Startups
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Breakout Labs backs 4 startups that are “reprogramming nature”
A venture fund that backs very early-stage advanced tech and science startups, Breakout Labs, has invested in 4 new deals, according to founder and Managing Partner Lindy Fishburne.
The fund, which is part of the Thiel Foundation, typically invests $350,000 in each startup, with no strings attached. If a startup’s research and development does not lead to commercialization as hoped… Read More
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VenueNext raises $15 million to take its app beyond U.S. sports stadiums
VenueNext Inc. has raised $15 million in Series B funding to bring its venue management technology to Europe, and beyond the live entertainment industry. Among other things, using VenueNext apps, people can wave their mobile tickets at the gate to get into a game or concert, order food, drinks or merchandise to be delivered to their seats, and get information and amenities that they need when… Read More
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Duolingo’s new chatbots help you brush up on your foreign language conversation skills
A lot of startups are talking about the possibilities of chatbots, but Duolingo recently launched one of the most interesting uses so far — practicing a new language. The Duolingo chatbots allow users to hold text message conversations in French, Spanish or German, with the chatbots taking on different personas to discuss different topics. You probably won’t mistake them for… Read More
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Digital comics startup Madefire launches its first virtual reality app
When digital comics startup Madefire announced its latest funding round a few days ago, co-founder and CEO Ben Wolstenholme said the company was getting ready to move into virtual and augmented reality. He lived up to that promise in very short order, launching a preview app for Samsung’s Oculus-powered Gear VR platform and demonstrating it at New York Comic Con. Wolstenholme has told… Read More
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Disruptor Beam is developing a multiplayer strategy game based on The Walking Dead
Game developer Disruptor Beam has already adapted Game of Thrones and Star Trek to the world of smartphones and tablets. Now it’s adding The Walking Dead to that list. CEO Jon Radoff said The Walking Dead: March to War will be a multiplayer strategy game for iOS and Android, where players (potentially tens of thousands of them on a single map) compete with each other for resources and… Read More
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The importance of science fiction to entrepreneurship
There are three types of science fiction (in my view): crap, serialized crap and hard-science science fiction. The last type contains a wealth of visions of the future, many of which we enjoy today, and is referenced in the names of, or has influenced, many tech startups and world-class entrepreneurs. Read More
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New Lab is a new home for hardware startups in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard
New Lab, which co-founder David Belt described as “a collaborative workspace” for companies in fields like robotics and artificial intelligence, officially opened last month.
The facility is located in Brooklyn’s Navy Yard, in a building that was once used to assemble ships. Belt said he wanted to bring the building back as a manufacturing center, except updated for… Read More
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GitHub is raising a secondary round
We’re hearing from several sources that a secondary financing round is in the works for GitHub, following its last $250 million financing round that valued it at $2 billion in July last year. However, there’s a little bit of interesting chatter beyond that they’re raising a secondary for potential liquidation of investors or employees, we hear. There are two parts to the… Read More
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Spotify and Apple Music get unofficial mixes, the best part of SoundCloud
SoundCloud’s big differentiator is its offering of unofficial, user-uploaded content that the major labels don’t release and that isn’t on Spotify or Apple Music. Or at least they weren’t. The first unofficial single-track remixes just went live on Spotify and Apple Music thanks to their partnerships with music rights management service Dubset. Apple struck a deal… Read More
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Co-founder Antti Pasila becomes CEO at programmatic ad company Kiosked
Kiosked, a company that dynamically inserts ads into a publisher’s content, has a new CEO — co-founder Antti Pasila. Pasila, who previously served as the company’s chief strategy officer, said his appointment is part of a broader shift: “The key thing is, we’re focusing our resources on the supply side.” In other words, while there are no plans to get rid… Read More
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