Peek, a U.S. startup aiming to digitize the travel activities industry, has pulled a $23 million Series B round of financing and uncorked a partnership with Google that will help increase its visibility. Founded in 2012 by Ruzwana Bashir (CEO) and Oskar Bruening (CTO), the startup describes itself as “OpenTable for the activities market” in that it… Continue reading Peek raises $23M and inks partnership with Google in push to digitize travel activities
Author: Tech Crunch Online News
With its new in-car operating system, BMW slowly breaks with tradition
When you spend time with a lot of BMW folks, as I did during a trip to Germany earlier this month, you’ll regularly hear the word “heritage.” Maybe that’s no surprise, given that the company is now well over 100 years old. But in a time of rapid transformation that’s hitting every car manufacturer, engineers… Continue reading With its new in-car operating system, BMW slowly breaks with tradition
China’s Didi Chuxing continues its international expansion with Australia launch
Didi Chuxing, China’s dominant ride-hailing company, is continuing its international expansion after it announced plans to launch in Australia this month. The company — which bought Uber’s China business in 2016 — said it will begin serving customers in Melbourne from June 25 following a month-long trial period in Geelong, a neighboring city that’s 75km… Continue reading China’s Didi Chuxing continues its international expansion with Australia launch
Luminar rolls out its development platform and scores Volvo partnership and investment
The wizards in lidar tech at Luminar are doubling down on the practical side of autonomous car deployment with a partnership with and investment from Volvo, as well as a new “perception development platform” that helps squeeze every last drop out of its laser-based imagery. Volvo Cars has been one of the big investors in… Continue reading Luminar rolls out its development platform and scores Volvo partnership and investment
Scooter startup Bird is reportedly about to hit a $2B valuation
More financing is coming in for Bird, this time potentially valuing the company at $2 billion, according to a new report by Axios. There’s not a ton to add here compared to the last round (which happened just weeks ago), as the same dynamics are probably in play here. While Uber was a bet on… Continue reading Scooter startup Bird is reportedly about to hit a $2B valuation
Mapfit raises $5.5M for its mapping platform
If you are a developer and you want to use the Google Maps Platform to power direction or other location-based features in your applications, things can quickly get expensive. Mapfit, which today announced that it has raised a $5.5 million funding round, promises to challenge Google on price while offering geocoding services and vector-based maps that… Continue reading Mapfit raises $5.5M for its mapping platform
Uber is looking to buy the bike-share company behind Citi Bike and Ford GoBike
Uber is reportedly looking into buying Motivate, the company that makes Ford GoBike’s in the San Francisco Bay Area and Citi Bike over on the East Coast. This comes following reports of Lyft getting close to purchasing Motivate in a $250 million deal. Uber bought bike-share startup JUMP, a dockless, electric bike-share service, earlier this… Continue reading Uber is looking to buy the bike-share company behind Citi Bike and Ford GoBike
Lime brings electric scooters to LA
While electric scooter startups are at a standstill in San Francisco, Lime is taking its scooter service to Santa Monica, Calif. — competitor Bird’s home turf. Lime was planning to launch its new model of scooter that it built in partnership with Segway in San Francisco last month, it’s now debuting them in the Los Angeles… Continue reading Lime brings electric scooters to LA
Lyft redesigns rider app to encourage shared rides
Lyft has revamped its rider app in an attempt to help people get where they’re going faster. Instead of first asking for pickup information, the app will now ask where you’re going, which Uber first started asking in 2016. The app is also designed to encourage more shared rides. Oh, and Lyft is now no… Continue reading Lyft redesigns rider app to encourage shared rides
Self-driving robot delivery startup Starship Technologies raises $25 million
The robots are here and one company, Starship Technologies, has raised $25 million to bring even more to the mainstream. This latest round of funding includes a follow-on investment from Matrix Partners and Morpheus Ventures. New investors include Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk, Skype founding engineer Jaan Tallinn and others. These autonomous robots can carry items,… Continue reading Self-driving robot delivery startup Starship Technologies raises $25 million