Category: Tech news

 PizzaRat, the lovable scampering rodent that took the Internet by storm last week, now has representation in Hollywood. An entertainment company called Jukin Media bought the rights to the 15-second video that reached over 5 million views on YouTube, a move that surprised many of the rat’s fans who retweeted gifs of the rodent in action. The guy who recorded PizzaRat, comedian Matt… Read More

 Stories of entrepreneurs launching innovative ideas, raising millions in venture capital and turning startups such as Uber, Airbnb and Snapchat into multi-billion dollar companies has catapulted venture capital investments, setting record numbers since the dot-com era. On the surface, it appears that investors have everything under control. But as we peel back the layers, empirical research… Read More

 Today Oculus gave 1,500 developers at the Oculus Connect 2 conference (as well as those at home via livestream or on Gear VR a chance to watch) a look at how the consumer version of the Oculus Rift will roll out in Q1 2016, how Oculus plans to bring virtual reality to millions through the Samsung Gear VR, and how new platforms and controllers will expand the uses of Oculus Rift from games… Read More

 A great victory was won earlier this year for supporters of innovation, competition and openness — net neutrality rules were adopted by the FCC. Those rules have recently come into effect, and we’ve already seen significant movement, including the $100 million AT&T fine for data throttling. Read More

 At half the price of its last mobile VR headset, the new $99 Oculus-made Samsung Gear VR is cheap enough to unlock virtual reality for the mainstream. Revealed today at the Oculus Connect conference, it works with the whole 2015 line of Samsung Smartphones including the Note 5, S6, S6 Edge, and S6 Edge+. It will ship in November in time for Black Friday. Compared to the $199 previous Gear VRs… Read More

 Amino, a startup that’s built 41 different mobile community apps (so far), is announcing that it has raised $6.5 million in Series A funding. I first wrote about the company a little more than a year ago, when it raised a $1.65 million seed round. Co-founder and CEO Ben Anderson told me that the idea was to reinvent the traditional online forum with a smartphone-optimized experience… Read More

 In this new age of so-called tech “unicorns” and their eye-popping valuations, it’s important to remember that not all revenue is created equal. Indeed, recent volatility in the stock market has lots of industry watchers cautioning startups to concern themselves less with achieving unicorn status and more on building customer and employee satisfaction. Read More

 Disrupt London is fast approaching, and we’re thrilled to announce that attendee registration is now open. You can now grab your tickets here at the Early Bird rate of £800 and join investors, tech enthusiasts and the startup community from Europe and all over the world.
The show runs from December 7-8 at London’s beautiful Copper Box Arena, and with all the great speakers and… Read More

 Launching today with $900K in seed funding, Ledge is an app that lets users easily borrow money from their peers. Everyone knows it’s hard to lend money to family or friends. The process is awkward, and most people never actually get paid back. Ledge is trying to fix this issue by bringing automation and transparency to peer-to-peer lending. Here’s how Ledge works: After a… Read More

 It is common wisdom nowadays that a founding team consisting of 2–3 founders is ideal. Doing it solo is simply too hard. Founder burnout is an imminent possibility, and statistics are simply not on your side. Until recently, the most common formula for a startup’s founding team was the MBA and techie duo. In recent years, there’s been a shift toward a three-member formula.… Read More

 Technology darlings like Uber, Pinterest and Airbnb may be taking their time on the way to exit, but that doesn’t mean IPOs aren’t happening. They’re alive and well in the consumer space — from food brands to premium pet food and retail establishments. So why are these companies pursuing IPOs — and finding success in the markets — while tech companies are… Read More

 Glowforge has flipped the switch to on for pre-orders of its 3D laser printer. Makers can now purchase the machine in advance on the Seattle-based startup’s website starting today.
The Glowforge 3D printer isn’t really a 3D printer, but a laser cutter. It’s confusingly described but actually cuts into and reduces material to make objects from plastic, leather and the like… Read More

 Three-year-old Premise, an economic data tracking platform, has raised $50 million in Series C funding from earlier backer Social + Capital Partnership and new investor Valor Equity Partners, which pitched in $35 million. Valor’s Antonio Gracias, who is also a director at Tesla and SpaceX, is joining the board. He joins the company’s earlier board members Chamath Palihapitiya,… Read More

 Talking about down rounds in a bull market feels like shopping for an umbrella in this unprecedented California drought. You get some funny looks, but it pays to be prepared. When the current market shifts, as we know it will, capital will dwindle and shrink valuations. We’ll see down rounds spike, just as they always do when the markets fall. A down round can happen to anyone, but… Read More

 VCs strive to find passionate founders. Well, it’s hard to find someone as passionate about computer-aided design (CAD) software as Jon Hirschtick, the cofounder and CEO of three-year-old, Cambridge, Ma.-based Onshape. It was back in 1993 that Hirschtick founded his first 3D modeling software company, SolidWorks, selling it four years later for $316 million to the multinational 3D… Read More