Hot on the heels of Deezer’s announcement that it has raised $109 million in new funding, Spotify announced that it has acquired two startups: Cord Project and Soundwave. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, and we don’t know what Spotify intends to do with them, but it’ll most likely use them to boost its messaging and social… Continue reading Spotify’s social features are getting a boost with two new acquisitions
Category: Startups
Patreon has raised $30 million to help expand its patronage platform
Kickstarter is largely responsible for creating the crowd-funding scene as we know it today, but Patreon’s work in this area may actually be the most noteworthy. Rather than having tons of people pool money together to support a project, which is almost like a cross between fundraising and investing, Patreon allows people to financially support their favorite content… Continue reading Patreon has raised $30 million to help expand its patronage platform
Twitter’s former CEO has founded a new personal fitness startup
Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo announced on Tuesday that he’s taking on two new jobs, the most notable of which is the founder of a new personal fitness startup, while the other is a venture partner for Index Ventures. Amusingly enough, he made the announcement through his Twitter account, and went into a little bit of detail about his… Continue reading Twitter’s former CEO has founded a new personal fitness startup
Babylon Health wants to turn your smartphone into a doctor
Babylon Health, a London-based startup that allows users to set up video consultations with doctors, has raised $25 million in funding, which it claims will be used to develop an artificially intelligent medical assistant that will pre-screen users before they decide to set up a video consultation. The assistant will be built into the company’s app, and… Continue reading Babylon Health wants to turn your smartphone into a doctor
Mihaibao is helping Western companies reach Chinese consumers
Western companies have always found it difficult to tap into China’s vast consumer base, but many of them keep trying because of how lucrative the Chinese market is. The problem isn’t that Chinese consumers don’t want Western products, because that couldn’t be farther from the truth, it’s that the market is so foreign to Western… Continue reading Mihaibao is helping Western companies reach Chinese consumers
General Motors has invested $500 million into Lyft
When you’re competing against a $51 billion (soon to be $62.5 billion) behemoth like Uber, it’s important to have some big friends backing you, otherwise you won’t stand a chance. Lyft understands this, and that’s why it’s decided to become friends with none other than General Motors, which has not only invested $500 million into the ride-sharing… Continue reading General Motors has invested $500 million into Lyft
Urban.us has raised $10 million to invest in city-centric startups
Both the developed and developing worlds have been undergoing massive amounts of urbanization over the last century, and that trend is expected to continue for the next several decades. It’s believed that 86% of the developed world and 64% of the developing world will be urbanized by 2050, and while there are plenty of benefits to living in dense… Continue reading Urban.us has raised $10 million to invest in city-centric startups
Foursquare is worth less than half of what it was two years ago
Believe it or not, there was a time when people thought Foursquare was going to become the next Facebook, but the company has faded into relative obscurity over the last couple of years, and now it’s worth less than half of what it was just two years ago. Though it doesn’t look like the company is… Continue reading Foursquare is worth less than half of what it was two years ago
Instacart won’t be nearly as aggressive next year as it was this year
This year, Instacart managed to more than triple its staff to around 300 employees, but it won’t be nearly as aggressive with its hiring next year. This isn’t necessarily an indication that the grocery delivery startup is doing poorly, but rather that it’s matured to the point where it no longer needs to focus on rapid… Continue reading Instacart won’t be nearly as aggressive next year as it was this year
This e-commerce startup wants users to design their ideal products
What separates Massdrop from other e-commerce companies is that it runs on something the founders of the company call “community-driven commerce.” The products that are sold on Massdrop are decided by the users, who discuss what they’re interested in and what they’re willing to pay for. Once enough users express their interest in a product, employees then figure out where… Continue reading This e-commerce startup wants users to design their ideal products