Contrary to what you might’ve heard, the era of large seed rounds isn’t over — at least in the AI sector. CentML, a startup developing tools to decrease the cost — and improve the performance — of deploying machine learning models, this morning announced that it raised $27 million in an extended seed round with…
Google sees augmented reality (AR) as a new, potentially quite effective advertising medium. Today, the search giant announced the launch of AR Beauty ads, a new smartphone ad type that allows brands to promote lip and eye products (and soon foundation) through “virtual try-on” experiences. In place of a product image in a standard Google…
Whether we like it or not, the leather industry significantly contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global waste generation. The current methods used to fulfil the increasing demand for leather involve a fairly simple, and completely unsustainable solution: simply raising more livestock (which contribute about 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions). However, there are…
Flourish Ventures, an early-stage venture firm investing exclusively in fintech companies in the U.S. and in emerging markets, has secured $350 million in fresh capital, TechCrunch is the first to report. The new raise brings the four-year-old firm’s total assets under management to $850 million. Unlike traditional venture outfits, Flourish is an evergreen firm, meaning…
The grip Twitter, now called X, has on the market may be stronger than some believed. Unfortunately, that’s led to the first casualty among Twitter alternatives, as the startup Pebble (formerly T2), is shutting down. The would-be X rival had grown a small but engaged community on its microblogging service that aimed to dupe Twitter’s…
Created by the founder of Thunes, global digital currency payments institution Triple-A wants to close the gap between traditional finance and blockchain-based payments with its white-label solutions for businesses. It enables clients to pay in or accept crypto and get fiat money in their bank accounts the next day. Triple-A announced today it has raised…
Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, and welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines. This is our Wednesday show, where we sit down with a guest, talk about their work and dive deep into the rest. This week, we had…
Many doctors are overwhelmed by paperwork, leaving them stretched thin, with less time to see patients. Based in Melbourne with plans to expand around the world, Heidi Health wants to ease the burden of administrative tasks by using AI to turn consultation transcripts into case histories, referral letters, financial forms and other documents. It also…
While social media has its perks, it can also be a toxic wasteland crawling with hate comments, unrealistic body standards, scammers and spam bots. As this toxicity continues to infest the digital landscape, new social platforms emerge, determined to remedy our distorted online world. Daylyy is a photo-sharing social app where you can only snap…
Signos, a metabolic health platform that utilizes a unique AI-engine with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to offer real-time data and recommendations for healthy weight management, has announced a successful $20 million Series B funding round. The round was led by Cheyenne Ventures and GV (Google Ventures), with additional investments from Dexcom Ventures and Samsung….
