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The Data I can’t expain it any better than Primary Venture Partners, who covered the relevant data in a concise breakdown: This data, the source notes, only covers public deals between $250K and $3.5MM, so some private deals might throw off the numbers. Overall, however, it’s pretty clear which direction the trend is moving towards. As with last quarter, the trend shows that VCs are doubling down on sure bets, making larger deals on proven companies while lowering the overall number of deals....

They are the creators of Ravenmark, an iOS game where exiled nobles return home to regain their birthright. It’s a world with thousands of years of history, filled with family disputes, betrayals, and deeply developed characters. I sat down with cofounders Ian Gregory (creative), Brian Kwek (business), and Kevin Mohinani (tech) to talk about motivations. Kwek said they wanted to create fresh and unique stories, not clones or Angry Birds: And that challenge has helped create a small community of devotees....

To date they’ve made 18 investments in 15 different companies, 11 of which are located outside of St. Louis and two of which are international startups. They also opt for later seed-stage fintech startups with working products. In exchange for the $100,000 investment, each company exchanges a negotiated percentage of equity, usually between three and ten percent. And three of the six companies in this class also participated in the Fall 2014 cohort....

Nicholas Carlson of Business Insider points to research findings pulled up by Benedict Evans of Enders Analysis which reveals that smartphone sales hover at 600 million units. And it’s not just about devices; it’s also about exploding revenue. By 2013, mobile networks saw about $1150 billion worth of revenue. Further, the share of web traffic on tablets and phones reached 8o percent. Businesses don’t need any more reasoning to go mobile....

Spectacles are a wearable camera, built into a stylish pair of sunglasses, that allow you to record short video snippets, and then upload them into Snapchat. Until last month, they were only available by way of popup vending machines that would appear in random cities; however, Snap opened their online store and now anyone in the US can purchase them. Whether it be due to the exclusivity of ownership or simply due to the device itself not making you look like something out of Dragon Ball Z (ala Google Glass), the feedback on Spectacles has been all over the board....

The Details Here’s what Gizmodo had to say on the news: SpaceX’s official press release explained more of the details surrounding the moon plans. The mission will rely on one of SpaceX’s Dragon capsules, with deep space modifications. It Builds On Elon’s Past Successes Elon Musk arrived fashionably late to the scheduled 1 p.m. announcement (one Twitter commenter: “If @elonmusk doesn’t show up for class I’m pretty sure we all get A’s for the day”), but the live stream aired successfully....

In a time where around 60% of data breaches are caused by internal risks, the survey also stresses the importance of promoting awareness through training and education sessions. Despite less than half of large US businesses failing to prioritize cybersecurity, holistic approaches continue to be the best way to keep your business safe from internal or external threats, as this study proves. So, if you’re interested in keeping your business safe, read on to discover Microsoft’s top tips....

According to research from Alberto Posso, a professor at Australia’s RMIT University, teenagers that regularly play online games often score higher in school than those that don’t. While the exact reason for the increased scores in gamers was not scientifically proven, speculation ran wild in the study, yielding some comprehensive results. While the fact that video games increase school scores was a note of relief for many gamers, there was a downside....

The April 2017 study comes from strategy consulting firm Altman Vilandrie & Company, and compiles responses on IoT security from 397 IT decision-makers. Here’s what they found. The Facts According to the report itself: The news comes at a time when many firms are more focused on different breaches, and listening to experts in different areas of research. The Response Being prepared can help firms who wish to keep their network secure: Those who avoided a breach were found in the survey to have invested 65 percent more on IoT security than those who were breached....

Consider going down to Virginia Beach, VA for ICE (Innovation, Culture, Extreme), a week-long celebration of innovation, culture, and extreme sports. Basically a kind of SXSW by the sea, ICE will feature several events and resources for entrepreneurs, as well performances from more than 30 national, regional, and local artists, including Breathe Carolina, Unwritten Law, FFU (featuring Bam Margera), Shwayze, and Arum Rae (featuring Steve West of Pavement). Additionally, ICE has partnered with Coastal Edge to feature skate demos with national and local celebrities....

Need more funding news? You can get the Tech.Co deals roundup send directly to your inbox by subscribing here. Funding Aquicore Raises $3.1M Seed Round from 1776 Seed Fund Aquicore – a Washington, D.C.-based company that offers an analytics platform for energy efficiency management – announced earlier today that it has raised a $3.1 million seed round led by the 1776 Seed Fund. The new funds will be used towards expansion into other markets outside D....

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Apparently the future is here, and thanks to Tersa Steam’s Indiegogo campaign all of this may become a reality. Tersa Steam is an efficient way to do your laundry in less than 10 minutes, without chemicals, and it deodorizes and adds fragrances to single pieces of clothing. Much like a Keurig or Nespresso machine, Tersa uses single-use pods and distilled water to clean individual garments, jeans, jackets, towels, and even your running shoes....

From their responses, it’s clear that what works for one startup doesn’t necessarily work for another. DoubleDutch (ranked #3), which focuses on attendee analytics around events, preached the merits of a stellar product, a strong sales engine, and gaps in what the competition is providing. “I don’t think there are any silver bullets when it comes to prolonged, rapid growth,” says CEO Lawrence Coburn. Meanwhile, founder Josh Pigford of Baremetrics thinks there’s tons of competition for their Stripe analytics service – but the other options are too generic and too difficult to use....

Solid Authentication SystemTherefore, the first step for BYOD security is foolproof authentication system with dual step passwords or biometric authentication on modern smart devices. Apple and many Android device manufacturers are offering hardware as well as OS level support for biometric authorization using fingerprints or eye retina imagery. Malicious Code Injection PreventionRecently, 5768 malware attacks per day were reported just in the past six months on Android devices, so we can imagine how vulnerable the Android platform is, and the amount of work Android app developers need to do to mitigate issues for apps on BYOD devices....

However, people around the world seem to disagree with her, and are fighting back against the growing use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement. So, why is the public pushing back against facial recognition? And why now? San Francisco’s Anti-Surveillance Ordinance On Tuesday last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the anti-surveillance ordnance. This sweeping set of rules banned (among other things) the use of facial recognition technology by all police and government bodies in the city....

Are Electric Garbage Trucks Coming to Your Neighborhood? The adoption of electric vehicles continues to rise, as Tesla and other manufacturers ramp up production. Going beyond personal vehicles, Tesla co-founder Ian Wright applied similar technology to refuse trucks. The result is state-of-the-art garbage trucks that are not only more efficient, but also much quieter. These new electric garbage trucks receive power from battery packs and feature electric drive trains. Adoption of these trucks will reduce fuel consumption by 67 percent and vehicle maintenance costs by as much as $25,000 each year....

Some 43 percent of employees worked remotely in 2016, according to a Gallup report. A globe-spanning 2017 study from Polycom further confirmed that the remote workplace is on the rise: 62 percent of 25,000 surveyed workers reported “regularly taking advantage of flexible working practices offered to them.” But with remote working comes a shift in culture. Connection and structure are still essential – even if all-hands meetings happen over Google Hangouts, rather than in an overly-warm conference room....

Like any problem, understanding the skills gap could be the key to unlocking the potential of the country’s workers and ushering in an even more prolific era of tech innovation. However, educating enough potential candidates in the complicated skills necessary to keep pace with the advancements on the horizon has proven too difficult for even the geniuses behind these companies to figure out. And the numbers are not on their side....

These startups are a special breed, founded with a goal of disrupting less technologically-savvy corporations – and they are getting noticed. This year’s Appsters awards, taking place at Appsworld in London, have always been a showcase of leading-edge products within the start-up sphere, but it is easily overlooked that they are also recognizing startups with the best financial technology mobile apps. The best FinTech app award to be presented at the Appsters speaks volumes in terms of outstanding innovation as well as contribution to technology within the financial sector....