Startup News roundup for Week ending 8th October
News you can use
- Book Review ‘Angel: How to Invest in Technology Startups –Timeless Advice from an Angel Investor’
- Startup and emerging companies take The Phocuswright Conference Summit stage on Tuesday, November 7, to showcase their travel innovations. But established companies are changing the travel landscape too. Companies 48 months or older are invited to apply for the few remaining spots at Launch, held Wednesday, November 8. Learn more about Launch here and see if you’re eligible to take the stage.
- Dubai Startup Hub to facilitate deals between startups and leading companies – Dubai Startup Hub, an initiative of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has launched its new Market Access programme which aims to enhance cooperation and facilitate deals between innovative startups, SMEs, leading companies, and government entities in Dubai.
- Dreamit Launches Strategic Partnership with Accenture To Help Startups Scale – Dreamit has teamed with Accenture, one of the world’s leading professional services companies, to connect Accenture’s strategy and innovation leadership to the startup founders at Dreamit working on transformational products in health tech and urban tech.
image: flickr.com -paradasos
Corporate Startup Ventures and M&A
Detroit eyes startups: Ford and GM announce deals to advance technology stacks:
- This week GM announced (link) that it was acquiring Strobe, a three-year-old startup working on a specialized series of sensors called LIDAR that could enhance the navigation systems for autonomous vehicles.
- Ford is also eying promising startups. Ford has begun to develop new transportation service applications using a software platform developed by Autonomic Inc., a small Silicon Valley startup.
- In another news, BlackBerry is reportedly working with two automakers on an anti-hacking tool. According to the reports, BlackBerry is teaming up with Aston Martin and Jaguar Land Rover on the effort. The goal is to create a service that can scan cars in search of viruses.
L’Oreal & Founders Factory pick startup trio for their latest beauty tech accelerator – Beauty brand L’Oreal has teamed up with London-based digital incubator Founders Factory to name a trio of startups to receive additional backing – two of which have been chosen to participate in the second round of their beauty tech accelerator.
Lufthansa Partners Swiss Blockchain Startup to Decentralize Travel – Switzerland-based blockchain startup Winding Tree has announced that it is now working closely with the Lufthansa Group to bring the travel industry into the blockchain age. The developers say that this will result in a large number of new blockchain-based apps for travellers, who will be able to book Lufthansa flights via the offer that best suits their preferences.
Startups that failed this week
How failed OS startup Cyanogen pivoted into self-driving construction equipment – In 2015, when there was still an ounce of hope to compete with Google and Apple in the smartphone operating system world, Cyanogen Inc. was producing an open-source operating system for Android devices. Its software was running on 50 million phones and was on track to hit half a billion handsets by 2020, the company said.