Here is the latest Tech News from TechCrunch.
Here’s your chance to get into TechCrunch’s AI Pavilion at Disrupt London for free
According to one estimate, there are roughly 900 tech companies working in the AI field, covering everything from business intelligence to finance and security. The AI gold rush started in 2014 with a flurry of deals into AI companies. Last year there were some 300 deals into AI companies according to CB Insights and in the UK alone, companies like Ravelin, Signal and Gluru raised seed rounds.… Read More
KeyMe locks down $15M to unlock the future of key duplication
The last time you had a key cut, you probably experienced a retro service, which included speaking to a real human (ugh!). KeyMe puts the kibosh on the old-fashioned key copying user experience with a series of new kiosks and just landed a $15 million Series C round to fund aggressive expansion. Read More
How legacy brands and retailers can keep up with our tech-driven world
The U.S. apparel industry is currently valued at $12 billion, and with the high number of dollars pouring into the retail economy, brands are looking to technology to foster deeper connections with consumers and elevate the overall shopping experience. Whether it’s in-store or online, technology is becoming a lever to bolster brand loyalty and customer satisfaction. Read More
The end of the automotive supply chain
Over the next 10 years, the differentiating source of supply and value in the automotive industry will not be car parts or engines. Instead, it will be a network of software developers.Read More
Rize teaches 3D printing some long-awaited new tricks
Boston-based Rize Inc has developed a new type of 3D printing which eliminates the need for lengthy post-printing clean-up processes. Its printers are able to imbue plastics with features they didn’t usually have. For example, it will be easier to remove 3D printed products from the build surface and it’s possible to inject dyes into the product. Read More
Spotify will launch its streaming service in Japan this month
After more than a year of hinting, Spotify is finally coming to Japan this month. The Swedish music streaming service will go live in the country before the end of September, a source at the company confirmed to TechCrunch. Read More
Unilever said to be the early frontrunner to acquire The Honest Company
We’re hearing from our sources Unilever has been in serious talks with the Honest Company, and may very well win the bid for the e-commerce startup, though our sources stressed that the deal is in early stages. As usual, the deal is fluid and the final details could change (or not happen at all), and the exact price in the conversation could not be learned, though one source said the… Read More
Pre-orders for the Fove 0 eye-tracking VR headset go live November 2
The first consumer VR headset to integrate eye-tracking is about ready for primetime. Fove will begin taking pre-orders for the eye-tracking headset, now officially called the Fove 0, at 8am PST on November 2. There is still no word on an official launch date or a final price. There were a number of production issues that pushed back the rollout of the Kickstarter-backed headset until fall from… Read More
Leica’s new instant camera has a selfie mode
The Sofort is a strange duck. It’s a $300 instant camera by premium manufacturer Leica that looks a bit like a real world version of the Instagram logo. The price puts it well over Fujifilm’s offerings that also run on the Japanese company’s Instax technology, but this Leica we’re talking about here, so it’s really only natural that there will be a notable premium… Read More
Are drones actually a sector or just another layer in the enterprise SaaS stack?
The past few years have been exciting for drones; they’ve gained the attention of consumers, enterprises and governments. Their ability to shoot photography and capture data, and potentially violate privacy, has led to many opinions, regulations and oversight. As a result, we are increasingly asking ourselves if drones are actually a “sector” or are yet another layer in… Read More
Canon borrows a few tricks from its DSLR line for its latest mirrorless
Canon’s already got a handful of mirrorless cameras under its belt, but the company hasn’t quite committed itself to the format in the same way we’ve seen from likes of Sony, Olympus and Fujifilm. The company’s latest, unveiled early in the lead up the big Photokina event in Cologne next week, looks to mark a much whole-hearted shift toward the space. And in a sense,… Read More
Official CPSC recall goes out for Galaxy Note 7 — replacements will be available September 21
The flaming train wreck that is the Galaxy Note 7 recall finally has its official stamp of approval from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and there’s now a hard date for when you can swap your phone for a new one: September 21. Read More
Singapore’s ViSenze raises $10.5M to bring the benefits of AI to e-commerce
There’s another round for an artificial intelligence startup in Asia that’s focused on e-commerce. Fresh from a Sequoia-led investment in Mad Street Den, Singapore-based ViSenze has closed a $10.5 million Series B raise. Read More
Amazon Echo owners spend more on Amazon, says NPD
We all suspected the Echo’s purpose was – at least in part – to drive more Amazon sales. And that’s exactly what’s happening, according to a new study by NPD Group. The research company found that owners of the Echo spent around 10 percent more after they bought the voice-powered smart speaker than they did before. The NPD Group’s Checkout Tracking… Read More
Here’s how to watch Thursday Night Football on Twitter tonight
Twitter’s big day is finally here. Tonight is the first night of NFL’s Thursday Night Football, which will be streamed all season on Twitter (as well as CBS and NFL Network as cable partners). Twitter reportedly beat out companies like Facebook and Amazon for the exclusive mobile stream, and at the time it was a big win for the company under the then new CEO Jack Dorsey. Now… Read More
20-minute hot take: 2017 Volvo S90 Pilot Assist
I’ve spent the last couple of days at a Northwest Automotive Press Association driving event, and the last car of the two dozen or so I drove was the 2017 Volvo S90 with the latest version of IntelliSafe, which includes City Safety, Pilot Assist, and more. I’ve already put my name on the list for a more extensive test drive, but even with less than 30 minutes of drive time, I… Read More
Optimizely targets developers with its new testing platform, Optimizely X
Optimizely has helped to popularize A/B testing — the idea of trying out different versions of a website or mobile app to see which one performs better. However, co-founder and CEO Dan Siroker said the practice has largely been limited to marketers testing relatively superficial changes, such as the text or the layout of a page. So today, at its Opticon user conference, the company… Read More
How virtual reality is transforming the sports industry
After a failed stint in the 1990s, virtual reality made its reappearance last year with headsets such as Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard and Oculus Rift. But this time, it’s here to stay and, in less than a year, it’s already drawn attention and investment from venture capitalists and tech giants such as Facebook, and has made huge impact across a great many industries,… Read More
T-Mobile’s top brass warns some iPhone owners against iOS 10 upgrades
Maybe don’t go upgrading to iOS 10 just yet, T-Mobile customers. The magenta-drenched uncarrier has taken to social media to warn owners of the Phone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and iPhone SE against rushing into Apple’s latest major mobile operating system update after widespread reports of lost network connections. Apple is working to resolve the issue with iOS10 for @TMobile customers. Read More
Just how vulnerable is election technology?
This year’s electoral process has been unconventional, to say the least. As this volatile election approaches, citizens are skeptical about whether our electoral system — particularly the technology used in it — is precise, unbiased or secure enough to produce a fair, accurate vote count. But just how vulnerable is our election technology? Read More
Tony Prophet named as Salesforce’s first Chief Equality Officer
Tony Prophet, a longtime tech executive who’d previously worked at Microsoft and HP, has been named as Salesforce’s first Chief Equality Officer. Before joining Salesforce, Prophet worked as Microsoft’s corporate vice president of education marketing. While at Microsoft the executive launched a number of initiatives including Blacks at Microsoft and BlackLight, an… Read More
Carbon raises $81 million for international expansion of its rapid 3-D printing tech
Large manufacturers of high-tech products, from luxury vehicles to elastomers and resins, have lined up to invest in and partner with Carbon (formerly known as Carbon 3D) the Redwood City, Calif. company known for its rapid, 3-D printing technologies. The three-year-old startup added $81 million in venture funding to its Series C round, from strategic investors including BMW Group, GE, Nikon… Read More
Task management app Asana takes on the spreadsheet with ‘Custom Fields’
Asana — the enterprise SaaS businesses started by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and early FB employee Justin Rosenstein — has made a name for itself as a workflow and task management app that aims to help teams be more productive by making it much easier to figure out what needs to get done. But today, the company is taking the wraps off a new service that will not… Read More
Pairing Razer’s Seiren and Mamba is a fun PC gaming idea but it’s costly
As autumn quickly approaches, so does the launch of numerous video game titles. A trend that usually goes straight through to the holiday season, so naturally a PC gamer needs to be ready. For what exactly? The destruction of incoming n00bs (gamer speak for newbies), of course. Read More
Twitter rolls out new features for businesses running customer service accounts
Twitter today is rolling out a series of new features designed to help users better connect with businesses offering customer support through their official Twitter accounts. Now those businesses will be able to clearly display on their profile if their account offers customer service, as well as which times those accounts are active. The business can now indicate if it offers service via a… Read More
500px’s new app lets pros edit RAW photos, license their work and find jobs
500px, the photo-sharing service aimed at professional photographers, is today launching a new mobile app aimed at serving the needs of this audience by offering editing tools along with a way to license their images through the company’s custom photography service. The company last year rolled out its global photography on-demand service to select clients, and now the new app, called… Read More
When music and technology collide
Some might say that technology is killing the music industry. But if you look around, there’s a beautiful marriage there — the music industry is evolving every day, and artists are embracing technology in new and innovative ways. Read More
Pandora debuts a $5 per month streaming service with more skips, replays and offline access
Confirming earlier reports, Pandora today announced the launch of a new paid music service called “Pandora Plus.” While this service doesn’t offer a true alternative to Spotify, in terms of on-demand listening, the new $4.99 per month paid option offers a wider set of features, including the ability to skip more songs, more replays, and support for offline listening. The… Read More
Ranku’s eCollege optimizer bought by edtech giant for ~$25 million
The online learning market is becoming as crowded as the app stores. Ranku offers the equivalent of SEO assistance to make sure colleges with electronic courses convert visitors into students. Now Ranku (pronounced ran-koo) is being acquired by publicly traded education conglomerate John Wiley & Sons. A source familiar with the deal confirms to TechCrunch that the acquisition price was… Read More
Microsoft says its Edge browser is still more energy-efficient than its competitors
Once upon a time, browsers were all about getting faster and scoring better on JavaScript benchmarks than their competitors. While speed still matters, many developers have recently focused more on energy efficiency than speed (which makes sense, given that most users now browse on laptops). When Microsoft said that its Edge browser was more energy-efficient than its competitors like Chrome… Read More
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