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Oura valued at $5B following deal with medical device firm Dexcom

Aisha Malik — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 14:57:52 +0000

Smart ring maker Oura announced on Tuesday that it has received a $75 million investment from glucose device maker Dexcom. The investment marks Oura’s Series D funding round and brings the company’s valuation to more than $5 billion. The partnership paves the way for the two companies’ devices and apps to be used together, which […]

Microsoft built a PC that can’t run local apps

Kyle Wiggers — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:30:47 +0000

Prefer to offload all your Windows tasks to the cloud? Microsoft may just have the compact, desk-bound computer for you. On Tuesday at Microsoft Ignite 2024, the tech giant unveiled Windows 365 Link, a fanless, lightweight PC that connects to Windows 365. Windows 365 is a cloud-hosted, virtual Windows machine — like a typical Windows […]

Windows comes to the Meta Quest

Kyle Wiggers — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 13:30:16 +0000

If Windows in mixed reality sounds like your idea of a good time, rejoice. Microsoft said on Tuesday at Microsoft Ignite 2024 it’s bringing the “full capabilities” of Windows 11 to the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S in December as part of a public preview. “Full capabilities,” in this context, means that you’ll be […]

Former basketball hopeful wants to prevent ACL tears with airbags for knees

Mike Butcher — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 09:14:03 +0000

You’ve heard of car airbags deploying within milliseconds to protect passengers. How about an airbag for your knee?

Sagence is building analog chips to run AI

Kyle Wiggers — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 06:00:00 +0000

Graphics processing units (GPUs), the chips on which most AI models run, are energy-hungry beasts. As a consequence of the accelerating incorporation of GPUs in data centers, AI will drive a 160% uptick in electricity demand by 2030, Goldman Sachs estimates. The trend isn’t sustainable, argues Vishal Sarin, an analog and memory circuit designer. After […]

Logitech’s MX console for creatives

Yashad Kulkarni — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 01:12:32 +0000

Deep into Adobe apps like Photoshop or Premiere? Logitech’s MX Creative Console is designed to streamline your creative workflow with a totally customizable dialpad and keypad. Use the dial or wheel to quickly scrub through timelines in Premiere, detailed brush precision in Photoshop, or cycle through presets on Lightroom. Adding functions and icons is as […]

Meta brings certain AI features to Ray-Ban Meta glasses in Europe

Kyle Wiggers — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 14:55:42 +0000

After a brief delay, Meta says that it’s begun to roll out certain AI features to users of its Ray-Ban Meta AR glasses in France, Italy, and Spain. Starting today, people in those countries can invoke Meta’s AI assistant, Meta AI, using their voice to get answers to general questions (e.g. “What are some good […]

The best tech for plant lovers

Brian Heater — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

House plants are great. They can also be hard. All of those stress-reducing self-care qualities they promise tend to fade into the background when they suddenly turn brown for seemingly no reason. Unlike pets and human children, they can’t bug you when something is wrong. They just sort of wither. There’s a reason Reddit is […]

Consumer tech is bouncing back, and consumer founders like Brynn Putnam are bouncing back with it

Connie Loizos — Sun, 17 Nov 2024 01:14:09 +0000

When Brynn Putnam sold her last company, Mirror, to Lululemon for $500 million at the start of the pandemic, it looked to this editor like she’d sold the smart fitness company too soon. Instead, the timing proved brilliant. The home fitness craze crashed nearly as abruptly as it peaked during that first year of lockdowns. […]

Best gifts for frequent travelers

Brian Heater — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 18:00:00 +0000

What’s the best gift you can get someone? Why, the gift of travel, of course. The next best is something to enhance the travel experience. As fun and enlightening as seeing new places is, the whole part of getting there can detract from the overall experience, especially for those who find themselves traveling a lot […]

Botinkit’s robot wants to cook for you

Brian Heater — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 17:00:00 +0000

Warehouses aren’t the only places grappling with a labor crunch. Since the start of the pandemic, restaurants around the world have been grappling with staffing shortages. A number of startups have entered the picture with automation solutions, aimed at reducing the number of hands required to keep the lights on and the food warm. There […]

Drone manufacturer Skydio raises $170 million extension round

Margaux MacColl, Sean O'Kane — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 18:05:31 +0000

American drone manufacturer Skydio has raised an extension round of $170 million, adding onto the $230 million Series E it closed early last year.

Wing begins delivering blood samples via drone in London

Brian Heater — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 19:26:23 +0000

Alphabet X spinoff Wing on Wednesday confirmed that it has started delivering blood samples via drone. The program, announced in September, is shuttling samples between London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals. Wing is running up to 10 deliveries a day, Monday through Friday. Each run can contain several different samples and takes around three minutes. […]

Ever wanted to rent a food delivery robot? Now you can.

Brian Heater — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 17:32:02 +0000

Good news for anyone who’s ever wanted to rent a delivery robot. Kiwibot this week announced a new “rent a robot” offering, making it possible for companies to use its army of autonomous delivery systems for a finite amount of time. The robot-as-a-service (RaaS) approach follows the startup’s recent acquisition of advertising firm Nickelytics: Using […]

Fitbit’s kids’ smartwatch gets family group chats

Lauren Forristal — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Fitbit’s Ace LTE, the smartwatch designed for ages 7+, is introducing new features to help families stay connected and get active together. On Wednesday, Fitbit announced a slew of new features, including group chats, family quests, a new mini-game, and two new watch faces. There’s also a new direct message feature for siblings to text […]

Apple reportedly releasing a wall-mounted smart home tablet in 2025 — and yes, it does AI

Maxwell Zeff — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 23:53:38 +0000

Apple is gearing up to announce a new smart home hub, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. As early as March 2025, the iPhone maker could release a tablet that mounts to your wall, controls smart home appliances, does video calls, and of course features Apple Intelligence. The device reportedly has a 6-inch touchscreen, but it’s […]

Apple reportedly shipping a security camera in 2026

Brian Heater — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 18:42:01 +0000

Apple is set to expand its smart home presence, according to Ming-Chi Kuo. The well-sourced analyst reported on Tuesday that the iPhone maker is working on an IP (internet protocol) camera with an expected 2026 shipping date. The analyst notes that Chinese component maker, Goertek, is set to assemble the product, which Apple expects to […]

This USB-C mouthpiece turns your phone into a musical instrument

Lauren Forristal — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Artinoise, the Italian startup behind re.corder — a smart device reimagining the traditional plastic recorder we all played in school — has introduced its latest product: Zefiro. The portable device, shaped like the mouthpiece of a recorder, can be plugged into any smartphone, tablet, or PC with a USB-C port, effectively transforming it into a […]

How two brothers went from growing up on a sailboat to making underwater military vehicles

Margaux MacColl — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Vatn Systems founders Nelson and Freddie Mills spent their childhood cruising over turquoise waters, doing their homework on a sailboat off the coast of Caribbean islands. While their surroundings were idyllic, their vessel of choice was decidedly not. “The first boat I remember, I think our parents bought it for like five, 10 grand,” Freddie […]

Quantune joins quest for the holy grail of non-invasive glucose monitoring

Marina Temkin — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 08:24:28 +0000

Berlin-based Quantune is trying to shrink laser spectrometers so that you can wear one on your wrist, and it just raised $9M to do it.