Your commute just got really easy
The Story
This week Uber announced it would offer $5 rides between 7 and 10 a.m., and from 5 and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, for all rides below 110th Street using uberPOOL.
Why this matters
By making it easier and more affordable to carpool, Uber is demonstrating that it wants to get more people into fewer cars. With this new announcement, the ride-sharing service is more like a private bus with a semi-direct route to work. [Uber]
The New York Times is betting on food startups
The Story
The New York Times is partnering with the LA-based startup Chef’d, to deliver meal kits to accompany recipes from the NYT Cooking site.
Worth checking out?
Probably. The hope here is that the service will eventually become available on NYT Cooking, a site and app that the Times launched in 2014. In this scenario, browsing recipes and cooking great meals would become a seamless process. [CNN]
Introducing TimeLooper
The Story
Travel VR startup
launched at TechCrunch Disrupt NY this week.
What is TimeLooper?
TimeLooper is a virtual reality company working to recreate experiences that allow viewers to travel back in time and observe historic moments in history. This week, the company officially launched in New York City. [Built In NYC]
Google gets big in NYC
The Story
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio welcomed Google to Pier 57, and thanked the company for making its biggest complex outside of Silicon Valley even bigger.
A little background
De Blasio officially welcomed Google's expansion of its Chelsea campus on the Hudson River Park at Pier 57. The tech giant, which has more than 5,000 employees in New York, was named the anchor tenant of the soon-to-be-rehabilitated pier last year. [Crain’s New York]
The Brooklyn tech hub breaks ground
The Story
The city and two major developers broke ground this week on a 675,000-square-foot commercial office building in the Brooklyn Navy Yard that will be anchored by WeWork.
Why this is big
The project is going to help bring ideas, leaders and startups to Brooklyn, where companies will be able to scale-up their businesses, hire more New Yorkers and manufacture their products from within the borough. [Crain’s New York]
Fundings of the week
Brainly, $15 million
Investors: Naspers
Brainly has created a place on the internet where being smart is cool. This week the company announced a $15 million Series B. [Business Insider]
Fluent, $1.65 million
Investors: ArchAngels, Crosscut Ventures, Digital Currency Group, Draper Associates, Fenbushi Capital, Lindbergh Tech Fund
Fluent is the enterprise operating network for global commerce. Solutions and applications on the network are designed to increase efficiency, provide flexibility, and enhance collaboration across global supply chains. [Business Wire]
Know of a company that deserves coverage? Let us know or tweet us @builtinnewyork.
