Greg Kumparak
Greg Kumparak is an editor at TechCrunch.
Greg started at TechCrunch in May of 2008. He lead TechCrunch’s sister site MobileCrunch as editor until AOL acquired the company in 2010, at which point the editors of TechCrunch’s four main sites (TechCrunch, CrunchGear, MobileCrunch, TechCrunch UK) merged the sites under one domain.
Best known for his gadget coverage, Kumparak has broken hundreds of stories within the space — unearthing details on everything from abandoned Samsung smartphone prototypes to new Apple devices. He’s also one of the Internet’s most prolific “live bloggers”, having reported from the scene at dozens of international events for live audiences in the hundreds of thousands.
He was one of the earliest writers to highlight and report on a number of companies that have since become “unicorns” (reaching a valuation of $1B or more), including Zenefits and Twilio.
Kumparak is a frequent guest on TechCrunch’s Gadget, Apple, and Android podcasts, and often appears on stage as an interviewer or judge at TechCrunch’s meetups and Disrupt conferences.
In 2012, Greg was featured on the BBC, Wired, Mashable, Engadget and many other outlets for a side project he called the “tARdis”, or the Augmented Reality TARDIS. By combining augmented reality with a handmade physical model, Greg was able to replicate the otherwise physically impossible “bigger on the inside” visual effect that commonly appears on television’s Doctor Who series.
Crunchbase profile →Featured Picks from Greg Kumparak
Latest from Greg Kumparak
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Nest announces the $499 Nest Secure, its new alarm system
Nest announced a number of new security products today that all aim to keep your home safe from burglars and others you’d rather keep out. In addition to its new Nest Cam IQ Outdoor, the company also launched Nest Secure, its new, fully featured security system. The system consists of three hardware products that can also be integrated with the company’s cameras: Nest Guard, the hub… Read More
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Google Assistant is coming to Nest Cam IQ
One more quick bit of news out of Nest’s press conference this morning: the company is adding support for Google’s voice-powered Assistant to the Nest Cam IQ line it debuted in March. The move is a natural one, of course: Google acquired Nest 3 years ago, and has been pushing hard into the home ever since. Google already uses Assistant to power its standalone Home speaker; with… Read More
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This is Nest’s new video doorbell
We’re live at a Nest press conference in San Francisco, where the company is debuting new products rapid fire. The latest debut: Nest Hello, a smart video doorbell. If you’re familiar with existing products like the Ring video doorbell, this one is of a similar vein — just with all of Nest’s usual polish. It’s got a microphone/speaker rig built-in so you can… Read More
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Nest launches a new $349 smart outdoor security camera
Nest today announced its newest camera today: the Nest Cam IQ outdoor. This new outdoor camera brings the features of the company’s smart indoor camera to a more rugged outdoor version. As Nest GM of security products Michele Turner noted during an event in San Francisco today, the number one way that burglars break into a house is simply through an unlocked door. But the most… Read More
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BeeLine’s simple navigation device keeps cyclists headed in the right direction
Lets say you’re roaming the city on your bike. You know your final destination — but you don’t necessarily care how you get there, or if your route is the shortest possible one. You just want to ride. That’s the idea behind BeeLine, a “fuzzy navigation” device for cyclists. You tell it where you want to go, and it constantly points you in that direction… Read More
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Future Family wants to make male fertility testing more accessible
Back in June of this year, we wrote about a company called Future Family that aimed to simplify the world of female fertility testing, all while bringing down the cost of treatment options. But female fertility is but a part of the baby equation; it takes two to tango, as they say. With that in mind, Future Family is now offering fertility testing for men, as well. Read More
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Pi wants to extend the reach of wireless charging
Wireless charging isn’t new. But wireless charging is still limited, particularly in terms of where your device can be while pulling a charge. For the most part, “wireless charger” means “a pad you sit your device directly on.” Lift your phone a few centimeters off the pad, and charging stops. Pi, a company that debuted in the TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield… Read More
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Conan jabs at the new iPhone’s facial recognition system
The facial recognition system built into the iPhone X raises plenty of questions. Can I fool it with a photo? (No.) Will it work if I’m sleeping and someone puts my iPhone up to my face? (It shouldn’t, unless you sleep with your eyes open.) Who better than Apple’s Craig Federighi to answer all these burning questions? No one — no one except for a fake Craig… Read More
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The iPhone is officially getting wireless charging
It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally happening: the iPhone is getting wireless charging. Apple just announced as much while debuting the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus. Perhaps most interesting: Apple didn’t go and make an all new standard here. They’re using Qi (pronounced “Chee”) — an open standard that has been in the works for nearly a decade. Read More
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Tesla flips a switch to increase the range of some cars in Florida to help people evacuate
Tesla has pushed an over-the-air update to some of its vehicles in Florida that lets those cars go just a liiiittle bit farther, thus helping their owners get that much farther away from the devastation of Hurricane Irma. Wondering how that’s even possible? Up until a few months ago, Tesla sold a 60kWh version of its Model S and Model X vehicles — but the battery in those cars… Read More
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The littleBits Droid Inventor Kit lets you build an R2-D2 of your very own
Ever wanted to build an R2-D2 to call your own? You could drop a few million dollars to get all the screen-used parts/props… Or you could spend a few weeks in the shop bangin’ on scrap metal to build one from scratch. Or you could grab littleBit’s new Droid Inventor Kit and call it a day. It’s pint-sized and not quite as intense as the aforementioned options, but… Read More
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Pokémon GO gets three new Legendary Pokémon that’ll move around the world each month
Back in July, Niantic introduced a new concept to Pokémon GO: Legendaries. Meant to be some of the hardest to catch, Legendary Pokémon are ultra-strong, appear only for a limited time and require players to form “raid groups” take them down. Later today, the first set of Legendary Pokémon are leaving — and, perhaps a bit surprisingly, three new ones are already prepped to… Read More
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I had a lightsaber battle with Kylo Ren in Lenovo’s new augmented reality headset
Ah, the lightsaber. The thing we’d all totally be carrying around if it weren’t for pesky physics getting in the way. Augmented and virtual reality are just about the only ways to bring lightsabers to life — and Lenovo is trying to do just that. They’ve built a new AR headset called the Mirage, and lightsaber battling is one of the first things they’ve built to… Read More
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This is the new, cheaper Nest Thermostat
The rumor mill has been buzzing for a while now about a new, more affordable Nest Thermostat — and sure enough: it’s now official. They’re calling it the Nest Thermostat E. As rumored, they’ve shaved off a good chunk of the price tag; whereas the original Nest Learning Thermostat will continue to sell for $250, the Thermostat E will go for $169. So what’s… Read More
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Hands on with Andy Rubin’s Essential Phone
It’s a pretty captivating pitch: Andy Rubin, one of the guys who founded Android (and who lead the project within Google for eight years!) has a new company… and he’s building an Android phone. The “Essential Phone,” as it’s known. I’ve been carrying around an Essential Phone for a few days now. Here’s what I think so far. Read More
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You can now make free phone calls with your Google Home
Remember back in May, when Google announced plans to let people make free phone calls through the Google Home? That feature is rolling out starting today (alas, only for folks in U.S./Canada). Say something like, “OK Google, call the nearest sandwich shop,” and it’ll connect the dots and help you get your grub. Or, if you give Google Home access to your contacts, you can… Read More
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Disney is ditching Netflix in 2019 to launch its own streaming service
Bad news if you were just getting used to all of the new Disney stuff hitting Netflix: that deal is on the way out. Disney has just announced plans to end its distribution agreement with Netflix in 2019, instead opting to launch its own streaming service sometime during that same year. Read More
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Here are the 67 new emoji that might hit phones in 2018
Does the world need more emoji? Probably not. Will it get them? Absolutely. I mean, there’s a whole movie about them now — which, despite getting absolutely wrecked by the critics, still made around $25 million dollars in its opening weekend. Hell, they’ve already started narrowing down which ones will be added in 2018. Here’s the list. Read More
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Google Home users will (soon?) be able to try new features early if they know where to look
If you own a Google Home, you’re already on the cutting-edge of future-dwelling space astronauts who can shout things at their house and have it respond. Want to be even more cutting-edge? Though it hasn’t been formally announced, it looks like Google is working on a Google Home preview program that’ll grant early access to upcoming Home features to those who opt in. Read More
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The next Apple Watch reportedly won’t need an iPhone for data
The Apple Watch is one slick piece of engineering — but it’s not without its faults. Amongst other things: If you want to leave your phone at home, your smartwatch is suddenly a good bit less smart. Without an iPhone nearby, it can’t pull data over the cell networks. According to the latest whispers out of the rumor mill, that might be about to change. Read More
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