Jonathan Shieber
Writer
The Latest from Jonathan Shieber
LA-based gaming company, Scopely, expands in Spain and Ireland
The Los Angeles-based gaming company Scopely is expanding its geographical footprint in Spain and Ireland. The company is building out its Barcelona offices, tripling its office space and planning to
LA-based Brainbase raises $3 million for its intellectual property licensing management tech
It’s been nearly a century since Walt Disney first introduced Mickey Mouse to the world. In the ensuing decades, Disney and the mythmakers of Hollywood have churned out storytelling franchises t
Twitter blocks state-controlled media outlets from advertising on its social network
Twitter is now blocking state-run media outlets from advertising on its platform. The new policy was announced just hours after the company identified an information operation involving hundreds of ac
Tesla pitches a solar rental program to boost its renewable energy business
Tesla is pitching customers on a new rental offering for solar power as a way to revive the flagging fortunes of its renewable energy business. Once among the largest installers of renewables in the c
Y Combinator-backed Holy Grail is using machine learning to build better batteries
For a long, long time, renewable energy proponents have considered advancements in battery technology to be the Holy Grail of the industry. Advancements in energy storage has been among the hardest to
Protein replacement startups are coming for food additives as Shiru launches from Y Combinator
Shiru, a new company that’s launching from the latest batch of Y Combinator-backed startups, is joining the ranks of the businesses angling for a spot at the vanguard of the new food technology
Cloudflare files for initial public offering
After much speculation and no small amount of controversy, Cloudflare, one of the companies that ensures that websites run smoothly on the internet, has filed for its initial public offering. The comp
Southern California athletic brand, Vuori, raises $45 million from Norwest Venture Partners
The four-year-old, Southern California athletic brand Vuori has picked up a $45 million growth equity investment from the investment firm Norwest Venture Partners. The company, which says it’s p
Energy Vault raises $110 million from SoftBank Vision Fund as energy storage grabs headlines
Imagine a moving tower made of huge cement bricks weighing 35 metric tons. The movement of these massive blocks is powered by wind or solar power plants and is a way to store the energy those plants g
Another day, another reversal in stock fortunes as recession fears grow
U.S. stock markets plummeted today as recession fears continue to grow. Yesterday’s good news about a reprieve on tariffs for U.S. consumer imports was undone by increasing concerns over economi
With $40 million in funding and a $200 million valuation, will the only museums be Museums of Ice Cream?
Call the rollers of big rounds, The well-capitalized ones, and have them back makers of rooms themed like concupiscent curds. Let the influencers gather in the styles they love to wear, and let other
Tech companies get a reprieve thanks to a reversal from the president on tariffs
President Donald Trump and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative have issued technology companies some temporary tariff relief. Citing an unwillingness to hit consumers with higher prices on thi
Aluminum packaging is coming for your water as Coca-Cola’s Dasani brand takes the plunge
Coca-Cola’s Dasani brand is the latest company pitching bottled water to go the aluminum can route. It’s part of a broader rejiggering of the water brand’s plans to use mostly recycl
Allbirds is now selling socks
Allbirds is now selling socks. The shoe brand that’s de rigueur for investors, entrepreneurs and aspirants in Silicon Valley has been bitten by the sock bug. But, because this is Allbirds (and S
PopBase launches its platform for social media stars to share and monetize their work
It’s been almost a year since PopBase first launched on the Battlefield Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2018. In the ensuing months the company has been working hard to sign up influencers and ge
Competition among alternative protein players gets hot as companies beef up with new deals
The competition for control of the burgeoning market for burger replacements (and other alternatives to animal proteins) continues to heat up. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, the two leading contend
3D-printing organs moves a few more steps closer to commercialization
New successes in printing vascular tissue from living cells point to the accelerating pace of development of 3D-printing tissue — and eventually the ability to manufacture organs from small samp
Y Combinator-backed Trella brings transparency to Egypt’s trucking and shipping industry
Y Combinator has become one of the key ways that startups from emerging markets get the attention of American investors. And arguably no clutch of companies has benefited more from Y Combinator’
Reports say White House has drafted an order putting the FCC in charge of monitoring social media
The White House is contemplating issuing an executive order that would widen its attack on the operations of social media companies. The White House has prepared an executive order called “Prote
Facebook could face billions in potential damages as court rules facial recognition lawsuit can proceed
Facebook is facing exposure to billions of dollars in potential damages as a federal appeals court on Thursday rejected Facebook’s arguments to halt a class action lawsuit claiming it illegally