Kik
MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency advised early on by Signal’s Moxie Marlinspike, has raised venture funding
MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency that has received technical guidance from Moxie Marlinspike, the creator of private messaging app Signal, has raised $11.35 million in fresh venture funding across two rou
MediaLab acquires messaging app Kik, expanding its app portfolio
Popular messaging app Kik is, indeed, “here to stay” following an acquisition by the Los Angeles-based multimedia holding company, MediaLab. It echoes the same message from Kik’s chi
Kik says it’s ‘here to stay,’ following shutdown reports
It’s been a rough run for Kik of late. The once-mighty messaging service announced in late September that it would be shutting down its app. CEO Ted Livingston noted in a blog post that the startup
How Facebook’s Libra is similar in concept and motivation to Kik’s Kin cryptocurrency
Facebook unveiled its Libra cryptocurrency initiative today, which is part of an alternative financial system (including new subsidiary and wallet Calibra) it aims to build alongside industry and acad
Telegram’s crypto tokens are (kind of) going on sale to the public for the first time
Telegram, the most hyped ICO in the history of ICOs, is finally making its tokens available to retail investors through a limited listing that will precede a full sale later this year — but ther
SEC expands its war on cryptocurrency companies with a lawsuit against Kik
The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Kik Interactive for the $100 million token sale the company announced two years ago. It’s an expansion of legal actions that began last year as th
Kik launches beta product after $100 million ICO
Kik made waves last year after a successful $100 million ICO. Now the company has released its first beta product related to its Kin token. Called Kinit, it’s a simple wallet that enables users
Some VCs want to jump into ICOs, but a host of challenges remain
Venture capitalists are in a pickle. Companies have raised more than $1.7 billion through initial coin offerings, or ICOs, this year by selling their own customized virtual currencies. For the compani
Kik raises nearly $100M in highest profile ICO to date
The highest profile ICOs from a consumer internet company to date has come to a close after messaging app Kik raised nearly $100 million from its token sale. The exact amount is 168,732 ETH —
Kik could pave the way for more mainstream tech company ICOs
ICOs have barely touched mainstream tech companies. But that all changes this week as Kik begins selling its Kin token in an ICO targeted at raising $125 million. The sale bucks ICO trends, and it cou
Chat app Kik to raise $125M through an ICO in September
Messaging app company Kik has revealed that it plans to raise $125 million via its ICO. The company first announced the plan to hold a token sale in May, taking advantage of a rush of investment based
While investment firms ponder ICOs, this team is barreling ahead with a $100 million ICO fund
Most investors are trying to get a handle on initial coin offerings, which have begun racing through the tech ecosystem like a fire, causing excitement and confusion and some degree of terror. One San
Kik CEO explains why its doing an ICO instead of venture fundraising
Ted Livingston, CEO of messaging app Kik, spoke on stage at TechCrunch’s event in Shenzhen, China on Tuesday. Moderator Jon Russell asked him about why the company is doing an initial coin offe
Chat app Kik takes on Facebook with developer ecosystem built on the blockchain
There’s been much talk of ICOs — initial coin offerings — amid the rising value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum. Now the industry is about to see its first R
Payments are all that’s needed for chatbots to deliver on their promise, says Kik CEO
After the initial hype, chatbots have been written off by many in the tech industry for failing to deliver on their promise. But one of the leading figures behind the early charge believes one missin
Kik snaps up video chat app maker Rounds for a reported $60-$80 million
Messaging company Kik has made its second major acquisition after it scooped up Israel-based mobile video app maker Rounds in an undisclosed deal. Though neither side is giving a price, you would imag
Kik adds group video chat to its messaging app
Kik, the chat app that's hugely popular with teens and young people in North America, is finally adding video chat to its service. Video with a twist, that is.
Microsoft officially outs another AI chatbot, called Zo
What are chatbots for? I asked Zo, Microsoft's officially launched chatbot, currently available on the Kik Messenger app, what she does -- and she was remarkably coy in answering this question, initia
How legacy brands and retailers can keep up with our tech-driven world
The U.S. apparel industry is currently valued at $12 billion, and with the high number of dollars pouring into the retail economy, brands are looking to technology to foster deeper connections with co
The new paradigm for human-bot communication
Chatbots offer the promise of frictionless access to goods, services and information, but creating effective bots can be deceptively tricky. The flip side of the opportunity to interact with users in