Seventy percent of hardware startups die off or become “zombies” after raising outside funding, according to a new study from CB Insights. That’s partially because it’s relatively easy to score a first seed round but not later-stage financing. In venture capital, a “zombie” is a start-up that raises money, but fails to attract a buyer […]
Read moreAmazon announced the Echo Connect on Wednesday. It’s a $35 box that lets you place phone calls through your Echo to landline phones. If you want to call someone who still has a landline, like your grandparents or a pizza restaurant, for example, this will allow that. Keep in mind that this is different from […]
Read moreAmazon announced a bunch of new products on Wednesday including: Amazon said it offers much better sound than the original Amazon Echo, thanks to support for Dolby Audio, which means it’ll compete more directly with products such as the Sonos Play:1 and even Apple’s upcoming HomePod, the latter of which is due out before the […]
Read moreFacebook Messenger is aiming to become your default messaging app. CNBC asked Facebook’s VP of messaging, David Marcus, if the company wanted to replace the default messaging apps on iPhone and Android, “By all means, yes,” Marcus said. “Absolutely.” To get there, Facebook is adding new features like locations, polls and third party experiences, such […]
Read moreA U.S. House committee investigating whether Russia has tried to influence U.S. public opinion on fossil fuels asked Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet on Wednesday to turn over information about Russian entities that may have bought anti-fracking advertisements. House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican and climate change denier, asked the CEOs […]
Read moreOn October 1st, Getty Images will amend its photo submission requirements to ban images that have been Photoshopped to make models look substantially thinner or larger. The policy update comes after a new law in France, which is set to take effect on the same day. The law will force magazine publishers to disclose whether […]
Read moreDonald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate deal has “ignited” widespread environmental activism, musician and campaigner Bob Geldof said Wednesday. The Live Aid benefit concerts organizer labeled Trump “a vulgar fool” and said the American president’s stance on climate change has encouraged several U.S. states to do more to address the […]
Read moreAlphabet unit Google will treat its shopping service the same as rivals when they bid for ads at the top of a search page, the company said on Wednesday, as it seeks to comply with an EU antitrust order and stave off fresh fines. The European Commission slapped a record $2.8 billion fine against the […]
Read moreTelsa investors should get excited over the company’s potential in the world’s largest auto market, according to one Wall Street firm. Piper Jaffray reiterated its overweight rating for Tesla shares, predicting the electric car maker will thrive in China. “China could eventually be Tesla’s biggest source of revenue,” analyst Alexander Potter wrote in a note […]
Read moreMorgan Stanley CEO James Gorman sees more potential in bitcoin and other digital currencies than his counterpart at JPMorgan. Cryptocurrencies are “certainly something more than just a fad,” Gorman said at a Wall Street Journal event Wednesday. That contrasts with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s remarks earlier this month that bitcoin is a “fraud” and […]
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