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Wonderloop Launches A Web Version Of Its Video Profiles App
Wonderloop — a startup which allows people to showcase themselves through short 10 to 15 second video profiles (think a sort of “LinkedIn for video”) thus replacing the static bios of traditional social networks — was previously only available via its iOS app. But today it’s launched a Web site which shows all the profiles online. Hanna Aase, founder and CEO… Read More
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Meet Sounds, A Music App That Lets You Share Songs On Instagram
What if the Instagram of song samples was… Instagram? This is what a French startup is currently noticing with its latest app. Sounds is an iPhone and Android app that lets you discover music and also seamlessly share your favorite songs to multiple social networks, including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger and Tinder. Read More
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Period Tracker App Clue Gets $7M To Build A Platform For Female Health
Berlin-based Clue, which makes a period tracker app designed to let women keep tabs on their monthly cycles and help predict their fertile window, has closed a $7 million Series A round, with investment from New York’s Union Square Ventures and London-based Series A fund Mosaic Ventures. The new round brings Clue’s total raised to-date to $10 million. Read More
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Swiftkey Releases Predictive Keyboard Built On A Neural Network
Building what amounts to a neural network inside a platform has long been one of the goals of computing and many a startup, but in the main they remain the preserve of university computing labs. They also tend to need a lot of computing power usually distributed via the Internet. ‘Smart keyboard’ startup Swiftkey hopes to change that today with the release of a new Alpha version of… Read More
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Valk Fleet Is Delivery Hero’s Stealthy Logistics And Food Delivery Platform
Delivery Hero, the European online take-out ordering behemoth that was recently valued at $3.1 billion by investors, is busy building a new logistics and food delivery company. Read More
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Pause Is A Super Simple Mindfulness App From ustwo
If you’re tired of all the digital demands on your time and attention, take note: there’s a (new) iOS app for that… Pause is the latest release from digital design studio ustwo, aka the maker of Monument Valley. Read More
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TechCrunch Lisbon, Meetup And Pitch-Off, October 19
European startups! TechCrunch Disrupt London, our stupendous European conference, is coming to London, December 5-8. In the lead-up to this we’re holding a Meetup and Pitch-off in Lisbon on October 19 and we want you there. We’ll be doing some amazing drinking, some amazing pitching, and some amazing networking. We’ll all have a blast. Date: Monday October 19, 2015 Time… Read More
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With Reactions, Facebook Supercharges The Like Button With 6 Empathetic Emoji
In September, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made some waves when he hinted Facebook was working on a way to expand its famous Like button — not by adding the much-fabled “dislike” option, but by making it way more empathetic, expressing sadness and other emotions. Today, Facebook is taking the wraps off what form the new Like may take. It is rolling… Read More
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Registration Is Now Open For Country Pavilions At Disrupt London 2015
Disrupt London 2015 is just a few months away, and entrepreneurs, investors, and tech enthusiasts from around the world will soon be flocking to London’s Copper Box Arena for the show. Will you and your budding international startup be joining them? Read More
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Sony Buys Gesture-Tracker And 3D-Sensor Maker, SoftKinetic
Sony has announced it has acquired Belgium-based SoftKinetic, a maker of 3D sensing computer vision technologies including Kinect-style depth cameras, CMOS depth chips and gesture-tracking middleware. Read More
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Google Doubles Down On AI In Europe As It Takes A Stake In DFKI Research Center In Germany
Google has been putting serious investment into building out its artificial intelligence, deep learning and robotics capabilities, and this week the company made its latest move to tap into some of the more cutting edge work going on in the field, specifically in Europe. The search giant, through its German division Google Germany, has made an investment in the German Research Centre… Read More
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Hulbee Bags $9M To Grow Its Pro-Privacy Search Engine
Swiss-based semantic search company Hulbee, which launched a consumer search engine in the U.S. this August, has closed a $9 million angel funding. It’s positioning its consumer search offering as a pro-privacy alternative to mainstream search engines like Google, with a pledge that unlike those guys it does not track users. Read More
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Employee Relocation Platform Move Guides Closes $15.6M Series B
Move Guides, the London and San Francisco startup that offers ‘talent mobility’ software in the cloud to help companies manage the relocation of their employees, has closed $15.6 million in Series B funding. Read More
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Spanish And LatAm Beauty Marketplace Miora Picks Up $4M Led By Seaya Ventures
They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but after it did Seaya Ventures is hoping it does for a third time. The VC fund has led a $4 million round in Spanish and Latin American beauty marketplace Miora, founded by Diego Ballesteros. Read More
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Tado Scores Further $17.1M As Smart Thermostat Market Heats Up
The smart thermostat market continues to heat up, not least in Europe where Munich-headquartered Tado is aiming to become the leader. The German company, which counts Google-owned Nest as a competitor, along with the likes of the UK’s Heatmiser and Hive from British Gas, has raised further $17 million in backing, bringing total funding to $34 million since being founded in 2011. Read More
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Europe’s Top Court Strikes Down ‘Safe Harbor’ Data-Transfer Agreement With U.S.
The European Court of Justice has today declared invalid the Safe Harbor data-transfer agreement that has governed EU data flows across the Atlantic for some fifteen years. Read More
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Football Media Platform 90min Scores $15M Further Funding
There’s money in the beautiful game, even if it’s not very evenly distributed. London-headquartered 90min, which describes itself as a ‘contributor-driven’ football media platform (meaning that it relies largely on unpaid, volunteer writers) has raised a further $15 million. Leading the round is German media group ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, while 90min’s… Read More
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Octopus Launches $140 Million Growth Fund For Later-Stage Euro Startups
London-based Octopus Ventures, which last year revealed it had a $91.3 million early stage fund, is today launching a new, separate, $140 million fund designed to providing growth capital to “successful fast-growing later-stage companies across Europe”. The Octopus Zenith Opportunities II LP (“Octopus Opportunities fund”), will also provide much-needed follow-on… Read More
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Can You Hear Me Now?
It’s been a pretty big week for tech + privacy, with Apple overhauling the privacy-related info it pushes out to users — sharpening its pro-privacy positioning as a marketing differentiator for its devices and services. And NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden stepping into the public arena by joining Twitter as, well, himself — with the verified account status to prove it. Read More
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Fitbay’s Fashion Selfie Social Network Lands On Android
Fashion selfie social network Fitbay has launched on Android after garnering some 250,000 sign-ups for its web and iOS apps since launch a year ago. The Danish startup set out with the aim of building another personalized, fashion-discovery shop — along the lines of Wanelo and Lyst — but the twist was a focus on matching users with so-called body doubles (aka other users of… Read More
