Uber to let loose loads of ride data

Uber is known as a secretive company that isn't keen on divulging its data. It's had public spats with lawmakers in New York and Seattle to ensure data on its rides isn't released to the public.

But now the ride-hailing company appears to be changing course.

Uber announced Sunday that it's planning to share the ride and traffic data it's collected from billions of rides. The company is releasing the data to "help urban planners make informed decisions about our cities," it wrote in a blog post.

 

Uber to let loose loads of ride data

Uber's new "Movement" website is meant to help urban planners better understand traffic patterns.

Photo by Uber

Uber is known as a secretive company that isn't keen on divulging its data. It's had public spats with lawmakers in New York and Seattle to ensure data on its rides isn't released to the public.

But now the ride-hailing company appears to be changing course.

 

Samsung takes wraps off $150 million fund for early startups

Are you building the next big thing in virtual reality, artificial intelligence or the internet of things? If so, you probably would be interested in the $150 million fund announced Wednesday by Samsung Next, formerly known as the Samsung Global Innovation Center.

The latest fund targets pre-seed (typically used to build a core team and initial prototypes) to series B investments, David Eun, president and founder of Samsung Next, said in a statement from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Samsung's venture arm on Wednesday also announced its rebranded name and new website.

 

Medium lays off third of staff, blaming reliance on ads

Medium CEO and Twitter co-founder Ev Williams says a "broken system" of ad-driven media on the internet led to the pullback.

Medium CEO Ev Williams said the publishing platform will close its New York and Washington DC offices.

Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images

Medium, the web-publishing site run by Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, is laying off a third of its staff because ad-supported digital media is a "broken system," Williams said in a blog post Wednesday.