2020
Sony said on Friday that it will launch the PlayStation 5 in India on February 2, suggesting improvements in the supply chain network that was severely impacted last year because…
Union Square Ventures and Learn Capital file paperwork indicating new funds
As 2020 comes to a long-awaited end, a series of filings indicate that venture capitalists are ending the year with fresh money. According to SEC paperwork, Learn Capital and USV…
It’s been a strange year for sleep. For me, levels have fluctuated between too little and too much, but have — more often than not — tended toward the former.…
BadVR is using government grants to build a business that’s independent of venture capital
When the Los Angeles-based extended reality data visualization company BadVR first heard that one of its earliest benefactors, Magic Leap, was about to shed 1,000 jobs and was fighting for…
While much of what made 2020 such an absolute nightmare will still be with us on January 1 (sorry!), we will really, truly be leaving Adobe Flash and FarmVille behind…
NYC MTA’s contactless fare system completes rollout, will phase out MetroCard in 2023
On the last day of 2020, New York City’s Metro Transit Authority announced that it has finished its roll out of contactless payment systems. With the addition of a final…
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Extra Crunch’s top 10 stories of 2020
I’ve tried to gather a sample of stories that taught me something new (which means this top 10 list betrays my ignorance).
After burning through $2 billion, Katerra gets a $200 million SoftBank lifeline to escape bankruptcy
SoftBank Group is reportedly investing $200 million to bail out Katerra, a startup that had hoped to remake the construction industry with a vertically integrated approach, according to a report…
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How artificial intelligence will be used in 2021
“We’re going to start to see a lot of real value and ROI generated by AI across more and more businesses,”
Salesforce has built a deep bench of executive talent via acquisition
When Salesforce acquired Quip in 2016 for $750 million, it gained CEO and co-founder Bret Taylor as part of the deal. Taylor has since risen quickly through the ranks of…
Samsung vice chairman Jay Y. Lee faces nine-year sentence in bribery case
Samsung Electronics vice chairman Jay Y. Lee faces a nine-year prison term in the bribery case that contributed to the downfall of former president Park Guen-hye. Prosecutors argued that the…
Amazon makes a big podcast acquisition, a Chinese robot maker raises $100 million and we review a robotic cat pillow. This is your Daily Crunch for December 30, 2020. The…
You don’t need Qoobo in your life. Nobody needs Qoobo, exactly. In fact, first reactions tend to range from befuddlement to bemusement. The robotic cat pillow doesn’t make a ton…
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2020 will change the way we look at robotics
Earlier this month, Hyundai acquired a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics that valued the company at $1.1 billion. What’s most interesting about the news isn’t the acquisition itself (it does, after all, find Boston Dynamics switching hands for the third time in seven years), but rather what the company’s evolution tells us about the state…
Elon Musk says SpaceX will attempt to recover Super Heavy rocket by catching it with launch tower
SpaceX will try a significantly different approach to landing its future reusable rocket boosters, according to CEO and founder Elon Musk. It will attempt to “catch” the heavy booster, which…
Fluence, the energy storage systems developer, is now worth over $1 billion after QIA investment
The Qatar Investment Authority is investing $125 million into energy storage systems integrator and power management tech developer, Fluence, in a deal that will value the company at over $1…
Imagine being blind and trying to attend a virtual event. Try that next time you stage one.
How do you make a virtual event accessible for people who are blind or visually impaired? When I started work on Sight Tech Global back in June this year, I…
Amazon just announced that it’s acquiring Wondery, the network behind podcasts including “Dirty John” and “Dr. Death.” Wondery will become part of Amazon Music, which added support for podcasts (including its…
Dear Sophie: Tips for getting a National Interest green card by myself?
I really want permanent residence, but I never won a Nobel prize; I’m single; and I don’t have a million dollars yet. However, I think I might qualify for an…
Student-founded Develop for Good surpasses 25,000 volunteer hours connecting students with nonprofits
This has been the year of the social organization. As the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world and the United States, governments and a patchwork of nonprofits and volunteer organizations…
Section 230 is threatened in new bill tying liability shield repeal to $2,000 checks
Tech got dragged into yet another irrelevant Congressional scuffle this week after President Trump agreed to sign a bipartisan pandemic relief package but continued to press for additional $2,000 checks…
Without active involvement from business unit leaders across the company in marketing, human resources, sales and more, a company can never have a healthy risk-aware culture.
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NSO used real people’s location data to pitch its contact-tracing tech, researchers say
Spyware maker NSO Group used real phone location data on thousands of unsuspecting people when it demonstrated its new COVID-19 contact-tracing system to governments and journalists, researchers have concluded. NSO, a private intelligence company best known for developing and selling governments access to its Pegasus spyware, went on the charm offensive earlier this year to…
Activist hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb takes on Intel, plans launch of new VC fund
Third Point, the activist hedge fund run by Daniel Loeb, is busy in the waning days of 2020. It’s had great returns despite huge turbulence early in the pandemic —…
China’s adaptive robot maker Flexiv raises over $100 million
As businesses around the world look to automate production lines and supply chains, companies making the robots are attracting great investor interest. The latest to get funded is Flexiv, which…
Biteable raises $7 million Series A for its template-based online video builder
Online video platform Biteable, a startup that makes it easier to create polished and professional videos using templates and a library of images and animations, has raised $7 million in…
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For Tony Fadell, the future of startups is connected and sustainable
Tony Fadell can’t stop thinking about what’s next in tech. The man credited with creating the iPod, building the iPhone and founding the smart-home company, Nest, had tried to retire before he started his latest venture, Future Shape, but found that retirement didn’t really take. So the 51-year-old designer, engineer and investor, together with a…
Understanding Europe’s big push to rewrite the digital rulebook
European Union lawmakers have set out the biggest update of digital regulations for around two decades — likening it to the introduction of traffic lights to highways to bring order to…
While it remains an ongoing challenge to get these numbers in sync with other industries, there were two developments specifically in 2020 that may beget more action in 2021.
EarlyBird’s new app lets families and friends ‘gift’ investments to children
A new fintech startup called EarlyBird wants to help families invest in their children’s financial futures. Through the EarlyBird mobile app, parents in just a few minutes can create a…
