Sphero
With the Sphero Mini, you get a robotic ball for just $49.99
It’s been a busy year for Sphero, with the release of products like R2-D2, Spider-Man and Lightning McQueen. But the robotic toy startup is still making non-licensed, non-tie in products too —
Sphero’s new Star Wars toys include R2-D2 and a new droid from ‘The Last Jedi’
Star Wars and Sphero were a match made in heaven. The company had spent a few years in relative startup obscurity when Disney came along with the design for a new droid. The resulting BB-8 remote cont
Disney puts a new spin on its accelerator
Over the past few years, Disney’s accelerator classes have been transitioning away from what was once a roughly standard early-stage growth framework. Rather than the “adopt-a-company” models pr
Sphero spinoff Misty Robotics gets $11.5 million to create a mainstream robot for the home
Hardware startup Misty Robotics has a daunting task ahead of it. The Boulder-based company is working on a robot aimed at mainstream consumers for employment in the home and office. But Misty certainl
Sphero’s new toy is a chatty Spider-Man
Sphero continues its partnership with Disney today, with the launch of a new toy based on the Marvel superhero Spider-Man. But where BB-8 and Lightning McQueen could move around the room, Spider-Man i
Robotic toymaker Sphero unveils Ultimate Lightning McQueen — a chatty, smartphone-controlled car
While Sphero has released a whole lineup of robotic, Internet-connected toys, it remains best-known for its BB-8 droid from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Today it’s launching its next Disney ti
Sphero’s BB-8 wearable brings Force control to home automation with IFTTT support
Sphero’s BB-8 was the most memorable bit of merchandizing among last year’s epic Force Awakens merchandising bonanza. It was the perfect piece of synergy – leveraging the hardware startup’s c
Taking Sphero’s BB-8 Force Band for a spin
Sphero’s BB-8 was arguably the most compelling bit of merchandising, which is, naturally, saying a lot. The latest Star Wars film was, as anticipated, a merch juggernaut, but there was no better bit
Walt Disney Co. reveals 9 new startups in the Disney Accelerator spanning robotics, cinematic VR and AI
The Walt Disney Co. is kicking off the third session of its corporate accelerator this week, and revealed 9 new companies admitted to the program. A full list follows at the end of this post. The comp
Apple launches coding camps for kids in its retail stores
Apple this summer is expanding its lineup of Apple Camp sessions to include a new course that teaches children the basics of coding. Aimed at children ages 8 through 12, the new 3-day session will us
The Serious Business Of Play
“The next big thing will start out looking like a toy.” At least according to A16Z partner Chris Dixon. He used the phrase to explain why incumbents often confuse new, disruptive threats to their
Sphero’s New Wristband Will Let You Control BB-8 With Gestures — And Also The Force
“We’re giving every Star Wars fan the power of the Force,” said Sphero CEO Paul Berberian. He stopped by the TechCrunch stage at the Consumer Electronics Show today to show off the c
13 TechCrunch Stories You Don’t Want To Miss This Week
This week, rumors swirled about the new Apple TV, Google changed its logo, Chrome killed Flash ads, and BB-8 scared our office dog. These are the stories to catch you up on this week's tech news.
Bring Home Your Own Star Wars BB-8 Droid, Thanks To Sphero
Usually, when you fall in love with some cool gadget depicted on-screen in the latest science fiction blockbuster, the best you can hope for is that maybe, <em>maybe</em> some gifted entrepreneur will
Star Wars BB-8 Designer Sphero Raises Another $45M From Mercato, Disney And More
As anticipation continues to rise for the new Star Wars film to open at the end of this year, a hardware startup central to the making of one of the characters has raised a new round of funding. Sph
Make Your Own BB-8 Droid From A Sphero
Word around the outer rim is Ortobix, the company behind the Sphero robotic ball, helped create the rolltastic BB-8 Droid from the upcoming Star Wars movie. And ever since BB-8 rolled across the stage
Sphero Finally Gets A Friend With Ollie, The Tubular Smartphone-Controlled Robot
Today, Orbotix (the makers behind Sphero) is introducing its second robot alongside the circular Sphero to go faster and jump higher. Folks, meet the Ollie by Sphero. Originally called the 2B, the Oll
Sphero And Ollie Robotic Toy Maker Orbotix Has Raised Another $20M, Say Sources
Orbotix, the company that makes fast-moving, robotic toys that you control with smartphone apps, has raised another $20 million in funding, TechCrunch has learned and confirmed with a reliable source.
Orbotix Announces The $99 Sphero 2B, A New Super-Fast, Programmable Robot
Sphero, as the name implies, was a robotic sphere. Now <a href="https://beta.techcrunch.com/tag/Orbotix">Orbotix</a>, the makers of this beloved ball, have decided to elongate the it into a tube (a cy
Forget Drones: Sphero Will Deliver Your Packages With Amazon Ground
Amazon made waves with its Amazon Air drone delivery concept, and a video of a recent test flight really brought that concept to life. Now robotics startup and iPhone-enabled toy maker Sphero has a co