What’s the next step beyond Zoom calls and FaceTime? How about beaming yourself from one device to another in real-time using augmented reality? That’s the premise behind a startup called Beem, which is today announcing its first consumer app, $4 million in seed funding, and its longer-term plan to become a communications technology for the…
Sony Ventures Corporation (SVC) announced today that it has completed the first closing of its $215 million (25 billion JPY) fourth fund, Sony Innovation Fund 3 (SIF3), to back all stages of emerging technology companies. Sony Ventures Corporation was established in July last year to manage all of Sony’s venture investment activities through Sony Innovation…
The cleaning products you use in your house are 99% water. Yes, the same stuff that comes out of the spigot at your house. With the radical idea that the municipal water system is probably a better way to transport water around, Blueland just raised $20 million to expand its successful line of cleaning-products-in-tablet-form, in…
ViacomCBS, which will now go by the name Paramount, announced on Tuesday its streaming service Paramount+ will include access to Showtime programming in one integrated offering starting this summer. Though the two services were already available in a discounted bundle deal, U.S. subscribers will soon be able to upgrade in-app to a plan that includes…
Payments infrastructure company Stronghold has launched a venture capital arm to deploy $100 million of its balance sheet capital in startups and funds in three core strategies — underrepresented founders, fintech, and web3, CEO Tammy Camp told TechCrunch in an interview. Stronghold offers a suite of fintech and blockchain APIs and services, including embedded payments,…
One of Silicon Valley’s most infamous characters has narrowly avoided — yet again — the worst consequences of his actions. Anthony Levandowski reached a settlement agreement last week that resolves a number of disputes with his two former employers Uber and Google and puts to rest one of the most dramatic and complicated storylines in…
Who’s ready to mobilize and meet up in real life? And by “mobilize” we mean join more than 2,000 mobile-minded movers and shakers at TC Sessions: Mobility 2022 in San Mateo, California, on May 18-19. We’re back for our fourth straight year, and can’t wait to see you in person for two days dedicated to…
If you want to go to space and you have $450,000 you can get a ticket starting tomorrow. Virgin Galactic is selling reservations for a spot on its suborbital spaceplane, which come with an exclusive “membership” that will include access to “money-can’t-buy experiences” — except that money can buy them: $450,000, specifically. For now it…
Contact Financial Holding, Egypt’s non-bank consumer finance provider, has invested $9 million in the country’s ecommerce super-app Wasla, setting the stage for the rollout of new online shopping capabilities, products and regional expansion. Contact has been in the business of consumer finance since 2001, while Wasla was founded in 2018 by former Serag Meneassy and…
Mental wellness startup MindFi operates throughout APAC, but wants to deliver “culturally competent” care in each of its markets. To do that, it develops programs for its app, available as an employee benefit, with local providers that take into account religion, gender stereotypes, racial representation, communication style and values, co-founder and CEO Bjorn Lee told…
