Announced amid a deluge of news at this week’s Delivering the Future event in Seattle was word that Amazon will begin testing Agility’s Digit in a move that could bring the bipedal robot to its nationwide fulfillment centers. It’s baby steps as these things go, and such early-stage deals don’t necessary mean something bigger down…
Apple today announced a new Apple Pencil that offers USB-C and a lower price. But this isn’t an upgraded version of the Apple Pencil. This version lacks some of the advanced features found on the 2nd generation Apple Pencil, forcing users to pick between key features and USB-C recharging. Starting at $79 and available for…
In May of this year, TechCrunch ran a piece titled “Figure’s humanoid robot takes its first steps.” The story was a firsthand account of my visit to the startup’s South Bay offices. The headline was a reference to both the company’s first year of existence and its stated plan to hit a key milestone by…
Smartphone sales have had their worst quarterly performance in over a decade, a fact that raises two big questions. Have the latest models finally bored the market with mere incremental improvements? And if they have, what will the next form factor (and function) be? Today a deep tech startup called Xpanceo is announcing $40 million…
Ripcord, a startup developing robots that can automatically digitize paper records, is hoping to raise between $20 million to $25 million in a new funding round that would value the company at $110 million pre-money, according to a source familiar with the matter and a pitch deck viewed by TechCrunch. Alphabet’s GV, Lux Capital, and…
I have long flirted with the idea that I’m an audiophile, though I don’t typically spend thousands of dollars on either headphones or speakers, and I only sporadically indulge in lossless audio. True audiophiles would likely balk at my home Sonos system and penchant for AirPods (Pro and Max primarily), but I like to think…
Devialet isn’t like any other tech company — its products are at the intersection of audio engineering and luxury. That’s why its new wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation don’t look like other earbuds. This isn’t a mass market product. When I covered the product launch at the Paris Opera, the French company’s CEO Franck…
Back in April, Mojo Vision announced a new $22.4 million Series A. Six months later, the round has nearly doubled to $43.5 million, courtesy of New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Khosla Ventures, who co-led the round. It’s been nine months since the startup announced a big pivot the week of CES. Mojo Vision shifted its…
Back in April, Mojo Vision announced a new $22.4 million Series A. Six months later, the round has nearly doubled to $43.5 million, courtesy of New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Khosla Ventures, who co-led the round. It’s been nine months since the startup announced a big pivot the week of CES. Mojo Vision shifted its…
There are a couple of parallels to be drawn between the Pixel 8 and Pixel Watch 2. One is obvious, the other a bit more subtle. The first is the addition of temperature sensors — though I would argue that the addition makes a lot more sense on a wearable than a handset. The second…