Author: pekandesigns

 Medium is expanding its subscription efforts today by allowing any author or publisher to join its partner program. That’s the program where readers can pay a monthly fee (currently $5) to access content behind a metered paywall (plus, they get early access to new features). The writers who participate will then get a share of […]

 Yandex is virtually unknown here in the States, but it’s become something approaching a Russian Google (and Amazon and Uber) in the 20 years since its founding. The company controls around 65-percent of search engine market share in its home country, and has branched out into practically every other software category imaginable, so a smart […]

 Wells Fargo’s ATMs are getting an upgrade. The bank announced today that more than 40 percent – or over 5,000 of its ATMs – will now allow customers to perform transactions without having to pull out their bank card. Instead, users can take advantage of NFC – aka the “tap and pay” technology that powers […]

 Carspring, the London and Berlin-based startup that makes it easy to buy a used car, has gone quiet, amid reports that its recent £5 million in Series B funding fell through. According to sources, Rocket Internet has pulled its investment in the company, which it co-founded with ex-McKinsey management consultants Peter Baumgart and Maximilian Vollenbroich. […]

 Waggit, a smart collar for dogs, aims to help improve your pup’s quality of life and help humans better care for their dog companions. Like other smart dog collars — think Whistle, which sold to Mars for over $100 million — Waggit offers tracking, but its core value proposition is health. “No one has truly […]

 Snapchat is introducing a new feature that will transform the experience of using the apps at a fundamental level. They’re called ‘Context Cards,’ and they’re new ways to find out more info about any Snap shared by users, providing access to things like restaurant reviews, reservations, Uber and Lyft ride hailing, contact information and more. […]

 Microsoft’s virtual assistant Cortana has finally arrived in Skype. Announced at last year’s Microsoft Build 2016 event, the assistant’s integration was also previewed when the company released an overhauled, Snapchat-inspired version of its mobile messaging app this summer. But Cortana for Skype wasn’t ready at that time. Now, the feature is live, offering users… Read […]

 Velodyne, largely considered the current leader in LiDAR tech for autonomous vehicle development, announced today that it has increased its production capacity by more than 400 percent in order to meet growing global demand. This means it’s now actually offering immediate availability for its LiDAR sensors, for the first time in a long time, for […]

 Backstage Capital, the venture firm focused on funding underrepresented minorities, recently acquired The Door for an undisclosed amount in cash and equity. The acquisition makes quite some sense given The Door’s similar focus on helping underrepresented founders get funding. The platform specifically connects those founders to investors. As part of the acquisition, The Door… Read […]

 Location and mapping been two of the key features underpinning a wide array of smartphone services. Now a startup that has been at the center of building those location services for mobile devices has picked up a large round of funding to take its tech to newer frontiers in hardware, specifically in automotive and virtual […]