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News

Astro Digital - Kongsberg Satellite Partnership in Satellite Magazine

Ryan Sommer

MaintainPR client Astro Digital is pushing the limits of data downlink capacity, requiring a ground station partner that could capture the data at an industry leading velocity and cost equation. 

Read more about Astro Digital's partnership with Norway’s Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) that enables them to run lean and fast in Satellite Magazine below.

Delivering The Globe: An Interview with KSAT and Astro Digital -- Satellite Magazine

Grace Hopper Dean Cited in Built in New York

Ryan Sommer

Taylor Majewski at Built in New York recently polled top female tech leaders in NYC for their Winter reading recommends. 

Check out Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing by Jane Margolis, which is a fav from MaintainPR client Fullstack Academy's Shanna Gregory.

Shanna is the dean of the Grace Hopper Program, a tuition deferred immersive software engineering school offered by Fullstack Academy. With over 4 years of experience in the coding education industry, Shanna oversees all operations and partnerships, while working hands-on with Grace Hopper graduates on employment after completing the program.

Fullstack Academy Funds NY Teacher Matching Platform: Selected

Ryan Sommer

Selected (a platform and matching engine based on the NYC School Survey (completed annually by nearly 1 million teachers, students, parents, and administrators), to uncover those schools that best fit teachers) has been funded by Fullstack Academy!

This is one of the first investments from Fullstack Fund. Read more on TechCrunch, Education Week and EdSurge below:

"Coding bootcamp Fullstack Academy will fund alumni-founded startups" -- TechCrunch

"Selected Receives Seed Funding" -- Education Week

"Fullstack Academy Invests $20K in Alumni Startup Aiming to Match Teachers with Jobs" -- EdSurge

Spark Labs Expands to Bryant Park

Ryan Sommer

MaintainPR client Spark Labs is a coworking solution that will help you scale your business in the U.S. market.

Founded by Christophe Garnier, a seasoned French entrepreneur with 17 years of U.S. tech experience and two successful ventures under his belt, the team recently announced the successful expansion to a second space in midtown/Bryant Park.

The difference you get with Spark Labs as an entrepreneur is the support infrastructure and global network of more than 30 innovative tech spaces across the world. The collaborative ecosystem assists local and global startups currently operating outside NYC to scale and make their mark on the east coast of the U.S.

Read more about the second space and successful business model supporting global entrepreneurs coming the the States!

With a Second Coworking Space, Spark Labs Continues to Scale -- NY Biz Journal

Spark Labs in NYC is the Coworking Space That Will Boost Your Business -- AlleyWatch

Group love: Co-working offices flourish across town -- New York Post

Fullstack Academy in the News

Ryan Sommer

MaintainPR client Fullstack Academy continues to impress students and grads with their rigorous curriculum and high placement rates.

Check out these recent placements in Chicago Tribune, BuiltInNYC:

Could coding boot camps see stricter standards? -- Chicago Tribune

For women in tech, New York City is calling -- Built In NYC

 

Arago Drops AI Bomb on TechCrunch Disrupt London

Ryan Sommer

MaintainPR client Arago (www.arago.co) has been in the AI game since the 90s. They are a leading artificial intelligence company that helps businesses automate their IT processes through intelligent automation.

Today at TechCrunch Disrupt London, Arago dropped a bombshell: their proprietary AI platform HIRO, which uses reasoning and a knowledge-based problem-solving engine optimized by machine learning to deliver cutting-edge enterprise IT automation solutions to clients worldwide, is already beating human players at FreeCiv.

It's a huge accomplishment for a smaller company (Google's DeepMind, with much more resource, only just start accessing APIs to play Starcraft II) and some of the world's biggest AI players, like Facebook, said it couldn't be done at all!

For more details, check out the press release and coverage from TechCrunch's Darrel Etherington as well as IDG Paris bureau chief Peter Sayer. Both are Civ players themselves that never got close to even beating the game's built in AI!

Arago’s AI can now beat some human players at complex civ strategy games -- TechCrunch

Arago teaches an AI to play games, the better to manage IT systems -- PC World

Watch Arago’s HIRO Beat Out Human Gamers in Freeciv -- Futurism

PC MAGAZINE GOES INSIDE FULLSTACK'S GRACE HOPPER ACADEMY AND NEW REMOTE IMMERSIVE

Ryan Sommer

PC Magazine author Will Fenton recently took a closer look at both Grace Hopper Academy (tuition deferred coding education for women) and Fullstack's new Remote Immersive program which enables anyone to become a software developer anywhere in 17 weeks. Have a look at both deep dives below.

"Inside Grace Hopper Academy, a Coding Boot Camp for Women"
"The Promise of Fullstack's Pricey But Intriguing Online Coding Program"

Coding Bootcamp Fullstack Academy Launches Fund for Alumni

Ryan Sommer

Fullstack Academy (http://www.fullstackacademy.com/) co-founders David Yang (formerly Gilt Groupe, Recycle Bank) and Nimit Maru know a thing or two about startup ideas and how to see ideation through with proper development.

After graduating from Y Combinator, the two have grown NY/Chicago based Fullstack Academy into the world's top coding school.

Today they have announced Fullstack Fund provide seed funding for its graduates to launch their own startups. Each admitted startup will work full-time for 8 weeks on the NYC Fullstack Academy campus, with the goal of securing another round of funding after the program -- by getting accepted into a top accelerator like Y Combinator, raising an angel round, or figuring out how to bootstrap its growth.

Read more about the Fullstack Fund in TechCrunch, Inc., Tech.co and many more to come!

"Coding bootcamp Fullstack Academy will fund alumni-founded startups" -- TechCrunch 

"Top-Ranked Fullstack Academy Launches First Alumni Investment Fund" -- Tech.co

"A New Program That Aims to Be a One-Stop Shop for Would-be Founders" -- Inc.

 

Astro Digital Featured in New Scientist (Print and Web)

Ryan Sommer

Astro Digital (www.astrodigital.com) is enabling big data analytics from space. The team (based in NASA's Moffett Field) monitor Earth from space through open data and their constellation of multi-spectral satellites, providing software for imagery analysis and distribution. It's all about faster monitoring of commercially active land use to model global change and analyze local activity.

Astro Digital was recently featured prominently in a print (and web) piece on "supersmart" nanosats in the prestigious New Scientist after an intro pitch via MaintainPR to science write Hal Hodson (London and SF).

Check out the piece here:

"Supersmart satellites reveal crops and fields like never before" -- New Scientist

It's a Wrap! LDV Vision Summit 2016 and the Internet of Eyes

Ryan Sommer

This year's LDV Vision Summit, produced annually in New York by serial investor and photo fanatic Evan Nisselson, covered everything from 3D imaging and VR to deep learning and Facebook Live. We all came away convinced that The Internet of Eyes is coming and it's an important area that all of us — creatives, engineers, marketers, and investors — should be keeping an "eye" (pun intended) on. 

MaintainPR is agency of record for LDV Vision Summit and has managed media relations since the inaugural event in 2013.

With speakers like Bijan Sabet (Spark Capital); Patricia Hadden (NBCUniversal Media, SVP of Marketing), Jason Rosenthal, (Lytro, CEO), Yuanzhen Lim (VSCO Director of Engineering, Sold Moving Sciences); Nicolas Steegmann (GoPro Software Engineering Sr. Director. Sold Stupefix), Larry Zitnick, (Facebook AI Research Lead) we have a blast each time and learn a ton.

Check out some of the selected media coverage in The Next Web, TechCrunch and more below.

"Why image recognition is about to transform business" -- TechCrunch

"It’s coming! The Internet of Eyes will allow objects to See" -- The Next Web

"Facebook Bringing 360 Photos to News Feed, Samsung Gear VR" -- Adweek

"Facebook Is Trying to Figure Out How to Automatically Detect Mirror Selfies" -- VICE Motherboard

"Innovation & Trends in Video and Digital Imaging at the LDV Vision Summit 2016" -- VizWorld

"AI struggles with mirror selfies as Facebook scientists try to instill new skills" -- RT

"Mediachain enivisions a blockchain-based tool for identifying artists’ work across the internet" -- TechCrunch

"Could Blockchains Solve The Web's Image Attribution Problem?" -- Fast Co.

"You need to be thinking about computer vision" -- Venturebeat

Spark Labs Featured in Crain's NY

Ryan Sommer

Spark Labs (http://spark-labs.co/) is a coworking ecosystem and U.S. expansion hub to fast track startups coming from Europe to the United States.

Founder Christophe Garnier (prev Totsy $23.5M funding) has carefully curated a selection of contacts forming an ecosystem for global tech (with an eye on what's new in Europe) and helped companies such as  expand their innovative tech to the States.

Read more about Spark Labs in this extensive piece on NY coworking by Crain's NY Matthew Flamm.

"Is the co-working boom creating the next real estate bubble?" -- Crains NY

Astro Digital Continues to Lead Silicon Valley's Space Boom

Ryan Sommer

Silicon Valley startups like Planet Labs and Astro Digital are leading the boom in space exploration, designing software and building satellites themselves to define a new era of earth imaging for business.

Astro Digital's software-driven approach (originally featured in this TechCrunch piece) has continued to interest reporters covering newspace and farm tech. Check out the recent coverage including San Jose Mercury News below.

"Silicon Valley's zero-gravity space startup boom" -- SJ Merc

"The Growing Ecosystem of Satellite Imagery for Ag" -- AgFunder

"Making Satellite Imagery an Even More Accessible Tool for Agriculture" -- Growing Georgia

Ray Super Remote Reviewed: Techhive, Cool Mom Tech, CNET, PC World

Ryan Sommer

The Ray Super Remote is the world's best touchscreen remote. As the team has added functionality like controlling Philips Hue and Nest while expanding availability (now available on Best Buy) MaintainPR has continued to get this beauty into the hands of reviewers and taste makers. Here is some of what they are saying:

 "The Hopper integration was seamless and impressive. Once I synced the Ray with the Hopper, it had access to all of Dish Network's programming information, plus my DVR schedule and favorite channels." -- Will Greenwald, PC Magazine

"It feels like there’s real competition in the high-end universal remote market again, and right now, Ray is on top." -- Ken Denmead, Geekdad

"Weighing in at 5.7 ounces and fabricated from aluminum and Gorilla Glass, the Ray oozes quality." -- Seamus Bellamy, TechHive

"We’re stepping into completely new territory here into super remote status with a combo of touchscreen technology, sleek user-friendly design, and Netflix-style smart recommendations" -- Jeana Tahnk, CoolMomTech

 

Fullstack Academy is Open in Chicago

Ryan Sommer

MaintainPR client Fullstack Academy has acquired The Starter League, the original coding bootcamp, and is opening its newest campus in Chicago. This new location will provide the same cutting-edge, immersive, JavaScript-oriented education as Fullstack Academy’s main campus in New York City.

Check out the coverage around this important East Coast partnership:

Fullstack acquires Chicago's Starter League coding school -- Chicago Tribune

Fullstack Academy—whose grads land at Facebook and Google—acquires Chicago coding school pioneer -- Chicago Biz Journal

The Starter League just got acquired by New York's Fullstack Academy -- BuiltInChicago

Starter League code school acquired by Fullstack -- Crain's Chicago

Coding Bootcamp, The Starter League, Acquired by Fullstack Academy -- EdSurge

The Starter League, One of the First Code Bootcamps, Acquired By Fullstack Academy -- ChicagoInno

Ray Super Remote Now Shipping - Giant Leap for Search & Discovery on TV

Ryan Sommer

The Ray Super Remote (now shipping) is a universal touchscreen remote that will redefine how you find and discover content.

Conceived and headquartered out of NYC by a team made up of technology and design experts from Apple, Amazon, Huge, and Nokia, the Ray Super Remote is the first smart home device that was designed to make content delivery seamless. Whether you are a techie raised in the touchscreen generation, or a TV lover that wants a better recommendation engine and search layer -- the Ray has you covered.

Since it's launch at recode Media, the device has garnered praise and coverage across lifestyle, technology and trade journals. Here is a sampling of what people are saying:

Ending Remote Control Clutter: The Hunt for the Perfect Universal Remote -- WSJ

Ray’s Universal Super Remote Uses Apps To Help Control Your TV -- TechCrunch

A Universal Remote That Aims to Change How You Watch TV -- Wired

The Ray super remote lets you control all your devices — from television to cable box to streaming device to game console -- SF Chronicle

Juggling Too Many Remotes? Try This Touch Screen -- NYTimes

Ray Wants to Change Your TV Experience, With a Touchscreen Remote Control -- recode

 

Astro Digital Unveils New Tool for the World's Freshest Satellite Imagery

Ryan Sommer

Astro Digital is opening up access to small sat data to agriculture industry and disaster, as well as engineering companies remotely monitoring progress of projects.

The satellite hardware is extremely powerful but what they are doing differently than any other space company is building software in parallel with the hardware. Check out what they have built at https://fetch.astrodigital.com 

  • Move around the map, use the filters to select a date, acceptable cloud cover, then select an image
  • Publish the image and select a style of processing. Enter your email address and in about 5 minutes you’ll have a link to the map in your inbox
  • This workflow typically takes even a skilled analyst about 2 hours

Check out more coverage on this fast-growing startup in one of tech's hottest sectors:

Astro Digital Releases Platform For Anyone To Analyze Satellite Imagery -- TechCrunch

An Archive of the World's Freshest Satellite Images -- City Lab

How the Next Generation of Satellites May Help Battle Wildfires -- recode

Turn NASA's Raw Satellite Imagery Into Beautiful, Embeddable Maps -- Fast Co Exist