Greg Kumparak
TechCrunch
Oakland, CA, United States
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Recent articles by Greg:
Apple acquires Dark Sky, Android version shutting down in July –
Dark Sky, the popular weather app, has been acquired by Apple . News of the acquisition comes by way of Dark Sky’s own blog. The company says that there will be “no changes” for users on iOS right now — but for DarkSky users on Android, the forecast isn’t so good. The company says it’ll […] → Read More
TechCrunch’s favorite companies from 500 Startups’ latest demo day –
Today 500 Startups hosted a virtual demo day for its 26th batch of startups, a group of companies that TechCrunch covered back in February. 500 is not the only accelerator that moved its traditional investor pitch event online; Y Combinator made a similar move after efforts to flatten the spread of COVID-19 required changes that […] → Read More
Netflix will reduce streaming quality in Europe for 30 days –
Earlier today, we learned that EU Commissioner Thierry Breton had called for Netflix to reduce streaming quality in Europe — a move to limit its overall bandwidth usage as more users turn to streaming services for in-home entertainment during the novel coronavirus outbreak. Netflix has confirmed that it will comply with this request. In a […] → Read More
The 20 best startups from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day –
With world events overtaking the tech world’s preferences to meet for coffees and convene at events, Y Combinator skipped its famous two-day live Demo event and went for a radical experiment: no demos at all, but instead a long list of the nearly 200 startups in its Winter 2020 batch, with links to their sites […] → Read More
All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part IV: Healthcare, Biotech, Fintech and Nonprofits –
With YC's W20 Demo Day coming in at nearly 200 companies, we've decided to split our recap into multiple posts for easier reading. These are the Healthcare/Biotech, Fintech, and Non-profit companies. → Read More
All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part III: Hardware, Robots, AI and Developer Tools –
With YC's W20 Demo Day coming in at nearly 200 companies, we've decided to split our recap into multiple posts for easier reading. These are the hardware, AI/ML, and developer-focused companies → Read More
All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part II: Consumer Companies –
With YC's W20 Demo Day coming in at nearly 200 companies, we've decided to split our recap into multiple posts for easier reading. Here are this cohort's consumer-focused companies → Read More
All the companies from Y Combinator’s W20 Demo Day, Part I: B2B Companies –
Y Combinator’s Demo Day was a bit different this time around. As concerns grew over the spread of COVID-19, Y Combinator shifted the event format away from the two-day gathering in San Francisco we’ve gotten used to, instead opting to have its entire class debut to invited investors and media via YC’s Demo Day website […] → Read More
Mattermost CEO Ian Tien on building a successful remote team –
Mattermost is pretty open about what it is: an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Slack. The team didn’t originally set out to build a messaging tool at all; they wanted to build video games. A few years and one huge pivot later, they’re powering messaging and collaboration for companies like Samsung, Daimler, SAP and Cigna — […] → Read More
YouNeedABudget founder Jesse Mecham on managing a remote 115-person team –
"We've had employees that have started here say that they felt more welcome here being all remote than they ever did with a co-located job." → Read More
Y Combinator moves its online Demo Day forward one week –
Just days ago, Y Combinator announced that its upcoming Demo Day event would be moving online due to “growing concern over COVID-19“. The event, previously planned to span across two days at San Francisco’s Pier 48 building, would instead be hosted entirely online on March 23rd. More changes this evening: YC is shifting Demo Day […] → Read More
Zapier CEO Wade Foster on scaling a remote team up to 300 employees –
When Zapier was founded in 2011, it was a side project for three friends from Missouri who wanted to make it easier to connect any one web app to another. Nine years, millions of users and around 300 employees later, it’s one of the most highly valued companies to ever go through Y Combinator — […] → Read More
Horizon raises another $5M to put virtual items on the blockchain –
If a player picks up an item in an online video game, who owns that item? The player, or the company that made the game? In most cases, the answer is probably closer to the latter. The item may be in the player’s digital inventory – but the company can take it away as they […] → Read More
Google Assistant on Android can now read entire web pages to you –
Just a few weeks back at CES, Google gave a sneak peak of a feature that would let your Android devices read entire web pages aloud to you — perfect for when you don’t have a hand free to scroll but still need to catch up on some text, or for when you just don’t […] → Read More
Do phones need to fold? –
As Samsung (re)unveiled its clamshell folding phone last week, I kept seeing the same question pop up amongst my social circles: why? I was wondering the same thing myself, to be honest. I’m not sure even Samsung knows; they’d win me over by the end, but only somewhat. The halfway-folded, laptop-style “Flex Mode” allows you […] → Read More
Apple expands “Quick Look” to let retailers sell things directly in augmented reality –
That couch you’re thinking about sure would look good in your living room… or would it? To drag up a decade (!) old catchphrase: there’s an app for that. There’s a ton of apps for that, really. Seeing what furniture might look like in a room is one of the go-to examples of what augmented […] → Read More
Here’s everything Samsung just announced at Unpacked 2020 –
At least once a year, Samsung pulls hundreds of reporters, analysts, and industry folk into one big room for an event it calls “Samsung Unpacked”, where the company shows off all of their latest flagship devices. The first Unpacked of 2020 was held this morning in San Francisco — and from $1,400 folding smartphones to […] → Read More
Whatnot wants to be the GOAT of collectible toys, starting with Funko Pops –
Funko Pops. You’ve probably noticed them at your local GameStop, Hot Topic, or spread out all over your coworker’s desk. These lil’ vinyl figurines and their big ol’ heads have taken over retail shelves in the last few years. You can now find a Funko Pop! (or thirty) for just about every fandom; there are […] → Read More
Dumb things companies do with user security –
After iterating on a few ideas, you’ve found something people are interested in. Users are signing up! You’ve got traction! People with money want to give you that money! Excellent. In the rush to rapid growth, it can be easy to get caught up in what’s next, like the next new layout, feature launch or […] → Read More
Microsoft will now pay up to $20k for Xbox Live security exploits –
Think you’ve found a glaring security hole in Xbox Live? Microsoft is interested. The company announced a new bug bounty program today, focused specifically on its Xbox Live network and services. Depending on how serious the exploit is and how complete your report is, they’re paying up to $20,000. Like most bug bounty programs, Microsoft […] → Read More