Category: Tech news

 TechCrunch has learned that Amazon has acquired Body Labs, a company with a stated aim of creating true-to-life 3D body models to support various b2b software applications — such as virtually trying on clothes or photorealistic avatars for gaming. Read More

 Stripe, the payments startup is now valued at $9 billion, is today taking the wraps off its latest effort to help its customers — which now number in the hundreds of thousands, and include companies like Lyft, Salesforce, Facebook, Deliveroo, and the U.K. government — generate more transactions, and thus greater returns for Stripe itself. It is launching Elements, a free toolkit… Read More

Read an excerpt from the book, “The Runaway Species.”

The company makes its toy hot rods by expertly carving wood.

The new headphones from Nura measure inner-ear vibrations to figure out what sounds best to your ears.

The next generation of Pixel phones could set Google on a path to become a successful hardware company.

 School’s back in session, which means homework’s back, too! But don’t fret about those tests, there are plenty of apps to help make prepping easier. TechCrunch tested out the study aids and here are our favorites. Photomath Some people are naturally great at math. Others need a little more assistance. Yet everybody could benefit from some practice. Photomath is an app for… Read More

 It takes money to make money and right now a lot of that money is going into the development of artificial intelligence. Ray Dalio explains the importance of understanding and how he and his hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, is approaching the technological shift. Read More

 With every new trend comes a counter-trend. And so despite the current excitement over the wonders of artificial intelligence, one company is betting that human intelligence can still deliver solutions for businesses that AI cannot hope to match. Article One Partners (AOP) is a crowdsourced network of over 42,000 researchers in 170 countries — 42% of whom have graduate degrees in a… Read More

 To successfully address the unprecedented man-made environmental crises we face, it’s time to retire the word sustainability. Read More

 The Gillmor Gang — Doc Searls, Denis Pombriant, David Weinberger, Frank Radice, and Steve Gillmor. Recorded live 9.30.17. Cluetrain meets Blockchain, Twitter and the death of brevity, Who are the arbiters? G3: Algorithm and Blues — Francine Hardaway, Elisa Camahort Page, Mary Hodder, Kristie Wells, and Tina Chase Gillmor. Social media, Facebook and the Russians, bad algorithms,… Read More

 Defakto is a small German watchmaker that has made a name for itself over the years thanks to the unique, but classic designs it boasts thanks to mark founder Raphael Ickler. The latest watch from Ickler and Defakto, the Vektor, continues this tradition of smart, minimalist looks, but adds a very slim case thanks to use of a Miyota 9015 automatic Japanese movement, and brings some extra… Read More

 All too often the fact that human lives are increasingly enmeshed with and dependent on ever more complex, and ever more inscrutable, technologies is considered a good thing. Negatives don’t generally get dwelled on. And for the most part people are expected to move along, or be moved along by the tech. Read More

 When Motiv told me what they were working on just ahead of CES, I perked up. It wasn’t the functionality — there are a million trackers out there that do what the device does and much more. It was the potential the product represents — the beginnings of liberation from the tyranny of the wrist. It’s easy to understand why so many companies are so attached to that… Read More

 2017 has been the year of AI, reaching a fever pitch of VC and corporate investment. But, as with any hot technology, AI is outgrowing this phase of experimentation and hype. According to research firm Gartner, we’re past the “peak of inflated expectations.” Next up is a necessary recalibration of the space—one that will separate the winning AI-driven companies from all… Read More