Startups

How 2 UC Berkeley dropouts raised $28M for their AI marketing automation startup

Startups /

AI-powered marketing automation startup Conversion, founded five years ago by two UC Berkeley dropouts, has raised a $28 million Series A led by Abstract, with participation from True Ventures and HOF Capital. The company’s founding story sounds like it could have been an episode of the HBO show “Silicon Valley.” The story begins all the […]

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Golden Dome may not be the golden ticket Silicon Valley is hoping for

Startups /

Golden Dome, the Trump administration’s gambit to build a next-generation missile defense system, has startups and longstanding defense contractors preparing to duke it out for a piece of a $151 billion multi-year contract.  The process to qualify for the $151 billion contract vehicle, essentially an umbrella program, is stacked against most startups – not because

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Why Dispo’s co-founder made the leap from social media to steelmaking

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Daniel Liss, co-founder of the social network Dispo and the dating app Teaser AI, is convinced he’s onto the next big thing: steelmaking.  It all started, incongruously, with a few op-eds he wrote for TechCrunch about anti-trust enforcement in social media. The commentaries apparently caught the attention of some folks in Washington D.C., Liss told

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How a Y Combinator food delivery app used TikTok to soar in the App Store

Startups /

The internet trend is simple: A friend or family member looks into the camera and tells viewers, in a slightly aggressive tone, that they are about to witness a presentation and that they had better be nice.  That’s what Kendall, the sister of Lucious McDaniel IV, did, and after she stepped aside, her brother pitched

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This industrial AI startup is winning over customers by saying it won’t get acquired

Startups /

When industrial AI startup CVector meets with manufacturers, utility providers, and other prospective customers, the founders are often asked the same question: will you still be here in six months? A year?  It’s a fair concern in an environment where the biggest, richest tech companies are luring top talent with eye-watering salaries and increasingly targeting

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Preston Thorpe is a software engineer at a San Fransisco startup. He’s also serving his eleventh year in prison.

Startups /

If you omit some key details, all Preston Thorpe has to do to become a senior software engineer at a promising tech company is walk through the door. For about six months, Thorpe was a prolific volunteer contributor to an open-source project led by database company Turso. His work was impressive enough that Turso’s CEO,

Preston Thorpe is a software engineer at a San Fransisco startup. He’s also serving his eleventh year in prison. Read More »

Preston Thorpe is a software engineer at a San Francisco startup — he’s also serving his 11th year in prison

Startups /

If you omit some key details, all Preston Thorpe has to do to become a senior software engineer at a promising tech company is walk through the door. For about six months, Thorpe was a prolific volunteer contributor to an open source project led by database company Turso. His work was impressive enough that Turso’s

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How TRIC Robotics is reducing pesticide use on strawberries using UV light

Startups /

Strawberries are the most popular berry in the U.S. for both consumers and farmers alike. They’re also some of the most pesticide-reliant fruits and consistently top the Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list of the most contaminated produce. TRIC Robotics, a San Luis Obispo, California-based, think it can help strawberry farmers reduce chemical use with

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Amazon backs programmable optics startup Lumotive

Startups /

Programmable optics startup Lumotive has added a few more strategic backers to its recent Series B round. Redmond, Washington-based Lumotive reopened its recent Series B funding round to bring in Amazon, through its Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, and ITHCA Group, the technology investment arm of Oman’s sovereign wealth fund, as investors. These fresh funds bring

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