Month: August 2018

In what just might be the wildest thing anyone has ever built with Lego, the company behind the bricks has built a full-size, drivable model of the Bugatti Chiron supercar.

Seriously.

Built partly as a passion project amongst Lego’s creative team and partly as a promo to show off at the Italian Grand Prix, the model’s final piece count clocks in at over one million Technic pieces.

(Technic, for the unfamiliar, is Lego’s line of interconnecting rods, gears, axles, motors, and other parts a bit more complex than the bricks and blocks the company is best known for.)

Lego says that all in all, the build process took just shy of 13,500 hours. They started brainstorming back in June of last year, with actual construction beginning in March of 2018.

When LEGO first sent over the video above, my first thought was that there was some CG trickery going on. They responded with a few hundred photos of it being assembled, some of which I’ve embedded below.

[gallery ids="1701418,1701415,1701414,1701417,1701416,1701412,1701413"]

To be clear, it’s not entirely Lego – there are some components that just can’t be replicated in plastic when dealing with something that all together weighs over 1.5 tons. For example, there’s a steel frame (pictured below), a pair of batteries, some 3d printed gears, and the whole thing sits on top of actual Bugatti wheels. (Related fun fact: Lego is technically the world’s biggest producer of tires. Just… you know, tiny ones.)

Wilder yet, this thing moves. It’s not going to keep up with an actual Chiron with its 250+ mph top speeds, obviously – but the company says it got the model up to around 13 miles per hour for the video above, and says that it theoretically tops out at around 19 miles per hour. Not bad for a car made out of toy parts and powered by a bunch of plastic motors.

Speaking of which, this thing has over two thousand Lego Power Function motors in a massive array, giving it a total theoretical horsepower of 5.3. 24 motor “packs”, each made up of 96 individual Lego motors, hook into a steel chain that drives the wheels.

It’s got a bunch of other fun tricks for good measure:

• A detachable steering wheel
• Doors that actually open and close
• A spoiler that lifts and lowers at the push of a button, with a control panel to toggle all the lights and electronics
• A functional speedometer, also built out of Technic pieces

Is it silly? Perhaps. Is it kind of amazing? Absolutely. Alas, for anyone thinking of doing something like this without the practically-unlimited Lego armory this team has access to: at a retail price of around $30 each, the motors alone would cost you over $70,000.

Lego will be showing the model off in person at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

In what just might be the wildest thing anyone has ever built with Lego, the company behind the bricks has built a full-size, drivable model of the Bugatti Chiron supercar.

Seriously.

Built partly as a passion project amongst Lego’s creative team and partly as a promo to show off at the Italian Grand Prix, the model’s final piece count clocks in at over one million Technic pieces.

(Technic, for the unfamiliar, is Lego’s line of interconnecting rods, gears, axles, motors, and other parts a bit more complex than the bricks and blocks the company is best known for.)

Lego says that all in all, the build process took just shy of 13,500 hours. They started brainstorming back in June of last year, with actual construction beginning in March of 2018.

When LEGO first sent over the video above, my first thought was that there was some CG trickery going on. They responded with a few hundred photos of it being assembled, some of which I’ve embedded below.

[gallery ids="1701418,1701415,1701414,1701417,1701416,1701412,1701413"]

To be clear, it’s not entirely Lego – there are some components that just can’t be replicated in plastic when dealing with something that all together weighs over 1.5 tons. For example, there’s a steel frame (pictured below), a pair of batteries, some 3d printed gears, and the whole thing sits on top of actual Bugatti wheels. (Related fun fact: Lego is technically the world’s biggest producer of tires. Just… you know, tiny ones.)

Wilder yet, this thing moves. It’s not going to keep up with an actual Chiron with its 250+ mph top speeds, obviously – but the company says it got the model up to around 13 miles per hour for the video above, and says that it theoretically tops out at around 19 miles per hour. Not bad for a car made out of toy parts and powered by a bunch of plastic motors.

Speaking of which, this thing has over two thousand Lego Power Function motors in a massive array, giving it a total theoretical horsepower of 5.3. 24 motor “packs”, each made up of 96 individual Lego motors, hook into a steel chain that drives the wheels.

It’s got a bunch of other fun tricks for good measure:

• A detachable steering wheel
• Doors that actually open and close
• A spoiler that lifts and lowers at the push of a button, with a control panel to toggle all the lights and electronics
• A functional speedometer, also built out of Technic pieces

Is it silly? Perhaps. Is it kind of amazing? Absolutely. Alas, for anyone thinking of doing something like this without the practically-unlimited Lego armory this team has access to: at a retail price of around $30 each, the motors alone would cost you over $70,000.

Lego will be showing the model off in person at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza.

What cash-strapped startup founder doesn’t love the word free? Especially when it applies to Startup Alley, the exhibition floor — and very heart and soul — of every TechCrunch Disrupt? Yup, here’s your chance to exhibit in front of Europe’s most influential investors, entrepreneurs and technologists — for free.

We’re searching for the very best early-stage startups to designate as TC Top Picks and exhibit in Startup Alley at Disrupt Berlin 2018 on November 29-30. Apply here before the September 28 deadline. Here’s what you need to know.

We’re very picky when it comes to choosing our Top Picks — go figure. Our editors will closely vet every application and select only the most exceptional founders. Up to five startups will represent each of the following tech categories:

• AI/Machine Learning
• Blockchain
• CRM/Enterprise
• E-commerce
• Education
• Fintech
• Healthtech/Biotech
• Hardware, Robotics, IoT
• Mobility
• Gaming

TechCrunch Top Pick designees receive one Startup Alley Exhibitor Package, which includes a one-day exhibit space, three Disrupt Berlin Founder Passes, access to CrunchMatch (our free investor-to-startup matching platform), access to the Disrupt press list and a chance to be selected as one of the Startup Battlefield Wild Card Companies (wild card winners get to compete in our $50,000 startup-pitch competition).

In addition to media exposure in the form of journalists roaming through the Alley looking for great stories to tell, Top Picks also receive a three-minute interview on the Showcase Stage with a TechCrunch editor, and we promote the heck out of that across our social media platforms. That kind of media exposure lasts long after Disrupt Berlin ends — here’s what Vlad Larin, co-founder of Zeroqode, had to say about his experience:

Startup Alley was a wonderful experience, and the publicity we received from the onstage interview brought a lot of people back to our website. We had a huge spike in traffic, and we’re still feeling the positive business effects of that interview.

Disrupt Berlin 2018 takes place on November 29-30. The connections you make in Startup Alley have the potential to take your business to the next level and beyond. Don’t miss your shot to be a TC Top Pick and exhibit in Startup Alley for free.

Apply now before the Sept. 28 deadline

What cash-strapped startup founder doesn’t love the word free? Especially when it applies to Startup Alley, the exhibition floor — and very heart and soul — of every TechCrunch Disrupt? Yup, here’s your chance to exhibit in front of Europe’s most influential investors, entrepreneurs and technologists — for free.

We’re searching for the very best early-stage startups to designate as TC Top Picks and exhibit in Startup Alley at Disrupt Berlin 2018 on November 29-30. Apply here before the September 28 deadline. Here’s what you need to know.

We’re very picky when it comes to choosing our Top Picks — go figure. Our editors will closely vet every application and select only the most exceptional founders. Up to five startups will represent each of the following tech categories:

• AI/Machine Learning
• Blockchain
• CRM/Enterprise
• E-commerce
• Education
• Fintech
• Healthtech/Biotech
• Hardware, Robotics, IoT
• Mobility
• Gaming

TechCrunch Top Pick designees receive one Startup Alley Exhibitor Package, which includes a one-day exhibit space, three Disrupt Berlin Founder Passes, access to CrunchMatch (our free investor-to-startup matching platform), access to the Disrupt press list and a chance to be selected as one of the Startup Battlefield Wild Card Companies (wild card winners get to compete in our $50,000 startup-pitch competition).

In addition to media exposure in the form of journalists roaming through the Alley looking for great stories to tell, Top Picks also receive a three-minute interview on the Showcase Stage with a TechCrunch editor, and we promote the heck out of that across our social media platforms. That kind of media exposure lasts long after Disrupt Berlin ends — here’s what Vlad Larin, co-founder of Zeroqode, had to say about his experience:

Startup Alley was a wonderful experience, and the publicity we received from the onstage interview brought a lot of people back to our website. We had a huge spike in traffic, and we’re still feeling the positive business effects of that interview.

Disrupt Berlin 2018 takes place on November 29-30. The connections you make in Startup Alley have the potential to take your business to the next level and beyond. Don’t miss your shot to be a TC Top Pick and exhibit in Startup Alley for free.

Apply now before the Sept. 28 deadline

Google isn’t one to shy away from bold claims.

“We have had no reported or confirmed account takeovers since implementing security keys at Google,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.

And it’s probably true. Think of a security key as like a two-factor authentication code that’s sent to your phone — but instead a USB stick in your pocket. Two-factor authentication is stronger than just a username and password, but text message codes can be intercepted and many sites and services don’t yet support the stronger authenticator codes. Security keys are one of the strongest lines of defense against account breaches. That’s because a hacker on the other side of the world trying to break into your account needs not only your password but also your physical key — and that’s not something a hacker can easily or covertly steal.

Although there are a handful of security key brands out there — Yubikey and Feitian to name two — Google thinks it can do better with its own Titan security keys.

Out Thursday, the company’s own branded and in house-developed security keys are now available to buy. One is a USB key, and the other supports Bluetooth and NFC for mobile devices. You need to enroll both keys — one stays in a safe space, and the other stays with you.

These keys don’t look too dissimilar from keys Google previously offered under its Advanced Protection Program, which help high-risk users — like journalists, activists, and government officials — protect their accounts from sophisticated nation-state hackers. In fact, they look almost identical. But the company says these keys pack a punch that make them stronger and more resilient than any other security key on the market.

For one, the search giant says it’s taken the best of what’s already available — like FIDO standards — and built extra protections inside. The company is also touting its own special sauce — the software that’s embedded on each key, which protects against tampering. Each key stores its firmware in a secure element that can’t be modified, preventing anyone from extracting the private data in the key that’s authenticates you with Google when you login. By sealing in the encryption data before the hardware chips are delivered to the factory where the keys are built, Google says it reduces the risk of manufacturing attacks down the line.

You can use each key with almost any modern browser and mobile device, and a range of websites beyond Google support the key for login, like Dropbox, Facebook, Salesforce, Stripe and Twitter.

But beyond that, it’s pretty much just another security key.

But while they provide near-impermeable security, these keys — like every other on the market — are fiddly and inconvenient. And that’s coming from someone who lives and breathes security — and uses a security key.

Google isn’t close to fixing that problem. Admittedly, any kind of two-factor authentication is a pain, but it’s a price you pay for the gold standard in keeping your account safe. Every time you log in to your account from a new device, you’ll be prompted to enter your email address and password. A swift push of a button on your key — either through Bluetooth or a plugged-in USB key — will tell Google that you’re the real account owner.

A downside of physical keys is that if lose them, you’re toast. That’s why you have two keys — one is meant to be a backup. Google says it can help you gain access to your account again but the recovery process can take days.

Do you need a key? It depends on how paranoid you are.

The reality is that these keys aren’t for the masses — just yet. Although physical keys are designed for high-value targets, they’re a blessing in disguise for even the most basic attacks and novice users. Phishing attacks are common, where someone will send you an email to try to trick you into entering your email address and password. If they have your password, they have your data. But security keys protect only work on the legitimate domain you’re logging into, making phishing attempts practically useless.

And although Google says the devices are secure, Yubikey — a major developer of security keys — criticized Google’s move to support Bluetooth, which adds another attack layer for anyone nearby, citing recent Bluetooth flaws. An attacker could theoretically grab a user’s encryption key over-the-air if they’re within a short range of the Bluetooth device. The company’s critiques notwithstanding, the scope of attacks are so slim that they’re almost negligible — but everyone’s risk factors are different.

We’re still in early days with security keys. Although Google wants these keys to be cheap, accessible and available for the masses, there are too many barriers in the way — even still — for the average user.

But for those who know they need that extra layer of protection, these keys could be enough to save you from catastrophe.

Google isn’t one to shy away from bold claims.

“We have had no reported or confirmed account takeovers since implementing security keys at Google,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.

And it’s probably true. Think of a security key as like a two-factor authentication code that’s sent to your phone — but instead a USB stick in your pocket. Two-factor authentication is stronger than just a username and password, but text message codes can be intercepted and many sites and services don’t yet support the stronger authenticator codes. Security keys are one of the strongest lines of defense against account breaches. That’s because a hacker on the other side of the world trying to break into your account needs not only your password but also your physical key — and that’s not something a hacker can easily or covertly steal.

Although there are a handful of security key brands out there — Yubikey and Feitian to name two — Google thinks it can do better with its own Titan security keys.

Out Thursday, the company’s own branded and in house-developed security keys are now available to buy. One is a USB key, and the other supports Bluetooth and NFC for mobile devices. You need to enroll both keys — one stays in a safe space, and the other stays with you.

These keys don’t look too dissimilar from keys Google previously offered under its Advanced Protection Program, which help high-risk users — like journalists, activists, and government officials — protect their accounts from sophisticated nation-state hackers. In fact, they look almost identical. But the company says these keys pack a punch that make them stronger and more resilient than any other security key on the market.

For one, the search giant says it’s taken the best of what’s already available — like FIDO standards — and built extra protections inside. The company is also touting its own special sauce — the software that’s embedded on each key, which protects against tampering. Each key stores its firmware in a secure element that can’t be modified, preventing anyone from extracting the private data in the key that’s authenticates you with Google when you login. By sealing in the encryption data before the hardware chips are delivered to the factory where the keys are built, Google says it reduces the risk of manufacturing attacks down the line.

You can use each key with almost any modern browser and mobile device, and a range of websites beyond Google support the key for login, like Dropbox, Facebook, Salesforce, Stripe and Twitter.

But beyond that, it’s pretty much just another security key.

But while they provide near-impermeable security, these keys — like every other on the market — are fiddly and inconvenient. And that’s coming from someone who lives and breathes security — and uses a security key.

Google isn’t close to fixing that problem. Admittedly, any kind of two-factor authentication is a pain, but it’s a price you pay for the gold standard in keeping your account safe. Every time you log in to your account from a new device, you’ll be prompted to enter your email address and password. A swift push of a button on your key — either through Bluetooth or a plugged-in USB key — will tell Google that you’re the real account owner.

A downside of physical keys is that if lose them, you’re toast. That’s why you have two keys — one is meant to be a backup. Google says it can help you gain access to your account again but the recovery process can take days.

Do you need a key? It depends on how paranoid you are.

The reality is that these keys aren’t for the masses — just yet. Although physical keys are designed for high-value targets, they’re a blessing in disguise for even the most basic attacks and novice users. Phishing attacks are common, where someone will send you an email to try to trick you into entering your email address and password. If they have your password, they have your data. But security keys protect only work on the legitimate domain you’re logging into, making phishing attempts practically useless.

And although Google says the devices are secure, Yubikey — a major developer of security keys — criticized Google’s move to support Bluetooth, which adds another attack layer for anyone nearby, citing recent Bluetooth flaws. An attacker could theoretically grab a user’s encryption key over-the-air if they’re within a short range of the Bluetooth device. The company’s critiques notwithstanding, the scope of attacks are so slim that they’re almost negligible — but everyone’s risk factors are different.

We’re still in early days with security keys. Although Google wants these keys to be cheap, accessible and available for the masses, there are too many barriers in the way — even still — for the average user.

But for those who know they need that extra layer of protection, these keys could be enough to save you from catastrophe.

Google is pushing back against a claim by Donald Trump that the search engine stopped promoting State of the Union livestreams on its homepage after his presidency began. Trump’s claim came in the from of a tweeted video, which was still pinned to the top of his profile when this post was published at 9:30 PM PST, Aug. 29, 2018, after Google’s refutation and multiple media reports of its inaccuracy.

Hashtagged #stopthebias, the video appears to show that Google did not display links to livestreams of Trump’s first public speech to a joint session of Congress on February 28, 2017 or his first State of the Union on January 30, 2018, despite promoting Obama’s State of the Union addresses in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.

#StopTheBias pic.twitter.com/xqz599iQZw

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018

Google, however, says it did indeed highlight Trump’s first State of the Union in 2018, but that it usually does not include links on its homepage to a president’s first public address to Congress, so neither Obama nor Trump’s were featured. In a statement sent to BuzzFeed News, the company said “On January 30, 2018, we highlighted the livestream of President Trump’s State of the Union on the google.com homepage. We have historically not promoted the first address to Congress by a new President, which is technically not a State of the Union address. As a result, we didn’t include a promotion on google.com for this address in either 2009 or 2017.”

Google statement to @JohnPaczkowski on Trump’s tweet pic.twitter.com/1w82mQqApg

— Jon Passantino (@passantino) August 29, 2018

The video shared by Trump does not make a distinction between a president’s first public speech to a joint session of Congress and his first State of the Union address.

A discrepancy in Google’s logo also suggests that at least one of the screenshots, which appear to have been taken from the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, was doctored. A Gizmodo commenter notes that one of the screenshots in the video Trump tweeted, from January 12, 2016, shows a version with the previous Google logo, not the sans-serif version introduced in September 2015, which can be seen in a Wayback Archive’s screen capture from January 10, 2016 and other days from that month when a Google Doodle wasn’t featured.

Furthermore, while a link to Trump’s State of the Union does not appear on archived versions of Google’s homepage from January 30, 2018, it does show up on a capture from 1AM on January 31, as Twitter user @WrockBro notes. That may be because the Wayback Machine uses Greenwich Mean Time time stamps.

Not only that, but also this: https://t.co/RfJIKpYGJX

— enJPL (@WrockBro) August 30, 2018

Trump’s tweet is the part of his current onslaught against Google, other tech companies and mainstream media, which he accuses of having a liberal bias and burying news about his administration. It is worth pointing out, however, that Trump’s 2017 first speech to Congress was widely praised as “presidential” by journalists across the political spectrum, even liberal publications. In turn, they were ridiculed by critics for being awed by a president acting presidential.

Apple has acquired Akonia Holographics, a Denver-based startup that manufactures augmented reality waveguide lenses. The acquisition was confirmed by Apple to Reuters who first reported the news.

An Apple spokesperson gave TechCrunch the company’s standard statement, “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally don’t discuss our purpose or plans.”

This acquisition offers the clearest confirmation yet from Apple that it is investing resources into technologies that support the development of a lightweight augmented reality headset. There have been a number of reports over the years that Apple is planning to release consumer AR glasses within the next few years.

In late 2017, we reported that Apple had acquired Vrvana, a mixed-reality headset company with a device that offered users pass-through augmented reality experiences on a conventional opaque display. This latest acquisition seems to offer a much clearer guide to where Apple’s consumer ambitions may take it for a head-worn augmented reality device.

Waveguide displays have become the de facto optic technology for augmented reality headsets. They come in a few different flavors but all of them essentially involve an image being beamed into the side of a piece of glass and bouncing between etchings (or other irregularities) in a lens and eventually beaming that image to the user’s eyes. Waveguide lenses are currently used in AR headsets sold by Magic Leap and Microsoft, among many others.

They’re popular because they allow for thin, largely transparent designs though they also often have issues with color reproduction and the displays can only become so large before the images grow distorted. Akonia’s marketing materials claim for their “HoloMirror” solution says it can “display vibrant, full-color, wide field-of-view images.”

The startup raised $11.6 million in funding according to Crunchbase.

While many of Apple’s largest technology competitors have already experimented with AR headsets, Apple has directed the majority of its early consumer-facing efforts to phone-based AR technologies that track the geometry of spaces and can “project” digital objects onto surfaces.

The most unclear question regarding Apple’s rumored work on its AR glasses is whether the company is looking to ship a higher-powered device akin to Magic Leap that would track a user’s environment and be built upon Apple’s interactive ARKit tech, or whether it’s first release will be more conservative and approach AR glasses as more of a head-worn Apple Watch that presents a user’s notifications and enables light interactions.

Moving forward with waveguide displays would certainly leave both options open for the company, though given the small window that even today’s widest field-of-view waveguides have, I expect that Apple may opt for the latter pending a big tech breakthrough or a heavily delayed release.

Bessemer Venture Partners is gearing up for its next billion-dollar fund. The early-stage venture capital firm, which had filed to raise new capital in early August, has reportedly set a $1.6 billion target for its tenth flagship fund, an amount that a source familiar with the fundraise tells us is “directionally correct.”

Bessemer declined to comment.

If Bessemer indeed raises that amount, it will be the same size as its ninth fund, which closed on $1.6 billion in 2015. If that’s the case, Bessemer may be bucking VCs’ new favorite trend of raising their largest funds to date. Maybe, just maybe, Bessemer hasn’t fallen victim to the SoftBank effect. The Japanese telecom giant has a nearly $100 billion “Vision Fund” and invests in tech companies, competing directly with Silicon Valley heavyweights. 

General Catalyst, for example, closed its biggest fund ever earlier this year on $1.375 billion. And Insight Venture Partners finished off a $6.3 billion fundraise in July — also the most monumental in the firm’s history.

It’s been a busy year so far for Bessemer. On top of working to secure capital for BVP X, the firm announced a $10 million early-stage seed fund, called Deep Health Seed Program, in June. The fund is being led by Bessemer healthcare investor Steve Kraus and its head of investments in Israel, Adam Fisher. Deep Health is investing $100,000 to $2 million into early-stage companies using machine learning to solve problems in healthcare.

The firm has seen a couple of notable exits so far this year. For starters, Bessemer portfolio company DocuSign went public in April, raising more than $600 million in the process. And Workday paid $1.55 billion for financial planning software startup Adaptive Insights, another Bessemer portfolio company, in June.

Bessemer’s current portfolio includes Pinterest, Betterment, Rocket Lab, Toast, PagerDuty, ServiceTitan, Fiverr and others.

“The Other Side of the Wind” has had a long, torturous path to completion.

In a way, it’s one of the final chapters in the longer saga of Orson Welles — who, after making “Citizen Kane” (often cited as the greatest film of all time) and “The Magnificent Ambersons,” spent most of the ensuing decades in Europe, piecing together the funding for projects like “Chimes at Midnight.”

He shot “The Other Side of the Wind” throughout the 1970s and even managed to edit part of the film before running out of funding. Since his death in 1985, Peter Bogdanovich and other Welles supporters have tried to complete the film, but they’ve been stymied by additional legal and financial issues.

Until recently, that is, when Netflix stepped in to fund the work. The streaming giant’s involvement did cause some additional issues, namely its absence from the Cannes Film Festival (the festival passed a rule last year that effectively blocks Netflix films from participating), but the movie is set to screen this fall at the Venice and New York film festivals, then launch on Netflix on November 2.

As further proof that this really is happening, Netflix has released the first trailer. While the trailer is a bit cryptic, it gives us a good look at Jack Hannaford, the reactionary director at the center of the film — he’s played by John Huston, the legendary director and occasional actor who also portrayed the villain in “Chinatown.”