Spotify has long refused to restrict new releases from its ad-supported non-paying listeners because it would make the streaming app confusing. It wanted all music available to everyone, always. But as it preps to IPO, it needs to negotiate better royalty rates with the major labels, and allowing this “windowing” practice is a bargaining chip it’s finally going to cash in. Read More
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Former 500 Startups accelerator company Pluto AI is announcing $2.1 million in fundraising today from Fall Line Capital, Refactor Capital, Unshackled Ventures, Comet Labs and additional angels. Pluto is taking advantage of the sensorification of modern water treatment plants to extrapolate insights that can save operators precious time, money and water. Read More
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Microsoft is getting into the “fun camera app” game with a new iOS application called Sprinkles, which has now earned a featured spot in the “New apps we love” section of the App Store. The gist with Sprinkles, clearly aimed at a teen audience, is to offer a variety of traditional photo decorating tools like stickers, emoji and captions, but leverages… Read More
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Find-a-doctor app Amino has raised $25 million in a Series C round of venture funding, according to CEO and co-founder David Vivero. Highland Capital led the investment joined by Accel, Aspect Ventures, CRV, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, and Pilot Wall Group. A ZocDoc competitor, Amino gives users the ability to search for doctors who are most experienced in treating their… Read More
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Blackstorm Labs, a startup that’s working to build technology that brings developers tools to get out games and apps more quickly through HTML5, today said it is working with Rakuten to build a new entity called R Games that will serve as a hub for games in Japan and Asia. Read More
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When we first wrote about Chowbotics, their salad-making robot stirred a bit of controversy. The company promises to bring nutritious dining options to offices that don’t have a big cafeteria and budget to employ full-time chefs. But their robot, Sally, threatens to put a number of people out of work. Chowbotics Executive Chairman Rich Page gives us his thoughts. Read More
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Ryan Holiday made his bones as a PR guy and then revolted against the industry in his tell-all book Trust Me, I’m Lying and then, after much soul-searching, came to embrace the ancient philosophy of stoicism. His latest work, including Ego Is The Enemy, are handbooks for the modern startup stoic. This week I talked to Holiday about his books and how stoicism can help us all calm down… Read More
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FINE, a San Francisco- and Portland-based brand agency, is open sourcing the content management system (CMS) it has developed in-house to build sites for brands like Anchor Brewing, Kimpton Residences at Seafire, Prūf Cultivar (“Elevated Cannabis”) and others. 
Tesla is trading up again today, after a strong run yesterday that saw its total market cap value leapfrog Ford’s. It passed GM’s market cap on Tuesday, meaning it’s now the most valuable U.S. automaker as measured by the stock market’s standards. 
Researchers at the University of Manchester have come up with a method for controlling the permeation of graphene oxide membranes — enabling the nanomaterial to act as a sieve to desalinate seawater.