"https://wluper.com" Wluper, the London-based tech startup building a conversational AI to power knowledge-based voice assistants, has raised $1.3 million in seed funding. Leading the round is "deep tech" VC IQ Capital, with participation from Seedcamp, Aster, and Magic Pony co-founder Dr Zehan Wang.Founded in 2016 and originally backed by Jaguar Land Rover's InMotion Ventures, "https://crunchbase.com/organization/wluper" Wluper's "conversational AI" is initially targeting navigation products with what it describes as "goal-driven dialogue" technology that is designed to have more natural conversations to help with various navigation tasks.The ‘secret sauce', as it were, is that Wluper believes voice assistants work much better when the underlying AI is tasked with becoming an expert in a more narrow and specialist domain."When we think of intelligent assistants like Alexa or Siri, the only time you'll believe they're really good is if they understand you properly; most of the time, they simply can’t," says Wluper co-founder Hami Bahraynian. "It is not the......

Just since months after "https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/15/penta-series-a" raising $7 million in Series A funding, German SME banking provider Penta has been acquired by Finleap. Terms of the deal remain undisclosed, although I understand that the acquisition sees Finleap and "https://crunchbase.com/organization/pentafintech" Penta's co-founders becoming the challenger bank's sole owners, with all other shareholders exiting."https://techcrunch.com/2014/12/01/hitfox-hatches-finleap-a-new-startup-factory-targeting-fintech" Launched in late 2014 by Hitfox Group and Ramin Niroumand, Finleap has developed 16 ventures from scratch, as well as acquiring a number of fintechs. Companies in its portfolio include "https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/07/banking-platform-solarisbank-closes-e56-6m-series-b-from-bbva-visa-lakestar-and-others" banking platform solarisBank, of which Penta is a customer, and digital insurer Element, to name just two.Penta says that becoming part of the Finleap "ecosystem" will help the SME banking provider increase the speed at which it expands internationally. This will include launching in Italy in partnership with Beesy, a Finleap portfolio company focusing on digital business banking for freelancers."Penta has a great product and a great team, serving especially the digital industry,...

"https://crunchbase.com/organization/sosv" SOSV, a 20-year-old fund with $500 million in assets under management, has been running accelerators for years. Their oldest one, "https://hax.co" HAX, is the premier hardware accelerator in San Francisco and Shenzhen, and they've recently launched a food accelerator in New York and a pair of biology accelerators. Now, however, they've just announced DLab, a crypto accelerator that is paired with "https://www.cardano.org/en/home" Cardano to build out distributed apps and solutions.It is led by Nick Plante, a programmer integral in drafting the JOBS Act and who co-founded "https://crunchbase.com/organization/wefunder" Wefunder, a successful crowdfunding platform."We can only make this sort of commitment to ecosystems we feel are incredibly compelling; it takes a substantial amount of dedication, education, staffing, and of course the long-term financial commitment to support the space and the companies," said Plante. "We invest in ecosystems that we identify as ‘macro trends' like disruptive food, life sciences and synthetic biology,......

For "https://dashradio.com" Dash Radio founder Scott Keeney, streaming music and radio are two very different things. On the streaming side, Apple and Spotify dominate, and "there's not going to be room for much else." But when it comes to radio, he argued, "It's the wild, wild west."Keeney, a.k.a. DJ Skee, was already "http://www.startribune.com/st-paul-s-dj-skee-on-becoming-the-oprah-of-music/329573831" one of the biggest radio DJs when he started Dash. For him, radio is a more curated, personality-driven, "lean back" experience — so Dash Radio focuses on live shows, with a lineup of more than 400 shows across 75 stations, with big names like Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne and Ice Cube as hosts.The startup is announcing that it's now reaching 10 million monthly listeners, and that it's raised an $8.8 million seed round.Investors include Nimble Ventures, Slow Ventures, Lazerow Ventures, Muzik, Arab Angel, G Ventures, Lindzon Capital Partners, Jason Flom, Orin Snyder and Ian Schaefer. Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara and Alibaba's former chairman of......

As tech has grown, policy debates have become an important pastime. Today’s tech industry aspires to replace human drivers with self-driving cars, secretaries with AI assistants, permanent jobs with gigs — and as a result, the human impact of tech has become an everyday conversation. No other idea is as emblematic of this as Universal Basic Income, a policy that would distribute a monthly sum to every adult regardless of their income or employment status. The conversation is widespread. "https://crunchbase.com/person/mark-zuckerberg" Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have said that UBI may be desirable or necessary. Y-Combinator Research and Facebook co-founder "https://crunchbase.com/person/chris-hughes" Chris Hughes are running basic income studies. Tech-friendly presidential hopefuls "https://crunchbase.com/person/bernie-sanders" Bernie Sanders and "https://crunchbase.com/person/andrew-yang" Andrew Yang support the issue. But should the average tech entrepreneur or investor support "https://crunchbase.com/organization/ubi" UBI? The answer is not entirely clear. The good...

Giacomo Bagarella





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Giacomo Bagarella works for the Massachusetts Digital Service, where he leads projects to improve the way the state serves constituents. In his spare time, he thinks and writes about the impact of emerging technologies on society and national security. Follow him on Twitter "https://twitter.com/g_bagarella?lang=en">@g_bagarella. All views expressed are his own, and do not represent the views of his employer.


When Amazon entered markets like bookselling or groceries, its competition proved highly disruptive to incumbents. In November 2018, "https://crunchbase.com/organization/amazon" Amazon declared that it had selected northern Virginia as one of two locations for its new second headquarters, and four months later it announced that HQ2 would only proceed in the Virginia site. The Seattle company has grandly entered yet another market, that for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) talent in the metro Washington, D.C., area. There, Amazon’s insatiable hunger for customers will turn into a voracious appetite for up to...

As tech has grown, policy debates have become an important pastime. Today’s tech industry aspires to replace human drivers with self-driving cars, secretaries with AI assistants, permanent jobs with gigs — and as a result, the human impact of tech has become an everyday conversation. No other idea is as emblematic of this as Universal Basic Income, a policy that would distribute a monthly sum to every adult regardless of their income or employment status. The conversation is widespread. "https://crunchbase.com/person/mark-zuckerberg" data-type="person" Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have said that UBI may be desirable or necessary. Y-Combinator Research and Facebook co-founder "https://crunchbase.com/person/chris-hughes" data-type="person" Chris Hughes are running basic income studies. Tech-friendly presidential hopefuls "https://crunchbase.com/person/bernie-sanders" data-type="person" Bernie Sanders and "https://crunchbase.com/person/andrew-yang" data-type="person" Andrew Yang support the issue. But should the average tech entrepreneur or investor support "https://crunchbase.com/organization/ubi" UBI? The answer is not entirely clear. The...

Joseph Flaherty





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Joe Flaherty is director of Content & Community at "http://www.foundercollective.com" Founder Collective.





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-"https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/04/why-the-end-of-the-startup-era-could-be-great-for-entrepreneurs" Why the ‘end of the startup era' could be great for entrepreneurs





-"https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/01/invisible-unicorns-35-big-companies-that-started-with-little-or-no-money" Invisible unicorns: 35 big companies that started with little or no money






There's a seemingly insatiable demand for "https://crunchbase.com/organization/theranos" Theranos content. "https://twitter.com/johncarreyrou" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://twitter.com/johncarreyrou&source=gmail&ust=1556922921848000&usg=AFQjCNHGJiVTjVhZgbiCuHKn2wW0OJ4NYg" John Carreyrou’s best-selling book, "Bad Blood," has already inspired an HBO documentary, "https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/the-inventor-out-for-blood-in-silicon-valley" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/the-inventor-out-for-blood-in-silicon-valley&source=gmail&ust=1556922921848000&usg=AFQjCNH6o8Z1c1Ssl6J4L-t6cf_ps9jPWg" The Inventor; an ABC podcast called "http://abcradio.com/podcasts/the-dropout/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://abcradio.com/podcasts/the-dropout/&source=gmail&ust=1556922921848000&usg=AFQjCNHxK3mvjMNS4c8GMhjaEo9Kpr61TQ" The Dropout, a prestige limited series starring "https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/10/18305303/kate-mckinnon-will-play-elizabeth-holmes-in-theranos-miniseries-dropout-podcast" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/10/18305303/kate-mckinnon-will-play-elizabeth-holmes-in-theranos-miniseries-dropout-podcast&source=gmail&ust=1556922921848000&usg=AFQjCNGjLrmr5FHM03ERmux60W3qgJbNzw" SNL"https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/10/18305303/kate-mckinnon-will-play-elizabeth-holmes-in-theranos-miniseries-dropout-podcast" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/10/18305303/kate-mckinnon-will-play-elizabeth-holmes-in-theranos-miniseries-dropout-podcast&source=gmail&ust=1556922921849000&usg=AFQjCNFWMllho_16aDBDXZ4E20J9NR-ctA" ’s "https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/10/18305303/kate-mckinnon-will-play-elizabeth-holmes-in-theranos-miniseries-dropout-podcast" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/10/18305303/kate-mckinnon-will-play-elizabeth-holmes-in-theranos-miniseries-dropout-podcast&source=gmail&ust=1556922921849000&usg=AFQjCNFWMllho_16aDBDXZ4E20J9NR-ctA" Kate McKinnon, was just announced; and Jennifer Lawrence is "https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/02/223419/bad-blood-movie-release-date-cast-plot" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/02/223419/bad-blood-movie-release-date-cast-plot&source=gmail&ust=1556922921849000&usg=AFQjCNHiu6WxEpJlBKRmKZzzWbmGJRAGNg" reportedly going to star in the feature film version of this tawdry “true crime meets tech” tale. That’s before getting started on the various and sundry cover stories and think pieces about her fraud. I think it’s fair to say the Theranos story has been sufficiently well-documented, and I'm worried that this negative perception may be reinforced now that "https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/26/the-fbi-searched-the-offices-of-microbiome-startup-ubiome/"...

"https://crunchbase.com/organization/causes" Causes grew to a jaw-dropping 200 million users as one of the first 10 Facebook platform apps. Started by Facebook co-founder Sean Parker, it was meant to turn a generation into activists and philanthropists. Causes acquired Votizen to augment shallow clicktivism with a way to remind friends to vote. But after Facebook went mobile and the web platform waned, "https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/11/sean-parkers-brigade-media-acquires-causes-in-its-quest-to-revitalize-american-democracy" Parker arranged Causes' sale to his newer civic tech effort "https://brigade.com" Brigade, for which he'd led a $9.3 million Series A and later fed more money. "https://crunchbase.com/organization/brigade" Brigade's ballot guide was used by 250,000 people in the 2016 election, leading to 5 million Get Out The Vote messages sent, but the startup's apps for connecting with campaigns or debating political issues never went viral like Causes. Now both Causes' and Brigade's stories are coming to an end. In February, we caught wind of "https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/10/brigade-pinterest" Brigade selling off its high-grade engineering...

"https://crunchbase.com/organization/causes" Causes grew to a jaw-dropping 200 million users as one of the first 10 Facebook platform apps. Started by Facebook co-founder Sean Parker, it was meant to turn a generation into activists and philanthropists. Causes acquired Votizen to augment shallow clicktivism with a way to remind friends to vote. But after Facebook went mobile and the web platform waned, "https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/11/sean-parkers-brigade-media-acquires-causes-in-its-quest-to-revitalize-american-democracy/" Parker arranged Causes' sale to his newer civic tech effort "https://brigade.com">Brigade, for which he'd led a $9.3 million Series A and later fed more money. "https://crunchbase.com/organization/brigade" Brigade's ballot guide was used by 250,000 people in the 2016 election, leading to 5 million Get Out The Vote messages sent, but the startup's apps for connecting with campaigns or debating political issues never went viral like Causes. Now both Causes' and Brigade's stories are coming to an end. In February, we caught wind of "https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/10/brigade-pinterest/" Brigade selling off its high-grade engineering team to Pinterest in an acqui-hire while it sought...

From today, "https://crunchbase.com/organization/uber" Uber has added public transport to its app in London, incorporating real-time information on the city's Underground, Overground, train and bus network, as well as other trams, shuttle, river boat and the DLR's driverless trains. "https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/26/uber-wins-appeal-and-gets-a-provisional-15-month-license-to-operate-in-london/" Last summer the ride-hailing giant was granted a provisional 15-month license to operate in the U.K. capital - after appealing against the shock "https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/22/uber-loses-its-license-to-operate-in-london/" 2017 decision of transport regulator, TfL, to reject its application for a licence renewal. But instead of the standard five-year license, a judge gave Uber 15 months grace to continue working to satisfy conditions that "https://crunchbase.com/organization/transport-for-london" Transport for London had said it had failed to meet when it made the decision not to grant a license renewal - deeming Uber “not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence”. The TfL decision focused mainly on concerns around passenger and driver safety. But Uber was also called out for a questionable approach to regulatory oversight, with TfL...

Extra Crunch offers members the opportunity to tune into conference calls led and moderated by the TechCrunch writers you read every day. Last week, TechCrunch’s Anthony Ha gave us his recap of the "https://ted2019.ted.com/" TED2019 conference and offered key takeaways from the most interesting talks and provocative ideas shared at the event. Under the theme, "Bigger Than Us," the conference featured talks, Q&As and presentations from a wide array of high-profile speakers, including an appearance from "https://twitter.com/" Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, which was the talk of the week. Anthony dives deeper into the questions raised in his onstage interview that kept popping up: How has social media warped our democracy? How can the big online platforms fight back against abuse and misinformation? And what is the internet good for, anyway? "...So I would suggest that probably five years ago, the way that we wrote about a lot of these tech companies was too positive and they weren't as good as we made them...