“Why do you need money from me when you have every great investor on earth?” That’s the question that caused Backplane to buckle under the weight of its own early buzz. Lady Gaga’s social network builder startup has run out of money, gone out of business, and sold its assets to a group of previous… Continue reading Lady Gaga’s startup Backplane burns out and sells assets
Author: Robert E. Pascual
Smartphones are the latest invisible ally of the Fed
Throughout my business career of some 60 years, I have always been fascinated by change — the dynamics of change and how businesses, governments and people respond to change. Or fail to respond. Throughout history, major technological trends have had a profound, and often invisible, impact on governments and traditional institutions. In the digital era,… Continue reading Smartphones are the latest invisible ally of the Fed
Tesla recalls 2,700 Model X vehicles over potentially dangerous seat flaw
Tesla is voluntarily recalling 2,700 of its Model X vehicles over a flaw in the third-row seat that may be dangerous in an accident. In the meantime, the company has advised owners via email that they should not use the third row seat until it is replaced. The issue was discovered while doing seat strength… Continue reading Tesla recalls 2,700 Model X vehicles over potentially dangerous seat flaw
Altitude Digital raises $17.5M as it launches its new ad platform for publishers
Altitude Digital says it has poured $20 million into its just-launched Arena platform for publishers. That sounds like a lot of money for one product, but Altitude is also announcing that it has raised $17.5 million in new funding. Arena is Altitude’s customizable, self-serve SSP — that’s the industry acronym for supply-side platform, which is what… Continue reading Altitude Digital raises $17.5M as it launches its new ad platform for publishers
Get ready for the new Kindle
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos teased a new Kindle device for this week. While the company has yet to make an official announcement about the new ereader, Tmall.com’s official Kindle page leaked the device. Tmall quickly removed the device, but Kindle Fere spotted the mistake and The Digital Reader’s Nate Hoffelder picked it up. Meet the… Continue reading Get ready for the new Kindle
Salesforce acquires MetaMind
MetaMind, a Palo Alto-based AI startup founded in July 2014, is being acquired by Salesforce. According to a new post published at the company’s website by CEO Richard Socher — a Stanford PhD who studied machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing and computer vision — Salesforce plans to use its technology to “further automate and personalize customer support,… Continue reading Salesforce acquires MetaMind
GoPro goes all-in on VR without a winning hand
Flat video is so last century and GoPro is pulling out all the stops. Through a series of product launches — most recently the new Omni — the company signals that it has your back in the battle against bi-dimensional consumption of moving pictures. The strategy confirms the obvious — i.e. that it knows which way the wind is… Continue reading GoPro goes all-in on VR without a winning hand
Home improvement platform Houzz enters Singapore, its second Asian market
Houzz, the home decorating and renovation platform with a unicorn valuation, has launched a site and apps for Singapore, its second Asian market after Japan. Based in Palo Alto, Houzz raised a $165 million Series D round at the end of 2014 earmarked for expanding overseas, bringing its total funding to about $213.6 million. The seven-year-old… Continue reading Home improvement platform Houzz enters Singapore, its second Asian market
The door-to-door economy: Piloting the giants
The little pilot boat bounces and slaps the waves as it sidles next to the towering cargo vessel as the two craft match speed and course, the small boat looking hopelessly fragile next to its eight-story, windowless counterpart — an egg challenging China’s Great Wall. The cargo vessel Wisdom Ace looks more like a floating… Continue reading The door-to-door economy: Piloting the giants
Slidebox brings its Tinder-like photo management app to Android
A new application called Slidebox aims to help Android users clean up their photo library by swiping to delete unwanted photos, as well as use other tools to more easily organize photos into albums. It’s sort of like a “Tinder for Photos” with a few extra features, in fact. The app is now one of many… Continue reading Slidebox brings its Tinder-like photo management app to Android