"I knew very well this was a complete moonshot."
Paolo Pirjanian, former chief technology officer at iRobot, developed an interest in technology after watching a documentary on Pixar Animation Studios. Now, he's returning to those roots, working with therapists, designers and engineers to create a robot that he hopes can help teach children emotional intelligence.
Reporter Rachel Uranga takes a look at Moxie, and the research that went into its creation.
Want to know more? Our next virtual strategy session will be on the rise of robotics in Southern California, and Dr. Pirianian will take part. Sign up here!
Tomorrow we'll hold the first of our biweekly women-in-tech events! Sign up to hear from founders at Blavity Inc., HopSkipDrive and L.A. Collab.
Part Disney, Part Roomba: A New Robot Is Born In Pasadena
Meet Moxie, the $1,500 robot for children that is, in part based on research on so-called social robots that help children — in particular, those with autism — develop social skills. Read more >>
Join us Tuesday for a dot.LA Strategy Session on The Rise of Robotics
Rachel Uranga, Reporter at dot.LA will lead a virtual roundtable on how a new wave of robots is remaking humans' relationships with machines. The featured speaker will be Paolo Pirjanian, founder and chief executive officer at Embodied, Inc., along with other thought leaders in the robotics space. Register here. Space is limited!
Fasten Your Seatbelts, Founders
A pair of new outlooks offer a sobering view of venture capital in the near future. Expect startup investment to fall and funds to focus on their existing companies rather than on new ones. Senior Finance Reporter Ben Bergman breaks down the reports. Read more >>
The Music Streaming War Is Heating Up
Spotify released its earnings Wednesday, which barely registered the coronavirus slowdown. Entertainment Reporter Sam Blake takes a deeper look at some of the company's long-term competitive vulnerabilities against rivals Apple, Amazon and YouTube. Read his report >>
Will Remote Work Outlast the Pandemic?
After weeks of being forced to work at home during the coronavirus pandemic, many people have no desire to go back to the office, according to a new study. And employers feel roughly the same way. Read more >>
TikTok Ticks Up 2 Billion Downloads
It has been a good month for TikTok, whose global popularity has surged during the lockdown. Read more of today's updates >>
Amazon Renews ‘Thursday Night Football’ Streaming Deal
Sports fans missing baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer and just about anything else that should be in play right now are holding out hope for the return of football in the fall. And Amazon is right there with them. The tech giant announced Wednesday that it will once again deliver the live digital stream for "Thursday Night Football." Read more >>
Join Us Tomorrow For Our First Virtual Event On Women in Tech
Join us Thursday as we discuss the challenges and opportunities in working from home, with Blavity CEO and angel investor Morgan DeBaun, HopSkipDrive co-founder Joanna McFarland and Beatriz Acevedo, co-founder of LA Collab, an initiative to double Latino representation in Hollywood.