Kepler Communications has raised $5 million in seed funding to create a network of small, easily replaced satellites to create a real-time network through with internet of things (IoT) devices can communicate, essentially building a cellular network in space through which machinery and equipment can talk to one another and to its handlers. “You can think of it as a cell phone tower… Read More
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The use of Hadoop-based open source big-data technology continues to grow among enterprises, and today MapR Technologies, one of the bigger startups in the space, has announced another $50 million in funding to secure its place as a leading vendor and gear up for an IPO. The investment is being led by Future Fund — Australia’s sovereign wealth fund — and also includes… Read More
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A startup called Farmers Business Network has raised $20 million in new venture funding to support the growth of its professional social network and data-sharing platform for agronomists. FBN co-founder and Vice President of Product Charles Baron said the company’s platform helps farmers do what they’ve always done offline at community meetings, old-fashioned barn raisings or in… Read More
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UK robotics startup and TechCrunch Disrupt London 2015 battlefield alum Emotech has closed more than $10 million in Series A funding to continue working on its prototype robot assistant. It’s building a personality adapting AI-powered robot called Olly. Read More
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If you’ve seen the Condé Nast’s website recently, you’ve seen the Socius platform in action. The startup just raised $400k from 500 Startups’ Nordic Fund and Raa Invest to pour fuel on its social storytelling and curation tool, helping brands leverage the crowd to tell stories from all angles. By using its technology, the idea is that brands will be able to maximize… Read More
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Yet one more significant piece of M&A in the online recruitment industry. Today Randstad Holdings, an Amsterdam-based human resources and recruitment specialist, announced that it would acquire job hunting portal Monster Worldwide, for $429 million in cash.
The deal works out to $3.40 per share in cash and is a premium on Monster’s share price at closing on Monday of $262 million. Read More
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Walmart today took its biggest step yet in its bid to compete against Amazon in the world of digital commerce: today the retail giant announced that it would be acquiring Jet.com — an online-only shopping site that has been live for a little over a year — for $3 billion in cash, plus up to $300 million in shares for the founders and others at the company. Jet.com will continue… Read More
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Google today announced another acquisition that will help the company improve how it competes against Amazon’s AWS, Salesforce and Microsoft in the area of enterprise services, and specifically selling enterprise services in the cloud: it has acquired Orbitera, a startup that developed a platform for buying and selling cloud-based software. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed… Read More
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The accelerating drive to get autonomous cars on the road is being accompanied by a parallel push to improve Lidar technology, aka the 3D laser-based sensors that can be used for real-time mapping and navigation for vision systems in driverless cars. Read More
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There’s another notable funding round for a fintech startup in Southeast Asia, after Singapore-based Funding Societies raised a $7.5 million Series A round for its take on marketplace lending. Read More
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