Archive for February 2015
The Hierarchy of VC Bloggers (just for fun)
Nic Brisbourne, veteran VC and Founder of Forward Partners, posits that everyone should be a writer. It’s not difficult to understand such a sweeping assertion coming from a writer of Nic’s calibre. I largely agree, not necessarily for everyone, but that most people purporting to work around innovation should look for some way to regularly […]
AXA launched €200 Million fund dedicated to customer experience
AXA is launching AXA Strategic Ventures, a €200 Million investment fund dedicated to customer experience, the company announced today. AXA has already made a slew of investments – some of which we reported, like Flyr – some of which we haven’t – Fundshop, Particeep, Widmee, & Climate Secure. Investments will be made in San Francisco, New York, London, […]
Accengage's first push notification benchmark reveals big differences between Android and iOS users
Accengage, the European leader in push notification technologies for mobile apps, just released the first ever push notification benchmark infographic, examining different behaviours between Android and iOS mobile users. The benchmark is targeted to marketers to help them gauge the performance of their push notification campaigns in terms of opt-in and reaction rates. Accengage also offer them […]
La Belle Assiette celebrates the arrival of its 500th Chef
Launched just 2 years ago, La Belle Assiette continues to disrupt the world of gastronomy across Europe and is squarely on their way to becoming the world’s largest private chef service. Over the last 12 months, the La Belle Assiette team have been pushing hard on rolling out across Europe with expansions into Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the […]
Introducing the European FinTech RUDEscape
Wow, the appetite for FinTech in Europe is booming, with VC funding reaching dizzying heights. It’s not just Europe, by the way. A recent visit to Bangkok confirmed that even in the emerging startup ecosystem of Thailand, FinTech is hotter than a spicy som tam salad (more on that later). With the entire sector representing […]
Well, we called it: Aldebaran is dead, all hail the Softbank Pepper
On the same week that Softbank announced that it would ship the first 350 units of its robot Pepper to developers, the CEO of the French subsidiary that developed Pepper, Aldebaran, has announced that he is selling his remaining Aldebaran shares and stepping down as CEO. Bruno Maisonnier will stay on as an advisor to Softbank’s CEO; […]
Apple to Open 2 New Green Data Centers in Europe
In 2017, Apple expects to have opened and operational 2 new green data centers, worth over €1.7 billion. Apple may have several different motives for building these data centers, but one thing is for sure: they will be green and operate off 100% renewable energy. They will serve as the centers for Apple services including […]
4YFN, mobile's top startup event, set to take center stage at Mobile World Congress
Last year was the first edition of 4 Years from Now (4YFN), Mobile World Capital Barcelona’s startup and mobile innovation event taking place concurrently with Mobile World Congress. With over 1k attendees and numerous big names of the global startup ecosystem, including Whats App’s Jan Koum, Waze’s Di-Ann Eisnor,and Doodle’s Myke Naef taking center stage as speakers, […]
Softbank to ship first Pepper robots to developers this Friday at $1,660
The humanoid robot Pepper will start shipping this Friday, the CEO of product-owner Softbank announced this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. The news confirms what CEO Masayoshi Son told reporters earlier this month, namely that Pepper won’t be hitting shelves until this Summer. The company said it will ship 300 units to developers, having received much more than […]
Indie Guides: (re)discover a city through the Hipster of Travel apps
Have an upcoming trip to Paris, Athens, Berlin, Istanbul, Madrid, or Rotterdam? Lucky you! Looking for a travel guide? You could choose one of the 500 guides that already exist about the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Champs Elysées . . . . or you could look for your alternative in Indie Guides. I’m calling this […]