Whenever a new developer and compute platform comes along — whether that’s the mobile phone or a VR headset — games are quick to follow as one of the first ever use cases. That’s the case now with Blackstorm, a development platform that’s geared toward different platforms like Messengers and the browser that can easily be accessed without having to download a… Read More
With Alexa and Google Assistant are gunning for control over the general voice-driven experience with technology, that might open doors for some more targeted verticals that are centered around voice. It’s not an unheard of strategy — building services and tools around specific experiences rather than trying to do it all at once has been an effective approach for many startups… Read More
Following its acquisition by Pinterest in August, Instapaper’s premium version will now be free of charge to all users, the company said today. As part of the acquisition, Instapaper’s team would begin working on Pinterest’s core experience. But the company also said that the app would live on as a separate entity and continue to get updates from the Instapaper team at Pinterest. Read More
After running Ripple for around four years and overseeing the company’s growth through around $94 million in financing, CEO Chris Larsen will be stepping down. Larsen will become executive chairman of the company — a common move in CEO transitions. But COO Brad Garlinghouse, previously CEO of Hightail as well as a former AOL and Yahoo senior executive, will be taking over the role… Read More
500 Startups’ 18th demo day wrapped up this afternoon in San Francisco. The companies that presented ranged from financial technology all the way to yet another attempt to try and fix conference calls. 500 Startups has to compete with a lot of other accelerators like Techstars and Y Combinator, and in order to be successful it needs to generate hits from these classes. The firm has had… Read More
Alphabet’s strategy of trying to stuff the difference between mobile advertising value with additional clicks appears to still be paying off as the company once again showed Wall Street that it can make a ton of money and continue to grow. Alphabet (we’re just gonna call it what it is because we’re talking about the core business: Google) reported earnings of $9.06 per share… Read More
Apple seems to have scrubbed the 11-inch MacBook Air from all of its online stores following its MacBook Pro presentation earlier today, and that the death of the 11-inch MacBook Air is official. At the event, Apple unveiled a series of new laptops, also including a thinner and more lightweight 13-inch MacBook Pro — which still had function keys rather than the touchpad in its… Read More
