In-flight VR entertainment and security guard drones were amongst our favorites from the 44 startups that launched at Y Combinator’s Summer 2016 Demo Day 1. After querying investors and our writers, here are TechCrunch’s picks for the 7 most promising companies from the first half of the batch, plus an honorable mention. Check back later for all the startups and our picks from… Read More
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This could be Faraday Future’s answer to the Tesla Model X
Faraday Future is driving a camouflaged version of a real upcoming production EV in LA, according to Electrek. The site reports that a candid shot of a covered-up SUV is actually a test vehicle from the Californian would-be Tesla competitor backed by Chinese consumer gadget company LeEco. The vehicle looks like a crossover-style SUV, similar to a Tesla Model X, and this is in line with… Read More
All 44 startups that launched at Y Combinator S16 Demo Day 1
Farm drones, autonomous security guards and next-generation tampons were among the products presented at today’s Y Combinator startup accelerator Summer 2016 Demo Day 1. You can check out write-ups of all 44 below. And here are TechCrunch’s picks for “The top 7 startups from YC Demo Day 1”, plus writeups of the 48 startups that launched on Demo Day 2… Read More
Jobless in the self-driving economy
Uber’s self-driving cars will hit the road this month, earlier than anticipated. That’s an exciting surprise…unless of course you’re a driver. They won’t be the only ones affected, though. The consequences of robot-induced unemployment could eventually ripple through the rest of the economy. What will happen to Uber’s 1 million drivers? And the 3.5… Read More
A first look at the Alta Motors all-electric-motorcycle factory
Motorcycle makers Alta Motors have opened the doors to their new factory in Brisbane, California, and TechCrunch was on the scene for a first look. A quick trip from downtown San Francisco, the factory is in a low and unassuming concrete structure. Inside, it’s surprisingly quiet, thanks in part to the fact that the motorcycles Alta makes are all-electrics, and final assembly of these… Read More
7Sensors Grow Box will automatically care for your plants, from produce to pot
Everyone loves a good plant in their home, but few have the time and dedication to keep it healthy over the course of the year. Changing temperatures and humidity levels paired with vacations or business trips can limit the variety of plant-life that most people can sustain in their homes. That’s where the Grow Box comes in. Developed by former Apple engineer Andrew Pletenetskyy, the… Read More
BMW’s EV roadmap detailed, includes full autonomy by 2025
BMW isn’t letting off the gas on its electric vehicle program – the company plans replacements for the i3 and i8 by 2022, according to Automobile Magazine, and a new entrant dubbed Project i20 internally (but likely to be known as the i5 or i6 when it hits streets) on track for 2021. The i20 has a fully electric drivetrain, like the i3 before it, and will also offer BMW’s… Read More
Karma Revero hybrid electric sports car revealed, complete with solar roof
The Fisker Karma is back, reborn as the Karma Revero, with a familiar look, along with a new name and some design tweaks and feature additions that mark a departure from its origins. Today marks the first time we’ve seen the Revero, revealed via images shared by Karma detailing the car’s exterior, as well as its unique solar roof and redesigned infotainment system. Karma is a… Read More
Blender for Visual Effects
Video editing and visual effects are two closely related fields. They’re also
dominated by expensive proprietary software. There are open-source
alternatives to some of these packages, and some of them stand up very well
by comparison. more>>
Abundant Robotics spins out of SRI to bring apple-picking robots to the farm
Apples are the second most commonly consumed fruit in the U.S., according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but the way apples are harvested in the orchard hasn’t changed much in the past two centuries. It’s still a manual process, by and large. Now, SRI Ventures, a kind of startup incubator within the Menlo Park research and development firm SRI International,… Read More
Elon Musk says SolarCity will build a “solar roof” for your house
What if your entire roof was made up entirely of dedicated solar power cells? No, not adorned with the current kind of solar panels you’ve likely seen on the existing roofs of a few neighbour houses – an entire roof actually made up of solar gathering material, rather than add-ons that install after the fact. That’s the vision described by Elon Musk in SolarCity’s… Read More
New Version of GParted
Back in my Windows days, disk maintenance was a task that filled me with
dread. I remember the endless hours spent scanning, defragmenting and
scanning again. more>>
GM testing Cruise’s self-driving tech with Bolt EVs on Arizona roads
GM is putting its Cruise acquisition to good use in Arizona: The self-driving car startup acquired by the automaker in March is trialling its tech on public roads in Scottsdale. Cruise tweeted about the autonomous testing expansion, which uses Chevrolet Bolt all-electric vehicles, and which adds to the core fleet of testing vehicles already operating in San Francisco. We’re testing… Read More
Karma details Revero sales strategy as owner Wanxiang plans electric car factory
Wanxiang Group, which acquired the assets of plug-in hybrid pioneer Fisker and renamed it Karma Automotive, is planning a large-scale $375 million electric car factory with an output capacity of 50,000 vehicles per year, according to Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Karma Automotive also revealed its distribution model for the Revero plug-in hybrid it plans to release later this year, with a big… Read More
NASA funds long shots aiming to make electric and eco-friendly aircraft
One of these days we’re going to see aircraft go electric, just as cars are — but not for a while. In the meantime, we can’t slack off when it comes to the research that will make it possible. NASA has announced five research projects that may help make planes more efficient and green. Read More
Tor 0.2.8.6 Is Released
The latest version of the Tor project was released this week, offering
greater security and anonymity to individuals and organizations. Here’s
why you should care.
more>>
Mercedes-Benz said to plan EV sub-brand, with multiple SUVs and sedans
Mercedes-Benz isn’t just planning one or two all-electric vehicle options to woo customers away from competitors, including BMW and Tesla who are further along with their EV lineups — it has four models in the works, according to sources speaking to Bloomberg. These cars will be offered under a new sub-brand with a new name, per the report. Read More
Nissan’s working BladeGlider sport EV prototype calls to car lovers
Nissan is bringing a working version of the BladeGlider all-electric sport concept it first revealed in 2013 to Rio to ride the hype wave of the Olympics. The car is cool enough to merit hype in its own right, as a performance-engineered zero emission EV from a company that typically stays in the more conservative end of the market with staid offerings like the Nissan Leaf. Read More
Nissan says EV chargers will outnumber gas stations in the UK by 2020
A new study by car maker Nissan predicts the U.K. will have more electric vehicle charging locations than gas stations by 2020. It’s a bold prediction to estimate that EV chargers will outnumber places to gas up in just four short years, but Nissan is counting on both a continued decline in the number of operational gas stations, as well as new charge points coming online. The attrition… Read More
Powerplant Ventures closes $42 million fund to back “plant-centric” food and tech startups
In recent years, venture capital has poured into food companies, from meal kit and grocery delivery services to the makers of environmentally sustainable, or health-promoting food products.
Now, investors and entrepreneurs from tech, food and the restaurant industry have launched a firm, and closed a $42 million debut fund called Powerplant Ventures, to invest specifically in… Read More