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Showing posts from April, 2018

Facebook's fake "dark ads", which impersonate people to promote scams, are a systemic problem, and need better solutions above and beyond a "view ads" button (Natasha Lomas/TechCrunch)

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch : Facebook's fake “dark ads”, which impersonate people to promote scams, are a systemic problem, and need better solutions above and beyond a “view ads” button   —  Facebook's admission to the UK parliament this week that it had unearthed unquantified thousands … from Techmeme http://bit.ly/2w06lVm
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How Wharton became a hotbed for direct-to-consumer firms after Warby Parker, as 400+ startups now try to be the next Warby with toothbrushes, bras, and more (Tom Foster/Inc.com)

Tom Foster / Inc.com : How Wharton became a hotbed for direct-to-consumer firms after Warby Parker, as 400+ startups now try to be the next Warby with toothbrushes, bras, and more   —  Wharton professors, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs are fueling an entire generation of Warby Parkers. from Techmeme http://bit.ly/2HXKOBt
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Alibaba Australia announces a "Food Trust Framework" pilot, using blockchain to improve supply chain traceability between China, Australia, and New Zealand (Asha McLean/ZDNet)

Asha McLean / ZDNet : Alibaba Australia announces a “Food Trust Framework” pilot, using blockchain to improve supply chain traceability between China, Australia, and New Zealand   —  Blackmores and Fonterra have joined the pilot that will see products shipped to China from Australia and New Zealand … from Techmeme http://bit.ly/2w0URky
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Grab's deal for Uber's Southeast Asian business faces issues with regulators and, sources say, disgruntled employees, as rivals swarm to recruit Uber talent (Jon Russell/TechCrunch)

Jon Russell / TechCrunch : Grab's deal for Uber's Southeast Asian business faces issues with regulators and, sources say, disgruntled employees, as rivals swarm to recruit Uber talent   —  The long-rumored Grab acquisition of Uber's Southeast Asia business may be official now, but it's far from complete. from Techmeme http://bit.ly/2I0Ao48
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Starting in Q4 2018, YouTube TV ad inventory will be available through Google Preferred, the premium ad program for the top 5% most popular YouTube channels (Todd Spangler/Variety)

Todd Spangler / Variety : Starting in Q4 2018, YouTube TV ad inventory will be available through Google Preferred, the premium ad program for the top 5% most popular YouTube channels   —  Video giant to let marketers pitch spots to cord-cutters, buy inventory in YouTube TV  —  YouTube wants to siphon off … from Techmeme http://bit.ly/2vY5t3M
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German startup Clark, which offers digital insurance brokerage through an app, raises $29M Series B led by Portag3 Ventures and White Star Capital (Steve O'Hear/TechCrunch)

Steve O'Hear / TechCrunch : German startup Clark, which offers digital insurance brokerage through an app, raises $29M Series B led by Portag3 Ventures and White Star Capital   —  Clark, one of a plethora of so-called ‘insurtech’ startups offering something akin to a digital insurance brokerage all delivered through … from Techmeme http://bit.ly/2I0zK6E
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In a pitch seemingly aligned with Trump admin's rhetoric and aimed at regulators, T-Mobile and Sprint argue merger will help US beat China in 5G, create jobs (David McCabe/Axios)

David McCabe / Axios : In a pitch seemingly aligned with Trump admin's rhetoric and aimed at regulators, T-Mobile and Sprint argue merger will help US beat China in 5G, create jobs   —  The CEOs of T-Mobile and Sprint argued on an analyst call that their just-announced merger would create jobs and boost America's position … from Techmeme http://bit.ly/2HY6Jsm
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Baidu brings group of PE firms into its financial services business via $1.9B investment

Baidu has turned to the financial industry to bolster its consumer finance business. The Chinese search giant  confirmed  that it has sold a majority share in its Financial Services Group (FSG) business to a consortium of private equity firms in a deal worth $1.9 billion. The business is in the consumer finance space  and its services include credit and wealth management. Its competition, beyond traditional financial businesses, includes digital efforts from the likes of Tencent and Alibaba. The deal — which had been speculated at the end of last year — sees FSG renamed to Du Xiaoman. The group of investors is led by TPG and The Carlyle Group, and it will pay around $1.06 billion for a majority stake. A further $840 million will be given to Du Xiaoman. Following the transaction, Baidu will own 42 percent of the business, which will operate independently. Guang Zhu, who had been Baidu senior VP and GM of FSG, will become Du Xiaoman CEO. It’s fairly common for China’s tech giants t
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Blue Origin’s New Shepard skims space in successful 8th test launch

Blue Origin conducted the 8th launch of its New Shepard sub-orbital rocket and crew capsule today out in Texas, and things couldn’t have gone better for the growing space tourism company. The rocket ascended into a cloudless sky, reaching a max velocity of about 2,200 MPH, and delivered its capsule to the edge of space, where its occupant, “Mannquin Skywalker,” will have had a lovely view of the Earth. New Shepard isn’t meant to deliver things into orbit, of course; Blue Origin has a different purpose and technology from the likes of SpaceX, focusing on giving people a quick, safe lift into space followed by a period of weightlessness and a pleasant descent. That’s what was demonstrated today, and you can watch the whole thing live in the video below — the pre- launch coverage starts about half an hour in, and liftoff is at the 1h10m mark. Everything went smoothly from liftoff to touchdown. I love watching the altitude graph filling in slowly at first, then blasting upward as the
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Burning Man’s Larry Harvey passes after opening tech’s imagination

Larry Harvey normalized the abnormal, expanding the boundaries of what creators could attempt. That’s why there’s a special bond between Silicon Valley and Black Rock City, the desert settlement where Burning Man transpires. Both ditch “what are we supposed to do?” for “what can we do?”. Both encourage risky expression that appears insane to outsiders. And by establishing an open canvas just a few hours’ caravan from San Francisco, Harvey helped entrepreneurs come back freshly invigorated to make change. Harvey passed away this weekend at age 70. But the sub-culture he convened and the infrastructure he built to support it will stretch that canvas to the dusty horizon year after year. Google’s SkyBox Imaging satellites demonstrated the power of frequent aerial imagery by making this GIF that shows Burning Man being constructed and torn down. Burning Man began as an exhibition of disruption on SF’s Baker Beach back in 1986. Igniting that first 9-foot effigy was an artful affront to
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Update: Richard Branson’s Virgin Hyperloop partners with backer DP World to launch logistics startup

Updat: This post has been updated to indicate that DP World invested in 2016. The firm is based in the UAE. Virgin Hyperloop One and DP World are launching a new joint venture, DP World Cargospeed, two years after the high-speed transportation technology developer tapped the UAE-based shipping company in a $50 million financing. The company’s stated goal is to deliver palletized cargo more efficiently by combining super high-speed promise of hyperloop transportation with new logistics technologies to accelerate deliveries along Virgin Hyperloop One’s planned routes between Mumbai and Pune in India; in Saudi Arabia, and in the United Arab Emirates. Introducing DP World Cargospeed pic.twitter.com/KvnzdKZ0NE — Virgin Hyperloop One (@HyperloopOne) April 29, 2018 Announced with much fanfare and in the presence of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem and Virgin Hyperloop chairman Richard Branson, the new company is basically built on buzzwords like “on-demand” and the promise of future perform
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Black Founders Matter wants to raise $10 million to fund black-led startups

A few months ago, Marceau Michel met up with a fellow entrepreneur, Kathryn Brown of ScoutSavvy, to discuss their triumphs and tribulations of their time in the tech industry. That’s when the two discovered they were running into the same issue: lack of funding. Unfortunately, Michel, an African-American founder, is not alone. Just one percent of venture-backed companies are led by black founders . In an attempt to address this problem, Michel is looking to engage the public to help in an area where traditional investors seem to lack the willingness. “A lot of lip service is given to diversity and inclusion but the actual practicability of it lacks,” he told me. With Black Founders Matter , the goal is to bring the tenacity of the Black Lives Matter movement to the startup industry. “If there’s a brick wall that is standing between minorities and their dreams as entrepreneurs, how can we help the regular person help us in dismantling the wall between us and our dreams?” he posited
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