Maria Deutscher
Latest from Maria Deutscher
Google’s search engine redesign decried as ‘dark pattern’ favoring ads
Earlier this month, Google LLC rolled out a new look for the desktop version of its search engine that makes organic results and ads more similar in appearance. The tweak has now started drawing criticism from commentators who argue that it’s an attempt to drive users to click more ads. Google’s interface change is a ...
Xerox plans to oust HP’s board with 11 new director nominations
Xerox Holdings Corp. announced today that it will nominate 11 new directors to HP Inc.’s board in a bid to push through its proposed acquisition of the personal computer and printer maker. Xerox submitted an unsolicited $33.5 billion takeover bid for the company last November that was rejected almost immediately after it was sent. HP’s board ...
Enterprise intranet startup LumApps closes $70M round led by Goldman Sachs
In the age of Slack, enterprise collaboration startups are attracting strong interest from the venture capital community. The latest example is LumApps SAS, a French intranet provider that today revealed it has closed a $70 million funding round led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s growth equity arm. LumApps’ Series C round comes the same morning that ...
GM’s Cruise debuts a self-driving van with no steering wheel or pedals
General Motors Co.’s Cruise LLC subsidiary on Tuesday evening unveiled the Origin, a self-driving vehicle that doesn’t have a steering wheel or pedals. The Origin (pictured) is the production-ready successor to a car design GM introduced in early 2018. The automaker has preserved the original idea of having an interior with no traditional driver controls but made a ...
ServiceNow scoops up AIOps startup Loom Systems
ServiceNow Inc. today said it’s buying Loom Systems Ltd., an Israeli startup whose software is used by companies such as Microsoft Corp. to monitor their information technology infrastructure. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Loom Systems has raised $15 million in funding from investors. ServiceNow provides a cloud-based platform that helps companies automate the ...
Atlassian, Okta founders join $59M round for collaborative inbox startup Front
While team messaging providers such as Slack Technologies Inc. have made it their mission to replace traditional email, Front Inc. wants to transform it into something more collaborative. The San Francisco-based startup’s namesake platform provides the ability to create shared inboxes in which multiple employees can work side-by-side and reply to messages separately. Today, Front announced that ...
Google Cloud grows travel industry presence with new Sabre, Lufthansa deals
Google LLC has landed cloud computing deals with two of the biggest players in the global travel industry to power key parts of their digital transformation initiatives. The first contract, announced today, is a 10-year agreement with Sabre Corp. that will see Google become its “preferred cloud provider.” Southlake, Texas-based Sabre operates a payment platform ...
Facebook claims AI navigation milestone after models achieve 99.99% accuracy
Facebook Inc. today open-sourced a set of artificial intelligence models capable of reliably navigating indoor environments without a map, a breakthrough the company hopes will pave a path to smarter robots and voice assistants. AI-powered systems such as industrial robots require a map of the environment in which they operate to avoid taking wrong turns. The problem is ...
Backed by $116M, Skylo exits stealth with a satellite internet network for IoT devices
The 5.8 billion “internet of things” devices that are expected to see use in the enterprise this year will all require a way to connect to the web. San Mateo, California-based Skylo Technologies Inc. has an ambitious plan to address this need that involves geostationary satellites and an eight-by-eight-inch electronics box. The startup officially launched today after three ...
With $150M in annual recurring revenue, mobile analytics startup AppsFlyer raises $210M
AppsFlyer Inc. is not exactly a household name, but its software can be found on the vast majority of smartphones on the planet. The San Francisco-based startup sells analytics tools that companies such as Nike Inc. use to measure how well their app marketing campaigns are doing. AppsFlyer today announced that it has closed a $210 ...