Category: Startups

[ad_1] Circle Media, the company behind Circle with Disney – a device that helps parents enforce their home’s internet rules and restrictions – has raised $10 million in Series A funding, the company announced this morning. The round was led by early stage venture fund Relay Ventures. There was other private equity investment in the round, but the…

[ad_1] MIT researchers have invented a new type of workout material that can breathe using biological cells. The project, called bioLogic, is essentially a “breathable workout suit” covered in small flaps. The flaps are “lined with live microbial cells that shrink and expand in response to changes in humidity” allowing the entire outfit to act…

[ad_1] While Sphero has released a whole lineup of robotic, Internet-connected toys, it remains best-known for its BB-8 droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Today it’s launching its next Disney tie-in — Ultimate Lightning McQueen. This is a car that you can control from your iPhone or Android, based on the Owen Wilson-voiced character from Pixar’s…

[ad_1] Stae wants to help local governments collect, manage and process data about their infrastructure. The company just raised $1.5 million from Story Ventures, Fontinalis Partners and Samsung Ventures. I first covered Stae back in April 2016. The vision hasn’t changed much, it’s all about preparing cities for the future and upgrading infrastructure by making…

[ad_1] Dave Asprey, the man famous for encouraging Silicon Valley execs to put butter in his special blend of coffee, has raised another $19 million to keep on doing just that. His company and lifestyle brand Bulletproof 360 claims to make coffee free of something called mycotoxins, which is, basically, mold and can make you very…

[ad_1] Pinterest is adding another ad to its array of products, now allowing advertisers to publish video advertising that will automatically play in the home feed and search, as it continues to bulk up and woo advertisers with a different pitch from Facebook and Google. Pinterest has had to make the argument to advertisers that…

[ad_1] As you may have noticed TechCrunch is coming back to Israel with a Meetup + Pitch-off in Tel Aviv because we had a great time last year. The event will be on June 28, at Trask, between 6-10 p.m.Israel is one of the world’s fastest-growing and most impressive startup ecosystems, and we simply can’t resist…

[ad_1] DocPlanner, the European online booking platform for healthcare appointments, has raised €15 million in Series D funding, just ten months after announcing a larger Series C round of $20 million (~€18m). Leading the round is existing investors Enern Investments, and Target Global, in addition to London-based One Peak Partners. It brings the total raised…

[ad_1] Founded as an enterprise alternative to accelerator stalwarts like Y Combinator, Alchemist Accelerator has managed to assemble a solid track record in its five years of operation.  Going into batch 15, 159 companies have graduated from Alchemist, of which 89 have closed institutional rounds and 15 have been acquired. The latest batch of 19…

[ad_1] Quiqup, a London-based delivery startup that operates a “shop on your behalf” app similar to Jinn in Europe or Postmates in the U.S., in addition to a growing B2B business, has raised £20 million in Series B funding. Leading the round is Jobi Capital, a New York-based fund, with participation from Transmed, a leading…

[ad_1] TechCrunch is pleased to bring you Alchemist Accelerator‘s demo day. Alchemist is one of those rare programs that focuses on enterprise startups. These aren’t your parents’ enterprise companies. Pitches today will span products that help businesses with crowdfunding, wearables, sustainable farming and managing meetings with the power of AI. Investors and press will hear pitches from…

[ad_1] Netherlands-based Minibrew has raised $2.8 million in seed funding after completing a successful $350,000 crowdfunding campaign to bring some smarts to the home-brew process. The Minibrew is a little keg with a big brain. When we first met the company in 2015 they offered a whiff of high tech to the brewing process, adding…

[ad_1] It wasn’t very long ago that bitcoin felt nascent, laughable and small. In the ensuing years, bitcoin has matured, become far less risible and grown massively. Underscoring bitcoin’s maturation, the currency set new price records this week as the value of a single coin crossed the $2,000 threshold. Since bitcoin was announced in 2009, and…

[ad_1] Flightcaster, Prismatic and now Merlon Intelligence. Bradford Cross, founder of the venture capital firm Data Collective is a known figure in the ranks of VCs who have caught the entrepreneurship bug, abandoning what could have been a cushy lifestyle for one with considerably more volatility. His third startup, Merlon Intelligence, services banks, helping them cut down on risk…

[ad_1] If you’re looking to buy something, but don’t want to pay for it yet, Blispay thinks it has the solution for you. The startup works with small and mid-sized businesses to help retail customers defer payments for six months. Baltimore-based Blispay has been gaining traction and raised an additional $12 million in funding after…