Author: pekandesigns

Startup Join wants to modernize the back office for an industry that’s everywhere, but maybe not top of mind, especially when it comes to project management software: Commercial construction. The company has raised a $4 million seed round, co-led by Signalfire and Building Ventures and including participation by existing investor Bolt. The startup’s core product […]

Federal authorities have announced its latest crackdown on illegal robocallers — taking close to a hundred actions against several companies and individuals blamed for the recent barrage of spam calls. In the so-called “Operation Call It Quits,” the Federal Trade Commission brought four cases — two filed on its behalf by the Justice Department — […]

At Uber’s Elevate summit in Washington, DC earlier this month, researchers, industry leaders and engineers gathered to celebrate the approaching advent of on-demand air service. For Dr. Anita Sengupta, co-founder and Chief Product Office at Detroit’s Airspace Experience Technologies (abbreviated ASX), it was an event full of validation of her company’s specific approach to making […]

Google Drive’s offline capabilities are getting an upgrade. Currently, you can use Google Chrome to make your Docs, Sheets, and Slides available offline. On Tuesday, the company announced the launch of a beta test that will expand offline capabilities to other content as well, including PDFs, images, Microsoft Office files, and other non-Google file formats. […]

At its NextGen event, BMW today premiered the next generation of its adaptive cruise control system, which will be able to detect and automatically stop at red lights. This isn’t exactly autonomous driving just yet, but it’s clearly an effort to bring some of these advanced cruise control features from highway driving to a more […]

Airbnbs are a mixed bag. Pictures only tell half the story, and sometimes you don’t really know what you’re getting into until you get there. Say what you will about Airbnb’s new white glove Luxe service, but the company does seem to go out of its way to ensure that users get what the pay […]

Electric cars are better for the environment than fossil fuel-burning vehicles, but they still rely on the grid, which can be variously dirty or clean depending on what sources it uses for its energy. The new Lightyear One is a prototype vehicle that would improve that by collecting the power it needs to run from […]

The march of globalization continues unabated, and with it comes a growing demand for companies of all sizes to communicate with and sell to each other, regardless of the distance or any other barrier. Now, a startup that has built a platform to help them do that better and more cheaply is announcing a round […]

Yelp is announcing two new ad products for business owners — portfolios and “business highlights.” Those highlights are basically a way for businesses to point out their most distinctive and attractive characteristics, using short phrases like “vegetarian-friendly,” “locally-owned & operated” and “X years in operation.” Director of Product Management Alon Shiran emphasized that this is […]

Instead of emailing a term sheet, Ilya Fushman paid $150 to have ‘Deep Blue Sea’ actor Michael Rapaport send the Cameo founders Steven Galanis, Martin Blencowe and Devon Townsend a video message congratulating them on their $50 million Series B. A general partner at Kleiner Perkins, Fushman tapped Cameo’s own service, which sells personalized video […]