Plant-based food maker Just Inc. is raising $200 million in growth funding, according to Bloomberg. CLSA, the international affiliate of Beijing-based Citic Securities, is reportedly participating in the round, as Just Inc. is said to be gauging preliminary interest from Chinese investors.The news of the fundraise comes despite a history colored by a string of scandals, and it marks Just Inc.'s...

Self-poured drinks, AI-driven brew, connected kegs — here are the startups coming to disrupt your pint of beer.[click to enlarge]Dry January may be over, but beer is still struggling.Brewers sold 0.3% less beer in stores in the US in 2018 compared to the previous year, according to research firm IRI.Challengers such as hard seltzer may be partially to blame, along with health-conscious consume...

LEGO’s long been a leader among traditional toy companies when it comes to embracing tech trends, from mobile apps to robotics. The toy maker’s been talking up its plans to embrace augmented reality since a couple of WWDCs ago, and now it’s finally ready to go all-in with the launch of eight AR-focused sets.All are part of Hidden Side, a new series of sets designed to skirt the line between...

How does an ambulance reach a victim in a road/highway accident when there are more than a dozen cars stuck in a traffic jam between the ambulance and the site of the accident? Up until now the only solution was to drive in the opposite lane, weaving through oncoming traffic to get to the victim. A band of Korean designers created the Median AMB, a special ambulance that can directly reach the...

Monetizing the impending revolution in communications infrastructure.The next generation of cellular mobile communications technology has arrived. 5G, which is set to succeed the 4G standard over the next few years, offers an exponential improvement in functionality over 4G — it is 100 times faster and has 1,000 times more capacity. The results will be mobile networks that offer far higher cap...

The agency warns that plasma treatments costing thousands of dollars, which supposedly treat the infirmities of old age, have not been proven “safe or effective.”The US Food and Drug Administration is warning those who would seek infusions of young blood to ward off the afflictions of aging to not buy into the hype, according to a statement from Commissioner Scott Gottlieb yesterday (February...

Amazon’s ad business to grow more than 50%, taking bite out of duopoly.This year will mark a major milestone in the world of advertising. For the first time, digital ad spending in the US will exceed traditional ad spending, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast. By 2023, digital will surpass two-thirds of total media spending.Total digital ad spending in the US will grow 19% to $129.34 bi...

Both companies are seeking new revenue sources as their bread-and-butter businesses struggle. Cardholders will earn cash back of about 2% on most purchases and potentially more on Apple gadgets and services, people familiar with the matter said.Apple Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plan to start issuing this spring a joint credit card paired with new iPhone features that will help users manag...

Operators see a marginally positive business case, expect rollout at scale to take until 2022, and don’t think the increase in capital-expense-to-sales ratio will be as big as skeptics claim.For a technology that gets as much attention as 5G, we know precious little about what telco operators truly think about how it will play out for the industry and what they truly plan to do. Optimists tout...