Improbable, the London startup that has developed a platform for third parties to build vast virtual and simulated worlds, has landed a stratospheric round of funding to double down on its product and expanding its ecosystem of developers. The company, which also has offices in San Francisco, has raised $502 million in funding led by SoftBank, with previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and… Read More
Truepic fights photo fraud on apps like Tinder and Airbnb
“Is that what they really look like?” “Did they Photoshop the pics of the house we’re renting?” “Is this actually what I’m buying or just a photo ripped off the Internet?” These are the questions Truepic wants to answer with the startup’s photo verification technology. Today Truepic unveils its SDK for embedding its tech in other products… Read More
Unilever leads $9 million investment in meal kit startup Sun Basket
A meal kit startup with a focus on healthful recipes and organic ingredients, Sun Basket, has just raised $9 million in series C-2 round of venture funding led by Unilever Ventures, with Baseline Ventures and Founders Circle Capital joining the round. The investment brings the startup’s total capital raised to-date to $52 million. Sun Basket delivers recipes and pre-measured ingredients… Read More
Cisco acquires conversational AI startup MindMeld for $125 million
This morning Cisco announced that it is buying MindMeld for $125 million. Founded in 2011, MindMeld helps businesses to build conversational interfaces with cloud-based services. MindMeld, originally called Expect Labs, was launched on the stage of TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2012. At that time the startup wanted to build an iPad app that could listen in on your conversations and provide… Read More
Lighthouse tells you what happens in your home when your not there
A thief, your kids skipping school or paranormal activity? That’s the question that Lighthouse aims to answer with its new interactive assistant. By combining sophisticated sensors with computer vision technology, the Lighthouse team hopes to deliver an experience that brings more day-to-day value than a mere home security solution. Coming out of Stealth today, the company is… Read More
On-demand road freight startup Ontruck pulls in $10M Series A led by Atomico and Idinvest
Ontruck, a Madrid-based startup that has built an “on-demand logistics platform” to connect businesses directly with road freight carriers, has raised $10 million in Series A funding. Read More
Verizon reportedly wins bidding war for Straight Path with $3.1 billion offer
Verizon appears to have won its bidding war with AT&T for Straight Path Communications after offering $3.1 billion. AT&T announced last month that it had agreed to buy Straight Path for $1.6 billion, but after Verizon placed a bid for nearly double that amount on Monday, AT&T declined to match it, reports the Wall Street Journal. Read More