Andy Rubin, creator of Android and a former Google executive, has launched a new startup focused on humanoid robots, said a person with direct knowledge of the venture. His venture is the latest addition to the red-hot and frothy humanoid space, crowded with companies ranging from Tesla to startups such as Figure AI. Rubin’s startup, Genki Robotics, is based in Tokyo, where he is currently living, according to the person.... Read more ›
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It’s not just in your head—our deals section has been thinner as of late, and recent data on venture funding for crypto startups show why.Crypto and blockchain startups raised just $900 million in the first quarter, according to PitchBook data on announced deals, down 87% from the same period in 2022 and the smallest haul since the fourth quarter of 2020, when crypto fundraising came in at $800 million. The... Read more ›
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Last year, Google cut the number of employee performance reviews it conducts annually from two to one, responding to complaints that twice-a-year reviews consumed too much time. In the new system, managers were asked to talk more casually—but more frequently, once a quarter—with their subordinates about their performance. And Google wanted managers to record the results of the conversations. But the new system hasn’t worked as intended, according to one... Read more ›
36
Competition between the two of the biggest cybersecurity firms selling software monitoring employee access to cloud applications and data is set to intensify after influential market research firm Gartner cut its ranking on the market leader, Zscaler. In a regular update about the best positioned firms, Gartner ranked privately held Netskope ahead of its publicly held rival Zscaler, a 16-year old firm which has maintained 50%-plus annual revenue growth over... Read more ›
394
Tech startups and investors have had a tumultuous few months. There was the crypto meltdown, the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and, before that, the overall economic fallout from the weak economy and hammering of tech stocks. And as the dust has settled, there’s a new vibe in the air: concern—even a little desperation. Read more ›
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When thousands of people gathered at Los Angeles’ historic Greek Theatre in early February to pay tribute to P-22, a mountain lion who became something of a viral hit as he roamed the Hollywood Hills neighborhood, the house music star Diplo delivered a eulogy to the crowd. He credits OpenAI’s ChatGPT for helping him write a remembrance tinged with some humor for the only-in-L.A. event.“A guy came up to me... Read more ›
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Venture-backed Cross River Bank, a key partner to companies including Affirm and Coinbase, rode the coattails of the crypto and fintech boom—as well as a pandemic-era government business lending program. Now, as both sectors struggle with the impact of rising interest rates, some are losing faith in Cross River’s potential. Mutual fund giant T. Rowe Price, which invested in Cross River when it raised money at a $3 billion valuation... Read more ›
0
If you’re a founder or you work in the startup space, you can’t afford to be ignorant about tax law, especially in a down market. One day a piece of paper says you’re worth tens of millions of dollars; the next day, pennies. Many first-time founders saw their valuations drop for the first time in 2022—and with April 18 fast approaching, many are learning of the tax consequences of that... Read more ›
22
The first big change made by Y Combinator’s new CEO and president Garry Tan—to shutter a fund investing in mature startups so it could sharpen its focus on much younger companies—has set off an uproar among founders backed by the esteemed startup accelerator. Ten startups, including YC graduates such as payroll provider Deel and credit card startup Brex, said they were “surprised and deeply disappointed” with YC’s recent decision to... Read more ›
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Here’s a question: What incentives does a CEO need to stick around to work hard to advance the company’s priorities? If they’re a founder with a decent equity stake, the answer should be none. The opportunity to lift the value of their existing shares should be incentive enough. That’s apparently the view of big tech firms like Meta Platforms, which doesn’t pay its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Not everyone... Read more ›
21
TikTok invited hundreds of U.S. merchants to join its shopping service in November, but fewer than 100 of them were using it as of last month, my colleagues Juro, Theo, Ann and Kaya reported on Monday. That’s just some of the reporting that shows how few inroads TikTok has made in U.S. e-commerce so far.Yes, the U.S. version of TikTok Shop is still in testing, but it’s live, available on... Read more ›
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Amazon has started charging fees to make some returns at UPS Stores, marking the latest effort by the e-commerce giant to cut down on costs associated with customers sending back items. Returns have been an expensive headache for e-commerce companies after they skyrocketed during pandemic lockdown and have remained stubbornly high. Amazon’s UPS fee, along with a new “frequently returned” warning on some items that The Information first reported last... Read more ›
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When Helen Min and Meena Harris started raising money for their debut venture capital fund in January of last year, they expected that their combined 30 years of experience at tech companies would allow them to collect $15 million, a standard first-time fund target. Then interest rates spiked, sending tech stocks careening. By December, when their firm, Phenomenal Ventures, finished fundraising, the duo had raised just $6 million. “We were... Read more ›
49
The tech sector was taken by surprise when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed back in March. Startups faced uncertainty around what the news meant for their money and questions about how to make payroll arose. Brex —the six-year-old fintech company that specializes in credit cards and spend management solutions—took quick action by maintaining credit limits on their cards and establishing an emergency credit line for startups. Now that the dust has... Read more ›
0
As TikTok tries to win over U.S. politicians, it may have kneecapped its shopping service, TikTok Shop. Relatively few U.S. merchants are showing interest in signing up for the nascent service, both because they’re more focused on expanding in bricks and mortar and because they’re concerned the app could be banned, merchants say. Overseas sellers, in contrast, are eager for a new way to tap into the world’s second-largest e-commerce... Read more ›
27
For all the talk of lithium as the driver behind the nascent electric vehicle industry, a second, much less-discussed battery metal has been attracting recent attention. It is sodium, a cheap ingredient of ordinary salt. Long derided as lithium’s poorer cousin in terms of battery value, it is surprisingly showing better performance in some electric vehicles. Since sodium is found nearly everywhere, leading Chinese battery makers and some Western analysts... Read more ›
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Hi, welcome to your Weekend. This week, Annie brings us the story of a family-run startup arming young women with a new kind of safety device: The Birdie. Invented by two sisters whose children had been sexually assaulted, the emergency alarm attaches easo;u to bags or belt loops and screeches like a smoke detector when it’s activated. It is a simple piece of technology, but for Annie and other women... Read more ›
1
As a technology, the bicycle hasn’t changed much since 1885, when designer J.K. Starley decided to use a chain to drive the rear wheel. Nearly 140 years later, a foot still turns a crank that pulls a chain that spins a wheel. But the tech that’s layered on top of the modern bicycle is the stuff of sci-fi. I spoke with a number of hardcore amateur riders (aka roadies)—the kind... Read more ›
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When Michael Brancato began working with Chess.com in late 2017, it wasn’t particularly popular. A product manager at Twitch, Brancato was tapped to spearhead a two-year partnership between the chess site and the video streaming giant, hoping to grow the 1,500-year-old game’s reputation as a legitimate e-sport. He had his work cut out for him. Chess.com, which was launched a decade earlier by former Brigham Young University dorm mates Erik... Read more ›
0
A few months ago, I broke down and bought myself a Birdie, a $30 personal safety device that’s the size of a canary and the color of a candy bracelet. When activated, it emits an electronic shriek that is said to reach 130 decibels, loud enough to make your ears hurt and, theoretically, to keep bad guys at heel. Already my relationship with my Birdie is a complicated one. I’m... Read more ›
9
Welcome back!Scott is on vacation, and so I’m coming to you Pro subscribers this week to say a quick hello and share some thoughts ahead of this holiday weekend. It’s a pretty lively time between technology and Washington. Over the last few years, all anyone wanted to talk about was antitrust. And while those cases and issues are still intensifying, there’s all of a sudden a whole big patchwork of... Read more ›
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Most popular sources
Business Insider
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32% 2 |
Gizmodo
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16% 12 |
Android Authority
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10% 4 |
The Verge
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8% 1 |
Engadget
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5% 1 |
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21.11.2025 11:51
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