<span>Monthly Archives</span><h1>March 2019</h1>
    Startups

    Linear Labs’ next-gen electric motor attracts $4.5 million in funding

    March 26, 2019

    Linear Labs, a startup developing an electric motor for cars, scooters, robots, wind turbines and even HVAC systems, has raised $4.5 million in a seed round led by Science Inc. and Kindred Ventures. 

    Investors Chris and Crystal Sacca, Ryan Graves of Saltwater Ventures, Dynamic Signal CEO Russ Fradin, Masergy executive chairman and former-CEO Chris MacFarland, as well as Ustream co-founder Gyula Feher also participated in the round. 

    The four-year-old company was founded by Brad and Fred Hunstable, who say they have invented a lighter, more flexible electric motor. The pair came up with the motor they’ve dubbed the Hunstable Electric Turbine (HET) while working to design a device that could pump clean water and provide power for small communities in underdeveloped regions of the world. 

    Linear Labs currently has 50 filed patents, 21 of which are issued, with 29 patents pending.

    The founders come with a background in entrepreneurship and electrical engineering. Brad Hunstable is former CEO and founder of Ustream, the live-video-streaming service that sold to IBM in 2016 for $150 million. Fred Hunstable, who comes with a background in electrical engineering and nuclear power, led Ebasco and Walker Engineering’s efforts in designing, upgrading and completing electrical infrastructure, environmental and enterprise projects as well as safety and commercial-grade evaluation programs.

    The HET uses multiple rotors that can adapt to varying conditions, according to the company. It also produces twice as much torque density and three times the power density than permanent magnet motors. Linear Labs says its motor produces two times the output per given motor size, and minimum 10 percent more range. 

    The HET design makes it ideally suited for mobility applications such as electric vehicles because it produces high levels of torque without the need for a gearbox. This helps cut production cuts, the company contends. 

    “The holy grail in electric motors has always been high torque and no gearbox, and the HET achieves both in a smaller, lighter and more efficient package that is more powerful than traditional motors,” Linear Labs CTO Fred Hunstable said in a statement.

    The upshot could be electric vehicles with better range and more powerful electric scooters.

    The commercialization of the electric motor will result in substantial leaps in terms of energy savings, reliability enhancement, and low-cost manufacturing, according to Babak Fahimi, founding director of the Renewable Energy and Vehicular Technology (REVT) Laboratory at the University of Texas at Dallas. 

    The company plans to use the seed funding to market its invention to customers. It’s also hiring talent and recently added new people to its leadership team, including John Curry as their president and Jon Hurry as vice president. Curry comes from KLA-Tencor and NanoPhotonics. Hurry has held positions at Tesla and Faraday Future.


    Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Linear Labs’ next-gen electric motor attracts .5 million in funding

    Startups

    Lidar and perception startup Innoviz raises $132 million

    March 26, 2019

    Innoviz, the Israel-based startup developing solid-state lidar sensors and perception software for autonomous vehicles, has raised $132 million in a Series C funding round that includes major Chinese financial institutions.

    The round, which makes Innoviz one of the better capitalized lidar startups, includes China Merchants Capital (SINO-BLR Industrial Investment Fund, L.P.), Shenzhen Capital Group and New Alliance Capital. Israeli institutional investors Harel Insurance Investments and Financial Services and Phoenix Insurance Company also participated. 

    The Series C round will remain open for a second closing to be announced in the coming months, the company said.

    Lidar measures distance using laser light to generate highly accurate 3D maps of the world around the car. It’s considered by most in the self-driving car industry a key piece of technology required to safely deploy robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles. Innoviz is developing solid-state lidar, which proponents of this technology say is more reliable over time because of the lack of moving parts.

    Like so many startups with fresh capital, Innoviz plans to use the funds to scale up the company.

    For Innoviz, this means increasing production of its lidar sensors and expanding its manufacturing capacity. Innoviz is focused on expanding in important automotive markets, including the U.S., Europe, Japan and China. Innoviz has been pushing into China over the past year through a partnership with the Chinese automotive supplier HiRain Technologies, a global supplier to some of China’s largest automakers.

    That company has half of its business coming from China and has won nine of its supplier agreements with different automakers in the country through its HiRain partnership, according to people with knowledge of the company.

    The company’s aim is to enable high-volume delivery of its automotive-grade lidar system called InnovizOne. This product can be produced and sold at a 90 percent lower cost than its first-generation system, according to Innoviz. 

    Innoviz said it also plans to expand its research and development efforts by investing in the buildout of next-generation products and software that will feature more cost reductions and improved performance.

    Innoviz’s strategy has been to partner with a number of OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers such as Magna, HARMAN, HiRain Technologies and Aptiv and to package perception software with its lidar sensors and offer it as a complete unit for companies developing autonomous vehicle technology.

    Innoviz has locked in several key customers, notably BMW. The automaker picked Innoviz’s tech for series production of autonomous vehicles starting in 2021.

    In March, Lyft announced a partnership with Magna to help get its self-driving tech into various automakers, as well as implement the ride-hailing service into future autonomous cars. Innoviz raised $65 million in Series B funding in 2017, from strategic partners and leading auto industry suppliers Delphi Automotive and Magna International, along with other investors.


    Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Lidar and perception startup Innoviz raises 2 million

    Tech News

    Huawei announces smart glasses in partnership with Gentle Monster

    March 26, 2019

    Huawei is launching connected glasses in partnership with Gentle Monster, a Korean sunglasses and optical glasses brand. There won’t be a single model, but a collection of glasses with integrated electronics.

    Huawei is positioning the glasses as a sort of earbuds replacement, a device that lets you talk on the phone without putting anything in your ears. There’s no button on the device, but you can tap the temple of the glasses to answer a call for instance.

    The antenna, charging module, dual microphone, chipset, speaker and battery are all integrated in the eyeglass temple. There are two microphones with beam-forming technology to understand what you’re saying even if the device is sitting on your nose.

    There are stereo speakers positioned right above your ears. The company wants you to hear sound without disturbing your neighbors.

    Interestingly, there’s no camera on the device. Huawei wants to avoid any privacy debate by skipping the camera altogether. Given that people have no issue with voice assistants and being surrounded by microphones, maybe people won’t be too suspicious.

    The glasses come in a leather case with USB-C port at the bottom. It features wireless charging as well. Huawei teased the glasses at the P30 press conference in Paris, but the glasses won’t be available before July 2019.

    Huawei unveils the P30 and P30 Pro

    Source: Tech Crunch Mobiles | Huawei announces smart glasses in partnership with Gentle Monster

    Startups

    Australian influencer marketing startup Tribe raises $7.5M as it eyes US expansion

    March 26, 2019

    Tribe, which helps brands acquire content from so-called “micro-influencers,” has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding.

    The startup was founded in Australia in 2015 by TV and radio host Jules Lund, who told me he was responding to the growing demand for branded content.

    “Brands are desperate for content,” Lund said. “When you have a hundred customer profiles and the ability to be hyper personalized and targeted and social, you now need 100 beautiful pieces of content. Creative agencies can’t supply that at the right cost and the right turnaround, and stock images are the antithesis of personalization, because they don’t feature your brand.”

    As for how Tribe differs from all the other influencer marketing companies out there, Lund noted that it’s a purely self-serve product, where brands post their requests — either for an “influencer campaign,” where the influencers are creating content and promoting it to their followers, or a “content campaign,” which is just about creating the content — then users submit their work and get paid if the brand decides to use it.

    Plus, the brands on the platform aren’t sending free stuff to influencers who may or may not be a good fit. Instead, Tribe is connecting them with influencers who already own (and presumably like) their products.

    “Tribe’s role is to simply unlock all of that branded content that sits within people’s iPhones and Samsungs,” Lund said. “The micro-influencers are looking in their pantry or their wardrobe, looking at the apps in their phones, all of these products that they already use.”

    Tribe says it’s already working with brands like Unilever, L’Oréal and Marvel and generating more than $250,000 worth of branded content every day. And while the United Kingdom is currently the company’s biggest market, the United States already accounts for 20 percent of the more than 50,000 influencers on the platform.

    With the new funding, Tribe is officially launching in the U.S. and opening an office at One World Trade Center in Manhattan, which will be led by CEO Anthony Svirskis. He said the money will also allow Tribe to continue investing in its product.

    “With TRIBE we’re finally seeing influencer marketing done right,” said Chris Burch, founder and CEO of investor Burch Creative Capital, in a statement. “The U.S. market has been waiting for a tech platform like this for years and as soon as we heard they were launching stateside, we knew we needed to be a part of it.”

    Snapchat’s PR firm sues influencer for not promoting Spectacles on Instagram

     


    Source: Tech Crunch Startups | Australian influencer marketing startup Tribe raises .5M as it eyes US expansion

    Tech News

    The updated Apple News app kept crashing for some users this morning

    March 26, 2019

    Update: The issue appears to have been fixed.

    While you’ll have to wait for a not-yet-announced date to pay a not-yet-announced price for several of the subscription services that Apple announced yesterday, Apple News+ actually launched pretty quickly … and then started crashing.

    At least, that was my experience this morning after I updated my iPad to iOS 12.2, then reinstalled and opened the News app. The app started loading, then kicked me out a few seconds later. Then it did it again, and again, and again.

    It’s not clear how widespread the issue is, but my colleague Matt Burns had a similar experience on his iPhone 8, and a number of other users seem to be tweeting about their own crashes on iPads, iPhones and Macs.

    There are, however, reports that you can circumvent the issue by immediately selecting the News+ tab and letting it load.

    In fact, I managed to do that myself, so that I could sign-up for the new $9.99 subscription (which includes TechCrunch’s own Extra Crunch). I appear to have subscribed successfully — only to have the app start crashing on me again.

    Not the most auspicious start for a paid product, and one that’s already spurring debate about whether or not it can help the news industry.

    Source: Tech Crunch Mobiles | The updated Apple News app kept crashing for some users this morning

    Tech News

    Huawei unveils the P30 and P30 Pro

    March 26, 2019

    Huawei unveiled its brand new flagship phone — the P30 and the P30 Pro — at a press conference today in Paris. In many ways, this year’s update is a continuation of the P20 series — but everything has been upgraded. I played with both devices for a bit; here’s my experience.

    While Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has switched to a hole-punch design, Huawei is keeping the good old notch for its flagship device. But this year’s notch is a lot smaller. The company has switched from an iPhone X-like notch to a tiny little teardrop notch.

    The P20 and P20 Pro were the last flagship phones to feature a fingerprint sensor below the display, on the front of the device. With the P30 series, Huawei is removing that odd-looking bezel and integrating the fingerprint sensor in the display.

    The company could have used that opportunity to make the phones smaller. But Huawei opted for taller displays instead. The P20 and P20 Pro had 5.8-inch and 6.1-inch displays, respectively, with an 18.7:9 aspect ratio. The P30 and P30 Pro have gigantic 6.1-inch and 6.47-inch displays, respectively, with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio.

    The P30 Pro is still narrower than the iPhone XR, but it won’t be for everyone. It definitely feels too big in my hand, for instance.

    The industrial design of the P30 series is in line with the P20 series. The phones feature glass on the back with colorful gradients. The frame is made of aluminum. Overall, the devices feel slimmer on the edges thanks to curved back and front glass. The company has flattened the top and bottom edges of the devices as well. Everything feels solid in your hand.

    The P30 and P30 Pro are now closer when it comes to features. They both have an OLED display with a 2340×1080 resolution for instance. You no longer have to choose between an LCD and an OLED display.

    The two biggest differences you can spot is that the P30 Pro has a Samsung-style display, slightly curved on the sides — the P30 display is completely flat — and Huawei is bringing back the headphone jack, but only for the P30. It doesn’t really make sense to segment the lineup this way, but maybe Huawei considers you have enough money to buy wireless earbuds if you’re in the market for a P30 Pro.

    Both devices come in five colors — Breathing Crystal, Amber Sunrise, Perl White, Black and Aurora. Amber Sunrise is a red to orange gradient color, Breathing Crystal is a white-to-purple gradient, Perl White is a white-to-slightly pink gradient, Aurora is a blue-to-turquoise gradient.

    You’ll be able to buy the P30 for €799 ($900) with 128GB of storage and the P30 Pro for €999 ($1,130) for 128GB of storage — there are more expensive options for the P30 Pro with more storage. The phones will be available in Europe and Asia today, and probably won’t be released in the U.S.

    Four camera sensors, because why not

    When it comes to cameras, Huawei has always been one of the leading smartphone manufacturers. There are only four brands that ship cameras that perform so well — Apple, Samsung, Google and Huawei.

    It’s going to be hard to comment on the quality of the photos after so little hands-on time, but the P30 Pro now features not one, not two, not three but f-o-u-r sensors on the back of the device.

    • The main camera is a 40 MP 27mm sensor with an f/1.6 aperture and optical image stabilization.
    • There’s a 20 MP ultra-wide angle lens (16mm) with an f/2.2 aperture.
    • The 8 MP telephoto lens provides nearly 5x optical zoom compared to the main lens (125mm) with an f/3.4 aperture and optical image stabilization.
    • There’s a new time-of-flight sensor below the flash of the P30 Pro. The phone projects infrared light and captures the reflection with this new sensor.

    Thanks to the new time-of-flight sensor, Huawei promises better bokeh effects with a new depth map. The company also combines the main camera sensor with the telephoto sensor to let you capture photos with a 10x zoom with a hybrid digital-optical zoom.

    The telephoto lens uses a periscope design. It means that the sensor features a glass to beam the light at a right angle. Huawei uses that method to avoid making the phone too thick.

    On the P30, the cameras are more or less the same, but a bit worse:

    • A 40 MP main sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization.
    • A 16 MP ultra-wide angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture.
    • An 8 MP telephoto lens that should provide 3x optical zoom.
    • No time-of-flight sensor.

    More than hardware specifications, Huawei says that software has been greatly improved to enhance the quality of your photos. In particular, night mode should be much better thanks to optical and software-enabled stabilization. HDR shots and portrait photos should look better too.

    On the front of the device, the selfie camera sensor has been upgraded from 24 MP to 32 MP. And you can capture HDR and low-light photos from the front camera as well.

    Below the surface

    Huawei has upgraded its homemade system-on-a-chip with the Kirin 980 that you can find in the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro. It runs Android Pie 9.1 with Huawei’s EMUI custom Android user interface.

    In addition to 40W USB-C charging, Huawei is integrating wireless charging for the first time in the P series (up to 15W). The P30 Pro has a 4,200 mAh battery. You can also charge other devices with reverse wireless charging, just like on the Samsung Galaxy S10.

    The P30 Pro is IP68 water and dust resistant while the P30 is IP53 resistant.

    You won’t find a speaker grill at the top of the P30 Pro because the company has removed the speaker. Instead, Huawei is vibrating the screen in order to turn the screen into a tiny speaker for your calls.

    A note on the Huawei FreeLace wireless earphones

    Huawei is also launching new in-ear earbuds today. The FreeLace looks more or less like the BeatsX with a cord behind your neck. You can disconnect the cord and plug your wireless earphones directly into your smartphone to pair them — no Bluetooth pairing required.

    That hidden USB-C port is also how you’re going to charge the earbuds. For five minutes of charge time you get four hours worth of playback. They’ll be available in four colors — Graphite Black, Amber Sunrise, Emerald Green and Moonlight Silver.

    The earbuds are magnetic so you can wrap them around your neck. When you disconnect them, it automatically answers your calls, play your music. When you connect them again, it hangs up or pauses your music. The FreeLace earbuds will be a separate accessory for €99.

    Source: Tech Crunch Mobiles | Huawei unveils the P30 and P30 Pro