Microsoft’s Ballmer era effort to take on Google in display advertising came to an abrupt end Monday with the company handing over the entire business, employees and all, to AOL, Inc. The deal will see AOL take over responsibility for sales of display, mobile and video ads on Microsoft properties in the U.S. and eight ...

Australian real estate agent comparison site OpenAgent Pty. Ltd. has raised AU$6 million ($4.6 million) Series A in a round led by Hollard Investments. Founded in 2012 and often described at a “TripAdvisor of real estate agents,” OpenAgent provides real estate agent comparisons, which allows users to find a qualified real estate agent to sell ...

Chinese taxi hailing app Didi Kuaidi (Xiaoju Kuaizhi Inc.) looks set to increase its current funding round of $1.5 billion with news that it is already oversubscribed. The news of a possible increase in the round came via a letter to investors from Didi Kuaidi Chief Executive Officer Cheng Wei, which explained that the offering ...

Facebook may soon be giving users the ability to “enhance” (the word is used lightly) the photos they upload with a new feature in its core app that allows users to add captions and more to photos Snapchat, Inc. style. According to reports, the new features are currently being tested on iOS devices, and allows ...

Augmented reality is headed to the stars with an announcement from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Microsoft Thursday that astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) would be provided with Microsoft’s HoloLens to assist in undertaking tasks. The goal of the new project, dubbed “Sidekick,” is to provide station crews with assistance ...

Predictive marketing startup Yieldify Ltd. has raised $11.5 million Series A in a round that included Google Ventures and Softbank Capital. Founded in 2013, Yieldify’s predictive marketing technology and fully managed service tackles the problem of abandoned shopping carts on sites selling online, where some 70 percent of people don’t complete transactions, by delivering the ...

Deep technology online investing platform Propel(x), Inc. has launched a new crowdsourced Diligence Insights platform for investors. Claimed to be the first of its type, the new platform sources expert insights to better equip angel investors in making more informed investments. The site itself only offers investments in companies founded on a scientific discovery or ...

Healthcare group messaging app provider Cureatr, Inc. has raised $13 million Series B in a round led by Deerfield Investments that included new investors Cerner Capital and Windham Ventures, along with previous investors Cardinal Partners, Milestone Venture Partners, and JMI Services. Founded in 2011, Cureatr offers messaging services for doctors, care organizations, hospitals and health ...

Bitcoin trading platform Quoine Pte. Ltd. has signed a new deal with Econtext Asia Ltd. that will see Bitcoin being available as an option for payments at 20,000 Japanese retailers for the first time. The arrangement provides Bitcoin payments through Econtext’s existing merchant network throughout Japan, and although initially Bitcoin payments will only be available ...

End-to-end Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) service provider Aeris Communcations, Inc. has today launched AerVoyance, a new M2M and IoT analytics service. The new service is said to provide customers with significant advantages in managing their connected device programs, catering for the need to make sense of the enormous amount of data continuously ...