Home Page - ChannelMetro.Web.Core

gggg

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

aaa

dddd

ffff

{"status":"ok","feed":{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/feed/","title":"TechCrunch","link":"https://techcrunch.com/","author":"","description":"Startup and Technology News","image":"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/cropped-cropped-favicon-gradient.png?w=32"},"items":[{"title":"Review: Apple Watch Series 4","pubDate":"2018-09-19 10:00:30","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/19/apple-watch-series-4-review/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1715512","author":"Brian Heater","thumbnail":"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/3Q5A0037.jpg","description":"Roughly two-and-half minutes into my run, the watch kicks in. There\u2019s a haptic buzz on my wrist. \u201cIt looks like you\u2019re working out,\u201d the watch face reads. That\u2019s followed by a big, yellow button, suggesting I start an indoor run. I tap the neon button and the clock starts, comping me a reasonable approximation of [\u2026]","content":"\nRoughly two-and-half minutes into my run, the watch kicks in. There\u2019s a haptic buzz on my wrist.\n\u201cIt looks like you\u2019re working out,\u201d the watch face reads. That\u2019s followed by a big, yellow button, suggesting I start an indoor run. I tap the neon button and the clock starts, comping me a reasonable approximation of the time it took for the Watch to be sure what sort of activity it was detecting.\nI wasn\u2019t actually planning to test the feature on this particular run. In all the stretching/music picking/treadmill setting pre-run ritual, I\u2019d just forgotten to set the damn thing. It feels like a small thing, but, then, most of the updates are relatively small in the grand scheme of things. In the case of <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/12/apple-watch-series-4-up-close-and-hands-on/\">the Apple Watch</a>, radically departure would almost certainly be a bad thing.\n\nYou see, there are smartwatches and then there\u2019s the <a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/apple\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"apple\">Apple </a> Watch. That\u2019s not so much a tacit endorsement of the product, so much as an objective analysis of the numbers. <a href=\"https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS43598218\">Numbers from IDC</a> earlier this year show Apple leading all wearables on the strength of its single smartwatch.\nIn fact, the company accounted for <a href=\"https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS43642518\">more than half</a> of smartwatch shipments last year. Simply put, the Apple Watch has long represented a rare bright spot in a flagging wearables category. The device has been successful enough for long enough that analysts are once again <a href=\"https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS44276818\">bullish on the category</a> going forward. That\u2019s an impressive feat by any measure.\nSo what\u2019s a market-dominating smartwatch maker to do? For Apple, the answer is two-fold. First, improve upon the overall experience without altering anything too much. With the Apple Watch Series 4, that means subtle hardware improvements like a larger screen while maintaining a similar form factor, as well as tweaks like the addition of haptic feedback to the Watch\u2019s crown.\nAfter all, Apple\u2019s success doesn\u2019t lie in any single standout feature. Rather, as with the iPhone, the company has excelled in providing an overall hardware and software experience that makes it possible to use the product mostly without thinking \u2014 as evidenced by the above workout feature.\nSecond, show the world precisely how committed you are to health. Even with the existence of cheaper fitness trackers, health and fitness have long been understood to be the primary drivers in smartwatch sales. For Fitbit, that <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/13/an-interview-with-fitbit-ceo-james-park\">means pivoting</a> much of the company toward health care.\nFor Apple, it\u2019s finding ways to have the Watch taken more seriously as a health-monitoring device. While it\u2019s true that the product won\u2019t be replacing medical products any time soon, the wearable has the decided advantage of constant monitoring.\nThat means, unlike hospital equipment and other pricier technology, it can be worn as a kind of safeguard. New features like the ECG (electrocardiogram) monitor on the rear of the device and automatic fall detection aren\u2019t aimed at replacing doctor checkups. They\u2019re safeguards for those times when users aren\u2019t in a doctor\u2019s care.\nAnalysts have bet much of the category\u2019s future growth on Apple\u2019s ability to identify and target new markets. Having cornered techies and a younger demographic, older users and those with health problems present a clear way to expand the Watch\u2019s existing base.\n<h2>Day to day</h2>\n<img class=\"breakout alignnone size-full wp-image-1715514\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/3Q5A0037.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\">\nI wear a lot of smartwatches. It\u2019s a byproduct/perk of the job. Between reviews, however, I always come back to the Apple Watch. For one thing, while I switch back and forth between Android and iOS handsets, my primary phone is an iPhone. One of Apple\u2019s biggest appeals has been its ecosystem. The products just work well with one another to a fault \u2014 and once you\u2019re locked in, it\u2019s hard to get out.\nThat\u2019s not the sole reason, of course. Google, Samsung and Fitbit all have iOS apps now. And while integration isn\u2019t perfect, it\u2019s certainly usable. The fact is that the Apple Watch is an elegant solution from both a hardware and software standpoint. It walks the key wearable line of being engaging when necessary and fading into the background the rest of the time.\nContrary to early reports (and speculation over that event invite), Apple stuck with the squircle (it\u2019s a real geometry term, look it up) this time out. The design was a bit polarizing early on, but I suspect most users have since come to appreciate the things it affords, including the ability to fit more text on the screen.\n<h2>The face of it</h2>\n<img class=\"breakout alignnone size-full wp-image-1715516\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/3Q5A0039.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\">\nOf course, that\u2019s doubly the case here. The clearest difference on the hardware side of the increased display size, which, like the iPhone X, Apple managed to increase the screen without making much of a dent in the overall footprint.\nThe Series 4\u2019s case is slightly larger and wider than its predecessor, but it\u2019s not really noticeable unless you happen to have two side-by-side. Even with the slightly larger surface area, the Apple Watch remains one of the more wearable wearables.\n<img class=\"breakout alignnone size-full wp-image-1715580\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-12-at-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"314\">\nIf you\u2019ve used an earlier version with any regularity, on the other other hand, the increase in surface area is pretty readily apparent, especially when an email notification comes through. It also means app developers can jam in more detail and the Watch\u2019s faces can feature additional complications (a descriptor I suspect makes Apple designers die inside a bit every time they have to utter it).\nWith the 30 percent larger display, you can add things like the Breathe app to the face for easy access. It\u2019s a rare instance of the company pushing to bring more detail to a surface, but with the limited real estate afforded by a smartwatch screen, you take every precious millimeter you can get. The fact that the bezels are smaller also means app designers don\u2019t have to lean as heavily on black backgrounds to help mask the unused space.\n<h2>On the case</h2>\n<img class=\"breakout alignnone size-full wp-image-1711327\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_3303.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\">\nApple also managed to make the new watch thinner than its predecessors. The benefit there is obvious when it comes to making a product designed to be worn on the body. And the slightly larger case size means Apple was able to accomplish this without having an impact on battery life.\nIt\u2019s an interesting choice, given that much of the competition has zeroed in on battery life with recent upgrades, including, notably, the new Galaxy Watch, which Samsung rates at \u201cseveral days.\u201d With good reason \u2014 battery has long been one of the biggest issues with smartwatches.\nAs with earlier versions, Apple rates the Series 4\u2019s battery at \u201call day,\u201d which certainly lines up with my own testing. Even so, I would happily trade a millimeter or two of thickness for some additional mAhs. As it stands, you should be able to get through a day\u2019s use without worrying about finding a charger, but the peace of mind of more battery life is always welcome.\nI admit I didn\u2019t think much of the digital crown when Apple mentioned it on stage. If anything, it sounded like a sort of parlor trick. When I finally had a chance to try the device on at the event the other week, however, I was surprised at how much I dug it.\nSpinning the circle really feels like turning a mechanical dial. And when there\u2019s nothing on screen to move by spinning it, the feedback simply shuts off. Again, it\u2019s a small touch, but a nice one, nonetheless. This is still probably the one spot where Samsung really has a leg up on Apple. The Galaxy (nee Gear)\u2019s spinning bezel is still my favorite method for interacting with smartwatch menus (and the top reason to consider a Samsung model). Though the new digital crown is a fairly close second place.\n<h2>For your health</h2>\n<img class=\"breakout alignnone size-full wp-image-1711325\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_3307.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\">\nApple devoted a good amount of the Apple Watch\u2019s stage time to health and wellness. And understandably so. The company firmly believes that the product\u2019s capabilities as a health monitor are the way forward for the Apple Watch. Added sophisticated tools like the ECG also go a long way toward the company continuing to position the wearable as a premium product.\nAfter all, budget devices from companies like Xiaomi represent the other key growth area in the fitness space. Apple has also seen a surprisingly successful competitor in the form of the $200 Fitbit Versa. Sure, the company got off to a rocky start, but its latest Pebble-esque smartwatch looks to be a bonafide hit. And it\u2019s a pretty solid solution for those looking for a low-cost or Android-friendly solution.\nECG is an interesting addition, because for most users, it\u2019s not an everyday feature. It\u2019s a great addition for older users and those with existing conditions. Information collected day to day can be shared with doctors via the Apple Health app. For the rest of us, the product has the <a href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/09/14/what-cardiologists-think-about-apple-watchs-heart-tracking-feature/?utm_term=.da82de963cc0\">potential to flag</a>\u00a0irregularities and things like atrial fibrillation.\nNo one is suggesting an FDA-approved feature can or should replace a doctor, but if it helps shed some light on heart issues, that\u2019s certainly a net positive. And that\u2019s really where the Apple Watch thrives as a health care device \u2014 it offers potential insight into larger issues. That includes the addition of things like low heart rate notifications in watchOS 5 (which joins the high heart rate notifications from its predecessor) and the irregular rhythm notifications that arrive via the ECG.\n<img class=\"breakout alignnone size-full wp-image-1715578\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/3Q5A0038.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\">\nThe feature won\u2019t be available until later this year, so I wasn\u2019t able to test the thing. And when it does arrive, it will only be available in the U.S., likely due to the intricacies of different health regulatory bodies from country to country. When it does arrive, it will work as follows, per Apple: \u201cSimply touch the Digital Crown to generate an ECG waveform in just 30 seconds. This data can indicate whether your heart rhythm shows signs of atrial fibrillation \u2014 a serious form of irregular heart rhythm \u2014 or sinus rhythm, which means your heart is beating in a normal pattern.\u201d\nThat means the crown is essentially doing double duty, serving as one of two electrodes (the other is on the rear of the watch) for measuring heart rhythms. It\u2019s a pretty novel addition to an existing feature.\nFall detection is the other feature I\u2019ll readily admit I wasn\u2019t able to properly test this time out. The feature is automatically enabled for users aged 65 and over. Everyone else will have to manually enable it via the iPhone app under the Emergency SOS setting. When it detects a fall, an Emergency SOS screen will pop up \u2014 not dissimilar to those Life Alert devices from the 80s. If the wearer is unresponsive for a minute, it will send out the alert.\nI can, however, attest to the fact that I didn\u2019t register any false alerts while wearing the device. Slamming your hands on the desk or collapsing into your bed won\u2019t set it off. Apparently stunt people and others trained at falling won\u2019t be able to set it off, either. I tried taking a few controlled spills into my rabbit\u2019s floor pads, with no results beyond sore hands and a confused bunny. Don\u2019t try this at home, kids.\n<h2>Watch this space</h2>\n<img class=\"breakout alignnone size-full wp-image-1715576\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/3Q5A0035.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\">\nThere are other fun features scattered throughout. Walkie Talkie is a cool one. It\u2019s more of a fun novelty than an indispensable addition. It\u2019s a quick and easy way to communicate with fellow Apple Watch owners over Wi-Fi or cellular, sending through transmissions with the push of a button. It\u2019s also a good way to take advantage of 50 percent louder speakers.\nThe Series 4 isn\u2019t the kind of refresh that justifies upgrading from the last generation, especially given the $399 and $499 starting prices for the standard and LTE models, respectively. But there\u2019s certainly enough here to keep the Apple Watch at the top of the smartwatch heap. The addition of serious health features like ECG and fall detection further lay the groundwork for a what the device \u2014 and category \u2014 will become, going forward.\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["Hardware","Reviews","Wearables","Apple","Apple Watch","smartwatch","watchOS"]},{"title":"Waitrose switches up a gear to launch two-hour grocery deliveries in London","pubDate":"2018-09-19 09:35:01","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/19/waitrose-switches-up-a-gear-to-launch-two-hour-grocery-deliveries-in-london/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1715704","author":"Natasha Lomas","thumbnail":"","description":"Up market UK supermarket chain Waitrose will start trialing two-hour or same day delivery options in certain London postcodes from tomorrow. It\u2019s partnering with CitySprint Group courier delivery spin-out On the Dot for the deliveries which will be made by electric and hydrogen\u00a0vans and push bikes and cargo bikes (billed as a zero-emission fleet). The [\u2026]","content":"\nUp market UK supermarket chain <a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/waitrose\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"waitrose\">Waitrose </a> will start trialing two-hour or same day delivery options in certain London postcodes from tomorrow.\nIt\u2019s partnering with CitySprint Group courier delivery spin-out On the Dot for the deliveries which will be made by electric and hydrogen\u00a0vans and push bikes and cargo bikes (billed as a zero-emission fleet).\nThe supermarket says the service is being launched in response to customer demand for more \u2018little and often\u2019 shopping trips rather than the traditional weekly haul.\nWaitrose has long had its own online supermarket, Waitrose.com (and prior to 2010 via Ocado), but the new on-demand delivery option (which it\u2019s calling\u00a0Waitrose Rapid Delivery) looks intended to supplement that and fill in any competitive gaps opened up as a result of young shoppers not being so keen to commit to a big weekly shop \u2014 with the supermarket flagging \u201cflexibility and convenience\u201d as the drivers.\nIt cites research it commissioned which found two-thirds of UK shoppers regularly or occasionally visit a supermarket more than once a day, saying the trend is particularly prevalent among 18-to 24-year olds who it found to be twice as likely to visit a supermarket twice a day as the over-55s.\nOther UK supermarkets have already made moves to cater to Brits\u2019 changing grocery shopping habits, with Sainsbury\u2019s first to the punch to offer a 60-minute delivery service (called Chop Chop) for small food shops in London in 2016, before <a href=\"https://www.about.sainsburys.co.uk/news/latest-news/2017/17102017-chopchop-rollout\">extending</a> it to additional London postcodes last year.\n<a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/tesco\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"tesco\">Tesco </a> responded with its own one-hour delivery service in summer 2017, including in\u00a0<a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/26/tesco-launches-one-hour-grocery-deliveries-in-london-powered-by-quiqup/\">central London</a>.\nNot directly mentioned in Waitrose\u2019s PR for the rapid delivery launch, but likely also on its mind, is additional competition from ecommerce giant <a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/amazon\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"amazon\">Amazon </a> \u2014 which launched its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service for <a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/prime-3\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"prime-3\">Prime </a> members in London <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/09/amazonfresh-launches-grocery-deliveries-in-london/\">two years ago</a>.\nPrime members must pay an additional subscription to sign up for Prime Fresh, with the subscription business model acting as a sort of double lock-in.\nWaitrose\u2019s rapid delivery option is being launched in the following London postcodes initially: SW5, SW6, SW10, WC1, WC2, EC1, CR5 and CR8 \u2014 with a wider rollout slated as \u201clikely\u201d next year, if the trial goes to plan.\u00a0\nCustomers in the trial areas can choose up to 20 items per delivery from more than 1,500 products at\u00a0<a href=\"http://rapid.waitrose.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://rapid.waitrose.com/&source=gmail&ust=1537432135296000&usg=AFQjCNFGvwMXpYdZGGvBGeVLZl0DE_dvTg\">rapid.waitrose.com</a>.\u00a0They then get the option of receiving their shopping\u00a0within two hours\u00a0of placing the order or they can specify a one-hour time slot that same day.\nThe service has a \u00a310 minimum spend and there is also a \u00a35 charge applied for delivery in either two hours or the same day.\nWaitrose says products will be hand-picked and prepared for delivery by Waitrose Partners \u2014 at either its London shops in Fulham and Bloomsbury or at its\u00a0<a href=\"http://dot.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://dot.com&source=gmail&ust=1537432135296000&usg=AFQjCNGC4u49wbIBxlSAM7kAtY9oME3aZA\">dot.com</a>\u00a0distribution centre in Coulsdon, Surrey.\nOn-demand grocery delivery may now be increasingly on offer to urban dwellers from UK supermarket giants but five years ago startups were toying with\u00a0<a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2013/08/14/pocketshop-launch/\">offering Instacart-style personal shopper services</a>.\nIt\u00a0now looks like grocery deliveries will be mostly folded into the existing supermarket mix via add-on services \u2014 depending on the size of grocery pie-slice Amazon can carve itself.\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["Europe","Food","Amazon","AmazonFresh","grocery delivery","Instacart","London","Ocado","On the Dot","on-demand","prime","supermarkets","tesco","United Kingdom","Waitrose"]},{"title":"Twitter\u2019s former Head of People EMEA joins VC firm Atomico as Partner","pubDate":"2018-09-19 08:00:27","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/19/twitters-former-head-of-people-emea-joins-vc-firm-atomico-as-partner/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1714226","author":"Steve O'Hear","thumbnail":"","description":"Atomico, the European venture capital firm founded by Skype\u2019s Niklas Zennstr\u00f6m, is announcing a number of new hires to its investment team, including new Partner Caroline Chayot, who previously led the EMEA HR team at Twitter. I\u2019m told she\u2019ll be working alongside existing Atomico Partner Dan Hynes, who was formerly the Director of Global Staffing [\u2026]","content":"\n<a href=\"https://www.atomico.com/\">Atomico</a>, the European venture capital firm founded by Skype\u2019s Niklas Zennstr\u00f6m, is announcing a number of new hires to its investment team, including new Partner Caroline Chayot, who previously led the EMEA HR team at Twitter.\nI\u2019m told she\u2019ll be working alongside existing Atomico Partner Dan Hynes, who was formerly the Director of Global Staffing at Skype, with the pair helping meet increased demand from Atomico\u2019s portfolio companies for talent support.\nAt Twitter, Chayot is said to have supported the leadership team in scaling the social media behemoth from two to six markets, growing the team from 80 based in London to 500 across the region. Prior to that she worked at Google in HR for 9 years.\nIn addition, Irina Haivas has joined Atomico as Principal. The former surgeon and former surgical fellow at Harvard Medical School (yes, you read that correctly) previously worked at healthcare investor GHO Capital Partners. She\u2019ll focus on sourcing investment opportunities in machine intelligence-enabled businesses, synthetic biology, robotics and other \u201cfrontier technologies\u201d.\nThe other new members of the 30-strong Atomico investment team are:\n<ul>\n<li>Senior Associate Annalise Dragic, a recent Stanford MBA graduate and who was a member of LinkedIn\u2019s Strategy & Analytics Leadership Program\u2019s inaugural class. She\u2019ll be focusing on the U.K.</li>\n<li>Associate Luca Eisenstecken, a German native who spent the last two years in San Francisco with Vector Capital. He\u2019ll be covering Germany, Austria and Switzerland.</li>\n<li>Associate Christina Fa, who grew up in Australia and New Zealand and joins Atomico from Google\u2019s Corporate Finance team in Mountain View. She\u2019ll be focusing on the Nordics and Baltic regions.</li>\n<li>IR Associate Gunita Bhasin, who joins Atomico from Deutsche Bank and has lived and studied in India, Singapore, Turkey, and the U.K. She\u2019ll support long-time Head of IR Camilla Richards in managing Atomico\u2019s relationships with its global investor base.</li>\n</ul>\nFinally, it would be remiss of me not to mention Atomico\u2019s new addition to its communications team. Eleanor Warnock, formerly with the Wall Street Journal, has joined the VC firm as Communications Manager. The hack-turned-flack will work alongside Atomico\u2019s Head of Communications Bryce Keane to help raise the profile of the firm\u2019s portfolio companies internationally.\nMeanwhile, it\u2019s that time of year again. Atomico has launched its latest\u00a0State of European Tech survey, where it seeks your help in capturing a data-driven snapshot of the current European tech ecosystem and to confront a number of myths along the way. You can read TC\u2019s analysis of the 2017 report <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/30/atomico-just-released-its-third-state-of-european-tech-report-and-it-holds-some-surprises/\">here</a>, and if you\u2019d like to contribute, this year\u2019s survey can be found\u00a0<a href=\"https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/soetxatomico\">here</a>.\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["Europe","TC"]},{"title":"Tandem CEO will tell you why building a bank is hard at Disrupt Berlin","pubDate":"2018-09-19 07:10:15","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/19/tandem-ceo-will-tell-you-why-building-a-bank-is-hard-at-disrupt-berlin/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1714924","author":"Steve O'Hear","thumbnail":"","description":"Challenger banks, neobanks or digital-only banks\u2026 Whatever we choose to call them, Europe \u2014 and the U.K. in particular \u2014 has more than its fair share of bank upstarts battling it out for a slice of the growing fintech pie. One of those is Tandem, co-founded by financial technology veteran Ricky Knox, who we\u2019re excited [\u2026]","content":"\nChallenger banks, neobanks or digital-only banks\u2026 Whatever we choose to call them, Europe \u2014 and the U.K. in particular \u2014 has more than its fair share of bank upstarts battling it out for a slice of the growing fintech pie. One of those is <a href=\"https://www.tandem.co.uk/\">Tandem</a>, co-founded by financial technology veteran <a href=\"https://www.crunchbase.com/person/ricky-knox\">Ricky Knox</a>, who we\u2019re excited to announce will join us at <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/events/disrupt-berlin-2018/\">TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin</a>.\n<a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/tandem-4\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"tandem-4\">Tandem </a> \u2014 or the so-called \u201cGood Bank\u201d \u2014 has been on quite a journey this year. Most recently the bank launched a competitive <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/11/tandem-adds-fixed-savings-accounts/\">fixed savings product</a>, pitting it against a whole host of incumbent and challenger banks. It followed <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/20/tandem-credit-card/\">the launch of the Tandem credit card</a> in February, which competes well on cash-back and FX rates when spending abroad.\nBoth products are part of a wider strategy where, like many other consumer-facing fintechs, Tandem wants to become your financial control centre and connect you to and offer various financial services. These are either products of its own or through partnerships with other fintech startups and more established providers.\nAt the heart of this is the Tandem mobile app, which acts as a Personal Finance Manager (PFM), including letting you aggregate your non-Tandem bank account data from other bank accounts or credit cards you might have, in addition to managing any Tandem products you\u2019ve taken out. The company recently <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/13/tandem-acquires-pariti/\">acquired</a> fintech startup Pariti to beef up its account aggregation features.\nHowever, what makes Tandem\u2019s recent progress all the more interesting is that it comes after a definite bump in the road last year. This saw the company temporarily lose its banking license and forced to make lay-offs following the partial collapse of a \u00a335 million investment round from department store House of Fraser, due to restrictions on capital leaving China. The remedy was further investment from existing backers and <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/20/tandems-acquisition-of-harrods-bank-the-banking-arm-of-uk-department-store-is-approved-by-regulators/\">the bold move to acquire Harrods Bank</a>, the banking arm of the U.K.\u2019s most famous luxury department store.\nAs you can see, there is plenty to talk about. And some. So, why not <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/events/disrupt-berlin-2018/tickets\">grab your ticket to Disrupt Berlin</a> to listen to the Tandem story. The conference will take place on November 29-30.\nIn addition to fireside chats and panels, like this one, new startups will participate in the Startup Battlefield Europe to win the highly coveted Battlefield cup.\n<hr>\n<h2>Ricky Knox</h2>\nCEO & Co-Founder, Tandem\nRicky is a serial investor and entrepreuner. He has built five technology disruptors in fintech and telecoms, each of which also does a bit of good for the world.\nBefore Tandem he founded Azimo and Small World, two remittance businesses, and is managing partner of Hexagon Partners, a private equity firm. He built Tandem to be a digital bank that helps improve customers\u2019 lives with money.\nRicky has a first class degree from Bristol University and an MBA from INSEAD.\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["Europe","Finance","Startups","TC","Disrupt","disrupt berlin","disrupt berlin 2018","Ricky Knox","Tandem"]},{"title":"\u2018Brotopia\u2019 inspired OODA Health to raise its $40.5M round only from firm\u2019s with female partners","pubDate":"2018-09-19 07:01:57","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/19/brotopia-inspired-ooda-health-to-raise-its-40-5m-round-only-from-firms-with-female-partners/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1715441","author":"Kate Clark","thumbnail":"","description":"OODA Health, a startup developing technology to make the U.S. healthcare payment system more efficient, has raised $40.5 million in a round led by Oak HC/FT and DFJ.","content":"\nIt\u2019s never particularly easy to raise a round of venture capital \u2014 but I think most experienced founders will tell you its not quite as bad the second or third time around, when you\u2019ve got some experience under your belt and a track record to present to VCs.\nIt helps if you\u2019re male too, at least <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/15/the-portion-of-vc-backed-startups-founded-by-women-stays-stubbornly-stagnant/\">according to all the data</a> out there on the gender funding gap in VC.\nThe leadership team at<a href=\"https://www.ooda-health.com/\"> OODA Health</a>, a startup developing technology to make the U.S. healthcare payment system more efficient, is both male and experienced. But unlike most companies of that nature, OODA decided to raise money for the business only from VC firms that have at least one female leader, a solution to one of tech\u2019s greatest problems that is oft suggested and rarely executed.\n\u201c\u2018Brotopia\u2019 really hit me hard,\u201d OODA Health co-founder and CEO Giovanni Colella told TechCrunch.\n<div class=\"embed breakout\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"PylQkMZlKP\"><a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/05/in-brotopia-sex-parties-are-the-least-of-silicon-valleys-problems/\">In \u201cBrotopia,\u201d sex parties are the least of Silicon Valley\u2019s problems</a></blockquote>\n\n</div>\nColella is the founder and former CEO of <a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/castlight-health\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"castlight-health\">Castlight Health, </a> which raised nearly $200 million in VC funding before going public on the NYSE in 2014. Co-founder and COO Seth Cohen is Castlight\u2019s former VP of sales and alliances and co-founder and CTO Usama Fayyad is the former global chief data officer at Barclays and <a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/yahoo\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"yahoo\">Yahoo </a>.\nThe trio ultimately landed on lead investors Annie Lamont of Oak HC/FT and Emily Melton of DFJ, both of which have joined the company\u2019s board of directors.\n\u201cWe have a responsibility of setting an example,\u201d Colella said. \u201cThere is no machismo in what we\u2019ve done. We are not better than you because we did it. We were blessed. We had more investors that wanted to invest than we could accommodate.\u201d\nThough the company\u2019s c-suite is occupied by men, Cohen and Colella were quick to clarify that the rest of their founding team, head of operations Julie Skaff, head of product Sophie Pinkard and director of product strategy Midori Uehara, are women.\nThe team began working on OODA Health last year after Colella and Cohen agreed to build something that would upend the healthcare industry. Healthcare, they realized, is at least 20 years behind the advances in financial tech.\nThe pair said their\u00a0real aha moment was when they learned even insurance companies \u2014 the real laggards \u2014 are ready to be rid of the slow, futile billing and payment methods that accompany any and every doctor and hospital visit.\n\u201cThe idea of submitting a claim and not knowing when you are going to get reimbursed or get a bill, that has been the same for decades,\u201d Cohen told TechCrunch. \u201cImagine, today, if you took a Visa card and you went to a restaurant \u2026 and then a month later received a bill, that\u2019s how healthcare works.\u201d\nIf OODA has their way, paying for a doctor\u2019s visit will be more like paying for a hotel. You\u2019re told upfront what you owe and you work exclusively with the insurance company to make that payment. And in this idyllic future, you won\u2019t receive an \u201cexplanation of benefits\u201d notice in the mail as well as a bill and subsequently fall into a downward spiral of confusion, stress and frustration.\nHeadquartered in San Francisco, OODA has teamed with several big-name insurance providers, including\u00a0<a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/wellpoint\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"wellpoint\">Anthem, </a> Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, Blue Shield of California, Zaffre Investments, Dignity Health and Hill Physicians to make this happen.\nAs far as lifting up women in VC, that\u2019s purely been a side benefit of the overall operation.\n\u201cAt the end of the day, we found two of the best investors to back us,\u201d Cohen said.\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["Funding","Health","Startups","Venture Capital","aetna","Anthem","Barclays","Blue Cross Blue Shield","california","Castlight Health","ceo","chief data officer","coo","healthcare industry","insurance","San Francisco","United States","usama fayyad","venture capital","Yahoo"]},{"title":"Vegan meal delivery startup Allplants is served \u00a37.5M Series A funding","pubDate":"2018-09-19 07:00:08","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/19/allplants/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1715272","author":"Steve O'Hear","thumbnail":"","description":"Allplants, a London-based startup that delivers ready-made \u201cplant-based\u201d meals (that\u2019s vegan, to you and me), has raised \u00a37.5 million in Series A funding. The round is led by VC firm Octopus Ventures, which was an early backer in healthy snack delivery company Graze. Additional investors in the round include existing backer Felix Capital (which I\u2019m [\u2026]","content":"\n<a href=\"https://allplants.com/\">Allplants</a>, a London-based startup that delivers ready-made \u201cplant-based\u201d meals (that\u2019s vegan, to you and me), has raised \u00a37.5 million in Series A funding. The round is led by VC firm Octopus Ventures, which was an early backer in healthy snack delivery company Graze.\nAdditional investors in the round include existing backer Felix Capital (which I\u2019m told has doubled its seed investment), Swedish VC firm Otiva, unnamed partners at VerlInvest (who are participating in a personal capacity), David Milner (ex-CEO Tyrells), Simon Nixon (founder of MoneySupermarket), and video blogger Jack Harries. Allplants reckons it is the U.K.\u2019s largest Series A round for a vegan company.\nBased on the premise that switching to a plant-based diet is the most impactful way to reduce our environmental footprint (and improve health), Allplants has developed a delivery service that wants to make it \u201ceffortlessly easy to eat more plants\u201d. Specifically, either as a one-off or on a subscription basis, it delivers healthy, chef-made, vegan meals, for you to reheat at home.\nThey are \u201cquick frozen\u201d to lock in freshness and the idea is that you receive six meals at a time, to serve one or two people each, making the model more scalable and delivery more cost-effective. When your food is delivered you store it in your own freezer and cook/eat as needed, before your next order.\nSince being founded in 2017 by brothers Jonathan and Alex Petrides, Allplants says it has served over 250,000 meals nationwide to plant-inspired foodies and built a \u201cmovement\u201d with over 70,000 online fans. Notably, the company is a B-Corp, promising to do good by people and the planet.\nMeanwhile, Allplants says it will use the investment to develop a broader range of ready-to-eat food, accelerate the growth of its community, further grow its North London-based 40-plus team, and expand the capacity of its production kitchen, which will operate on renewable and waste-created energy.\nAdds Allplants\u2019 Jonathan Petrides: \u201cMost allplants customers aren\u2019t veggie or vegan, they\u2019re curious and hunting for convenient, healthy ways to boost their busy lives. This investment well help us fuel the plant-based movement forward\u201d.\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["Europe","Fundings & Exits","Startups","TC","Allplants"]},{"title":"Sony announces the PlayStation Classic, its own mini retro console","pubDate":"2018-09-19 06:37:34","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/18/playstation-classic-release-date/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1715651","author":"Taylor Hatmaker","thumbnail":"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/43865608325_e1762572d1_b.jpg?w=680","description":"If you\u2019re the kind of person who has two beers and regularly launches into the same 20 minute-long ode to the original PlayStation for playing a seminal role in the maturation of gaming as an art form, well, do we have some news for you. Sony just announced its intentions to give the PlayStation the [\u2026]","content":"\nIf you\u2019re the kind of person who has two beers and regularly launches into the same 20 minute-long ode to the original PlayStation for playing a seminal role in the maturation of gaming as an art form, well, do we have some news for you. Sony just announced its intentions to give the PlayStation the (winning) <a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/nintendo\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"nintendo\">Nintendo </a> Classic treatment with a tiny to-scale version of the PS1 called the\u00a0<a href=\"https://blog.us.playstation.com/2018/09/18/introducing-playstation-classic-with-20-pre-loaded-games/\">PlayStation Classic</a>. The teeniest new console is scheduled to hit shelves on December 3, retailing for $99.99.\n\nLike Nintendo\u2019s wildly popular SNES and NES Classics that paved the way, Sony\u2019s PlayStation Classic will come pre-loaded with a cache of well-loved games. The <a href=\"https://blog.us.playstation.com/2018/09/18/introducing-playstation-classic-with-20-pre-loaded-games/\">PlayStation Classic\u2019s lineup</a> will feature 20 classic games, including Final Fantasy VII [editor\u2019s note: hell yeah], Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3, and Wild Arms.\u00a0\n\u201cAlmost 25 years ago, the original PlayStation was introduced to the world. Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, it was the first home console in video game history to ship 100 million units worldwide, offering consumers a chance to play games with real-time 3D rendered graphics in their homes for the first time,\u201d Sony said, waxing nostalgic in a<a href=\"https://blog.us.playstation.com/2018/09/18/introducing-playstation-classic-with-20-pre-loaded-games/\"> blog post</a> announcing the console. We\u2019re here for it.\n\u201cLong-time fans will appreciate the nostalgia that comes with rediscovering the games they know and love, while gamers who might be new to the platform can enjoy the groundbreaking PlayStation console experience that started it all.\u201d\n<img class=\"size-large wp-image-1715656 aligncenter\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/43865608325_e1762572d1_b.jpg?w=680\" alt=\"\" width=\"680\" height=\"311\">\nAccording to Sony, the new mini PlayStation will be 45% smaller than a real PlayStation, complete with smaller controllers that also mimic their forebears. Each unit will ship with an HDMI and USB cable and two controllers for couch multiplayer. The consoles will be available to pre-order at some retailers in Canada and the U.S and more details (including the 15 other games) so keep an eye out \u2014 Sony will be sharing more details in the next month or two. All games \u201cwill be playable in their original format\u201d so expect them to look and feel just like they did in the dark ages, when things were simple and good.\nMost of us can agree that this particular nostalgia baiting tactic is awesome, take our money, but have you seen this thing? It\u2019s extra cute. Maybe it\u2019s because the PS1 had those iconic circular buttons that echoed its game discs and round things are cute like Kirby is cute (Toad, on the other hand, is over).\nIf you spent significant time marveling over the PS1 when it made waves in 1995, you too likely retain a proprioceptive kind of intimacy with its then cutting-edge form. Do you remember precisely how much give the buttons had when you depressed them, how the disc hood yawned open gracefully, almost suspensefully? Of course you do.\nSure we gave five years of our actual lives to this thing \u2014 what\u2019s a few months more?\n<img class=\"size-large wp-image-1715676 aligncenter\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/cloud.gif?w=480\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\">\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["Gaming","TC","computing","Nintendo","playstation","Sony Computer Entertainment","video gaming"]},{"title":"Google will match up to $1M in donations for Hurricane Florence relief","pubDate":"2018-09-19 04:32:22","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/18/google-will-match-up-to-1m-in-donations-for-hurricane-florence-relief/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1715629","author":"Catherine Shu","thumbnail":"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-12.30.09-PM.png","description":"As cities in Hurricane Florence\u2019s path deal with its aftermath, Google will match up to $1 million in donations to help with relief efforts. The disaster\u2019s death toll is currently 35 people and about 343,000 people in North Carolina are without electricity. The hurricane caused widespread flooding and property damage throughout North Carolina, South Carolina [\u2026]","content":"\nAs cities in Hurricane Florence\u2019s path deal with its aftermath, <a class=\"crunchbase-link\" href=\"https://crunchbase.com/organization/google\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"organization\" data-entity=\"google\">Google </a> <a href=\"https://www.google.org/crisis/florence-relief/?authuser=0\">will match up to $1 million in donations</a> to help with relief efforts.\nThe disaster\u2019s death toll is <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/live-news/hurricane-florence-aftermath-weather-flooding-power-outage-death-toll-fema-latest-forecast-live/\">currently 35 people</a> and about 343,000 people in North Carolina are without electricity. The hurricane caused widespread flooding and property damage throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.\n<img class=\"breakout aligncenter size-full wp-image-1715636\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Screen-Shot-2018-09-19-at-12.30.09-PM.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"390\">\n\u00a0\nGoogle drew attention to its Hurricane Florence donation campaign with a banner that appeared on top of Gmail for some users. Google has matched donations for other disasters before, including <a href=\"https://www.google.org/irma-relief/\">Hurricane Irma </a>and <a href=\"https://www.google.org/harvey-relief/\">Hurricane Harvey</a> last year. It\u2019s also raised money for humanitarian efforts crises, like a<a href=\"http://www.google.com/refugeerelief\"> 2015 matching program</a> for up to $5.5 million in donations to provide aid to refugees in Europe. For that campaign, it temporarily added a \u201cDonate\u201d button to its search homepage.\nThe company is partnering with non-profit Network for God to collect and distribute funds. All donations will be directed to the American Red Cross, which Google said it chose to work with \u201cbecause of their strong track record and existing response in the region.\u201d\nOther tech companies helping with Hurricane Florence relief <a href=\"https://blog.aboutamazon.com/community/helping-people-affected-by-hurricane-florence\">include Amazon</a>, which enabled Alexa users to make donations by saying \u201cAlexa, donate to Hurricane Florence disaster relief\u201d and sent trucks with food and donated items to affected areas, and Apple, which <a href=\"https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-donates-1m-to-red-cross-as-hurricane-florence-slams-north-carolina/\">donated $1 million</a> to the American Red Cross. Airbnb also <a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/12/airbnb-hosts-are-offering-free-rooms-to-people-fleeing-hurricane-florence/\">offered free rooms</a> to people fleeing the hurricane.\n\u00a0\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["TC","charity","Google","hurricane florence"]},{"title":"Solving the mystery of sleep","pubDate":"2018-09-19 01:45:59","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/18/solving-the-mystery-of-sleep/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1715564","author":"Jonathan Shieber","thumbnail":"https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/vQF4nx9FDbf73B-g-PJT-yE4_aWrmhxao9ZNFuMqrPU06UittIKMMFjrr0N5eGxqebU-oi_YdVx0aqHthREgy3_npefza0aOhPkwLGESGnUcvoipvAtSHIzb=s0-d-e1-ft#https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*lvc1IdySNQRGXgerZkdqcA.png","description":"Alice Lloyd George Contributor Alice Lloyd George is an investor at RRE Ventures and the host of Flux, a series of podcast conversations with leaders in frontier technology. More posts by this contributor A conversation with Dean Kamen on the myth of \u201cEureka!\u201d Using drones to build the ambulance fleet of the future Below are [\u2026]","content":"\n<div class=\"article__contributor-byline\">\n\t<div class=\"contributor-byline__contributor\">\n\t\t<div class=\"byline__author\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlice Lloyd George\n\t\t\t\t\t\tContributor\n\t\t</div>\n\n\t\t\t</div>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"contributor-byline__bio\">\n\t\t<a href=\"http://www.rre.com/alice-lloyd-george/\">Alice Lloyd George</a> is an investor at <a href=\"http://www.rre.com/\">RRE Ventures</a> and the host of <a href=\"http://theflux.libsyn.com/podcast\">Flux</a>, a series of podcast conversations with leaders in frontier technology. \t</div>\n\t\n\t\t<div class=\"contributor-byline__more-articles\">\n\t\tMore posts by this contributor\n\t\t<ul class=\"more-articles-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/01/a-conversation-with-dean-kamen-on-the-myth-of-eureka/\">A conversation with Dean Kamen on the myth of \u201cEureka!\u201d</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/25/using-drones-to-build-the-ambulance-fleet-of-the-future/\">Using drones to build the ambulance fleet of the future</a></li>\n\t\t\t\t\t</ul>\n</div>\n\t</div>\nBelow are excerpts from the most recent episode of the<a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/flux/id1192848099?mt=2\"> Flux podcast</a> hosted by RRE Ventures principal Alice Lloyd George.\u00a0\nAMLG: Welcome back to the pod. I\u2019m excited to be here with\u00a0<a class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--anchor m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--p-anchor\" href=\"http://www.cs.technion.ac.il/~assafgr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.cs.technion.ac.il/~assafgr/&source=gmail&ust=1537405345570000&usg=AFQjCNGL6KaoAOCdWotnFGIxWcuHlFP5XA\">Dr. Assaf Glazer</a>. He is the co-founder and CEO of\u00a0<a class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--anchor m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https://www.nanit.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.nanit.com/&source=gmail&ust=1537405345570000&usg=AFQjCNHZKmbZoe5hKeGU9qVo1j29XC5WYQ\">Nanit</a>\u00a0a leading human analytics company that uses computer vision to help parents navigate their child\u2019s sleep. \nEssentially it\u2019s a baby data collector that every sleep-deprived geek parent has dreamed of. A little background on Assaf: He got his Ph.D. at the Technion in Israel and was previously at Applied Materials as well as Wales where he worked on solutions for missile defense systems. Nanit was born here in New York at Cornell Tech [disclosure\u200a\u2014\u200aRRE is a long-standing investor in the company.] Welcome Assaf it\u2019s great to have you.\u00a0\nAG: Thank you for having me.\nAMLG: I\u2019ve got a stat here, that on average parents lose 44 days of sleep during the first year of their baby\u2019s life and nearly 3 in 10 babies have problems sleeping at night. Those numbers sum up the nature of what you\u2019re trying to solve, but can you lay out how you identified this problem and started the company?\nAG: It started for me as a parent. You have your baby, you arrive home and you see that your life has changed. Pretty quickly you understand what your number one concern is\u200a\u2014\u200asleep. You\u2019re tired, you\u2019re sleep deprived. You wake up during the night and do everything necessary to go back to sleep. You\u2019re going to Google and going to friends. This is where Nanit comes in. We are giving you the information that will allow you to make better decisions for your child. Six years ago I had my first child, Udi. He was born when I was at the Technion. I\u2019m a computer vision guy. Before I was at the Technion I worked at Applied Materials in the semiconductor industry, on a camera that you put above the silicon slices, to see them from a bird\u2019s eye perspective.\nAMLG: So you were doing computer vision for chip manufacturing\u200a\u2014\u200aon the assembly lines, you\u2019d look for errors in the chips?\nAG: Yes. And when my son was born I said, OK let\u2019s do process control for my baby.\nAMLG: As if the baby was on an assembly line like a chip, just run some computer vision on it.\u00a0\nAG: Yeah. So I wrote a paper on background subtraction algorithms\u200a\u2014\u200ahow to find a foreground object differentiated from the background\u200a\u2014\u200aand applied those algorithms to my baby. I went to my advisors at the Technion and told them, you know, I\u2019ve found that my baby is moving 134 times on average at night. But what can you do with that? I was looking at this data and I said sleep, sleep is what we need to solve here. I went to sleeping labs to try to understand sleep science. Then I moved as a postdoc to Cornell University where I joined the Runway Program, which aims to commercialize science.\n<figure class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--figure m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--layoutOutsetLeft\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<img class=\"breakout m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf-image CToWUd a6T\" tabindex=\"0\" src=\"https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/vQF4nx9FDbf73B-g-PJT-yE4_aWrmhxao9ZNFuMqrPU06UittIKMMFjrr0N5eGxqebU-oi_YdVx0aqHthREgy3_npefza0aOhPkwLGESGnUcvoipvAtSHIzb=s0-d-e1-ft#https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*lvc1IdySNQRGXgerZkdqcA.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"958\" height=\"556\">The\u00a0Jacobs institute\u00a0is a joint venture between Cornell and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, operating as an independent entity within Cornell Tech. The Institute emphasizes a trans-disciplinary view of science and encourages translational research to serves the common good, through a set of industry-focused \u201chubs\u201d that address contemporary needs.\n</div></figure>AMLG: So you moved from Israel.\nAG: I moved from Israel to where the customers are, which is New York.\nAMLG: We also have the most anxious parents on the planet.\nAG: Haha yes. I would say that New York is very inspiring. In terms of the culture, the diversity, it\u2019s a great place to be.\nAMLG: Tell me about the program at Cornell.\nAG: It\u2019s\u00a0<a class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--anchor m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/education/in-cornell-deal-for-roosevelt-island-campus-an-unlikely-partnership.html?_r=1&hpThe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/education/in-cornell-deal-for-roosevelt-island-campus-an-unlikely-partnership.html?_r%3D1%26hpThe&source=gmail&ust=1537405345570000&usg=AFQjCNE45UTCbWTLcdDDAsy0Xemfb7RErQ\">a joint venture for Cornell and Technion University</a>. We were six postdocs that started in this program. They really helped me. Peretz Lavie the president of the Technion, he\u2019s a sleep expert, a sleep guru I would say. He helped us reach out to experts around the world in sleep development and cognitive development. Then we developed Nanit with them.\n<figure class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--figure m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--layoutOutsetLeft\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<img class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf-image CToWUd a6T\" tabindex=\"0\" src=\"https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/4n7RWhQ90yDCs_odo026axxxDpUYjI6c-kfv54LVORbK-aHk9hx0LTW2ycgjGO-jcYgJqa1U9JFyht_4ilMKVZmzxpc5lS2NWtXJPJyiE7ocfQ8ZBolGRbviqA=s0-d-e1-ft#https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*l7JTbCZRTU1yagM_uOsV3Q.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"723\" height=\"723\">Dr Peretz Lavie\u00a0is a world-renowned sleep expert and has been President of the Technion since 2009. Watch his interview on sleep research <a href=\"https://www.coursera.org/lecture/startup-entrepreneurship-from-idea-to-startup/interview-prof-peretz-lavie-sleep-research-cJM2F\">here</a>.\u00a0\n</div>\n<figcaption class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-imageCaption\"></figcaption>AMLG: Sleep science\u200a\u2014\u200aas you got into that field, what did you discover and what were you surprised by as you engaged with the science for the first time\u200a\u2014\u200aI imagine people have focused more on adults than babies?</figure>AG: The development of infant sleep is fascinating. How we move between stages. How to differentiate between awake, asleep, deep sleep, REM sleep.\nAMLG: Do babies have deep sleep and REM sleep as well?\nAG: When they are born it\u2019s a bit of a mix. They have two states, awake and asleep. And over time\u200a\u2014\nAMLG: Like an on off switch.\nAG: Haha it\u2019s a bit more, but I\u2019m not sure that we fully understand all the processes during the first few weeks. They dream much more than adults. And you see their architecture developing. One of the first experts that I worked with is Professor Avi Sadeh. I reached out to him through Peretz Lavie, as he developed the gold standard of how to measure sleep. The hypothesis is that movement is an indication of asleep and awake states, and with a camera you know much more. You draw the silhouette of the baby, you can detect the eyes. You can track the different parts of the body and you have better resolution. Today we measure sleep better than the state of the art medical devices. When you do it with a camera it\u2019s powerful because you can capture a lot of things around the sleep architecture. You build a picture. In our case we track the parent. When you look at this behavior\u200a\u2014\u200asleep and parent intervention patterns\u200a\u2014\u200ayou can give tips and recommendations for parents on how to improve, how to teach their baby to sleep on its own.\nAMLG: As your user base gets bigger you\u2019re going to have a lot of anonymized metadata that will give you insights\u2014such as the more times you interrupt the baby\u2019s sleep or the more times you leave it alone, this is the effect. So is it the parent-child insights that you\u2019re looking to get?\n<figure class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--figure m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--layoutOutsetLeft\"><img class=\"breakout m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf-image CToWUd a6T\" tabindex=\"0\" src=\"https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/YaDjYzpYP4peUCgdqUGgW0qHeq-iWuor1CB1la58JdlqkLRqbQe01mTN_cyX9vpzZ2AT6UsF5G8bBdXbwIHXgbzz1zYR48Dzon9YjAmybOI-Ipr3pb2eT7MQ=s0-d-e1-ft#https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*E437nLFiwTXN2-_IBCP0oQ.gif\" width=\"773\" height=\"435\"><figcaption class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-imageCaption\">Meet Nanit [on\u00a0<a class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--anchor m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--figure-anchor\" href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79hJba_hDxY&feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v%3D79hJba_hDxY%26feature%3Dyoutu.be&source=gmail&ust=1537405345571000&usg=AFQjCNFn5Bcwt-n_FlrpUr6nq1Wnku2n5A\">Youtube]</a></figcaption></figure>AG: If you look at studies on sleep, we\u2019re talking about hundreds top. With Nanit you are exposed to\u00a0thousands\u00a0of babies sleeping in their natural environment. By looking at their behavior over time we learn new things. Sleep training is awareness and education. You\u2019re building awareness with the data and the videos. We give parents information about how their week was in comparison to other babies of that age. There are no secrets\u200a\u2014\u200aif you have the data you can use triggers to give tips to parents. For instance, I saw that your baby is capable of putting himself back to sleep during the night. Why don\u2019t you wait one or two minutes before you enter the room.\nAMLG: On the hardware side, can you share the journey there. You used to do manufacturing in the U.S. and you\u2019ve moved that to China. What have you learned\u200a\u2014\u200ahow have margins improved? How did you scale up volume? What are your learnings about manufacturing?\n<figure class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--figure m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--layoutOutsetLeft\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<img class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf-image CToWUd a6T\" tabindex=\"0\" src=\"https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/V0M5N9zR0giJoNMgeCIuzNlRBs0zR-Ec-AzO9T8h4bbjPU6wQvKHxlpwXdbjIRirSwA68iz5rx5CdJUAJLURCh--ZpjgFz_WDxsGW5tO1qVjMuCknoVcMF0f=s0-d-e1-ft#https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*dE8WztfqZYKbtyuH4byhOA.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"666\" height=\"429\">China continues to dominate U.S. electronics imports. <a href=\"https://www.joc.com/breakbulk/china-dominates-us-electronics-imports-%E2%80%93-big-and-small-screens_20180525.html\">Source: IHS Mark</a>\n</div>\n<figcaption class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-imageCaption\"></figcaption></figure>AG: I\u2019ll try to make it short. It\u2019s really hard to build mass production lines in the U.S. for commodity consumer goods. From a labor perspective, prices in the U.S. are high. Over time it won\u2019t exist in the U.S. as there is strong competition from China. But because it is a consumer product, having your designer, engineers and even the line close to you geographically is much more convenient. If you\u2019re looking at the U.S. market, the engineers are also parents, which helps you explain the value proposition of your product. It\u2019s important that even the engineer who designs the circuit board understands what it means to have an LED that is strong enough above the bed. In general every engineer needs to have the product in mind when he does the design. Once we reached a stage that we had a line in the right yield and capacity, we did the transition to China. But it is expensive to work in this way, to start in the U.S. then move to China. There is no one recipe. Nanit also has an R&D center in Israel. Which means that now I\u2019m working in three time zones. It is crazy. Most of our R&D is on the software side and on the hardware side we try to outsource when possible. If I had to choose I would choose Israel and the U.S.\nAMLG: How have you found pulling those resources together and acquiring talent. You\u2019ve obviously got a strategic advantage with the connection to Israel, but any insights on how you attract and retain the top talent, especially in machine learning?\nAG: Finding the right talent for your company is a search problem. The world is big and in different parts of the world there are different types of talent. In Israel there is great talent for backend engineers and computer vision, and we hire those people in Israel. In the U.S. there\u2019s great talent in marketing, sales, business development, brand development, human centric design\u200a\u2014\u200afor those, New York is a great place to be. In China you find talent related to manufacturing and they are very good at it. In the past it was hard to build a company in this way. But the world changed. The world changed in the sense of how we communicate. The only thing that hasn\u2019t been solved yet is time zones. If everyone slept at the same time that would help. But besides the time zones, technology today can solve a lot of problems. Nanit couldn\u2019t exist a couple of years ago when we didn\u2019t have this.\nAMLG: Right you wouldn\u2019t have been able to do it all in Israel or all in New York or all in China. What about on the machine learning side\u200a\u2014\u200awhat is going on on a more macro level there?\nAG: Deep learning and convolutional neural networks are amazing tools that help us do things we weren\u2019t able to do before. Thanks to deep learning, today I can tell you the baby\u2019s position in the crib better than the human eye. But what happened is that it was so disruptive that many other parts of the computer vision field, you started seeing them less and less at conferences. Add to this the fact that it generates lots of value for companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft\u200a\u2014\nAMLG: So machine learning has become dominated by big platforms like Google and Apple, and perhaps research for research\u2019s sake is a valuable thing and not just having it all steered towards revenue or commercial applications. You\u2019re saying it\u2019s important to have pure research?\nAG: This is what research is about. It should be pure.\nAMLG: Do you know Gary Marcus?\u00a0<a class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--anchor m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--p-anchor\" href=\"https://blog.rre.com/09-gary-marcus-making-ai-more-human-8f31010c0cb?gi=b68168f0c327\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://blog.rre.com/09-gary-marcus-making-ai-more-human-8f31010c0cb?gi%3Db68168f0c327&source=gmail&ust=1537405345571000&usg=AFQjCNH7HIIj4zHcq3Wp-JTA-mAdQRuxUA\">He came on this podcast last year</a>, and his point about these companies is that when you\u2019re a hammer everything looks like a nail. When you have a ton of data\u200a\u2014\u200ayou\u2019re Google or Facebook\u200a\u2014\u200aeverything looks like you should apply deep learning to it. But that\u2019s their bias and perhaps it skews out other approaches to machine learning.\nAG: Also I would say it becomes a commodity over time. I believe the next innovation will be around behavioral analysis, which is the next level of computer vision. We are working on research collaborations that study small twitches of a baby, which could be an indicator of neurological disorders. There is a next level of behavioral neuroscience, it\u2019s a fascinating field that is going to develop over the next couple of years.\nAMLG: So you have this background in Israeli defense where you worked on missile defense systems. Can you share anything about that or how it\u2019s informed what you\u2019re doing now? Working in that environment is quite different than having a startup in New York.\nAG: I was in a foundational team in the Nineties for a new defense system. It took me a couple of years to understand that I was a beta tester. They used me to understand the human factor. How to communicate between operators, how to design the screens. I cannot explain how much this experience has helped me to go through the design phase for Nanit. How to do design sprints with parents, how to design the screens. The army is an amazing human resource filter that allocates hundreds of thousands of teenagers to specific positions and trains them in a short time and gives them practical experience. They are doing an amazing job. There are mistakes of course, but they took me and others and decided this is what you are going to do. They gave me tools for things that in the future were of great benefit to me.\nAMLG: How does working on missile defense UX or chip manufacturing compare to baby monitoring?\nAG: Ha well I continue to serve as a major in reserve. But in life I decided that I wanted to make a shift to deal with more human problems. What is nice about semiconductors is that they are designed by humans not by nature. Babies were designed by nature, which is more complex. When you have a blueprint you know exactly what you\u2019re looking for, what kind of patterns. Then you can reach a level of analysis, of process control that is much higher. But the challenges with babies you know is\u200a\u2014\nAMLG: They\u2019re more of a mystery.\nAG: It\u2019s a lot of mystery. But my philosophy is to build the scientific fundamentals, the building blocks, and on top of that you think about how to make it approachable for the consumer space and how to build a value proposition. You start with science not marketing statements. This is where you start.\nAMLG: A world of more ambient data capture where you\u2019re continually monitored. Which feeds into preventative medicine. Obviously there\u2019s a lot of people that get nervous about that, though it\u2019s the way the whole world is going, we\u2019re going to more data and it\u2019s going to serve us. But as you push that conversation forward, do you feel like there\u2019s challenges in terms of getting people used to the idea?\nAG: You need to do it in a responsible way. But we can live a much better life. We will have better parenting experiences, sleep better at night. Even know things about ourselves that we didn\u2019t know before.\n<figure class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--figure m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--layoutOutsetLeft\">\n<div class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<img class=\"breakout m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf-image CToWUd a6T\" tabindex=\"0\" src=\"https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/vUl3R9DKJgivxc9RnmfKZtePz9wbG1tLElePeSIqRMmt4HXtHo-IzWe7mTGfhYPG4eognkClkwqo1rL93kQmApBpPkDHLPqGt5ityX1HZmtQQuCsTN4KYoiK=s0-d-e1-ft#https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*33sy8mmu5njJ4H1XNIAmPw.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"746\" height=\"669\"><a href=\"https://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p70-128.pdf\">U.S Census Bureau Research</a> 1961-2008\n</div>\n<figcaption class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-imageCaption\">***</figcaption></figure>Further reading:\n<div class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--mixtapeEmbed\"><a class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--anchor m_-8260643309197347262gmail-markup--mixtapeEmbed-anchor\" title=\"https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-World-Sleep-Peretz-Lavie/dp/0788197983\" href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-World-Sleep-Peretz-Lavie/dp/0788197983\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-World-Sleep-Peretz-Lavie/dp/0788197983&source=gmail&ust=1537405345571000&usg=AFQjCNE_k0fDOkvcBBlyglPUUmDrtQow6g\">Enchanted World of Sleep Draws upon a vast store of professional knowledge & innovative concepts of the physiology of sleep & dreams to tell us\u2026www.amazon.com</a></div>\n<div class=\"m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf m_-8260643309197347262gmail-graf--mixtapeEmbed\"></div>\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["Column"]},{"title":"Google\u2019s Work Insights helps businesses better understand how they work","pubDate":"2018-09-19 00:00:14","link":"https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/18/googles-work-insights-helps-businesses-better-understand-how-they-work/","guid":"https://techcrunch.com/?p=1715360","author":"Frederic Lardinois","thumbnail":"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/adoption-GIF-1920x1080-02AR-1.gif","description":"At an event in Tokyo, Google today announced the launch of Work Insights, a new tool that gives businesses more insights into how their employees use the company\u2019s G Suite productivity tools and how teams collaborate using those tools. In addition, Google is also launching its investigation tool for helping business better secure their data [\u2026]","content":"\nAt an event in Tokyo, Google today announced the launch of Work Insights, a new tool that gives businesses more insights into how their employees use the company\u2019s G Suite productivity tools and how teams collaborate using those tools.\nIn addition, Google is also launching its <a href=\"https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2018/07/fix-security-threats-g-suite-investigation-tool.html\">investigation tool</a> for helping business better secure their data in G Suite into general availability.\n\u201cWork Insights is a tool built specifically to help businesses measure and understand the impact of digital transformation within their organizations, driven by G Suite,\u201d Reena Nadkarni, a group product manager for G Suite, explains in today\u2019s announcement. Data is aggregated at the team level (where a team needs to have 10 people or more) to help businesses understand how their employees are adapting G Suite apps.\n<img class=\"breakout aligncenter size-full wp-image-1715416\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/adoption-GIF-1920x1080-02AR-1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\">\nAs enterprises bet on one vendor or the other, there\u2019s always a bit of a transition period and not everybody makes the move quite as quickly as others. Most of these tools, though, only really work when the whole company adopts them. That\u2019s especially true for communication tools like Slack, Hangouts Chat/Meet or Microsoft Teams, but also for productivity tools like G Suite.\nThe other use cases here, though, is actually far more interesting. Work Insights will also give companies a view of how users on different teams interact with each other (think the marketing and sales teams). If they are working on documents together, then they are probably working well together, too (or just leaving acerbic comments on marketing presentations, but you get the general idea here).\n\u201cThis insight can help executives identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration and reduce siloes,\u201d Nadkarni writes. Since few executives ever say that they want less collaboration and more siloes, chances are we\u2019ll see quite a few companies adopt these tools.\n<img class=\"breakout aligncenter size-full wp-image-1715418\" src=\"https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/collaboration-GIF-1920x1080-02AR-1.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\">\n\u00a0\n","enclosure":{},"categories":["Enterprise","G Suite","Google","work"]}]};