No-code publishing platform Shorthand raises $8M

Shorthand, the Australian startup behind a no-code platform that allows publishers and brands to create multimedia stories, has raised $10 million Australian (just under $8 million U.S.) from Fortitude Investment Partners. CEO Ricky Robinson told me via email that this is Shorthand’s first in

How we dodged risks and raised millions for our open-source machine learning startup

Open-source software gave birth to a slew of useful software in recent years. Many of the great technologies that we use today were born out of open-source development: Android, Firefox, VLC media player, MongoDB, Linux, Docker and Python, just to name a few, with many of these also developing into

RWDSU head says rerun election 'very likely' following Amazon union vote loss

However the outcome of today's vote count turned out, there was one thing we knew for certain: it wasn't going to mark the end of the battle between Amazon and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. With voting having broken overwhelmingly in Amazon's favor, the union was qui

APKPure app contained malicious adware, say researchers

Security researchers say APKPure, a widely popular app for installing older or discontinued Android apps from outside of Google’s app store, contained malicious adware that flooded the victim’s device with unwanted ads. Kaspersky Lab said that it alerted APKPure on Thursday that its mos

European tech event mainstays Shift and TOA find new homes, new models, post-COVID

Given the pandemic, huge changes are being wrought in tech events, something which used to be the lifeblood of the industry. Many a startup has pitched to win funding, and many a hackathon has formed teams that went on to greater things. It's a sad fact that this era is over, at least until the

Building the right team for a billion-dollar startup

From building out Facebook’s first office in Austin to putting together most of Quora’s team, Bain Capital Ventures managing director Sarah Smith has done a bit of everything when it comes to hiring. At technewss Early Stage, she spoke about how to ensure the critical early hires are t

Joby Aviation’s JoeBen Bevirt and Reid Hoffman to talk about building a startup, the future of flight and SPACs

"">Joby Aviation founder JoeBen Bevirt has spent more than a decade developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing passenger aircraft — an effort that was largely shrouded in secrecy until January 2020 when the company announced a $590 million Series C round of funding that was led by T

Reap all the benefits of exhibiting in Startup Alley at Disrupt 2021

If we've said it once, we've said it 1,000 times. Startup Alley is ground zero for entrepreneurial opportunity. It's where hundreds of savvy, exhibiting startups increase their brand recognition, connect with investors, grow their network, expand their customer base and garner invaluabl

Facebook takes down 16,000 groups trading fake reviews after another poke by UK’s CMA

Facebook has removed 16,000 groups that were trading fake reviews on its platform after another intervention by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the regulator said today. The CMA has been leaning on tech giants to prevent their platforms being used as thriving marketplaces fo

Cleo Capital is targeting $20 million for Fund II

Cleo Capital, a venture capital firm founded in 2018 by Sarah Kunst, is raising up to $20 million for its second fund, according to a source familiar with the matter. A recent SEC filing shows that Cleo Capital has already raised $6.7 million of that goal, bringing total assets under management to

Amazon defeats warehouse union push, RWDSU challenges results

Efforts to unionize Amazon's Bessemer, Alabama warehouse were defeated by a wide margin in the second day of vote counting. More than half of the 3,215 votes cast broke in favor of the retailer. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which would have served as the workers’ unio

Mortgage is suddenly sexy as SoftBank pumps $500M in Better.com at a $6B valuation

Digital mortgage lender Better.com has raised a $500 million round from Japanese investment conglomerate SoftBank that values the company at $6 billion. The financing is notable for a few reasons. For one, that new $6 billion valuation is up 50% from the $4 billion it was valued at last November wh

The 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV lowers the cost of entry for some of GM’s most advanced tech

The 2022 Chevy Bolt EUV may look like a larger, slightly longer Chevrolet Bolt, but under that boxy exterior lies a whole lot of tech that’s both affordable and very advanced. With the launch of the Chevy Bolt EUV, and its available suite of advanced driver assistance systems, GM is putting b

6 VCs talk the future of Austin’s exploding startup ecosystem

For years now, a growing number of tech companies — large and small — have either relocated their headquarters to Austin or opened another office or campus in the Texas capital. They’ve been drawn to the city for a number of factors, including its laid-back lifestyle, no state tax