SpaceX awarded contract to help develop US missile-tracking satellite network
SpaceX has secured a contract valued at just shy of $150 million by the U.S. Space Development Agency, a branch of the U.S. military that is tasked with building out America’s space-based defense capabilities. The contract covers creation and delivery of “space vehicles,” aka actu
Snap announced its latest slate of Originals programming
Snap, the social media platform for Gen Z, launched its latest slate of Snap Originals today, in a sign that not every media company has failed to capture the imagination of an audience with short-form content.
Even as Quibi’s billion-dollar gambit continues to falter, Snap is forging ahead w
Salesforce Ventures launches $100M Impact Fund to invest in cloud startups with social mission
When Salesforce Ventures launched the first $50 million Impact Fund in 2017, it wanted to invest not only in promising cloud businesses, but startups with a socially positive mission. Today, the company launched the second Impact Fund, this time doubling its initial investment with a new $100 milli
Amazon’s Josh Miele and Anne Toth talk Alexa and the future of accessibility at Sight Tech Global
When Alexa launched six years ago, no one imagined that by today there would be hundreds of millions of Alexa-enabled devices or that Alexa would become part of so many lives. For people who are blind or visually impaired, voice assistants are a huge convenience, whether you are calling a loved one
Trump breaks platform rules again with false claim that COVID-19 is 'far less lethal' than the flu
Facebook and Twitter took action against a post from President Trump Tuesday that claimed that COVID-19 is “far less lethal” than the flu. Trump made the tweet and posted the same message to Facebook just hours after arriving back at the White House following a multi-day stay at Walter
Google adds ‘Stories’ to its search app for iOS and Android
Google announced today it’s introducing a Stories feature to its Google app for iOS and Android, which now reaches more than 800 million people per month. In a new carousel within the app, users in supported markets will be presented with a row of tappable visual Stories from participating pu
Tone raises $4M to help e-commerce brands text with their customers
While many companies are using chatbots and other forms of automation to manage their communication with customers, Boston-based Tone is betting that humans will remain a key part of the equation.
“The traditional models of bots and humans is, 'Hello, I'm a bot, now you get to battle with
Apple will announce the next iPhone on October 13
Apple just sent out invites for its upcoming hardware event, all but confirming the arrival of the next iPhone. The event is scheduled nearly a month to the day after its last big event, which gave us the Apple Watch Series 6 and two new iPads.
A new iPhone was conspicuously absent from the proceed
Google Assistant comes to gaze-powered accessible devices
People who rely on gaze-tracking to interact with their devices on an everyday basis now have a powerful new tool in their arsenal: Google Assistant. Substituting gaze for its original voice-based interface, the Assistant’s multiple integrations and communication tools should improve the capa
Despite pandemic, Amazon Prime Day expected to generate nearly $10B in global sales
A new forecast released today estimates Amazon’s delayed Prime Day sales event will top last year’s by bringing in an estimated nearly $10 billion in worldwide sales when it runs later this month. According to eMarketer, which released its first-ever Prime Day forecast, consumers will c
Nivelo nabs $2.5M seed to reduce risk in digital ACH payments
As we plunge deeper into the pandemic, online transactions have become increasingly important, and ACH transactions, the ones that help us get direct deposit of our paychecks or pay our bills, are growing ever more essential. Nivelo, an early-stage startup from a former JP Morgan executive, wants t
Google is providing cash awards to 76 startups through a racial equity initiative announced in June
Amid months of protest this summer, as more of the world began to awaken to the many ways that people of color are systemically discriminated against, a wide number of companies announced initiatives aimed at improving the representation of underrepresented groups within their own ranks and as reci
Top five mobility startups to showcase at TC Sessions: Mobility 2020
Last night, 10 disruptive mobility companies pitched on the virtual technewss stage for a spot at TC Sessions: Mobility 2020. Each company pitched for one minute followed by a Q&A with our expert panel of judges — Shahin Farshchi (Lux Capital), Natalia Quintero (Transit Tech Lab) and Rac
Here's what's happening today at TC Sessions: Mobility 2020
Mobility enthusiasts from around the world, welcome to Day One of TC Sessions: Mobility 2020! Get ready for two days of programming dedicated to the people and technology behind the transformation of transportation.
Mobility's a rapidly evolving revolution, and we're thrilled to have the co