No more canary in a coal mine. Datch is the AI-powered voice assistant for the mining, manufacturing, and utility sectors. Mark Fosdike, a first-time founder and CEO of Datch, walks us through the practical application of Datch’s technology in industry, raising as a first-time founder in a new country, and the company’s recent funding round from investors that include Plug and Play Ventures, Stage Venture Partners, Acceleprise, Tuhua Ventures, and Predictive Venture Partners.
Tech
Smiling Robots Alleviate Human Anxieties with Expper Technologies
Loneliness and isolation are heightened in the midst of the pandemic. Can robots fill a void? Expper’s founder Karén Khachikyan says the company’s robot Robin changes a kid’s perception of medical treatments, where they will no longer feel isolated, lonely, and scared. The innovator explains how his whimsical four-foot robot employs digital facial expressions to form lasting bonds with its young users.
The Single Most Important Thing In Tech
Whether you’re a tech investor, a tech operator, or just a user of tech, the single most important thing in tech is FAMGA, and the profound implications of their domination of tech value creation.
Whatifi Raises $10M to Bring Interactive Movies to Your Phone
Through what it calls “storyhacking”, Whatifi offers numerous plotlines, character arcs, and endings, and even critical points where the watch party is faced with a problem and the movie cannot continue until everyone unanimously decides what decision to make. Using methodology from interactive theater, Cofounders Hardi Meybaum and Jaanus Juss are putting social audiences in the Director’s seat from their phones. The duo shared some insight into the company’s engaging platform for developing movies, future plans, and recent funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz.
Contact Tracing, Machines, And Civil Liberties
Already five regions within New York State have reopened for business, ushering in a new reality of “test, isolate, and trace.” The United States estimates it will hire close to 300,000 people to become contact tracers, identifying potential spreaders of the virus. Governor Cuomo has appointed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to head […]
Where We Are Investing Now: XR in Health
We have been interested in XR for Health for some time. This year, however, we think the time has come for these technologies to take a great step forward. In the past, we viewed it purely through the lens of other areas of science. Now, in 2020, XR for Health is officially an independent focus area for us.
Embodied Raises Another $11.7M to Launch Moxie, an Emotive Learning Robot
The impact of technology on a child’s development can not be understated today. Embodied through Moxie, the revolutionary robot companion, helps kids build social, emotional, and cognitive skills through everyday play. LA TechWatch caught with CEO and Founder Paolo Pirjanian to learn about his vision to change the world through the ones that have the most impact: children…
3D Printing Vital Equipment for COVID-19
Living in the epicenter of the coronavirus plague is a surreal experience. Outside my window, New York City appears serene – devoid of its former noise, bustle, and loud citizenry. However, a few blocks north, south, and east it is a war zone with fatalities piling so high that administrators are utilizing mass graves. One […]
Where We Are Investing Now: Individual Robotics
We see personal robotics as one dramatic method for bringing the power of new science closer to humans. Our perspective on robotics is broad. Successful robots don’t need to be humanoid. They don’t need to have full bodies; we see haptics is part of robotics, for instance. Robotics, for us, means devices that replicate or […]
The Cambrian Intelligence Case Study and the New Normal: Virtual Offices, Schools, and Manufacturing
Moving past the hysteria, computer vision is a defining element of intelligent machines transforming mechanical movements into dynamic workflows.
Don’t Worry About Coronavirus, There’s A Bot For That…
Sitting in New York’s former Engineer’s Society, I spoke with Oleg Kivokurtsev of Promobot and discussed his latest service bot creations that are being deployed across the globe in hotels, office buildings, and hospitals. Fay-Louise Hayden of VentureOut (his New York mentor) shared a vignette of her experiences last month as the imposing humanoid diagnosed tourists in Times Square for […]