Category: Tech news

 Well, do I have the deal of the century for you! Investors – the smartest investors in the world – are throwing billions at it! The price can only go up! People are flocking from around the globe to get their share! Time is very limited, so you have to act now! It’s so exciting, I even forgot how to use normal punctuation!!!
Then there’s the crash and suddenly, the… Read More

 Hackathon prize money keeps rising each year as organizations learn to take advantage of their value. Runner-up cash prizes are now in the thousands, and grand-prize payouts are as high as $1 million. There is now a compelling argument for ambitious programmers to live off hackathons: They can forget the long-term slog of building a startup and instead focus on the fun part — the first… Read More

 Since the 1950s, virtual reality (VR) has been hovering on the periphery of technology without achieving accepted mainstream application or commercial adoption. Since 2012, VR startups have raised more than $1.46 billion in venture capital, including more than $100 million in funding during the last four consecutive quarters. In the abstract as well as the applied, modern education is poised… Read More

 What is it with politicians and encryption? There are now two bills in different U.S. states, one in California and one in New York, proposing that smartphones sold in the state must be able to be decrypted on demand by either their manufacturer or OS provider. Read More

 VCs have avoided solar deals ever since Solyndra became a four-letter word. But while their attention has strayed, the industry has been on a tear. In 2010, U.S. solar installers hit a milestone of 1 GW per year. Five years later, they’re installing more than 1 GW per month. This tremendous growth has fed a swelling herd of solar unicorns populated by the likes of SolarCity, SunEdison… Read More

 Google appears to be doubling down on virtual reality as they look to begin building “multiple” consumer hardware devices, according to new VR job postings on their site. Google’s current consumer VR offerings are confined to its Google Cardboard program, which allows consumers to experience rudimentary virtual reality with a simple system involving cheap headsets attached… Read More

 Without any notice, Blue Origin made history once again when they completed a successful launch and landing of a suborbital rocket yesterday. What made this flight particularly notable was that they used the same rocket that had been launched into space on a flight in November. The recovered New Shepard rocket launched from Blue Origin’s test site in West Texas, brought a capsule to… Read More

 Financial technology has never been a more exciting or innovative category — especially in New York City. Oddly, tech is not the driving force in many of these ventures. The Blockchain and Bitcoin notwithstanding, most of what we’re seeing now is financial product evolution and the unbundling of the large bank. Most of these companies could have been built 20 years ago. Read More

 Robots are everywhere. They help lawyers make decisions, they sweep up after our parties, and now they can help you figure out how to invest your money. In fact, an Atlanta-based company called iAllocate is using artificial intelligence to suggest where you should be stashing your millions. “Currently, iAllocate.me provides investors of all levels a DIY set of tools to not only… Read More

 Oh, the drama, such drama. Last week, longtime Bitcoin developer Mike Hearn declared “the Bitcoin experiment…has failed,” and resigned from that community with a fusillade of verbal grenades (and a New York Times profile of his dissent.) This in turn provoked a whole torrent of hot takes and reactions, which mostly had one thing in common: contempt for all who disagree. Read More

 If we trace a path that starts with Gutenberg’s use of moveable type to Malcom McLean’s invention of the shipping container, we start to recognize a very interesting pattern: Each new layer of abstraction and standardization creates tremendous value out of the resulting increases in scale and efficiency. Today’s digital innovators can trace a similar historical path that… Read More

 You’d think that working in one of the world’s largest cities — especially one with a global rep for innovation and excellence — would make it pretty easy to get some traction. But that misses a vital point: London’s tech ecosystem is in its infancy. There’s a definite feeling here that working for a tech startup is cool — but that doesn’t mean… Read More

 AngelList is the LinkedIn for startups; it’s a directory for finding and researching great startups. Many of the biggest seed venture capital firms and angel investors are on the list, and many use it to help them source and validate deals. But AngelList is also a crowdfunding platform, a way for startups and investors not only to connect with each other, but also to actually raise money. Read More

 If you’re in the market for a new Samsung phone, this weekend might be the right time to go for it. Now through Saturday, Best Buy is offering a free Samsung Gear VR with the purchase of a qualifying Galaxy phone. Gear VR retails for $99, so this is definitely an awesome deal and a great way to get your hands at one of the only commercially available headsets. Now, you can’t just… Read More

 Lanhee Chen, one of the Republican Party’s rising policy stars, reminds us that the brains can be found on the right as well as the left of American politics. Read More