Shape-shifting ‘4D’ printed objects could pave the way for outer space structures

 It takes a lot of money to launch stuff into space — even by NASA terms. The cost ranges from around $9,000 to more than $40,000 per pound. With that sort of price tag, weight and space are at a major premium with shuttle missions, causing NASA to look for innovative new ways to create more compact payloads. A team at Georgia Institute of Technology is exploring a method that uses 3D… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Amazon Channels now works like a TV login for HBO & Showtime’s apps

 Amazon Channels is starting act like a TV provider. The service, which allows Prime members to subscribe to over-the-top premium networks like HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax and others, now allows you to log into some of the networks’ standalone streaming apps, as well, starting with HBO and Showtime. That is, instead of entering in your cable or satellite TV credentials to gain access to… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Google releases new TensorFlow Object Detection API

 Google is releasing a new TensorFlow object detection API to make it easier for developers and researchers to identify objects within images. Google is trying to offer the best of simplicity and performance — the models being released today have performed well in benchmarking and have become regularly used in research. The handful of models included in the detection API include heavy… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Here are all of Amazon’s acquisitions before Whole Foods

 Amazon today said it would make a bid to acquire Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, making it the largest acquisition for the company by far. The next-closest acquisition in price is $1.2 billion for Zappos, which happened all the way back in 2009. Since then it’s made a few big-ticket purchases like Twitch (around $1 billion) and Kiva Systems (a bunch of robots for around $775 million),… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant is finally coming to the U.S. — but only as a preview

 Samsung’s much-touted, but mostly absent, smart assistant continues to amble its way to the U.S. After a big false start during the Galaxy S8’s launch, Bixby Voice is finally making its stateside debut. At least kind of, sort of. The company is positioning this is a “sneak peak” for the feature that was initially planned to debut on its new flagship phones. Starting… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Amazon, now a physical retailer too, is granted an anti-showrooming patent

 Amazon was recently granted a patent that could be used to prevent brick-and-mortar retailers from leveraging technology in their stores that could stop shoppers from comparing prices of in-store products to those online. Yes, it appears that a new patent that could prevent the practice of “showrooming,” is now, hilariously, in the hands of Amazon – the very company that… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Talking with Alda Leu Dennis, the newest partner at Initialized Capital

 It’s only been a few days since she started her new job, but Alda Leu Dennis, the newest partner (and COO) of Initialized Capital, seems like she’s ready to hit the ground running. Given her background, that’s not surprising.  Dennis just joined the 15-person, San Francisco-based firm from the secondary investment firm 137 Ventures, where she led investments in Planet Labs,… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Entelo steps up its AI game with $20M Series C 

 The race to crown a winner in the AI-powered recruiting software space is on. With both Workey and Mya nabbing rounds in the last few weeks, the timing is prime for a few players to seek advantage in the form of growth capital. This seems to be exactly what Entelo, a six year old player in the space, is doing. The company is announcing a $20 million Series C round of financing today led by U.S. Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

The Juiced Board is a valiant attempt at securing the budget electric skateboard market

 When it looks, feels and is packaged like a competitor’s, is it really competition or just a knockoff?
The Juiced Board comes dangerously close to echoing that sort of sentiment. Juiced and Boosted are words that loosely share the same meaning, but it’s the appearances where both electric skateboards really seem to converge.
Until now, I never would have recommended a sub-$1,000… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch