Roundup of news and ideas from the world of startups – Week ending 28th April 2019
News you can use
A weather tech startup wants to do forecasts based on cell phone signals – ClimaCell claims its service, which taps into millions of wireless devices, is 60% more accurate than traditional forecasting methods. Founded in 2015, ClimaCell has spent the last few years developing the technology and business relationships that allow it to tap into millions of signals from cell phones and other wireless devices around the world. It uses the quality of those signals as a proxy for local weather conditions, such as precipitation and air quality. It also analyzes images from street cameras. It is offering subscribers a weather forecasting service that it touts as 60% more accurate than those of existing providers such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Amazon’s Bot automatically tracks and fires warehouse workers for ‘productivity’ – Amazon employs an automated system to tracks warehouse workers’ productivity, and automatically fire them for failing to meet expectations.
How This Entrepreneur Used a Painful Breakup to Launch Her Startup – In this video, Business Rockstars interviews Kalika Yap, the CEO of Citrus Studios, a company that helps entrepreneurs build personal brands. Yap talks about developing her business after she was dumped and told to go get a job. She signed up for coding classes soon after. Now, Yap says she believes that entrepreneurs can change the world.
Startup M&A
Global investment firm acquires Chattanooga-based tech startup Skuid – The nationally recognized, Chattanooga-based cloud software company Skuid — known as one of the most successful startups in the city — has been acquired by a global investment firm, company officials recently announced. Marlin Equity Partners completed a majority recapitalization of and growth investment in Skuid that will allow it to “aggressively scale” its user base across enterprise IT departments and global systems integrators, developers, consultants and user experience designers, according to the tech company.
Seattle startup EnergySavvy acquired by utility software firm Tendril – Seattle-based EnergySavvy has been acquired by Tendril, a Boulder, Colo. firm that provides software and analytics to electric and gas utilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. EnergySavvy’s team of more than 60 employees will not relocate under the acquisition. The company has offices in Seattle and Boston. EnergySavvy will retain its distinct brand under the Tendril umbrella.
Smartsheet scoops up Seattle resource management startup 10,000ft, its 3rd acquisition – Work collaboration software company Smartsheet acquired 10,000ft, a Seattle startup that helps companies plan and manage how they use their resources. The deal will help Smartsheet customers improve planning and allocating resources to projects and better track how long tasks are taking versus projections. The 27-person startup brings with it more than 1,000 customers — including Accenture, PwC and Stanford University — and strengthens Smartsheet’s pitch to potential marketing and professional services customers.
Failed Startups
Robotics startup Anki is shutting down after raising more than $200 million – Last week there was news that Robotics startup Anki was joining the list of failed consumer robot companies. The San Francisco-based Anki had picked an unconventional route towards building artificial intelligence robots for the home by designing advanced technologies into small toys.
