From Online payment to eCommerce
Didi wins, Uber retreats, but Chinese riders and drivers lose
No one wants to fight a land war in Asia, not even Uber. It could have burnt mountains of cash battling for market share with local ride app juggernaut Didi Chuxing, between marketing, discounts, and driver incentives. Instead, Uber surrendered. It’s sold its UberChina operation to Didi in exchange for a 20% stage in the merged company, while Didi has invested $1 billion into Uber at… Read More
OmniVirt brings 360-degree advertising to big publishers
OmniVirt is promising to help publishers and advertisers tap into the potential of virtual reality. It’s not the only startup working on VR/360-degree ads (competitors include Immersive Media and VirtualSky), but co-founder and COO Michael Rucker said OmniVirt stands out by offering a 360-degree ad experience in the mobile browser — users don’t have to buy a fancy headset,… Read More
Glowforge raises $22 million to popularize its 3-D laser printers, catalog of materials
Of all the ways to make a 3-dimensional object, 3-D printing is still the freshest, whether what’s involved is plastic extrusion, milling away wood or metal, or the spinning of cells into functional living tissues. Now, a company that makes a desktop laser cutter and engraver for home or office use, Glowforge, has raised $22 million to start mass production of its devices. The startup… Read More
Self-checkout startup Selfycart wants to help you avoid lines at the grocery store
Waiting in line at the grocery store is no fun — not for the customer nor for the store owner. Selfycart, a self-checkout startup participating in Silicon Valley accelerator Y Combinator, wants to make it so you’ll never have to wait in line at the grocery store again. On Monday, Selfycart is launching its service at Rainbow Grocery, a San Francisco-based cooperative grocery… Read More
Binary Capital backs runaway trains with $175 million new fund
You’ve built an app and it’s blowing up but you have no clue how to scale or retain users. Who do you call? Binary Capital specializes in businesses with initial traction that need direction. Binary’s founding partners got behind Tinder at 12,000 active users, Snapchat at 120,000, and Instagram at 220,000 users, helping them harness their growth. “We invest in… Read More
BrightWork launches to bring easy web app building for front end folks
Front end folks and back end folks just can’t get together. The back end folks are always like “Node.js” and the front end folks are like “Node what?” and then there’s a fight and someone gets the hose and it just turns into a big mess. BrightWork, a TechStars Chicago company, has a solution. Founded by former Twilio engineer Josh Carter and Nike developer… Read More