Month: July 2018

Technology is the proverbial double-edged sword. And an experimental European research project is ensuring this axiom cuts very close to the industry’s bone indeed by applying machine learning technology to critically sift big tech’s privacy policies — to see whether AI can automatically identify violations of data protection law.

The still-in-training privacy policy and contract parsing tool — which is called ‘Claudette‘: Aka (automated) clause detector — is being developed by researchers at the European University Institute in Florence.

They’ve also now got support from European consumer organization BEUC — for a ‘Claudette meets GDPR‘ project — which specifically applies the tool to evaluate compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

Early results from this project have been released today, with BEUC saying the AI was able to automatically flag a range of problems with the language being used in tech T&Cs.

The researchers set Claudette to work analyzing the privacy policies of 14 companies in all — namely: Google, Facebook (and Instagram), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, WhatsApp, Twitter, Uber, AirBnB, Booking, Skyscanner, Netflix, Steam and Epic Games — saying this group was selected to cover a range of online services and sectors.

And also because they are among the biggest online players and — I quote — “should be setting a good example for the market to follow”. Ehem, should.

The AI analysis of the policies was carried out in June, after the update to the EU’s data protection rules had come into force. The regulation tightens requirements on obtaining consent for processing citizens’ personal data by, for example, increasing transparency requirements — basically requiring that privacy policies be written in clear and intelligible language, explaining exactly how the data will be used, in order that people can make a genuine, informed choice to consent (or not consent).

In theory, all 15 parsed privacy policies should have been compliant with GDPR by June, as it came into force on May 25. However some tech giants are already facing legal challenges to their interpretation of ‘consent’. And it’s fair to say the law has not vanquished the tech industry’s fuzzy language and logic overnight. Where user privacy is concerned, old, ugly habits die hard, clearly.

But that’s where BEUC is hoping AI technology can help.

It says that out of a combined 3,659 sentences (80,398 words) Claudette marked 401 sentences (11.0%) as containing unclear language, and 1,240 (33.9%) containing “potentially problematic” clauses or clauses providing “insufficient” information.

BEUC says identified problems include:

• Not providing all the information which is required under the GDPR’s transparency obligations. “For example companies do not always inform users properly regarding the third parties with whom they share or get data from”
• Processing of personal data not happening according to GDPR requirements. “For instance, a clause stating that the user agrees to the company’s privacy policy by simply using its website”
• Policies are formulated using vague and unclear language (i.e. using language qualifiers that really bring the fuzz — such as “may”, “might”, “some”, “often”, and “possible”) — “which makes it very hard for consumers to understand the actual content of the policy and how their data is used in practice”

The bolstering of the EU’s privacy rules, with GDPR tightening the consent screw and supersizing penalties for violations, was exactly intended to prevent this kind of stuff. So it’s pretty depressing — though hardly surprising — to see the same, ugly T&C tricks continuing to be used to try to sneak consent by keeping users in the dark.

We reached out to two of the largest tech giants whose policies Claudette parsed — Google and Facebook — to ask if they want to comment on the project or its findings.

A Google spokesperson said: “We have updated our Privacy Policy in line with the requirements of the GDPR, providing more detail on our practices and describing the information that we collect and use, and the controls that users have, in clear and plain language. We’ve also added new graphics and video explanations, structured the Policy so that users can explore it more easily, and embedded controls to allow users to access relevant privacy settings directly.”

At the time of writing Facebook had not responded to our request for comment.

Commenting in a statement, Monique Goyens, BEUC’s director general, said: “A little over a month after the GDPR became applicable, many privacy policies may not meet the standard of the law. This is very concerning. It is key that enforcement authorities take a close look at this.”

The group says it will be sharing the research with EU data protection authorities, including the European Data Protection Board. And is not itself ruling out bringing legal actions against law benders.

But it’s also hopeful that automation will — over the longer term — help civil society keep big tech in legal check.

Although, where this project is concerned, it also notes that the training data-set was small — conceding that Claudette’s results were not 100% accurate — and says more privacy policies would need to be manually analyzed before policy analysis can be fully conducted by machines alone.

So file this one under ‘promising research’.

“This innovative research demonstrates that just as Artificial Intelligence and automated decision-making will be the future for companies from all kinds of sectors, AI can also be used to keep companies in check and ensure people’s rights are respected,” adds Goyens. “We are confident AI will be an asset for consumer groups to monitor the market and ensure infringements do not go unnoticed.

“We expect companies to respect consumers’ privacy and the new data protection rights. In the future, Artificial Intelligence will help identify infringements quickly and on a massive scale, making it easier to start legal actions as a result.”

For more on the AI-fueled future of legal tech, check out our recent interview with Mireille Hildebrandt.

Editor’s note: This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and TechCrunch earn affiliate commissions.     

Exercising outdoors comes with space, terrain and, if you’re lucky, a nice breeze that you don’t get in a gym. While fitness fanatics care most about completing a good workout, having the right gear to help with keeping track of progress — and getting on with your day when you’re done — makes a big difference.

We’ve gathered some of our favorite fitness wearables, headphones and accessories that improve and make outdoor workout routines more enjoyable.

Running headphones: Plantronics BackBeat Fit

We’ve tested 31 pairs of running headphones and for two years the Plantronics BackBeat Fit has remained our top recommendation. The ergonomics and comfort that the BackBeat Fit offer is impressive and they’re built to combat sweat, dust and rain. The cable that connects the earbuds is accommodating for heads of all sizes and it won’t bounce around or be an annoyance while you work out. Jogging at night or in a busy neighborhood will be a bit safer and easier to navigate as the BackBeat Fit has unsealed earbuds that are designed to allow you to hear your surroundings.

Backpack pannier: Arkel Bug Pannier Backpack

Bike riding is a form of exercise that’s enjoyable for many. A bike is also a convenient mode of transportation, and equipping it with gear like a bike lock, rear rack and pannier can make heading out on the trail even more worthwhile. If in-between or after your ride you’d prefer to run errands, hang out or work, we recommend carrying your belongings in the Arkel Bug Pannier Backpack.

It’s spacious and has mesh material that repels water. We like that it’s durable enough to hold heavier items and it has a deep back pocket that’s big enough for a road or urban style helmet.                                                                                                                 

GPS Running Watch: Garmin Forerunner 235

The ease of operating the Garmin Forerunner 235 makes it a great GPS running watch for beginners. Its optional apps and ability to track advanced metrics makes it great for experienced runners. You’ll be able to use data to create and follow customized workouts, as well as review details about intensity and volume.

The FR 235 delivers heart-rate tracking without the use of a chest strap and it isn’t as bulky as previous generations. Its Auto Pause feature helps with accurately tracking pace and running data when you make stops (i.e. at an intersection) during runs.

Fitness tracker: Garmin Vivosport

For a simple rundown of your heart rate, the number of steps you’ve taken and the distance you’ve traveled, a fitness tracker will do the trick. Our top pick, the Garmin Vivosport, has optional GPS tracking capabilities, accurate stats and overall solid performance that places it above a standard fitness tracker.

If keeping your phone on you for listening to music is a must, you can use the Vivosport to control playback and receive notifications. It measures stress levels, tracks sleep and automatically detects activity. When you’re lifting weights without a buddy, its strength-training mode can be enabled to do rep counting for you.

Water bottle: Klean Kanteen Classic 27-ounce stainless-steel bottle with 3.0 Sport Cap

Whether your workout consists of high-intensity cardio or a casual walk in the park, it’s important to stay hydrated. Bringing along a light, durable water bottle means you won’t have to find a place to grab a drink and you’ll have a handy go-to when you need a refresher.

The Klean Kanteen Classic 27-Ounce Stainless Steel Bottle with 3.0 Sport Cap is our top pick for a steel water bottle because it’s easy to clean, has swappable caps and, more importantly, less than favorable tastes and smells don’t linger around. Its 1¾-inch mouth is big enough to fit ice cubes but not so big that water will spill on your new shoes if you take a sip while running.

This guide may have been updated by Wirecutter. Note from Wirecutter: When readers choose to buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn affiliate commissions that support our work.

Volkswagen Group is launching a car-sharing service called WE that only uses electric vehicles, following the lead of rivals such as Daimler and BMW that have operated their own on-demand car rental services for years.

VW’s car-sharing service will launch in Germany next year and then expand to major cities in Europe, North America and Asia beginning in 2020. The entire fleet will be electric vehicles, VW Group said Wednesday.

“We are convinced that the car sharing market still has potential,” Jürgen Stackmann, Volkswagen’s board member for sales said in a statement. “That is why we are entering this market with a holistic single-source concept covering all mobility needs from the short journey that takes just a few minutes to the long vacation trip.”

The German automaker’s WE business is designed to do more than car-sharing. The WE vehicle-on-demand platform will initially focus on car sharing. But eventually it will include other modes of transportation such as scooters.

Volkswagen showed off two electric concepts in March, an e-scooter it calls the Streetmate and Cityskater, which the company describes as a “last-mile electric street surfer.” Volkswagen sees the WE platform helping connect customers to car-sharing service, rent one of these micro-mobility vehicles, or even pay for parking.

The automaker also sees the WE platform connecting to MOIA, the automaker’s mobility company that has launched a ride-sharing service with an all-electric shuttle vehicle. The all-electric car, which made its debut at TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin in December, is designed to provide space for up to six passengers.

The vehicle-on-demand services available on the Volkswagen WE platform will be managed by UMI Urban Mobility International, a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG that began operating in 2018.

Food delivery startup Deliveroo opened its first shared kitchen in Paris earlier today. Deliveroo first launched this concept of shared kitchens called Deliveroo Editions in London last year.

As the AFP reports, the company is starting with 12 kitchens in a warehouse in Saint-Ouen, right next to the north-western part of Paris. So far, 8 restaurants have agreed to make a deal with Deliveroo.

You’ll find top restaurants on Deliveroo, such as Blend, Petit Cambodge, Tripletta and Santosha. Restaurants can choose to pay a rent or get started for free and pay higher fees.

Deliveroo customers currently pay €2.50 per order for the delivery in Paris. But the company also gets a cut of the total order amount — customers don’t realize that Deliveroo gets a cut from both sides. It can be as much as 25 or 30 percent of what you order. It’s unclear how much Deliveroo is asking for those new kitchens.

But it makes sense for restaurants that can’t expand indefinitely. Deliveroo lets you accept orders without any additional table.

While there are multiple Blend or Petit Cambodge restaurants in Paris, they can’t deliver everywhere around the city. But opening a new restaurant also represents a huge investment.

That’s why those Deliveroo kitchens can be a good compromise. You can hire a handful of people and see if there’s enough demand in the area. It’s also a good way to differentiate Deliveroo from UberEats and other compatitors.

This is the first site in France. Let’s see if it gets out of control like in the U.K. The Guardian reported that Deliveroo Editions are now tiny containers with no window on car parks. It gets hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and you can hear a ton of mopeds getting orders from those metal boxes.

Deliveroo first started with the idea of helping regular restaurants accept online orders — not just pizza places with existing delivery persons. But containers on a car park don’t sound as attractive.

Draper Esprit, the publicly-listed VC firm based in London, is putting down further roots across Europe in cooperation with German VC Earlybird.

The “strategic partnership” sees Draper invest an initial €18 million in the latest Earlybird Fund VI (which closed this week at €175 million, above its initial target, apparently), with a commitment to invest a further €17 million or so per annum over the next four years.

The tie up will also mean the two VCs will work together beyond Draper simply being an LP in Earlybird, such as sharing deal-flow and investment resources. In addition, Draper is taking a minority stake in the management company of Earlybird Fund VI via the issuing of new Draper Esprit shares to Earlybird partners.

By putting money into Earlybird Fund VI, Draper has also indirectly acquired a minority stake in a number of startups that have already received investment from the fund. They include Shapeshift, Everoad, Movinga, Fraugster, Medidate, Xain, and Crossengage.

However, explained Draper Esprit CEO and co-founder Simon Cook in a call this morning, the partnership is really about the two firm’s leveraging the brand recognition of their broader and respective portfolios.

In aggregate, both firms say they count 100 “high growth” companies across Europe in their respective portfolios. They include the likes of Revolut, Graze, UI Path, N26, Transferwise, Ledger, Graphcore and Peak Games.

Meanwhile, in a European VC market where almost every local early-stage VC is becoming “pan-European,” the two firms met to discuss how they might work together. As the conversation progressed, it became clear that a more formal partnership fitted the ambitions of both VCs as they both attempt to have a larger presence across the continent.

In a corresponding blog post, Draper Esprit reiterates that it invests in series A, B and beyond, whereas Earlybird is focused on seed stage to series A. So, whilst there is some overlap, it won’t be hard for the two firms to divvy up deals and Cook told me Draper Esprit will share all relevant deal-flow with Earlybird and where it makes sense a partner at either firm will take the lead.

Draper Esprit is already an investor/LP in a number of other European early-stage funds, including pre-seed and seed investor Seedcamp, and Episode 1.

“We invest from offices in the U.K., Ireland, and Paris. They, from Berlin, Munich, Istanbul. We raise money via the public markets and through our EIS and VCT funds, they from traditional private LPs,” adds the VC firm.

French venture capital firm ISAI just raised a new $175 million fund (€150 million) called ISAI Expansion II. This fund is designed for later stage investments.

The firm says that it managed to raise this fund in less than three months. This is a growth fund and the team plans to invest between $6 million and $35 million per deal (between €5 million and €30 million).

ISAI first started with a seed fund back in 2010. The company raised a $41 million fund (€35 million) and invested in BlaBlaCar shortly after that. The firm has raised a growth fund and another seed fund since then.

If you include today’s new fund, ISAI has raised over $350 million in total (€300 million). So ISAI Expansion II is by far the biggest fund to date.

Limited partners include dozens of successful tech entrepreneurs as well as institutional partners. Many existing investors invested once again in ISAI’s new fund. Some entrepreneurs joined the list for the first time.

With the previous ISAI Expansion fund, the firm invested in nine companies over five years. And ISAI already sold its shares in two companies, Hospimedia and Labelium.

ISAI also says that it can help entrepreneurs using owner buy-out transactions. By creating a holding company, this type of operations lets entrepreneurs cash out, buy shares from existing minor investors and work with a new investor.

More interestingly, ISAI doesn’t necessarily want to focus on Paris-based tech startups. The firm is also looking for investments in more traditional companies that aren’t yet taking advantage of digital opportunities.

Ride-hailing giant Uber is in talks over a possible merger with Middle East rival Careem, according to Bloomberg — citing three people familiar with the matter.

The report suggests various deal structures have been discussed, although it also says that no deal has been reached — nor may ever be reached, as discussions are ongoing and may not come to anything.

Bloomberg’s sources told it that Uber has said it would need to own more than half of the combined company, if not buy Careem outright.

Among the possible arrangements that have been discussed are for Careem’s current leaders to manage a new combined business, day to day, with potentially both brands being retained in local markets.

Another proposal would have Uber outright acquire Careem.

Bloomberg also reports that Dubai-based Careem is in talks with investors to raise $500 million, which it says could value the ride-hailing company at about $1.5BN. Careem is said to have held early talks with banks about a potential IPO in January.

Neither company has publicly confirmed any talks.

An Uber spokesman declined to comment when asked to confirm or deny talks with Careem.

While a Careem spokeswoman, Maha Abouelenein, told us: “We do not comment on rumors. Our focus remains to build the leading internet platform for the region, from the region. That means expanding to new markets and doubling down on our existing markets by adding new products and services to the platform. We are only getting started.”

Uber has been reconfiguring its global business for several years now, pulling out of South East Asia earlier this year after agreeing to sell its business to local rival Grab — while also taking a minority stake in the competitor.

And Uber did a similar exit deal with another rival — Didi — in China back in 2016.

Last year it also threw its lot in with Yandex.Taxi in Russia, with the pair combining efforts via a joint venture — albeit one which gave Yandex the majority share.

But Uber has been talking up its position and potential in the Middle East — with CEO Dara Khosrowshahi telling a conference in May that he believes it can be the “winning player” in the market, as well as in India and Africa, and vowing it would “control our own destiny” in those markets.

That does not necessary take a Careem-Uber deal off the table, of course, though the (public) claim from Uber is that it’s not willing to settle for a minority stake in the region, as it has elsewhere.

Responding in April to a question from CNBC about whether it might acquire Careem, Uber’s COO Barney Harford ruled out doing any more transactions for minority stakes, saying: “It would be crazy for us as a hypergrowth company to not engage in conversations about potential partnerships. But we’ve been very clear, the markets that we remain in today are core markets for us.”

Harford also claimed Uber was positioned to be able to invest in its chosen growth markets on “an indefinite basis”, thanks to having reached profitability in other markets. It’s also targeting 2019 for an IPO.

In March the Financial Times reported that Uber was in talks with Indian rival Ola over another possible merger — and the newspaper’s sources poured cold water on the notion of Uber taking a minority stake there too.

Of course Uber may not want to have to shrink its already retrenched global ambitions. But it may have to if it gets out-competed in its chosen plum markets.

Hence Careem’s chest-puffing talk about just getting started — provided it can convince its investors to screw their courage to the sticking place and stay on board for the ride.

Investors in Careem, which closed a $500M Series E round a year ago at a $1BN+ valuation, include Saudi-based VC Kingdom Holding, German automaker Daimler, and Japanese tech giant Rakuten — which reportedly led the Series E.

Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, a managing partner at Rakuten Capital who leads on its mobility investments and is also a Careem board member, declined to comment on the rumors of Uber-Careem merger talks when we asked to chat.

But he was happy to talk up the broader opportunity that investors seen coming down the road for ridesharing, telling us: “If you look at the industry everyone is talking to everyone, and while consolidation is an obvious trend, it won’t be limited to the ridesharing players but draw other tech companies, OEMs and payment companies, to name a few.”

According to Careem’s website, the ride-hailing firm operates in 15 countries, mostly (but not only) across the Middle East, offering its services in around 80 cities in all.

While Uber’s website lists it being active in 15 cities in the Middle East and 15 in Africa.

Yesterday The Europas, the European Tech Startup Awards and Unconference once again held its annual jamboree in London, throwing together an afternoon of deep-dive panel discussions on the hottest topics in tech, a “Pitch Roulette” session of early-stage startup pitches, and a glittering Awards ceremony, honouring the hottest startups, unicorns founders, investors and blockchain projects in the European ecosystem.

The awards are based on thousands of votes gleaned from a round of public voting, combined with industry judges drawn from founders and investors.

The photos from the night will shortly be up online.

To keep the conversations intimate and real, there was no live stream, but you can follow the coverage on Twitter here.

An annual celebration of Europe’s brightest and best tech companies, The Europas Unconference and Awards for European Tech Startups has been an established fixture on the European scene since 2009, when it was first held in a London bar. This year a block of free tickets were given away as part of “The Europas Diversity Matters Tech Pass”, to ensure that the event included more Seed or Pre-Seed-stage founders who are also women and people of colour.

Over 60 speakers were at the casual series if afternoon panel sessions, ahead of the industry Awards finale in the evening. There was also a pitch competition “Pich Roulette” where AiPod, BFF, Coinweb, PsycApps/Equoo, Frogology?, Tube Chat, Lookhealth.io, Blockchip and Loveshark pitched. PsycApps/Equoo was selected as the winner.

Over the last few weeks, startups had been able to either apply for an award or be nominated by a third-party. The winners of that round were combined with the top picks by an expert judging panel and the results combined to determine the hottest European startups across all categories. No fees were paid by entrants or winners to enter or accept the awards, marking this the only truly editorially independent tech startups awards in Europe.

The Europas is held in partnership with TechCrunch and all attendees, nominees and winners of the Europas Awards will get discounts to TechCrunch Disrupt in Berlin later this year.

The sponsors and event partners were:
Bizzabo
Isotoma
Blockchip
Malta Blockchain Summit
Barclays
Bayer
BlueArray
Coinweb
Columbus Capital
Ihorizon
JAG Shaw Baker
Orrick
Outlier Ventures
Fieldhouse Associates
aiPod
Burlington
CEW Communications
London Tech Week

Who were Awards judges? They were:
Michael Jackson, Mangrove Capital
Stephanie Hospital, One Ragtime
Jason Ball, Qualcomm Ventures
Tugce Ergul, Angel Labs
Jeremy Yap, Angel
Sitar Teli, Connect Ventures
George McDonaugh, KR1
Carlos Eduardo Espinal, Seedcamp
Andrei Brasoveanu, Accel Partners
Candice Lo, Blossom Capital
Richard Muirhead, Fabric VC
Nancy Fechnay, Blockchain Investor
Eileen Burbidge, Passion Capital
Tina Baker, Jag Shaw Baker
Scott Sage, Crane Venture Partners
Eze Vidra, Remagine Ventures
Saul Klein, LocalGlobe

The winners, selected from the finalists, were:

1. Hottest Media/Entertainment
Hatch Entertainment
Judges’ comments: Potentially “the Netflix of Mobile Games”

2. Hottest eCommerce/Retail
Deliveroo
Judges’ comments: Utterly ubiquitous! You can’t walk down a street without a Deliveroo rider rushing past you, and increasingly international.

3. Hottest Fintech sponsored by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
Starling Bank
Judges comments: Huge growth in the last year, putting the heat on other challenger banks

4. Hottest Games Startup
Bossa Studios
Judges comments: Innovative new games which defy convention

5. Hottest Startup Accelerator sponsored by BlueArray
Founders Factory
Judges comments: Cleverly matching corporates with startups for wider distribution partnerships and collaborative innovation

6. Hottest Marketing/Adtech Startup
AppsFlyer – Now Europe’s leading platform for mobile attribution & marketing analytics.

7. Hottest Education Startup sponsored by Isotoma
Lingumi
Judges comments: Language learning platform for pre-school kids encouraging parent participation

8. Hottest Mobile Startup
Depop
Judges comments: GenZ’s eBay – A hit for ‘merch drops’ so teens can later “depop” their hot fashion.

9. Hottest Enterprise, SaaS or B2B sponsored by Barclays
Signal Media
Judges comments: An amazing AI startup turning data into accessible business knowledge

10. Hottest Hardware
Kano Computing
Judges comments: With new funding secured, a powerhouse of European hardware

11. Hottest Platform Economy / Marketplace
Syft
Judges comments: The “Taskrabbit for hospitality industry”

12. Hottest Health sponsored by Bayer Digital Health
Ada Health
Judges comments: Definitely your future doctor

13. Hottest Cyber Security sponsored by ihorizon
Digital Shadows
Judges comments: A cyber security powerhouse straight out of Europe

14. Hottest Travel & Mobility Startup
Seatfrog
Judges comments: Making upgrades effortless for airlines and passengers, it’s on a roll with investors, press and consumers alike

15. Hottest Internet of Things
Smarter
Judges comments: Smarter kitchens of the future, but today

16. Hottest Technology Innovation
Ultrahaptics
Judges comments: Just wave your hand and you too can become a Jedi Knight with this amazing technology, which will probably end up in our homes and cars.

17. Hottest FashionTech Startup
21 Buttons
Judges comments: A fashion social and shopping network growing like a weed.

18. Hottest Tech for Good
BuffaloGrid
Judges comments: Bringing connectivity to the next 3 billion

19. Hottest AI Startup
Black Swan
Judges comments: The leading European startup in Smart Data and Predictive Analytics, making uncanny predictions on what we’ll buy.

20. Fastest Rising Startup of the Year
Revolut
Judges comments: A challenger bank that’s challenging the other challengers, and is now even a player in cryptocurrency

21. Hottest GreenTech Startup
Asperitas
Judges comments: The next wave in Greening datacentres – Crypto miners take note!

22. Hottest Startup Founders
Joel Gibbard + Samantha Payne, Open Bionics
Judges comments: These founders are changing people’s lives with futuristic prosthetics

23. Hottest CEO of the Year
Pieter van der Does, Adyen
Judges comments: van der Does has skilfully piloted his company to a smash hit IPO this year

24. Hottest Angel/Seed Investor
Reshma Sohoni and Carlos Eduardo Espinal, Seedcamp
Judges comments: Still hungry for Seed startups, and has even raised a new EU-backed fund in tough political times.

25. Hottest VC Investor sponsored by JAG Shaw Baker
Pär-Jörgen Pärson, Northzone
Judges comments: A popular industry player and an early backer of the powerhouse that is Spotify and many other European unicorns

26. Hottest Blockchain/Crypto Startup Founder
Mona El Isa, Melonport
Judges comments: El Isa is considered a blockchain industry thought leader and Melonport is poised to change the game in crypto asset management and governance

27. Hottest Blockchain Protocol Project, sponsored by Outlier Ventures
Polkadot.io
Judges comments: Straight outta Berlin – The biggest project out there to link the world’s blockchains

28. Hottest Blockchain DApp, sponsored by Blockchip
Verisart
Judges comments: A real-world blockchain application taking the art world by storm

29. Hottest Corporate Blockchain Project sponsored by Coinweb
Billon
Judges comments: Billon is using blockchain to reimagine the flow of regulated money and data.

30. Hottest Blockchain Investor Europe sponsored by Malta Blockchain Summit
KR1
Judges comments: An pioneering blockchain and token investment player doing big things under the radar

31. Hottest Blockchain ICO Europe sponsored by Columbus Capital
Bancor
Judges comments: Bancor has created new standard for cryptocurrencies convertible directly through their smart contracts, and managed an amazing public ICO.

32. Hottest Financial Crypto Project
BlockEx
Judges comments: BlockEx’s digital asset exchange platform has made positive waves in the crypto assets world

33. Hottest Blockchain for Good Project
United Nations World Food Programme “Building Blocks’ Etherum Project (with Parity Technologies)
Judges comments: The combined United Nations, World Food Programme and Parity project on the Ethereum blockchain has changed the game for aid distribution to Syrian refugees in Jordan and is poised to be applied to other humanitarian projects globally.

34. Hottest Blockchain Identity Project
Trunomi
Judges comments: If data rights are the furture, Trunomi is helping to unlock that future.

35. Hall of Fame sponsored by TechCrunch
Saul Klein and Robin Klein, LocalGlobe
Judges comments: An incredible long-time double-act of European venture & startups. Every startup needs a Batman and Robin to help them, and Saul and Robin keep delivering!

28. Grand Prix Unicorn Award, sponsored by Bizzabo
Adyen
Judges comments: Adyen’s IPO was one of the biggest of the year and shows that Europe can produce the next wave of global Tech Unicorns.

Damn. These are good looking headphones. The V-Moda Crossfade II Wireless could be the best looking headphones available. Better yet, they sound good, too.

As the name suggests, this is the second generation of this series of headphones from V-Moda. The drivers are different and the company improved on the build quality. The originals were already one of my favorite headphones and the followup is even better.

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Here’s what I like:

The build quality of these headphones is superb. The V-Moda Crossfade II Wireless headphones feel like they’ll last a lifetime. I have headphones from Bose, Definitive, Denon, Shinola, Audeze and more and none look or feel as good as these. They’re comfortable. Even on my large head, they fit nicely and I’m able to wear them for hours at a time without issue.

The headphones sound great, too. To be clear, they’re not the best sounding headphones available, but the sound is on par for the price. The sound stage is full and wide with great separation between the channels.

The V-Moda Crossfade II Wireless are most comfortable with the mid tones found in rock, country, jazz and pop. That’s not to say low and high tones are absent; they’re present but not noteworthy. The headphones are balanced nicely with a preference to sounds in the middle of the range.

I always use a few tracks to test headphones. Save Tonight by Eagle-Eye Cherry is one of them. The track is mixed in a way that produced a narrow soundstage. On headphones the audio can be either muddled or clean. On these headphones, it’s closer to clean but not perfect. The lyrics come across clear while the instruments are a bit blended. 4 Non Blondes’ What’s Up sounds fantastics. You can hear the strumming of the guitars and feel the emotion of the band. The Cranberries’ Linger is more of the same. It’s just lovely on these headphones.

The wide soundstage is put on display for Look At Me Now. Busta sits in the middle and his lyrics flow in the middle while the beat comes in from the sides. Reproduced correctly, it’s an immersive experience and these headphones do it correctly. Meek Mill’s Dreams and Nightmares is another great example. These headphones put Meek in the center of the stage while the piano tracks sits on the side of the stage. The headphone’s tuning makes the track a stunning example of properly tuned headphones.

These headphones get loud. They’re among the loudest headphones I’ve tested. And since the headphones lack active noise cancelation, that’s a good thing. I’m pleased to report, there is very little distortion when the headphones are at their max volume.

Wireless battery life is excellent. V-Moda claims 14 hours. I used these headphones for several days and never found the bottom of the battery. That’s good enough for me.

Here’s what I don’t like:

The headphones lack on key feature: They keep playing when taken off. That’s a big no-no and an unfortunate miss from V-moda. It’s not a dealbreaker, though. These are wireless headphones and therefore they have a limited battery life even though they have great battery life. Such headphones need to have the ability to stop playing audio when removed from the head.

Bottom line:

The headphones are available in several colors through retailers or buyers can use V-Moda’s customizer to build a custom pair. Want a set of headphones with 14k gold plated side plates? That’s an option though it adds hundreds to the cost. Platinum headphones? That’ll cost $26,000.

I love the V-Moda Crossfade II Wireless headphones. These are great headphones and I whole heartily recommend them. At $350, they punch above their weight class. These are solid headphones with a build quality that seem like they’ll last longer than other options.

The European fintech wave can’t stop and won’t stop. That’s why I’m excited to announce that the founder and CEO of Starling Bank Anne Boden is joining us at Disrupt Berlin.

While it feels like everybody is talking about challenger banks, Boden started thinking about building a new bank back in 2014. She ditched a carrer in traditional banks to start her own thing.

Starling provides a current account specifically designed for your phone. You can open an account in just a few minutes using the company’s mobile app.

Whenever you use your card or send money, you can instantly see the transaction in the app — there’s no delay. You can also receive push notifications instantly. When it comes to your card, you can lock it when you can’t find it, and there’s no exchange fee when you use your card abroad. Starling supports Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay and, yes, even Garmin Pay.

Starling is even better with multiple people. For instance, if your roommate or significant other also has a Starling account, you can create a joint account for shared bills. You can also send money instantly to other Starling accounts.

The startup has been building a marketplace to become the only banking app you need. There are already a handful of fintech companies leveraging the Starling API. You’ll find savings, investment and mortgage products. You can centralize your paper receipts and more from the Starling app.

The startup already has its own banking license and has been raising a funding round of more than $100 million.

Starling operates in a very competitive market, with well-funded startups such as Monzo, Revolut and N26 all iterating quite quickly. That’s why it’s going to be interesting to hear Boden’s take on challenger banks, the fintech industry and her experience with Starling.

TechCrunch is coming back to Berlin to talk with the best and brightest people in tech from Europe and the rest of the world. In addition to fireside chats and panels, new startups will participate in the Startup Battlefield Europe to win the coveted cup.

Tickets to the show, which runs November 29-30, are available here.