Daily Crunch: Facebook acquires a neural monitoring startup
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1. Facebook buys startup building neural monitoring armband
Facebook has talked a lot about working on a non-invasive brain input device that can make things like text entry possible just by thinking.
So far, most of the company's progress on that project appears to be taking the form of university research, but with the acquisition of CTRL-labs (which we've confirmed was worth between $500 million and $1 billion), Facebook appears to be moving closer to turning this idea into a commercial product.
2. Messaging app Kik shuts down as company focuses on Kin, its cryptocurrency
The company's team will be reduced to 19 people, a reduction that will affect over 100 employees, as it focuses on converting more Kin users into buyers. Kin still faces a lawsuit from the SEC, claiming the company's ICO was illegal.
3. Europe's top court rules that 'right to be forgotten' only applies in Europe
Google and other search engines started implementing the right to be forgotten in 2014, allowing European citizens to ask search engines to delist results with sensitive personal information. Now the Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Google doesn't have to de-reference those results on a global scale.
4. Samsung Galaxy Fold, take two
This week, the Fold finally debuts on North American store shelves, about five months later than initially planned.
5. ClimateTech is the new hot space for investors in a warming planet
Whereas CleanTech has traditionally been known in the field of energy generation, such as solar, battery and hydro, ClimateTech could perhaps be defined as data-driven products aimed at addressing the risk and exposure to the effects of climate change. (Extra Crunch membership required.)
Honestbee, the Singapore-based grocery delivery startup that has been struggling with financial issues, owes 217 employees a total of almost USD $1 million in unpaid salary.
7. Hear about investing in African tech at Disrupt SF with Mariime Diop, Wale Ayeni and Sheel Mohnot
We'll be hosting a Q&A session with Orange Digital Ventures' Mariime Diop, International Finance Organization's Wale Ayeni and 500 Startups' Sheel Mohnot, three Africa-based investors who bring plenty of experience screening startups across its top tech hubs.
