Category: Startups

[ad_1] Robot arms have come a long way since the 1960’s when George C. Devol and Joseph Engelberger created the earliest industrial models. Those had two-finger grippers that, in retrospect, look fit to pluck a rubber ducky out of a bin in a carnival game, but nothing too sophisticated. By now, robots in factories and…

[ad_1] Through Lyft and Uber, the sharing economy has taken a charge at cabs. Airbnb is making hotels palpitate in their pants. If TRVL has its way, it’s the travel agencies’ turn to tremble. Armed with 2.7 million freshly minted dollars from a conglomerate of angel investors, the company is hoping to augment services like…

[ad_1] Alex Wilhelm is the editor-in-chief of Crunchbase News and co-host of Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast. More posts by this contributor: 2017 is miles ahead of 2016 when it comes to IPOs. Instead of the mere two tech IPOs we had this time last year, there have been at least 10, depending on what you…

[ad_1] CrowdJustice, a startup that brings crowdfunding to “public interest” litigation, has raised $2 million in seed funding for U.S. expansion. First Round Capital, and Venrock led the round, with participation from Bessemer, and previous investor Kindred Capital. The company also counts Bela Hatvany (first investor in JustGiving) and Jonathan McKay (Chairman of JustGiving) as…

[ad_1] On this week’s episode of Technotopia we talk to Sarah Kaufman, the Assistant Director at the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management. Kaufman is working to create new transit opportunities for New Yorkers – and the world – and expects the future to be quite interesting. Her prediction? As we move towards self-driving…

[ad_1] In our 16th episode, we talk with Tom Kelly, a partner at IDEO, about the definition of innovation, how to take back your creative confidence, and the habits that can shape not only your current design team, but the up-and-coming design leaders of the world. The word “innovation” has gotten overused. Kelley says innovation, at the most fundamental level, is a fresh…

[ad_1] Zach Abramowitz is the co-founder and CEO of ReplyAll. More posts by this contributor: Chief executive officer Yaron Ben Shaul originally launched Hometalk as an engagement platform for customers of Networx, his lead-generation business for home contractors. That engagement platform, with offices in New York and a research and development center in Israel, has since grown into a social…

[ad_1] A lot of startups are pitching ways to put us to sleep lately. In response, investors are perking up and writing big checks. Call it Big Sleep. After decades spent funding technologies tailored to deprive us of sleep (see: streaming video, gaming, social networks and 24/7 online shopping), the venture capital industry has decided…

[ad_1] LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman announced today that he’s making a big bet on Change.org, the site for social justice petitions. Hoffman is leading a $30 million round, with other investors including big names like Bill Gates and Y Combinator president Sam Altman. “Change.org, the global hub for collective action, is a crucial democratizing force in…

[ad_1] KidPass, a monthly membership program that gives parents access to a variety of kid-friendly activities across their city, has raised $5.1 million in Series A funding, the startup reported this week. Currently live in New York, the new funds will allow the service to expand to new markets including L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, Boston,…

[ad_1] After a painful first-quarter miss, Snap, the parent company of the popular social app Snapchat, is looking to avoid the same fate in the second. According to Digiday, Snap is working to drive new and increased business ahead of the end of its second quarter. To do so, the company is said to be cutting deals.…

[ad_1] Businesses usually spend lots of time and money trying of attract potential customers. Now a startup called Riley aims to help them prioritize those sales leads. Riley was part of the winter class at Y Combinator. (In fact, CEO Daniel Ahmadizadeh said he and his co-founder Helson Taveras applied several times with different products and ideas…

[ad_1] I’ll be in Reykjavik next week and you know what that means… I want to meet you! So we’ll be holding a small meetup (not really a pitchoff but feel free to pitch me while I’m there) at Bryggjan Brugghús, Grandagarði 8, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland. The event is being held on Tuesday, May 30,…

[ad_1] The League, a dating app that prides itself on selectiveness and requires members to be approved before joining, has traditionally taken expansion pretty slow. Originally launched in early 2015, the app is still only in 7 cities – New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C and London. But the startup just…

[ad_1] When Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard set out to fly around the world in a plane that uses no fuel, he knew he wasn’t going to get much rest. During the journey, he would be able to sleep, at a maximum, three hours per day with rest meted out in twenty-minute intervals. The plane, which could…