Ah, another day, another stealth mobile gaming startup getting funded by Shakira. LA-based Wonder announced today that it has closed a Series A round of funding. The startup is building what it claims to be a new breed of “VR-ready” gaming hardware in secret, but seems to have been gesturing loudly about just how secret it is. Read More
from TechCrunch
Alibaba is doubling down on Southeast Asia after it paid close to $1 billion to raise its stake in e-commerce firm Lazada from 51 percent to 83 percent. The Chinese firm made an initial $1 billion investment in April 2016 at a valuation of $1.5 billion — this second deal raises that valuation to $3.15 billion, Lazada disclosed. The deal sees Alibaba buy shares from existing backers… Read More
from TechCrunch
For anyone who’s ever wanted to break a lease, but felt trapped by their contract, Flip has the service for you. The company, which allows users to sublet or get out of their lease, has just raised $2.2 million in new financing to grow its business and is looking to expand beyond its suite of offerings to renters in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. Read More
from TechCrunch
Keith Horwood wants to be known in tech circles as an agent for good, and he seems to be working toward that end with StdLib, his roughly two-year-old startup that abstracts away infrastructure using “serverless” architecture, allowing developers to write everything from simple functions to complex business logic, then deploy their code as scalable, fully documented web APIs. Read More
from TechCrunch
When you hear about companies raising tons of money for “smart glass,” the first thing that hits your mind might be something augmented reality-related like the HoloLens. But View, which just closed a $200 million funding round, is using smart glass to make better windows that adjust to the outdoor environment. Read More
from TechCrunch
Sumo Logic, the cloud-based log analysis platform, announced a $75 million round today, as the seven year old company could be entering the home stretch before an IPO. While CEO Ramin Sayar was not ready or willing to commit to an IPO timeline, he did admit it was the next logical step for the company, and that the size of the investment gives him the capital to build toward that event.… Read More
from TechCrunch
Security firm Trend Micro is the latest corporate to jump into the startup investment world after it unveiled a $100 million corporate fund today. It is predominantly looking at opportunities in the internet-of-things (IoT) space, but the exact scope of how it will operate is not clear. The company is headquartered in Japan and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where its current value… Read More
from TechCrunch
Your.MD, an AI-driven health information service delivered via a bot, has raised $10 million in new funding. Read More
from TechCrunch
The U.K.’s Oxford University continues to be a hotbed of AI talent, fuelling not just academic research into AI but also the ambitions of startups and large technology companies alike. The latest Oxford-based AI startup to make headlines is Diffblue, a University of Oxford spin-out that is applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) to software development. Read More
from TechCrunch
New York-based startup Stayawhile announced today that it’s scored $1.5 million in seed funding to provide travelers with what founder Janine Yorio refers to as “medium-term housing.” It’s a midway point between your standard hotel/Airbnb stay and a year-plus apartment lease, aimed at vacations and business travelers who’d like to spread out their stay in a new city… Read More
from TechCrunch