Sequoia Capital has made a minority investment in the do-it-yourself home security company Simplisafe in a play on the home security and automation market, TechCrunch has learned. The investment from Sequoia came on the heels of Google’s $3.2 billion acquisition of Nest Labs, which showed just how lucrative the home market can be. That deal netted a healthy return for investors, including… Read More
Mixed Dimensions (MXD), a Jordanian startup now relocated to Silicon Valley, is aiming to simplify the 3D design process by building browser-based 3D design tools designed for the mainstream and for touchscreen usage, along with a cloud platform for sharing and browsing 3D objects, and locating related 3D print services. Read More
Google has acquired Titan Aerospace, the drone startup that makes high-flying robots which was previously scoped by Facebook as a potential acquisition target (as first reported by TechCrunch), the WSJ reports. The details of the purchase weren’t disclosed, but the deal comes after Facebook disclosed its own purchase of a Titan Aerospace competitor in U.K.-based Ascenta for its… Read More
French startup Sigfox raised a Series B round of $20.6 million (€15 million) from IDInvest and BPIFrance. Existing investors (Elaia Partners, Partech Ventures, Ixo and Intel Capital) also participated. As a reminder, Sigfox wants to create an alternative cellular network specifically dedicated to connected objects. Compared to traditional cellular networks, this network can cover a larger area… Read More
Facebook had a huge success with its web gaming canvas, but got locked out of mobile gaming revenue by platform owners Apple (iOS) and Google (Android). But Facebook seems determined not to miss the next big gaming platform, as today it announced plans to acquire Oculus, makers of of the Rift virtual reality headset, for $2 billion in cash and stock. And long-term, its looking to take VR beyond… Read More
There’s a gold rush on, and the people striking it rich are the ones building things — not apps, not software, but honest-to-goodness hardware, like the Oculus Rift, whose creator, Oculus VR, was just purchased by Facebook for around $2 billion in cash and stock. Earlier today, Intel closed its purchase of wearable health tech maker BASIS, and Google recently bought Nest for $3.2 billion. Google… Read More
A Kickstarter success has just closed its seed funding round, raising $375,000 to continue its work of measuring the wind using a network of smartphones with a low-cost, electronics-free hardware accessory combined with a mobile app. Danish startup Vaavud‘s new funding comes from a group of angel investors, and according to Vaavud CEO Thomas Helms, it’ll help them expand at a faster… Read More
Google Glass is facing some challenges in terms of public perception and an ongoing debate about its role in the public forum, but it has some potential in specific realms that could be very exciting, apart from its ability to be a huge consumer success. One such application is in medicine, and startup Augmedix just raised $3.2 million to help show how Glass can be useful to doctors. The round… Read More
1248 is a Cambridge, U.K. based b2b startup, founded last year, to sell Internet of Things related consultancy, software and services to other companies wanting help to scale up connected devices platforms. It’s just closed a £250,000 ($415,000) seed round, its first external funding, with the investment coming from serial telco entrepreneur Rob Dobson. Dobson also takes up the position of… Read More
Google has acquired Green Throttle Games – or at least what was left of the company after it essentially shut down late last year, according to a new report by PandoDaily. The startup followed Ouya, GameStick and others in providing an Android-based gaming experience designed for the living room, but it also had considerable talent thanks to founder Charles Huang, who created Guitar Hero,… Read More
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