A Brief History Of Tinder
This week, Tinder yet again took online dating to a new level. After gamifying the experience of flirting in a bar, and putting it in your pocket, the app has now turned into a pseudo-social network that lets you send photos to all your matches as a single blast, upping the chances for a connection. But as we look forward, it’s worth taking a look at the history of this breakaway success. Read More-
Google Music Could Get Touchy-Feely If It Does Acquire Moody Playlist App Songza
“Google Play Music All-Access”. That tongue-twisting name says a lot about how well Google understands humans. It’s also why the New York Post’s report that Google is in talks to buy contextual playlist service Songza for $15 million seems like a smart move. While Google Music has playlists, they’re generic, static, and totally unorganized. Songza lets you say… Read More -
TrendKite Raises $3.2M For PR Analytics, Recruits Dachis Group’s Erik Huddleston As CEO
TrendKite, a startup promising to help brands and agencies measure the effectiveness of their PR efforts, has raised $3.2 million in Series A funding. It’s also announcing that it has a new CEO — Eric Huddleston, former CTO and executive vice president of product at social monitoring company Dachis Group. Huddleston told me that when Dachis Group was acquired by Sprinklr in… Read More -
Talkz Thinks Talking Stickers Will Be The Next Big Thing For Mobile Messaging Apps
Sticker packs and emoji have become a go-to means for mobile messaging companies to generate revenue from what are otherwise free applications. Today, one such service, a former TechCrunch Disrupt battlefield finalist called Talkz, is introducing a new way to upgrade the sticker experience in a way that leverages the speech background of Talkz founder and CEO Heath Ahrens, also… Read More -
Apple Acquires Spotsetter, A Social Search Engine For Places
Spotsetter, a social search engine using big data to offer personalized recommendations as to places to go, has been quietly snapped up by Apple, TechCrunch has learned. The technology, which involves layering social data on top of a maps interface could be used to beef up Apple Maps with features competitor Google lacks. The deal, we understand, was mainly about acquiring the technology and… Read More -
Hiku’s Connected Grocery Scanner Is An “Amazon Dash” For The Rest Of Us
In April, Amazon announced it would begin testing a new connected hardware device called the “Amazon Dash,” which lets you order groceries from AmazonFresh by either scanning a product barcode or speaking a product name into the device. But the Dash is only available in select markets where Prime Fresh operates, and customers have to be invited to participate in the… Read More -
YouTube Co-Founders Split As Hurley Spins Out MixBit And Chen Joins Google Ventures
Consider this the end of an era. After 15 years of working together, first at PayPal and then at YouTube and most recently at incubator Avos Systems, YouTube co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen are headed in different directions. Avos is pivoting, in a sense, and transforming from an incubator into a single company working on a single product: MixBit. MixBit has been Hurley’s baby… Read More -
OnStaged’s New Social Network Focuses On The Content, Not The Person Posting It
Here’s a thought experiment embodied in the form of an iPhone application: what if a social network featured the content first, allowing friends and other community members to read and connect with the post itself, before getting to see who wrote it? That’s the premise behind newly launched OnStaged, an app which lets you post short updates and photos, which are not anonymous, but… Read More -
Meet The Judges For The Seattle TC Pitch-Off (And Get Tickets!)
In one week, TechCrunch will invade Seattle. Matt will climb the Space Needle. I’ll sip a latte at the original Starbucks. Maybe we’ll squeeze in a stroll around Pike Place Market. And still, none of it will compare to the magic of the TechCrunch Meetup and Pitch-Off going down on June 12 at 6 p.m. We’ll have good drinks, good conversation, and some awesome startups that… Read More -
Core Gaming On Tablets Gets A $11.6M Mega-Boost In Super Evil Megacorp’s New Round
Just as it seemed like iOS and Android gaming was getting mature and maybe a tad boring, veteran game developer Bo Daly amassed a super evil mega-team of super evil mega-game developers to build a new startup called Super Evil Megacorp. They just snagged former EA executive Kristian Segerstrale (pictured below) as their new chief operating officer and picked up $11.6 million in a new round led… Read More
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Triblio Raises $3.4M For A Data-Driven Approach To Content Marketing
Triblio, a startup that says it’s bringing “science to the art of content marketing,” is announcing that it has raised $3.4 million in seed funding. Content marketing startups (i.e. the ones that help companies produce blog posts, videos, and other content that can indirectly promote their brand) have announced some big rounds this year — NewsCred raised $25 million… Read More -
Edyn Is A Gardening Monitor That Sends Moisture, Temperature Data Back To The Cloud
The Internet of Things is coming to a garden near you. Last fall, a company called Soil IQ made the finals at TechCrunch Disrupt with a soil monitor that continuously sends data on moisture and temperature back to the cloud. It was co-founded by a Princeton grad and soil scientist named Jason Aramburu, who had worked with hundreds of Kenyan farmers to increase crop yields. He then teamed up… Read More -
Dropbox Acquires Stealth Messaging Startup Droptalk
Dropbox has swallowed up another early stage startup, this one a stealthy company called Droptalk which was developing a tool that allowed you to share links privately with friends via a Chrome extension, to be followed by both iOS and Android applications. None of the products were publicly available, as the company had only just launched its browser add-on into a limited beta. Read More -
Aereo Lands On Chromecast
Aereo, the streaming TV service that lets you tune into live television and watch it from any device, has today expanded its support to Chromecast, Google’s $35 smartTV dongle, via the Android app. Aereo has been available on Android since last year, but this latest development lets those same users watch Aereo on an actual TV through Chromecast, as opposed to being limited to tablets… Read More -
Lyft Nabs Exclusive AnyPerk Deal To Give Drivers Tons Of Discounts, Locks Out Uber
As the battle to recruit rideshare drivers rages on, Lyft and Uber were both vying for a partnership with AnyPerk to provide their drivers with discounts at hundreds of places, but Lyft has won the deal. Fifteen percent off AT&T bills, cheap gym memberships, and discounts at restaurants could all help lure drivers to the friendlier Lyft instead of its efficiency-focused competitor. Read More -
AOL Co-Founder Steve Case Invests $30 Million Into School Lunch Company, Revolution Foods
AOL co-founder Steve Case, via his investment fund Revolution Growth, has now made a second deal to fund a company focused on healthy eating. The firm is putting $30 million into Revolution Foods (no relation to Revolution Growth!), a company launched eight years ago by two women and mothers who wanted to find a better and more affordable way to provide healthier school lunches. As… Read More -
Alternative Investing Startup Wikifolio Raises €6M For International Expansion
Alternative investing startup Wikifolio has closed a €6 million funding round led by European early stage venture fund Speedinvest. The fresh capital will be used by the Austrian company, which I’m told broke-even in the first quarter of 2014, to expand beyond its home country and Germany. Read More -
GeoPoll Unveils First Overnight TV Ratings Service In Five African Countries In Time For World Cup
GeoPoll, which raised a $6.6 million Series A round last year to fund its mobile survey platform for developing countries, has launched a service that will provide the first daily TV ratings in several African markets. Read More -
Meet The Judges For The TechCrunch Pitch-Off In Austin
Howdy, y’all. As a Texan myself, I’m thrilled to announce the judges for our Austin Pitch-Off going down next week at Palm on 6th St. (BTW, tickets to the Austin Meetup are still available but are running out quickly so grab one here before it’s too late). Read More -
Chic By Choice Is A European Take On RentTheRunway
Rent The Runway has made a splash as a way for women to literally rent high fashion. Now a new startup hopes it can reproduce that success with a similar model, which has a new take on the idea, with the goal of bringing a large variety of luxury rentals to all major markets in Europe. With Chic By Choice, you hire designer dresses curated by boutiques and department stores. Read More
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