Author: Bilal

Earlier this month, Instagram  began testing new navigation in its app that gave its shopping destination a more prominent position. Today, the company is moving forward with its plans to promote Instagram as a place to shop with the launch of its new Instagram Shop, a place to shop from inside Instagram Explore, as well as the launch of … Continue reading Instagram launches its redesigned Shop, now powered by Facebook Pay Continue Reading →

Australian-based hardware startup Espresso Displays has taken a category with a lot of relatively unremarkable, but functional entrants, and added features, as well as design and quality improvements to set itself apart from the crowd. The Espresso Display offers a portable form factor for easy packing, magnetic mounting, single cable operation via USB-C with a compatible modern … Continue reading The Espresso Display is a fantastic portable display for your Mac or PC Continue Reading →

Boston-based startup Activ Surgical has raised a $15 million round of venture funding led by ARTIS Ventures, and including participation from LRVHealth, DNS Capital, GreatPoint Ventures, Tao Capital Partners and Rising Tide VC. The round will help Activ continue to develop and expand availability of its software platform, which it launched to market in May. Activ Surgical’s  ActivEdge … Continue reading Activ Surgical raises $15 million to advance autonomous and collaborative robotic surgery Continue Reading →

Nextdoor is launching a new feature called Sell for Good, allowing users to sell items on the neighborhood-focused social network and donate the proceeds to local nonprofits. CEO Sarah Friar said that since the pandemic started, conversations about donations have increased 7x on Nextdoor . “Communities are hurting,” Friar said. “People are looking to go donate, but things like … Continue reading Nextdoor launches Sell for Good for easy donations to local nonprofits Continue Reading →

Shared electric moped startup Revel received a permit that will allow it to operate in San Francisco, beginning in August. The startup will start with a fleet of 432 mopeds featuring a new paint scheme and a more powerful engine to help riders get up and over the city’s infamously steep hills. For now, the service … Continue reading Revel lands permit to bring hundreds of electric mopeds to San Francisco Continue Reading →

Ahead of the upcoming online-only version of its big annual conference, GDC commissioned a survey of 2,500 game developers to determine how the industry is coping with the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While gaming sales are up as many turn to the medium to cope with stay-at-home orders, the virus appears to be impacting … Continue reading Game developer poll suggests longer hours and less productivity as the industry adapts to remote work Continue Reading →

Google’s  latest experiment is a video shopping platform designed to introduce consumers to new products in under 90 seconds. The company today is launching Shoploop, a project from Google’s internal R&D division, Area 120, where it tests out new ideas with a public user base. Shoploop’s founder, Lax Poojary, had previously worked on online trip planner, Touring … Continue reading Google’s latest R&D project is Shoploop, a mobile video shopping platform Continue Reading →

Third-party sellers are the dominant driver of sales on Amazon’s  marketplace, accounting for 58% of its total (and growing). We know that the pandemic, ironically, has been good for Amazon, which has reported net sales in Q1 up by 26% year-over-year, given that much of the world has reverted to ordering online. However, the payment terms offered … Continue reading Startup launches innovative new product that pays Amazon marketplace sellers daily Continue Reading →

Meditation apps have been a nice tech-centric respite for many, as the world continues to fall apart at the seams. HBO Max is hoping to build on that success with the launch of a new show based on the wildly popular Calm app. It is, thankfully, neither drama nor workplace comedy (HBO’s already done the … Continue reading The Calm meditation app is getting its own celebrity-filled HBO Max show Continue Reading →

Today after the bell, Netflix  reported its Q2 financial performance. After its second-quarter numbers were out, the popular video streaming service saw its value drop sharply, with its shares off 10% in after-hours trading as of the time of writing. What happened to the high-flying Netflix, a company that you might have expected to report growth bolstered by the … Continue reading Why Netflix shares are down 10% Continue Reading →