TechCrunch is bringing Disrupt back to Europe for the sixth time, and we’re delighted to announce that Berlin, the urban heartland of Europe’s startup scene, will once again be Disrupt’s host city in 2018. Save these Disrupt Berlin dates in your diary: 29-30 November 2018 If you ask, “Why Berlin?” the answer is simple. Not […]
This past week, as we watched SpaceX launch its absolutely massive Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time, many of us wondered if it would make it off the launch pad. So did Elon Musk. National Geographic just posted some incredible behind-the-scenes footage of the launch, capturing everything from about 15 seconds prior to takeoff […]
Atlanta-based Cardlytics made its public debut on Friday, closing the day at $13.37, just a little above the IPO price of $13. The company sold 5.4 million shares, raising $70 million. Cardlytics works with financial institutions like Bank of America and 2,000 others to run cash back programs. It partners with brands across restaurant, retail, […]
Another antitrust fine for Google. India’s competition commission has issued a 1.36BN rupees (~$21.1M) penalty on the search giant for abusing its dominant position in the local search market for online general web search and web search advertising services. “Google was leveraging its dominance in the market for online general web search, to strengthen its […]
China already operates the world’s largest surveillance state with some 170 CCTV cameras at work, but its line of sight is about to get a new angle thanks to new smart eyewear that is being piloted by police officers. The smart specs look a lot like Google Glass, but they are used for identifying potential […]
SoftBank made waves when its gigantic Vision Fund hit a massive $93 billion first close of a targeted $100 billion total last year, but already it is clear why the firm is reportedly planning a sequel. According to the Japanese firm’s latest financials, it has already deployed one-third of the capital. A large chunk of the […]
Bitcoin and crypto aren’t the only things on the decline, sales of tablet devices once again dropped in 2017, according to new data. Figures from analyst firm IDC show that overall tablet shipments fell by 6.5 percent to 163.5 million units last year. That’s down from 174.9 million in 2016, when the annual decrease was in […]
Infarm, a startup that has developed vertical farming tech for grocery stores, restaurants and local distribution centres to bring fresh and artisan produce much closer to the consumer, has raised $25 million in Series A funding. The round is led by London-based VC firm Balderton Capital, with participation from TriplePoint Capital, Mons Investments, and previous […]
Is there a point when investors will turn off the spigots for giant unicorn funding rounds? If so, we haven’t reached that threshold yet. Last year, investors put a record amount of capital into members of the Crunchbase Unicorn Leaderboard, a list of private venture-backed companies valued at more than $1 billion. Globally, a staggering $66 […]
Reports of the death of Bitcoin in India have been greatly exaggerated. On Thursday a budget speech by finance minister Arun Jaitley generated a tsunami of ‘the Bitcoin party is over in India’ headlines, adding to downward pressures on the cryptocurrency. Safe to say, the truth of the matter is a lot more gray. Yes, […]