Everything old is new again.The simplest notion of credit, lending someone something, has been around in some form for literally thousands of years. Yet even in the 21st century people are still iterating on that core idea — the most recent innovation being "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) — a simple mechanism offered by companies like Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm that have become enormous business...

Singapore-based metaverse startup BUD announced on Monday that it is planning to launch NFTs after raising $36.8 million in a new round of funding, just months after completing its Series A round in February.The Series B round was led by Sequoia Capital India. According to tech publication TechCrunch, other investors include Chinese billionaire William Lei Ding’s online and mobile games compan...

Xiaomi and Leica share the same ideas regarding mobile imaging. Both companies are eager to continuously explore the optical performance and photographic experience in the mobile imaging era through extreme technological breakthroughs and aesthetic pursuits.Xiaomi, the world's leading consumer electronics and smart manufacturing company, and Leica Camera, whose legendary reputation is based on...

A lot has changed in the state of crypto since we started investing in the area nearly a decade ago.This report is the first of what will be an annual overview of trends in the crypto industry, shared through the a16z crypto vantage point of both tracking data and across the countless entrepreneurs and builders we meet. It’s for anyone who seeks to understand the evolution of the internet, and...

U.S. patent application, US20220146271, discloses a method of transit navigation for a wearable device. The method includes obtaining, by the wearable, a transit route from a starting location to a destination location, presenting a first navigation instruction describing a first navigation maneuver of the plurality of transit navigation maneuvers on a display, detecting manipulation of a physi...

If you're a newcomer to virtual reality, you'll notice something odd about your appearance: Depending on the app, you may look down to see you're represented by an avatar that's just a floating torso or nothing but a pair of hands.While wireless headsets and handheld controllers laden with sensors and software do a good job of tracking your upper body in VR, actual leg tracking is still rare. T...

US consumers are spending less on products and more on experiences — a trend that could ease supply snags and inflationary pressures, and help the travel industry this summer. Business and leisure travel around the world in 2022 is booming, with air bookings expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, spending on cruises, buses and trains is equally significant.These are some of...

Smart glasses from Envision are built on the enterprise edition of Google Glass.Tapping the side of Envision glasses opens up a menu of options, like scanning text or placing a video call.For Mike May, who is blind, navigating new spaces can be a challenge. A few weeks ago, he went to a work event at a brewery and had a hard time figuring out where to go. Thankfully, he had a pair of Envision s...

Developers are wielding more clout when it comes to the technology their companies buy and use. Here’s how to get their attention.Developers are creators, but in many companies they also wear a couple of other hats. They are buyers, purchasing software for their teams or even the organization. And they are influencers, often with a say on which vendors make the short list and which tools get t...