poorly. But the opposite’s the case apparently. Today during a panel at TechCrunch … Read more
E-liza Dolls, a Berkeley-based startup, is aiming to challenge the gender gap in STEM by helping young girls learn to code using dolls. The company, which exhibited as part of the Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt, builds dolls that include programmable computers that girls can code through an app. The startup was founded in 2021 … Read more
Shared micromobility company Bird is exiting several markets across the world as it struggles to build an economically viable business, according to a regulatory filing. Bird said it will “fully exit Germany, Sweden and Norway, as well as wind down operations in “several dozen additional, primarily small to mid-sized markets” across the U.S., Europe, the … Read more
For better or for worse, Robinhood helped inspire a new generation of investors to enter the stock market. Now that investing is cool again, upstarts like Staax, which pitched today at TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield, are finding new ways to cash in on its cachet, particularly among young people. Nikki Varanasi, Staax’s founder and CEO, … Read more
Cityblock Health is focused on providing affordable, human-centered healthcare in lower-income and marginalized communities, while also building sustainable business models. Founder and CEO Toyin Ajayi talked at Disrupt today about the challenges of tackling the healthcare system’s inequalities, while serving patients with personalized medical care, behavioral health care and social services. “Do I believe that … Read more
Quantified health activity is all around us these days, as scores of people use mobile sensing technologies to keep an eye on their well-being by tracking their steps, workouts and even how long and deep they sleep — so why shouldn’t women who cycle (as in menstrual cycle) track monthly changes to their hormone levels? … Read more
Swap Robotics, a company that manufactures electric grass-cutting and snow removal robots, presented today at TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield to detail how it’s making sustainable outdoor work equipment. For the next few years, 95% of the startup’s focus will be on facilitating robots that cut grass and vegetation on 1,000+ acre utility-scale solar farms. The company’s … Read more
When Quddus Pativada was 14, he wished that he had an app that could summarize his textbooks for him. Just five years later, Pativada has been there and done that — earlier this year, he launched the AI-based app Kado, which turns photos, documents or PDFs into flash cards. Now, as the 19-year-old founder takes … Read more
Chri Besenbruch, CEO of Deep Render, sees many problems with the way video compression standards are developed today. He thinks they aren’t advancing quickly enough, bemoans the fact that they’re plagued with legal uncertainty and decries their reliance on specialized hardware for acceleration. “The codec development process is broken,” Besenbruch said in an interview with … Read more
Being a working parent is challenging. Being a working mother, according to many studies, is extra challenging. Many mothers have had the unfortunate experience of having to choose between their careers and children as the balancing act of both can be overwhelming. Factor in aging parents and the number of women who are caregivers for … Read more
At TechCrunch Disrupt, Netflix VP of Gaming Mike Verdu dropped two bits of news about the streaming giant’s foray into games. Verdu said that Netflix is “seriously exploring a cloud gaming offering.” The company will also open a new gaming studio in Southern California. “It’s a value add. We’re not asking you to subscribe as … Read more
The multi-decade rise in healthcare costs isn’t expected to reverse course any time soon. In search of a fix, Adun Akanni and TJ Ademiluyi co-founded Alaffia Health in 2020, one of the startups participating in the TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield 200. The healthtech company uses machine learning to try to identify fraud, waste and abuse in … Read more
Things are looking up for Netflix this quarter. The streamer added 2.41 million subscribers, bringing the total to 223.09 million. Netflix expected a net gain of 1 million subs in the third quarter. The streaming giant also slightly beat analysts’ expectations, earning $7.93 in revenue. Analysts predicted $7.85 billion. Netflix experienced two very grim quarters … Read more
While QR codes emerged as something of a technology poster-child during the pandemic, garnering a new lease of life in everything from restaurant menus to contactless payments, there remains a certain inelegance to the matrix barcode system. Usability remains a sticking point, both in terms of the effort it takes to create content and align … Read more
More doom and gloom for smartphone manufacturers, as global smartphone shipments experience the third consecutive decline this year. Per numbers from Canalys, shipments dropped a lowly 9% last quarter, marking the worst Q3 for the category since 2014. Apple is a rare bright spot among the numbers, with some positive growth as the rest of … Read more
Chinese semiconductor manufacturers and their U.S. suppliers should have seen the Biden administration’s latest export restrictions coming. It’s possible they did. The question is whether they’re prepared. Years ago, the Trump administration sent the first shot across the bow, first cutting off Huawei from advanced chips and later successfully pressing the Dutch government to bar … Read more
Calm, the subscription-based mindfulness app, today announced its first foray into a clinical mental health offering: Calm Health. Offered through payers, providers and self-insured employers, Calm Health includes condition-specific programs designed to “bridge the gap between mental and physical healthcare,” according to the company. Calm Health both replaces Calm’s previous employer offering, Calm for Business, … Read more
Way back in 2010, Marc Lore struck a more than half-a-billion dollar deal to sell Quidsi — the company behind Diapers.com and Soap.com — to Amazon. The blow-out acquisition helped turn Amazon into “the everything store,” but twelve years later, Lore described the sale as “upsetting.” “We sold out,” said Lore — who co-founded both … Read more
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) general partner Chris Dixon shed some light on the firm’s recent investments in controversial WeWork founder Adam Neumann on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2022. Neumann raised $350 billion from the venture firm back in August in a deal that reportedly valued his new real estate venture, Flow, at $1 billion before it … Read more
In December 2021, a vulnerability in a widely used logging library that had gone unfixed since 2013 caused a full-blown security meltdown. The 10/10-rated Log4Shell flaw in Log4j, an open source logging software that’s found practically everywhere, from online games to enterprise software and cloud data centers, claimed numerous victims from Adobe and Cloudflare to … Read more
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is one of the most influential players in the web3, funding entrepreneurs in the space amid “crypto winter.” Founded and helmed by general partner Chris Dixon, the venture firm’s crypto arm raised a massive $4.5 billion fund in May for its fourth dedicated sector fund to continue backing early-stage founders just as … Read more
If the pandemic has made us completely rethink the way we work, that we — the swath of workers at home in pajamas popping into meetings on Zoom — leaves out a massive chunk of the workforce that continues to show up for work in-person, every time. As knowledge workers explore the intricacies of the … Read more
Sony’s DualSense Edge wireless controller for the PS5 is launching globally on January 26, the company announced on Tuesday. The new wireless controller will be priced at $199.99. Pre-orders for the controller will be available starting on October 25 at select retailers. You’ll also be able to purchase replaceable stick modules for $19.99. The new … Read more
For many people who live with depression, medication is an important part of managing the condition. But knowing which will work for you can be a difficult months-long process. Circular Genomics claims its new form of genetic testing can identify which medications will work for a patient in a fraction of that time. As some … Read more
Meet Omneky, a startup that leverages OpenAI’s DALLE-2 and GPT-3 models to generate visuals and text that can be used in ads for social platforms. The company wants to make online ads both cheaper and more effective thanks to recent innovations in artificial intelligence and computer vision. Omneky is participating in Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch … Read more
Meet NXgenPort, a Saint Paul, Minnesota-based startup that’s looking to remotely monitor cancer patients in between doctor visits using a port catheter. NXgenPort, which presented today at TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield, is building an implantable chemo port that features added sensors and remote connectivity functions. The port combines chemo-port efficacy with sensor technology to measure … Read more
After a whirlwind month of spewing racism, antisemitism and just straight oddities, Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, announced his intention to buy right-wing extremist “free speech” platform Parler. Coincidentally, we’re sure, the app’s CEO is George Farmer, who is the husband of Kanye’s new best friend, conservative political pundit Candace Owens. In … Read more
Today at TechCrunch Disrupt, serial entrepreneur Marc Lore disclosed exclusive details about a new dynamic ticketing startup, still in stealth, that he founded with former New York Yankee all-star Alex Rodriguez. Called Jump Platforms, the company will sell access to seats that free up when people leave midway through a game. Fans already at the … Read more
Continuity Camera was one of the odder additions that arrived in the last round of Apple operating system updates. It seemed like an awkward fix to a longstanding issue with Mac webcams, clipping your iPhone to the top of your laptop lid, but I’ve come to appreciate it in my recent travels. Today, Belkin announced … Read more
Businesses usually plot their growth strategies on spreadsheets, but Drivetrain wants to provide a faster alternative for financial planning and decision making. The startup, which calls itself “Google Maps for business growth,” announced today that it has raised $15 million from Elevation Capital, Jungle Ventures and Venture Highway, plus 25 angel investors. One of Drivetrain’s … Read more