Chasing dreams may be the next sleeper hit for venture capitalists

 After decades spent funding technologies tailored to deprive us of sleep (see: streaming video, gaming, social networks and 24/7 online shopping), the venture capital industry has decided to direct its considerable capital reserves at helping us get more shut-eye. Read More

http://ift.tt/2quIGEp Chasing dreams may be the next sleeper hit for venture capitalists http://ift.tt/2qZJFQK

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Reid Hoffman, Bill Gates, Sam Altman invest $30 million in Change.org

 LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman announced today that he’s making a big bet on Change.org, the site for social justice petitions. Hoffman is leading a $30 million round, with other investors including big names like Bill Gates and Y Combinator president Sam Altman. “Change.org, the global hub for collective action, is a crucial democratizing force in this era of growing civic… Read More

http://ift.tt/2mptyY1 Reid Hoffman, Bill Gates, Sam Altman invest $30 million in Change.org http://ift.tt/2qoTbtK

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KidPass raises $5.1 million for its children’s activity subscription service

 KidPass, a monthly membership program that gives parents access to a variety of kid-friendly activities across their city, has raised $5.1 million in Series A funding, the startup reported this week. Currently live in New York, the new funds will allow the service to expand to new markets including L.A., San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Chicago. The round was… Read More

http://ift.tt/2rYB2nQ KidPass raises $5.1 million for its children’s activity subscription service http://ift.tt/2s47fJA

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UK wants G7 to take collective action on online extremism

 The UK Prime Minister is using the annual G7 summit of seven of the world’s major industrialized democracies to push for more to be done about online extremism, including co-ordinating on ways to force social media platforms to be more pro-active about removing and reporting extremist content to authorities. Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2cSmUpn UK wants G7 to take collective action on online extremism Natasha Lomas http://ift.tt/2qk4tUh
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Snap said to leverage discounts to drive growth

 After a painful first quarter miss, Snap is looking to avoid the same fate in the current quarter. According to Digiday, Snap, the parent company of the popular social app Snapchat, is working to drive new and increased business ahead of the end of its second quarter. To do so, the company is said to be cutting deals. Read More

http://ift.tt/2pl6SgO Snap said to leverage discounts to drive growth http://ift.tt/2qr7kG0

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Riley raises $3.1M to help real estate agents rate and respond to their leads

{rss:content:encoded} Riley raises $3.1M to help real estate agents rate and respond to their leads http://ift.tt/2rGTcgE http://ift.tt/2qnu4Yh May 26, 2017 at 05:20PM  Businesses usually spend lots of time and money trying of attract potential customers. Now a startup called Riley aims to help them prioritize those sales leads. Riley was part of the winter class at Y Combinator. (In fact, CEO Daniel Ahmadizadeh said he and his co-founder Helson Taveras applied several times with different products and ideas before getting in.) The startup is announcing… Read More

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Riley raises $3.1M to help real estate agents rate and respond to their leads

 Businesses usually spend lots of time and money trying of attract potential customers. Now a startup called Riley aims to help them prioritize those sales leads. Riley was part of the winter class at Y Combinator. (In fact, CEO Daniel Ahmadizadeh said he and his co-founder Helson Taveras applied several times with different products and ideas before getting in.) The startup is announcing… Read More

http://ift.tt/2qnu4Yh Riley raises $3.1M to help real estate agents rate and respond to their leads http://ift.tt/2rGTcgE

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Let’s meet in Iceland next week

 I’ll be in Reykjavik next week and you know what that means… I want to meet you! So we’ll be holding an small meetup (not really a pitchoff but feel free to pitch me while I’m there) at Bryggjan Brugghús, Grandagarði 8, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland. The event is being on Tuesday, May 30, from 5 PM to 7 PM UTC. Event starts at 5pm and you can meet the speakers and… Read More

http://ift.tt/2qniXig Let’s meet in Iceland next week http://ift.tt/2roFVJX

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The League is bringing its exclusive dating app to 10 more cities this summer

 The League, a a dating app that prides itself on selectiveness and requires members to be approved before joining, has traditionally taken expansion pretty slow. Originally launched in early 2015, the app is still only in 7 cities – New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington D.C and London. But the startup just announced they are about to embark on a summer… Read More

http://ift.tt/2qWrNGf The League is bringing its exclusive dating app to 10 more cities this summer http://ift.tt/2qjw0VJ

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Sana Health aims to stop insomnia with smart goggles

 When Solar Impulse pilot Bertrand Piccard set out to fly around the world in a plane that uses no fuel, he knew he wasn’t going to get much rest. During the journey, he would be able to sleep, at a maximum, three hours per day with rest meted out in twenty-minute intervals. The plane, which could only accommodate one aviator, required a human systems check every twenty minutes. For part… Read More

http://ift.tt/2qmNhJU Sana Health aims to stop insomnia with smart goggles http://ift.tt/2rG2tpm

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Zuckerberg tells Harvard we need a new social contract of equal opportunity

 Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard commencement centered around how we can improve life through big projects, equal opportunity, and building both local and global community. He outlined a plan “to create a world where every single person has a sense of purpose.” Rather than focusing on the opportunities for the Harvard students graduating in front of him, he urged the students to… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2rExdXL Zuckerberg tells Harvard we need a new social contract of equal opportunity Josh Constine http://ift.tt/2rlUnlQ
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Binded raises another $950K for its copyright-protecting tools

 Binded aims to make it easier for photographers to protect their intellectual property by creating a permanent record of their copyright in a public database, namely the blockchain. The startup was previously known as Blockai, but it’s rebranding today — the new name is meant to focus less on technology and instead emphasize the idea of creating a legally binding record. Put… Read More

http://ift.tt/2qU5T6E Binded raises another $950K for its copyright-protecting tools http://ift.tt/2rlTSYU

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Target just gave Casper $75 million

 Target has reportedly rolled $75 million into Casper, the direct-to-consumer mattress startup you may have heard about in all those podcasts. The funding is a good chunk of what should end up being a more than $100 million round, according to a source at Recode, which first reported the news. Target has confirmed it gave a bunch of money to Casper but would not confirm the amount (sigh). Read More

http://ift.tt/1BIkALC Target just gave Casper $75 million http://ift.tt/2qU1iRN

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Watch Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard commencement speech here

 College dropout-turned-Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg finally got his degree today, and now he’s about to give Harvard’s 366th commencement speech. You can watch him speak here when he starts between 3pm and 3:30 Eastern Time, or just past noon on the west coast. We’ll embed the Facebook Live broadcast right here on TechCrunch, and provide frequent updates on any news or… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2rZUIab Watch Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard commencement speech here Josh Constine http://ift.tt/2qom3ld
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Tips for mastering Magikarp Jump, the next Pokémon masterpiece

 Nearly two decades after the release of the original Pokémon Red and Blue in the U.S., the Pokémon company has come out with another true masterpiece. It’s called Magikarp Jump, which came out for iOS and Android earlier today. It’s about training Magikarp, the most beloved Pokémon in the universe, to jump as hard as it can and squash the hopes and dreams of its opponents.… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2qgLNEI Tips for mastering Magikarp Jump, the next Pokémon masterpiece Matthew Lynley http://ift.tt/2qkIPLs
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Tips for mastering Magikarp Jump

{rss:content:encoded} Tips for mastering Magikarp Jump http://ift.tt/2qkIPLs http://ift.tt/2qgLNEI May 25, 2017 at 08:29PM  Nearly two decades after the release of the original Pokémon Red and Blue in the U.S., the Pokémon company has come out with another true masterpiece. It’s called Magikarp Jump, which came out for iOS and Android earlier today. It’s about training Magikarp, the most beloved Pokémon in the universe, to jump as hard as it can and squash the hopes and dreams of its opponents.… Read More

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Tips for mastering Magikarp Jump

 Nearly two decades after the release of the original Pokémon Red and Blue in the U.S., the Pokémon company has come out with another true masterpiece. It’s called Magikarp Jump, which came out for iOS and Android earlier today. It’s about training Magikarp, the most beloved Pokémon in the universe, to jump as hard as it can and squash the hopes and dreams of its opponents.… Read More

http://ift.tt/2qgLNEI Tips for mastering Magikarp Jump http://ift.tt/2qkIPLs

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Instagram direct messages now support web links and different photo orientations

 Instagram’s Direct feature just got more generally useful as a messaging option, with support added for external web links, and the ability to send photos and video in their original portrait or landscape aspect ratios without cropping. The first is really far more important than the second, mainly because it means users have less reason to go seeking other messaging options outside… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2rDQU1K Instagram direct messages now support web links and different photo orientations Darrell Etherington http://ift.tt/2rUMHEd
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Anatomy of a managed marketplace

 Managed marketplaces have been one of the hottest categories of venture investment over the past several years. They garner a lot of press because the consumer experiences are often radically different than what’s previously been available in the market. But there is confusion over what a true “managed” marketplace is. It’s fairly easy to spot if you know what to look for. Read More

http://ift.tt/29dV1tV Anatomy of a managed marketplace http://ift.tt/2qkbrEG

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Facebook’s Instant Articles platform to support Google AMP, Apple News

 One of the problems publishers face today in making their content more readable on mobile devices is that there are multiple, competing formats available for this purpose. Facebook has Instant Articles, Google is spearheading the AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) project, and the Apple News Format optimizes content for iOS devices. Facebook is today taking a crack at a solution to this problem… Read More

from Social – TechCrunch http://ift.tt/2rYYyjJ Facebook’s Instant Articles platform to support Google AMP, Apple News Sarah Perez http://ift.tt/2rZdOxd
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Mogees picks up seed funding to put audio-based gesture recognition tech into new devices

 Mogees, the London startup behind the Mogees Pro and Mogees Play contact microphone and machine learning-based music and gaming devices, has raised $1.1 million in seed funding — capital it plans to use to embed its “gestural recognition tech” into new devices and applications. Read More

http://ift.tt/29v5vCj Mogees picks up seed funding to put audio-based gesture recognition tech into new devices http://ift.tt/2qnIqqM

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Spin raises $8 million as bike-sharing battle heats up in the US

 Bike sharing has taken a turn in the U.S., following trends in China. The new mode is “dockless,” where companies distribute bikes around a city or campus to be rented per trip instead of dispensing them from one station. The bikes are tracked via GPS, and can be located by users, paid for and unlocked using their smartphones. Best of all, whenever riders are done with one of… Read More

http://ift.tt/2rlzmaV Spin raises $8 million as bike-sharing battle heats up in the US http://ift.tt/2rYTEmP

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Blippar’s machine learning tech can identify cars better than you can

 Do you think you know cars? Well, Blippar’s new machine learning technology is ready to take you on, as the augmented reality/visual search company is today announcing automotive recognition tech. In other words, Blippar’s AI can identify the make, model and year of any U.S. car made in 2000 or after, even if the car is moving under 15mph. Blippar originally launched as an AR… Read More

http://ift.tt/2r0p1jM Blippar’s machine learning tech can identify cars better than you can http://ift.tt/2rYwGfP

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