Day: March 5, 2019

Apple devices continue to lead the wearables market, according to a new report from IDC out today, which claimed the Cupertino-based company shipped a total of 46.2 million wearables for the year. The firm also reported the worldwide market for wearable devices grew 31.4 percent during the fourth quarter of 2018, to reach 59.3 million […]

The growth of augmented and virtual reality applications and hardware is ushering in a new age of digital media and imaging technologies, and startups that are putting themselves at the center of that are attracting interest. TechCrunch has learned and confirmed that Matterport, which started out making cameras but has since diversified into a wider […]

The official trailer for the final season of Game of Thrones has landed. Behold: As you can see, we’ve been blessed with peeks at a few scenes that promise a climactic final season. The trailer includes dragons flying over Winterfell, Gendry, sinister Cersei, and a teaser for the battle fans have been waiting for: the […]

Blueground, the startup providing turnkey flexible rental apartments, has raised $20 million in a round led by Athens-based VentureFriends, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst, Dubai’s Jabbar Internet Group, and serial entrepreneur Kevin Ryan. Ryan – who helped found MongoDB, Gilt Groupe, Zola, and others – will also join Blueground’s Board of Directors. It’s no secret […]

The French government has unveiled a complete overhaul of the French Tech Visa for employees working for a tech company. And France is taking a contrarian stance by making it easier to come work in France. Let’s start with the big number. According to French Tech Mission director Kat Borlongan, there are more than 10,000 […]

Let me blunt up front: I think Google should launch a censored search engine in China (albeit with careful organizational boundaries). And I think that Google employees who would undermine such a project need to step down and walk out the front door to opportunities more in line with their purported values. I am reacting […]

Mercedes-Benz revealed Tuesday the Concept EQV, an all-electric premium van designed to travel up to 249 miles on a single charge. Concepts often never become production vehicles. But this one will. The EQV, which was unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show, will go into series production. The automaker plans to produce an electric van […]

SoundCloud wants to make its streaming music service more affordable to a key demographic: younger users who generally spend more time listening to music, compared with their older counterparts. This morning, the company announced the launch of discounted student accounts, offering a 50 percent discount off its top-tier SoundCloud Go+ subscription. That brings the cost […]

San Francisco-based mobile banking startup Chime announced this morning it has raised an additional $200 million in Series D financing led by DST Global, valuing its business at $1.5 billion. The oversubscribed round also included participation from new investors Coatue, General Atlantic, ICONIQ Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group, along with existing investors Menlo Ventures, Forerunner […]

Soldo, the London-based fintech startup that offers a multi-user spending account primarily for businesses, has secured an Electronic Money Institution licence from Ireland’s Central Bank, a move the company says is designed to mitigate against the uncertainty of Brexit. The Accel-backed company is currently licensed by U.K. financial regulator the FCA and benefits from so-called […]