Three months after acquiring iconic audio tech company THX, Razer is making another move to expand its business beyond hardware and software for the gaming community. The company has acquired Nextbit, the startup behind the Robin smartphone, founded by Android veterans who had set out with high hopes (and some decent funding) to rethink how to build a mobile phone that leant on cloud… Read More
from TechCrunch
Good enough and convenient. That’s proved a winning strategy for Instagram’s clone, according to a dozen analytics providers, social media celebrities, and talent managers who told TechCrunch they’ve seen a decline in Snapchat Stories usage since Instagram Stories launched on August 2nd. Read More
from TechCrunch
Snap, the parent of Snapchat, will be listing on the New York Stock Exchange, reports the Wall Street Journal. This means that you can expect to see a big Snapchat banner on Wall Street and that executives will likely be ringing the opening bell when the company debuts, likely in March. The move sends the message that Snap wants its IPO to appear more like Twitter’s than… Read More
from TechCrunch
There’s a field full of flower delivery services to choose from these days from the old school 1-800-flowers and FTD to startups popping up over the last few years like BloomThat, Farmgirl Flowers, UrbanStems and The Bouqs. That last one just raised $24 million in Series C financing, bringing the total now to $43 million. The Bouqs doesn’t quite roll off the tongue but that fresh… Read More
from TechCrunch
Vodafone has confirmed that it is in discussions over a merger deal that could create India’s largest telecom operator.
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the telecom giant said it is in talks with Aditya Birla Group, the group that owns Idea Cellular, over a deal.
“Any merger would be effected through the issue of new shares in Idea to Vodafone and would result in… Read More
from TechCrunch
Health tech investments have been red hot the last few years, but Rob Coppedge, the CEO of Echo Health Ventures says while the industry isn’t going to pop, it is a slowly deflating bubble. Echo Health is the recent creation of Cambia Health and Mosaic Health, the investment arm of Blue Cross Blue Shield and has a long-term strategy in the health investment space. Coppedge has been in… Read More
from TechCrunch
Automakers are continuing to ramp up their holdings in the world of on-demand transportation services, and in the latest development, Germany’s Daimler is closing in on a deal to acquire Taxibeat, a profitable ride-hailing app based out of Athens, for a price of around €40 million ($43 million). The deal — which would roll Taxibeat into the same Daimler division that includes… Read More
from TechCrunch
Alibaba is taking a big step into the U.S. — but it isn’t necessarily what you might think. Its affiliate Ant Financial has revealed it is buying U.S. payments firm MoneyGram for $880 million. Ant Financial is paying $13.25 per share for NASDAQ-listed MoneyGram, a jump on the $11.88 price it held at the beginning of trading on Wednesday. The deal is subject to regulatory… Read More
from TechCrunch
PayPal reported fourth quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday, and they were just what investors were expecting. The stock was flat in initial after-hours trading. Revenue came in at $2.98 billion, which is on par with analyst estimates and a 17% increase from last year. Adjusted earnings per share was 42 cents, which is also what Wall Street was forecasting. PayPal separated from eBay… Read More
from TechCrunch
In spite of my aversion to the word “ideation,” I can’t argue against software designed to help an organisation solicit ideas from its people. The best ideas can — and often do — come from anyone, regardless of job title or hierarchy. Enter Idea Drop, a London-headquartered startup that offers what it calls an “idea management” platform. Read More
from TechCrunch