TechCrunch

WTF is a liquidation preference?

If you work in the tech industry, you’ve undoubtedly heard the term “liquidation preference” at some point. You may have experienced a chill as the words fell upon your ears, too. There’s a non-medical reason for this: liquidation preferences are created to ensure that investors get paid before …

The drought is over… a torrent of tech IPOs is expected in 2017

We’ve just witnessed one of the most surprising tech IPO markets in decades. Wall Street set record upon record throughout 2016, and tech stocks led the way, hitting all-time highs. And yet, we saw a mere 13 IPOs for venture-backed U.S. technology companies during the entire year. I’ve been working …

Privacy is still alive and kicking in the digital age

Our lives are lived in data. Data crossing borders and connected in virtual space. Most often, it appears, we live in open and too easily accessible data networks. States and corporations are watching us through data, and we are watching each other through data. What does individual privacy mean in …

Doug learns how to play Minesweeper | 12 Days of Doug #7

Will technology prevent the next food shortage crisis?

If a simulation by the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) has it right, mankind is inching toward a dystopian future where food shortage will trigger riots and wars. That might be stretching it a bit, but the upcoming food shortage crisis is serious, and the CNA, a federally funded research and …

Snapchat has quietly acquired an Israeli startup for a reported $30 million to $40 million

Snapchat sewed up its first acquisition in Israel this week, according to the outlet Calcalist News. It acquired four-year-old Cimagine, whose augmented realty lets consumers instantly visualize products they want to buy in their intended location, paying what Calcalist says was between $30 million …

Dear Air Canada: a systems analysis of a comically colossal cascading failure

I’ll be blunt; I’m here to vent my fury. On your behalf, dear reader! Honest. When a corporation gets things terribly wrong, those of us with platforms need to turn our wrath upon them. It’s the only feedback that actually matters. But there’s a larger issue here: the way that poisonously rigid …

Italian incubator H-Farm prepares for a new crop with a campus slated to open in 2018

There’s a farm outside of Venice, Italy, that cultivates tech talent the way that other farms grow crops.<p>Called the H-Farm, the compound nestled in the Venetian countryside will open Italy’s most advanced technology education campus, providing all levels of education — from primary school to …

Technology and today’s vast and immensely underserved mental health population

Someone in your life is suffering from a mental disorder right now. You may not know it, but it’s there.<p>Indeed, one in five adults suffers from a mental disorder.<p>Society has trained us to believe mental illness is something to be ashamed of, so a majority of the afflicted hide it and go untreated. …

Doug tames his chronic bedhead | 12 Days of Doug #6

After having its infrastructure shuttered, CyanogenMod will live on as Lineage

The days leading up to the holiday have been a real roller coaster ride for Cyanogen fans. Yesterday, Cyanogen Inc. unceremoniously pulled the plug on its support for CyanogenOS in a short post declaring that “all services and Cyanogen-supported nightly builds will be discontinued” by the year’s …

The broken edtech ecosystem investors once avoided is changing

“Don’t go into education technology, no one makes any money,” was the advice I once got from an early founder of an edtech startup that failed.<p>It used to be an all too common sentiment that once deterred many prospective investors from backing some of the most promising edtech ventures …

Tim Curry will read you ‘A Christmas Carol’ from your Amazon Echo

It’s the time of year when we find ourselves together with our loved ones, gathered around the warming seasonal glow of our smart home devices. And for those who managed to snag an Echo before the device sold out seemingly everywhere, Amazon’s got a fun little Easter egg (nog).<p>Saying “Alexa, read A …

Fitbit ends one Jawbone patent case seeking to block device import

It’s a minor holiday miracle. Wearable device leaders Fitbit and Jawbone have been locked in a prolonged legal battle for well over a year, and yesterday Fitbit dropped one of the key pursuits against its fellow fitness manufacturer, dropping a patent violation complaint filed with the U.S. …

Listen is a 'smart' phone number

The reality of VR/AR trial

If you haven’t heard about VR/AR by now, your desert island must not have Wi-Fi. But there are millions of folks who know about VR/AR who haven’t seen it yet. User trial is on the critical path for VR/AR to go mass market. So what are the lessons from previous digital platforms about moving mass …

Dutch regulators order T-Mobile to stop offering free music streaming over net neutrality concerns

T-Mobile’s no-data-charge-music-streaming-thing has been going strong since 2014 here in the States, with the company adding services to the offering one by one.<p>The Netherlands version of the promotion ran into significant headwinds this week, however, as regulators at the Dutch Consumer and …

Withings products disappear from Apple stores following Nokia patent kerfuffle

As much of the rest of us were gearing up for a relatively quiet holiday season, Apple and Nokia were getting ready to go to battle, reigniting a war that had seemingly gone cold in 2011 with a reported $720 million settlement for the use of a number of patents.<p>Earlier this week, Apple filed suit …

Here’s how to track Santa on Christmas Eve

As per tradition, Google’s Santa Tracker is live today across Android, Google Maps, and Google.com, helping parents and children alike track Santa’s journey from the North Pole as he begins to deliver Christmas presents all over the world. iOS users can also keep an eye on Santa using the Google …

Count down the end of 2016 with 12 Days of Doug

Is 2016 over yet? Watch 12 Days of Doug on TechCrunch for a new giggle-inducing gadget review everyday this year. What is left of it, at least.<p>Day 1: Doug sticks an anti-gravity phone case to stuff<p>Doug takes the almost-unbelievable stick-to-anything GOAT Case for a whirl. Will it just stick to …

Cyanogen failed to kill Android, now it is shuttering its services and OS as part of a pivot

It’s been a rocky few months for Cyanogen, the ambitious startup that aimed to build a better version of Android than Google. It has laid off staff, let go of its CEO and parted ways with another co-founder — now it is shutting down its services and nightly software builds on December 31.<p>The news …

Phil Schiller says Apple is working with Consumer Reports in wake of MacBook Pro battery issues

In a year that’s been largely lackluster for Apple and downright bizarre for battery technologies, Consumer Reports’ refusal to recommend the new MacBook Pro feels like a too perfect microcosm of the past twelve months.<p>In the wake of online complaints surrounding the recently refreshed laptop …

Automile raises $7.5 million for fleet vehicle management software

Automile, a fleet logistics and management startup, has closed a $7.5 million Series A round led by SaaStr with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Niklas Zennstrom, Dawn Capital and Point Nine Capital.<p>Automile provides customers with a box to install under the vehicle’s dashboard to track …

TechCrunch’s Favorite Things of 2016

1/25<p>Matthew Panzarino (Editor-in-Chief): Sphero's Forceband<p>We were prepared to write the Sphero Force Band off as a cash grab accessory to its successful (and very cool) BB8 toy. But the well-themed plastic accessory features a better-than-expected onboard voice assistant that leads kids through …

Responding to disaster with IoT and SDN mesh

Communication is always important, but during a disaster it becomes paramount.<p>Hard phone lines are an afterthought, if they’re still standing. If phone lines go down, we’re left with cellular networks that quickly become overloaded.<p>Indeed, the internet is the backbone of contemporary …

Doug buys a tiny USB travel microphone | 12 Days of Doug #5

Tesla’s latest Easter Eggs include a holiday light show and a trip to Mars

Tesla has a habit of including Easter Eggs (aka hidden software features) in its software updates, and the latest update includes two doozies. The first is a holiday light show for Model X owners that takes full advantage of the electric SUV’s folding gullwing doors, along with its turn indicators, …

After Super Mario Run, Nintendo plans 2 or 3 new mobile games per year

Super Mario Run may have its detractors, but it’s also managed to rack up nearly 10 million downloads per day in its App Store debut, officially topping 50 million downloads as of Friday. Those numbers, combined with its early revenue generating power, have Nintendo still keen on exploring more in …

Now Snapchat has “Filter Games”

Snapchat wants you to play with your face, not just take pictures of it. New Selfie Lens filter games are starting to appear to users, creating an addicting new Snapchat feature that also inspires competition between friends and could become a powerful ad revenue driver. Snapchat confirms this is …

Weekly Roundup: Tim Cook explains why he met with Trump, Uber stops self-driving pilot in SF

Uber took its self-driving vehicle fleet to Arizona after being kicked out of San Francisco, Tim Cook cleared up why he met with Trump, and executive level shakeups occurred at Twitter this week. These are the top tech stories all in one place.<p><i>You can also get this post as a newsletter in your</i> …