Author: Bilal

This morning Instrumental, a startup that uses vision-powered AI to detect manufacturing anomalies, announced that it has closed a $20 million Series B led by Canaan Partners. The company had previously raised $10.3 million across two rounds, including a $7.5 million Series A in mid-2017. According to a release, the Series B was participated in by other venture … Continue reading Instrumental raises $20M to scale its AI-powered manufacturing tech Continue Reading →

Those of us who work in technology should always be asking ourselves, “Who we are really building for?” Do we design products to make ourselves more comfortable, or do we innovate to be the change in the world we want to see? One group perennially left out of tech conversations — moved out of sight and … Continue reading Build products that improve the lives of inmates Continue Reading →

For some time now, Bixby hasn’t been much of a talking point for Samsung. It seems that the smart assistant has lost its luster even for the company that once touted it as the centerpiece of its massive hardware ecosystem. And now, according to a new report, Samsung is considering dropping the smart assistant from … Continue reading Samsung reportedly considering a Google deal that would deprioritize Bixby Continue Reading →

Time to get your binge on at Disrupt 2020, startup fans. Tune in and engage September 14-18 — that’s five days of nonstop opportunity to expand your network, learn the latest tech and investment trends, exhibit your startup, pump up your portfolio and grow your business. If you want to get the best bang for your … Continue reading Only 3 days left for serious savings on Disrupt 2020 passes Continue Reading →

Walmart  is expanding its use of voice technology. The company announced today its taking its employee assistance voice technology dubbed “Ask Sam” and making it available to associates at over 5,000 Walmart stores nationwide. The tool allows Walmart employees to look up prices, access store maps, find products, view sales information, check email and more. In … Continue reading Walmart launches its own voice assistant, ‘Ask Sam,’ initially for employee use Continue Reading →

Google One, Google’s  subscription program for buying additional storage and live support, is getting an update today that will bring free phone backups for Android and iOS devices to anybody who installs the app — even if they don’t have a paid membership. The catch: While the feature is free, the backups count against your free Google storage allowance of 15GB. … Continue reading Google One now offers free phone backups up to 15GB on Android and iOS Continue Reading →

The video below contains the first glimpse at the upcoming electric GMC Hummer. The preview video is short, full of nonsense buzzwords, but still telling. It’s clear GM identified two main competitors against the upcoming Hummer: The Ford Bronco and Tesla Cybertruck. The Hummer EV was announced pre-COVID 19 during the Super Bowl. At the time, GM promised … Continue reading The Hummer EV is shaping up to be GM’s electric answer to the Ford Bronco and Tesla Cybertruck Continue Reading →

After raising $15 million in financing from one of technology’s most successful global investment firms, the Los Angeles-based consumer goods rental company Joymode is selling itself to an early-stage retail investment firm out of New York, XRC Labs. Joymode’s  founder Joe Fernandez  will continue on as an advisor to Joymode as the company moves to pivot its business to focus on … Continue reading LA’s consumer goods rental service, Joymode, sells to the NYC retail investment firm, XRC Labs Continue Reading →

The past week, I’ve spent ample time looking to revamp my home audio setup. I think my only qualification is that my next setup is as dumb as possible. In the past five years, my setup has gone from a fairly middling wired 2.1 speaker setup to a confusing menagerie of connected smart speakers. I’ve … Continue reading Connected audio was a bad choice Continue Reading →

Steel construction has begun on the nearly 3-million-square-foot factory that will mass produce Ultium battery cells and packs, the cornerstone of General Motors’ strategy to bring 20 electric vehicles to market by 2023. The Ultium Cells LLC battery cell manufacturing facility in Lordstown, Ohio is part of a joint venture between GM and LG Chem … Continue reading GM starts construction on the cornerstone of its EV strategy Continue Reading →