More than a third of broadband-equipped households now own at least one remotely monitored internet-connected device, with smart speakers outpacing the next most popular categories — thermostats and networked cameras — by a margin of more than three to one, analysts at Parks Associates report. Parks Associates, a research firm that is focused on consumer trends…
TransferWise, the London-headquartered international money transfer service, is disclosing a new $292 million secondary round that sees investors value the company at $3.5 billion. That’s more than double the valuation TransferWise achieved in late 2017 at the time of its $280 million Series E round. The new secondly funding — with no new cash entering…
India’s Ola, which has expanded to select international markets and set ambitious goals for its electric vehicles business, is struggling with selling food. So it is making major changes to its food business. The ride-hailing giant is pivoting Foodpanda, the Indian business of the food delivery startup it acquired in late 2017, to focus on…
A little under a year ago, Valve released a big overhaul for the chat features built into its Steam game store/launcher. Focusing on modern day chat conveniences like better group chats and embedded media (GIFs!), some saw it as a move to hopefully keep a few more users from heading for Discord — which,…
What’s the cord-cutting equivalent to ditching your kitchen? Uber’s upcoming subscription to unlimited free food delivery. Uber is preparing to launch the $9.99 per month Uber Eats Pass, according to code hidden in Uber’s Android app. The subscription would waive Uber’s service fee that’s typically 15 percent of your order cost. Given that’s often $5…
Autonomous vehicles might someday be able to navigate bustling city streets to deliver groceries, pizzas, and other packages without a human behind the wheel. But that doesn’t solve what Ford Motor CTO Ken Washington describes as the last 50-foot problem. Ford and startup Agility Robotics are partnering in a research project that will test how…
Olympus announced the Tough TG-6 on Wednesday, May 22, and we’re having a hard time figuring out what’s new. The Olympus Tough TG-5, released in 2017, is one of our favorite point-and-shoot cameras. The waterproof compact boasted good — for the class — image quality and introduced a host of new features, including the sensor,…
Phone sales have been trending downward for some time now. There are a number of reasons for this — many of which you can read about in this piece I published last week. The creeping cost of premium handsets is pretty high on that list, with flagships now routinely topping $1,000 from many of the…
Sulaiman al-Fahim Contributor Sulaiman al-Fahim is an international businessman based in Dubai with focuses on property management/real estate, cryptocurrency, and philanthropy. His company, Sulaiman Al-Fahim Holdings, is a global operator that facilitates transactions to develop properties in various areas of the world. He is also an advisor and partner at ADAB Solutions, a group dedicated…
Xiao Wang & Anjana Prasad Contributor Anjana Prasad is senior advisor of immigration law and Xiao Wang is CEO at Boundless, a technology startup that has helped thousands of immigrant families apply for marriage green cards and U.S. citizenship while providing affordable access to independent immigration attorneys. Even techies might agree that server rooms aren’t…
