Lucas Matney
Writer
The Latest from Lucas Matney
Wireless broadband startup Starry files to raise up to $125 million
The never-ending quest to kill Comcast is poised to receive some renewed investment as an ambitious startup readies to secure some new cash. Starry, a Boston-based wireless broadband internet startup,
Bumble’s ‘Private Detector’ uses AI to detect dick pics
Dating apps are finally leveraging AI to clean up users’ chat messages. Badoo has introduced a new feature coming to its network of dating apps, including, most notably, Bumble. The penile detec
Digging into key takeaways from our 2019 Robotics + AI Sessions event
Extra Crunch offers members the opportunity to tune into conference calls led and moderated by the TechCrunch writers you read every day. This week, TechCrunch’s Brian Heater and Lucas Matney shared
Week-in-Review: Is Samsung unfolding another flop?
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Samsung tries to deliver a big innovation and fails miserably. A big story this week on TechCrunch was that in the buildup to the release of the Samsung
The Exit: an AI startup’s McPivot
Five years ago, Dynamic Yield was courting an investment from The New York Times as it looked to shift how publishers paywalled their content. Last month, Chicago-based fast food king McDonald’s
Qualcomm stock skyrockets 23% as Apple legal battle concludes
Qualcomm stock surged after the announcement that the company has settled its multi-billion-dollar lawsuits with Apple. At market close Qualcomm’s stock price settled at $70.45 after opening at
Lyft brings back the taxi line as it desperately tries to crack the airport pickup
Ridesharing companies and airports have always had a bit of a fractious relationship. Riders looking to catch an Uber or Lyft have had to walk to parking garages, follow makeshift signage and find arb
Apple said to be spending more than $500M on Arcade gaming subscription effort
Apple’s new gaming subscription service Apple Arcade may have been a bit of a footnote at its Services event earlier this month compared to the stage time given to more prime time-ready efforts
Facebook spent $20 million last year on Zuckerberg’s personal protection
2018 was by all means a very rough year for Facebook . The company, which spent the year reeling from the Cambridge Analytica scandal and a general bubbling-up of public anger, also had to deal with a
Facebook accidentally shipped VR hardware with conspiratorial messages hidden inside
In the almost weekly tradition of Facebook talking about something embarrassing they did on a Friday, the company is now fessing up to the fact that thousands of their next-gen virtual reality headset
Uber is dishing out ‘appreciation awards’ up to $10K to let prolific drivers buy stock
As Uber gears up for its highly anticipated public debut, the company is setting aside some dough for drivers that have logged some serious rides on the platform as a reward for sticking with the serv
Hulu orders Theranos miniseries starring Kate McKinnon as Elizabeth Holmes
Silicon Valley may have dealt with some rough hubris throughout the saga of Theranos, but Hollywood is basking in its downfall. Weeks after the premiere of an HBO documentary chronicling Elizabeth Hol
YouTube TV gets some new channels and a hefty price hike
Cord-cutting services are starting to look a lot more like the services they replaced when it comes to price. After price bumps in the past couple of months hit Hulu Live and DirecTV NOW, YouTube TV i
EU goes after Valve for ‘geo-blocking’ Steam activation codes
Seemingly the sole government body policing tech platforms, the ol’ European Union, is now taking aim at desktop gaming’s biggest storefront, Steam, and its creator Valve. The commission s
Nintendo is bringing Zelda and Mario into virtual reality
Nintendo’s Labo VR kit may just be a little cardboard experiment, but Nintendo is taking a chance on throwing its most beloved titles into the headset. Today, the company announced they will be
Facebook gets one step closer to building your virtual copy
When it comes to representing yourself on social media, who you actually portray yourself as has always been a bit of a caricature. That thinking has always made it a little interesting to examine how
Valve Index VR headset is launching on June 15
Well, on Friday we thought we’d have to wait another few weeks to hear about Valve’s plans for its first virtual reality headset, but the company (accidentally?) seems to have let a few de
Valve is building its own high-end VR headset called ‘Index’
Valve is ready to sell its own full VR hardware getup. The gaming giant behind some classic titles and the ubiquitous Steam store has revealed a teaser image on its site of a VR headset called the Val
Drake invests in esports betting startup Players’ Lounge
Drake’s latest collaboration isn’t with Kanye or Kendrick, it’s with Marissa Mayer. The rap superstar has joined a bevy of Silicon Valley investors, including Strauss Zelnick, Comcas
Apple Watch ECG capabilities arrive for users across Europe and Hong Kong
Apple’s latest-generation Apple Watch doesn’t just have a curved display and a new industrial design — new major features of the Watch at launch last year include its advanced healt