INKR is a digital comics platform that crosses cultural and language divides, enabling creators to reach global audiences with its proprietary localization technology. Previously bootstrapped, the company announced today that it has raised $3.1 million in pre-Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures, with participation from manga distributor TokyoPop founder and chief executive Stu Levy.He...

Amazon was the last of the big five U.S. tech companies to report its earnings for the three months ended June 2021 on Thursday. And like the other four GAFAM companies before it, Amazon reported another record-breaking quarter, despite falling just short of Wall Street expectation in terms of sales and Q3 guidance.The e-commerce behemoth saw net sales grow 27 percent to $113 billion in the pas...

MedRhythms secured $25 million in Series B funding to advance its digital therapy platform aimed at measuring and improving someone’s ability to walk after they have experienced a neurologic injury or disease.Morningside Ventures and Advantage Capital co-led the round, with participation from existing investor Werth Family Investment Associates, to give the Portland, Maine-based company $31 mi...

All things being equal, supporters of Donald Trump are 18 percentage points more likely to shun covid-19 vaccines.A FOURTH WAVE of covid-19 infections is washing across America. It is strongest in the heartland and southern states: cases per 100,000 people are highest in Louisiana, Florida and Arkansas; Missouri has the highest hospitalisations. But the rapidly spreading Delta variant threatens...

Designed to integrate right into the wearer’s shoe, the Ashirase uses a series of haptic ‘tickles’ to help guide the visually impaired as they walk, providing a much more intuitive and effective alternative to using a smartphone.The Ashirase has a rather heartbreaking backstory. Honda EV-engineer Wataru Chino began working on the concept following the death of a slightly visually impaired re...

Although anxiety over health and finances is high, attitudes remain surprisingly resilient. And some behavioral changes—including greater use of digital commerce and tools—are sticking.This spring’s resurgence of COVID-19 cases due to new variants is keeping consumers in many emerging markets on edge about their economic status, health, and daily lifestyles. But our most recent Consumer Sent...

Vision Fund 2 leads $200 million Series C financing for Wiliot. Wiliot is developing an IoT product using sticker-sized tags.SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund 2 led a $200 million investment in Wiliot Inc., a semiconductor company that is developing ways to gather data in manufacturing and logistics using battery-free, stamp-sized sensor tags.Vision Fund director Amit Lubovsky will join Wilio...

FundamentalVR has unveiled more details for its virtual reality surgery training platform, which uses advanced technologies such as haptic (touch) feedback to show doctors how to do surgeries.The Fundamental Surgery platform updates aim to add new realism to VR surgery to make it into a better alternative to traditional medical education methods where medical students carve up cadavers.The plat...

Fintech companies have brought back an old-fashioned way of lending, and now even Apple and Goldman are getting in on the action.You’re shopping online, about to hit the checkout button, when something catches your eye. It’s an intriguing offer. Instead of buying your item the old-fashioned way with your credit or debit card, you can pay for it in an even more old-fashioned way, familiar to a...