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Tictail brings its self-service ecommerce platform to the US with New York office

Feb18
by on February 18, 2014 at 12:30 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

blue transparent 220x63 Tictail brings its self service ecommerce platform to the US with New York officeSwedish ecommerce platform Tictail has expanded to the US with a new office in New York. The company also announced closing a Series A investment round of $8 million, which will fund the new location.

Tictail bills its do-it-yourself solution for online stores as the “Tumblr of ecommerce.” While this is Tictail’s first time establishing a physical Stateside presence, it’s already an international product. The service now has more than 35,000 merchants on its network across 110 countries.

➤ Tictail

Photo credit: EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

 

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Loco2 is an increasingly great place to book European train travel

Feb18
by on February 18, 2014 at 12:13 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Product Updates

Loco2 220x156 Loco2 is an increasingly great place to book European train travelWhile companies like Hipmunk and Skyscanner have made life simpler for people who want to book flights, train travel hasn’t had quite the same degree of attention from tech entrepreneurs. That said, Loco2 is a kind of ‘Hipmunk for European rail’, gradually expanding its reach across the continent. Having previously covered the UK, Germany and France, Spain has now been added.

The booking process here is pure simplicity, and much easier than most train operators’ own websites. There’s no booking fee, either. The search process sometimes struggles with long, multi-leg, international journeys (Glasgow to Madrid, for example) but for most journeys you might want to make, it’s well worth a try.

➤ Loco2

Thumbnail image credit: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

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Candy Crush creator King files for IPO

Feb18
by on February 18, 2014 at 12:05 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

CandyCrushSaga 220x165 Candy Crush creator King files for IPOBig IPO news just in folks – King Digital Entertainment, or ‘King’ to most people, has announced (as reported by Re/Code) that it’s planning to go public.

The social games company, most famous for Candy Crush Saga, says it has filed a Form F-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with a view towards selling ordinary shares. It’s worth noting here that the number of shares and the price range for the IPO have yet to be finalized, but King says it will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ‘KING’.

As a London-headquarterd company, this is big news for the European tech industry.

➤ King Files Registration Statement for Initial Public Offering | Press Release

Feature Image Credit – Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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Legendary guitarist Slash will hold a music-focused hackathon at SXSW

Feb18
by on February 18, 2014 at 11:23 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider, SXSW

Slashathon 220x183 Legendary guitarist Slash will hold a music focused hackathon at SXSWLegendary rock guitarist Slash (also known as Saul Hudson, but not to many) is launching a hackathon during music week at SXSW 2014.

During the competition on March 12, entrants will have 12 hours to “create solutions for artists to engage their communities for an album release” in a bid to win a grand prize of a Gibson guitar autographed by the man himself, $1,000 and the opportunity to have Slash use the winning entry for his upcoming album launch. The winner will be chosen by Slash, Bram Cohen, co-founder of BitTorrent, and Ben Parr, co-founder of DominateFund.

However, before you can win, you need to enter. The organizers note that SXSW passes aren’t actually required to take part in the comp and that APIs available to play with on the day will include Aviary, Dolby, LeapMotion, Gimbal, Raspberry Pi, Codio.io, Spotify, Mad Mimi, Yellow API and Lob.

Related read: Guitar hero: Slash taps 360-degree video tech to broadcast a single from his latest album on Facebook

➤ Slashathon

Featured Image Credit – Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

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Telefónica’s Wayra startup incubator extends its reach into China

Feb18
by on February 18, 2014 at 11:16 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia, telefonica, wayra

telef1 520x245 Telefónicas Wayra startup incubator extends its reach into China

Wayra, the startup incubator launched by Telefónica in 2012, has expanded its reach to China after announcing a deal with Virtue Inno Valley (VIV), a well-respected accelerator program run by Tsinghua University.

The deal is Wayra’s first partnership in Asia and it sees VIV become a member of the Wayra Global Alliance. That essentially means it will enjoy a range of shared resources that include expertise, mentoring, training, media and investment opportunities, while the alliance’s 14 members worldwide gain the benefits of a partner on the ground in China.

Perhaps most importantly for VIV, the deal gives it a link to Telefónica. Today’s announcement explains that “successful products developed by Chinese startups” will have an opportunity to gain “access” the operator’s 320 million plus customers, which span 24 countries worldwide.

“We have consolidated operations in Europe and Latin America, and extending the Wayra network to Asia is a great step for us to create something remarkable in the startup industry,” Gonzalo Martin-Villa, CEO of Wayra, said in a statement.

Related: How Wayra hopes to create many Silicon Valleys across Latin America

Image via DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images

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