A new early-stage VC fund targeting tech startups in the Nordics is getting its official launch today. Founded by serial entrepreneur and Slush Chairman Ilkka Kivimäki, and former F-Secure and startup executive Pirkka Palomäki, Helsinki-based Maki.vc will invest in nascent and burgeoning companies in the region, both at seed and ...
Read More »Chinese bike-sharing startup Ofo raises $866M in new financing led by Alibaba Group
Beijing-based bike-sharing startup Ofo has raised $866 million in new financing led by Alibaba Group to fuel its expensive competition with Mobike, which is backed by Tencent, one of Alibaba’s biggest rivals. Ofo and Mobike are the two largest bike-sharing companies in China. Other participants in the round, which consists ...
Read More »India’s Ola takes its Uber rivalry to Australia with launch in Sydney
Ola, Uber’s key rival in India, has taken its first step overseas after its service officially went live in Australia via a launch in Sydney. The company announced its plans to go Down Under at the end of January and in Sydney, which is its first full launch, Ola said it ...
Read More »Elon Musk crashes SXSW panel to talk about space travel
Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, made a surprise appearance on the Westworld panel at SXSW. After getting cued up by Jonathan Nolan, the co-creator of HBO series Westworld, Musk walked out on stage to people cheering and one person screaming, “Elon, we love you!” During his stage time, he ...
Read More »This robo-bug can improvise its walk like a real insect
There are plenty of projects out there attempting to replicate the locomotion of insects, but one thing that computers and logic aren’t so good at is improvising and adapting the way even the smallest, simplest bugs do. This project from Tokyo Tech is a step in that direction, producing gaits ...
Read More »Trump’s take on gaming and violence was wrong in the ’90s and it’s twice as wrong now
A cobbled-together meeting at the White House is the latest chapter in the long, misguided crusade against video games. It would be comical if the country were not in a bitter ongoing debate about gun control and the safety of children; but since we are, it’s frustrating that time is ...
Read More »Banking platform solarisBank closes €56.6M Series B from BBVA, Visa, Lakestar, and others
SolarisBank, the Berlin-based “banking platform” co-founded by fintech company builder Finleap, appears to be on quite a roll. The company, which now claims nearly 60 corporate clients who offer various financial services powered by solarisBank, has closed €56.6 million in Series B funding in a round that includes a number ...
Read More »IBM’s PAIRS Geoscope helps developers wrangle geospatial data
IBM today announced PAIRS Geoscope, a new experimental cloud-based service that makes it easier for developers to work with large amounts of geospatial data from across a wide variety of sources. The service handles ingesting, integrating and managing the data and allows developers to focus on their queries. Indeed, it’s ...
Read More »Coinbase addresses Ripple rumors, says it has made no decision on adding new coins
Coinbase just threw a bit of cold water on Ripple enthusiasts eager to see their coin hit the popular mainstream exchange. Rumors that Ripple’s XRP would be next in line after Bitcoin Cash reached a fever pitch this week among coin hype types, with some reading between the lines of ...
Read More »Netflix’s ‘Icarus’ wins the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature
It was a quiet Oscar ceremony for the big streaming services, but Netflix’s doping film Icarus (directed by Bryan Fogel) did win the award for best documentary feature. The Big Sick, distributed by Amazon Studios, was nominated for best original screenplay, while Netflix’s Mudbound was nominated for best adapted screenplay, ...
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