In terms of growth, emerging-market digital consumers represent an enormous opportunity. Even when such consumers don’t buy directly on the internet, information that they find online—typically on a smartphone—often influences their purchasing decisions. Four years from now, the total value of digitally influenced spending in emerging markets will approach $4 trillion, according to our estim...

In this radical design concept by Surrey-based R&D CORE Limited’s luxury products division UPLOND, the team has thought up the ‘DRAS phone’ that folds at not two, but three points. The idea was inspired by the growing size of modern-day smartphones, such as 2018’s two biggest candidates, the iPhone XS Max and Samsung Galaxy Note 9. UPLOND explains, “The design incorporates a flexible s...

Blockchain, quantum computing, augmented analytics and artificial intelligence will drive disruption and new business models.Although science fiction may depict AI robots as the bad guys, some tech giants now employ them for security. Companies like Microsoft and Uber use Knightscope K5 robots to patrol parking lots and large outdoor areas to predict and prevent crime. The robots can read licen...

SmileDirectClub, the at-home teeth-straightening startup, has just raised $380 million at a $3.2 billion valuation, the company announced today. Investors from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice led the round, which featured participation from Kleiner Perkins and Spark Capital.This funding comes on top of Align Technology’s $46.7 million investment in SmileDirectClub in 2016, and another $12.8 milli...

Fitness apps aren't anything new, but none of them can really replicate how it is to be in a class, with the instructor encouraging you in real-time or helping you out if you can't quite do those push ups. Mirror, however, aims to do for fitness classes what Peloton did with the cycling class: bring a live instructor into your home. And it does all this with a full-size mirror.Of course, Mirror...

The record industry has seen a lot of change over the years.Vinyl gave way to 8-tracks, and cassettes faded away as compact discs took the world by storm, and through it all, the music industry saw its revenue continue to climb. That is, until it was digitally disrupted.Looking back at four decades of music industry sales data is a fascinating exercise as it charts not only the rise and fall th...

Mantis Vision, an Israeli company that borrows part of its name from the praying mantis, an insect with a unique form of 3D vision, is looking to radically change how we create, capture and consume digital content, particularly on mobile.The company, founded in 2005, developed patented, innovative 3D technology based on structured light to capture detailed 3D environments, more so than other si...

The Ekster 3.0 is the latest trackable wallet to hit the scene, and with voice control and clever card-dispensing mechanism, has more than a few handy tricks up its sleeve.We first heard of Dutch startup Ekster in 2015 when it debuted its first wallet on Kickstarter. It has now returned to the crowdfunding platform with its third take on the lost wallet problem.The RFID-blocking Ekster 3.0 is c...

Agility is key to winning in the digital era.New business models and competition, extensive use of technology, and changing tenant and investor expectations are redefining the commercial real estate (CRE) industry. As investors increasingly favor newer business models and the tech-enabled ecosystem, companies in the commercial real estate industry will have to realign business priorities and ad...