Targeting payday lenders, Branch adds pay on-demand features for hourly workers

Branch, the scheduling and pay management app for hourly workers, has added a new pay-on-demand service called Pay, which is now available to anyone who downloads the Branch app. It’s an attempt to provide a fee-based alternative to payday lending, where borrowers charge exorbitant rates to lenders on short term loans or cash advances. Borrowers […]

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Clutter confirms SoftBank-led $200M investment for its on-demand storage service

There’s plenty of speculation right now around apparently disgruntled investors in SoftBank’s Vision Fund, but the drum continues to beat and the checks continue to be written. The latest deal for the $100 billion mega-fund is Clutter, an on-demand storage company that pulled in $200 million in new financing for growth. Eagled-eyed viewers will recall that […]

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Space Force will be a Marines-like branch under Air Force authority

President Trump is expected to sign into creation the Space Force today, as a special branch of the military overseen by the Air Force Department, according to a report in The Washington Post. The President’s decision is considered a win for the Air Force and Defense Department broadly, which had argued against setting up an independent […]

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What an American artificial intelligence initiative really needs

The American AI Initiative as it stands does little to blunt the fears that America will fall behind in its technological edge. In fact, its lack of particulars sends exactly the opposite message.

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Atrium, Justin Kan’s legal tech startup, launches a fintech and blockchain division

Atrium, the legal startup co-founded by Justin Kan of Twitch fame, is jumping into the blockchain space today. The company has raised plenty of money — including $65 million from a16z last September — so rather than an ICO or token sale, this is a consultancy business. Atrium uses machine learning to digitize legal documents and develop applications […]

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A new Congress means a new opportunity for consumer privacy protections

Debra Berlyn Contributor Share on Twitter Debra Berlyn is the president of Consumer Policy Solutions and the executive director of Project GOAL, a project to raise awareness of both the benefits and challenges of innovative new technologies for the aging community. The 2018 mid-term elections, for the first time in U.S. history, resulted in a […]

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FDA chief summons Altria and JUUL to Washington to discuss teen vaping

The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is calling Altria and Juul to meet in Washington to discuss their tie-up and how it impacts the companies’ plans to combat teen vaping. Earlier this year, Altria invested $12.8 billion investment in Juul. “After Altria’s acquisition of a 35 percent ownership interest in JUUL Labs, Inc., […]

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Opera adds a free VPN to its Android browser app

Opera became the first browser-maker to bundle a VPN with its service, and now that effort is expanding to mobile. The company announced today that its Android browser app will begin offering a free VPN. The feature will be rolled out to beta users on a gradual basis. The VPN is free and unlimited, and it […]

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The Green New Deal is long on vision, short on details, and a potential windfall for startups

The Green New Deal has landed. Proposed by the rising star of the Democratic Party, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Senator Edward Markey, a longtime advocate for decarbonization in both the House and the Senate, the sweeping proposal is a grand vision for what a progressive push to rebuild American institutions for the 21st century looks […]

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With its Greenlots acquisition, Shell is moving from gas stations to charging stations

In a bid to show that it’s getting ready for the electrification of American roads, Royal Dutch Shell is buying Greenlots, a Los Angeles-based developer of electric vehicle charging and energy management technologies. Shell, which is making the acquisition through its Shell New Energies US subsidiary, snatched the company from Energy Impact Partners, a cleantech-focused […]

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A simple data analysis disproves the argument for building a border wall

Ken Miller Contributor Ken Miller is an investor, writer and advisor to several technology companies and venture capital firms. Previously he was an executive at PayPal and Intuit, and early advisor to Square. More posts by this contributor As hyper-conservative media surged, Republicans’ trust in news cratered Data shows a downward demographic spiral for Republicans […]

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With cybersecurity threats looming, the government shutdown is putting America at risk

Putting political divisions and affiliations aside, the government partially shutting down for the third time over the last year is extremely worrisome, particularly when considering its impact on the nation’s cybersecurity priorities. Unlike the government, our nation’s enemies don’t ‘shut down.’ When our nation’s cyber centers are not actively monitoring and protecting our most valuable assets and critical infrastructure, threats magnify and vulnerabilities become further exposed.

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