News

Bird is testing Bird Pay, which lets users purchase items from local businesses using its main app Another on-demand transport app is making a move into payments to expand the existing relationship with its customers (and subsequent margins that it makes from serving them). Bird today announced the launch of Bird Pay, a service that will […]

Firefox to enable DNS-over-HTTPS by default to US users Mozilla will bring its new DNS-over-HTTPS security feature to all Firefox users in the U.S. by default in the coming weeks, the browser maker has confirmed. It follows a year-long effort to test the new security feature, which aims to make browsing the web more secure […]

TripActions secures $500M credit facility for its new corporate travel product TripActions, a Palo Alto-based, corporate travel-focused unicorn, has secured a new, half-billion-dollar credit facility to help support the launch of its second product line. Called TripActions Liquid, the service helps companies that do not offer corporate cards to workers a way to avoid forcing […]

Speedinvest raises new €190M fund to continue backing early-stage European tech startups Speedinvest, the European seed-stage VC that was started from Vienna but has since added offices in London, Berlin, Munich and San Francisco, has raised a new €190 million fund. It brings the firm’s total assets under management to more than €400 million. Describing […]

Grab and Gojek began discussing a potential merger more than three months ago After a report that it is considering a potential merger with Grab, Gojek denied that it is planning a deal with its rival, but a source tells TechCrunch that the two companies have been talking for about three and a half months, […]

Comfort Challenge #1: Learn to Eye Gaze [embedded content] If you try this comfort challenge, please share your experience in the comments below! I’d love to read them. It’s always a hilarious and valuable exploration of getting more comfortable with discomfort. Here is the original text of the challenge from The 4-Hour Workweek: My friend […]

Graphcore, the AI chipmaker, raises another $150M at a $1.95B valuation The UK has a strong history when it comes to processors, but the global chip market has seen some ups and downs of late. Today comes some big news that underscores how investors are doubling down on one of the big hopefuls for the […]

Forensic Architecture redeploys surveillance-state tech to combat state-sponsored violence The specter of constant surveillance hangs over all of us in ways we don’t even fully understand, but it is also possible to turn the tools of the watchers against them. Forensic Architecture is exhibiting several long-term projects at the Museum of Art and Design in […]

VC firm Oxx says SaaS startups should avoid high-risk growth models ‘The companies that best meet their customers’ needs always end up winning’ Steve O’Hear @sohear / 9 hours Oxx, a European venture capital firm co-founded by Richard Anton and Mikael Johnsson, this month announced the closing of its debut fund of $133 million to […]

Revolut raises $500 million at $5.5 billion valuation Fintech startup Revolut is raising a large Series D round of funding. TCV is leading the $500 million round, valuing the company at $5.5 billion. Over the past few years, Revolut has raised $836 million in total. Some existing investors are also participating in today’s funding round, […]

Homie CEO resigns after allegations of sexual harassment from job applicant Jordi Greenham, the co-founder and CEO of Mexican long-term rentals startup Homie, has resigned after a sexual harassment investigation was carried out by the company’s ethics board. On February 14, Homie launched an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against Greenham, according to a […]

Venmo prototypes a debit card for teenagers Allowance is going digital. Venmo has been spotted prototyping a new feature that would allow adult users to create a debit card connected to their account for their teenage children. That could potentially let parents set spending notifications and limits while giving kids more flexibility in urgent situations […]

Shipt shoppers are the latest gig workers to organize Inspired by the work of Instacart shoppers over the last few years, a handful of workers at Target-owned Shipt, a grocery delivery service, are beginning to organize. With the help of two key Instacart shopper-activists, Vanessa Bain and Sarah Clarke, who goes by a pseudonym, Shipt […]

New Netflix feature reveals the top 10 most popular programs on its service Netflix is adding a new feature that will rank the 10 most popular programs on its service in your country, the company announced today. Its top 10 Overall list will display the most popular programs from across all Netflix content, including both […]

How to Improve Focus and Concentration by Mastering the Flow Imagine being totally immersed in an optimal state of consciousness, giving your fullest attention to an activity or task through improved focus and concentration, and heightening all aspects of your performance in the process. Your mind declutters and the noise of your environment fades away, […]

6 Scientific Ways to Improve Your Cognitive Thinking Dolly Parton may have said it best when she sang, “The day you’re born is the day you start to die.” Bleak? Sure, but it also gets to the heart of why we need to take care of our brains while we still can. If you want […]

5 Steps to Building Confidence That Is Unshakeable Ayn Rand wisely said, “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” Building confidence is not about ability; it’s about belief. As evidenced by Rand’s quote above, a healthy sense of belief in oneself can go a long way. […]

Deviceplane wants to bring over-the-air updates to Linux edge devices Deviceplane, a member of the Y Combinator Winter 2020 class is developing an open source toolset to manage, monitor and update Linux devices running at the edge, “We solve the hard infrastructure problems that all these companies face including network conductivity, SSH access, orchestrating and […]

What’s a fellowship? For five hundred years, a fellowship was understood, Tolkien-style, to be a collection of humans engaged in mutual support. [Definition] It’s hard to imagine something more reassuring, challenging and productive, all at once. To be part of an organized fellowship is a responsibility and also the chance to leap forward. Join the […]

A team of Imagineers will discuss Disney’s tech breakthroughs at TC Sessions: Robotics + AI, March 3 at UC Berkeley With TC Sessions: Robotics + AI 2020 a little over a week away, you likely thought we were finished with our big announcements. Understandably. We have top executives from Amazon and Toyota Research, some of […]