The Best Accessories for Your New PlayStation 5

More than a year into the pandemic, scientists and environmentalists have the first data on where disposable gloves and masks are turning up in ecosystems.

Andreessen Horowitz is valuing the social media app Clubhouse at $4 billion in a round of financing with new investors DST Global and Tiger Global Management, according to a person familiar with the matter.The round triples Clubhouse’s valuation from January, which Andreessen Horowitz also led, and comes as rivals Twitter and Spotify roll out rival audio chat features. It couldn’t be learned how much money investors are putting into Clubhouse this time, though the round is likely to exceed the roughly $100 million that Clubhouse raised a few months ago.

The gig economy has a labor shortage. That’s the takeaway from Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky’s statement on CNBC today that Airbnb will need “millions more hosts” to meet demand once travel picks up after the pandemic. Just last week, Uber said it didn’t have enough drivers to meet demand.Both are suffering from the after-effects of the pandemic, of course, when ride-hailing and travel both dried up. Drivers had to find other work. Airbnb infamously alienated hosts by letting customers cancel their bookings with full refunds when the pandemic hit.

It’s a laid-back, put-your-feet-up kind of weekend. These discounts might help get your zen on.

We dive into some of the tech questions facing the potential rollout of vaccine passports. Paul Meyer, CEO of the nonprofit Commons Project, talks to Nick Wingfield about why it is important that people's proof of vaccination not get locked up in walled gardens. Then, Cory talks to The Information's Juro Osawa about Grab's $40 billion SPAC deal and Didi Chuxing's struggles to develop autonomous vehicles.

The rush of enthusiasm for blockchain-based collectives is driving an extraordinary surge of investor interest in Dapper Labs, the developer of collectibles like NBA Top Shot.Just a few weeks after Dapper Labs raised $305 million at a valuation of $2.6 billion, the company is raising a new round at a valuation above $7.5 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal talks. The new round is being led by Coatue Management, which led the previous round, said two people familiar with the matter.

Group messaging app IRL is in talks to raise more than $50 million at a $1 billion valuation, 10 times the level of its last round, according to two people familiar with the matter.The funding for IRL, which has caught on quickly in recent months among teenagers in the U.S., follows a resurgence in competitive deals for social media startups like Clubhouse and photo-sharing app Dispo. IRL hasn’t finalized the new funding round, but has recently been approached by investors that include Tiger Global and IVP, among others, the people said.Like Clubhouse, IRL appears able to command a billion-dollar valuation before it even has brought in any revenue. IRL is expected to try to make money by charging commission on paid features, rather than by selling advertising. The company was last valued at $100 million in September. It has raised a total of $28 million to date from investors that include Goodwater Capital, Floodgate, The Raine Group and Founders Fund.

On March 30th, The Information hosted a roundtable discussion with CEOs and founders of leading fintech companies to discuss the future of fintech and banking as a service. The conversation, held in partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board and Tourism Board, was confidential. We want to share with our subscribers key themes from the conversation.The primary theme of the discussion was the importance of customer success. Increasingly fintechs have eliminated fees in hopes of creating a banking experience that is orders of magnitude better for consumers with the model will be a boon to the fintech businesses and lenders. Fintech players see the ability to deliver innovation at scale that is seamless for customers as the differentiating factor between new banking and institutional banking.Another trend is the collaboration of fintech and traditional financial institutions. The latter are using these partnerships to update and change their tech-stack. This has been particularly successful in Southeast Asia and Latin America. Latin America as many banks are focused on more personalized finance and funding fintech startups that they can fold into their customer offerings.On the regulation front LatAm was also noted as a leader in implementing regulation, created in conjunction with the big banks, to drive more innovation and allow fintechs a more defined framework. U.S. based companies found minimal focus on regulation, but a reliance on established banks as establishing the rails the fintech companies will ride. However, the consensus was that there is nothing preventing fintech companies from acquiring the customers from the big banks in full.

RBR50 company AutoGuide Mobile Robots, which was acquired by Teradyne in 2019, will soon have a new leader. President and CEO Rob Sullivan resigned on March 1, but is staying on until June 1 to help the transition. Tim Moriarty, Teradyne’s president of memory products, will step into Sullivan’s role. Sullivan, 54, led AutoGuide’s spinout…The post Rob Sullivan resigns from AutoGuide Mobile Robots appeared first on The Robot Report.

Welcome to Episode 41 of The Robot Report Podcast, which brings conversations with robotics innovators straight to you. Join us each week for discussions with leading roboticists, innovative robotics companies, and other key members of the robotics community. You can subscribe to The Robot Report Podcast on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, SoundCloud, Spotify and more. Please subscribe to the podcast and leave us…The post Ken Goldberg on robotic grasping; Carbon Robotics’ new weeding robot appeared first on The Robot Report.

Memic Innovative Surgery, Abogen Biosciences, iBus Networks, and more startups also raised funds this week.

Finding a PS5 is tricky business, as new consoles are immediately snapped up by keen customers.

These are the best dry shampoos out there to help extend your style and wash and prevent greasy hair.

The Sony PS5 is still the hottest ticket in gaming. Here are all the links you need to see if it's in stock.

The company is now offering delivery in two New York City neighborhoods, with plans to expand across the city by building 40 or more tiny fulfillment hubs. 

A team of researchers led by MIT Professor Ju Li has found an electrolyte that overcomes the problems associated with metal electrodes, which could result in batteries with longer lifespans and more energy storage capacity. The research was reported in the journal Nature Energy in a paper by Li and others. The researchers say the... Read more »

Now there’s yet another reason to visit the stunningly beautiful Atlantic island of Bermuda. The local government has approved the purchase of 30 electric buses to replace aged diesel buses, the first step in a multiyear strategy to fully electrify the public transit fleet. The purchase represents over one third of the small island’s total... Read more »

Polish bus builder Solaris has further expanded its penetration of Europe’s public transport market with a hefty order for 123 electric buses in Romania. The total value of the contract is estimated at nearly €65 million. Seven Romanian municipalities have joined in a tender for 131 zero-emission e-buses. Solaris will supply 123 12-meter vehicles to... Read more »

Yamaha Motors may be best known for its motorcycles, but the company is increasingly getting involved in the development of motors for electric motorcycles and cars. Last year, Yamaha showed off new electric motor systems ranging from 35 kW (47 hp) to 150 kW (200 hp). The smaller motors were designed for electric motorcycles, while... Read more »

AT&T tops RootMetrics 5G speed rankings, T-Mobile wins availabilitybfletcherFri, 04/16/2021 - 12:36