Macy’s invests in tech startup b8ta to expand pop-up concept
Department store retailer Macy’s invested in tech startup b8ta earlier this summer to develop The Market, Macy’s experiential-based retail concept. Markets are spaces within already existing Macy’s stores that allow online brands to maintain a physical presence so potential customers can try out items before purchasing. B8ta already works with brands to design and create retail experiences and mostly focuses on allowing customers to...
Carvana opens nine-story Car Vending Machine in Tempe
Carvana, an e-commerce platform for buying used cars, opened its largest Car Vending Machine to date in Tempe last month. The machine, standing tall at nine stories high, holds up to 34 cars. The tower is made out of glass, and drivers can see it lit up at night from the Valley’s South Mountain Freeway. Based in Tempe, Carvana has opened up 11 Car Vending Machines in other states so far. The company was founded in Phoenix in 2012 and...
What’s happened since the fatal self-driving Uber crash?
Have you noticed that the weird-looking self-driving Uber cars haven’t been buzzing around the Valley anymore? They were pretty hard to miss. Here are all the updates you need on the now-defunct Arizona Uber self-driving program. The crash In March, a pedestrian died after being struck by an Uber self-driving car near Mill Avenue and Curry Road in Tempe. Being one of the very first deaths involving self-driving cars, the crash left...
The AZ tech industry now boasts more than 2k startups, 168k jobs
Last month the Arizona Technology Council partnered with Oregon-based eImpact to release a report that found signs of promising growth in the Arizona tech industry. The AZTC Industry Impact Report stated that there are over 2,100 startups in Arizona listed on startup networking site AngelList, and there are over 168,000 jobs in the tech field in the state. According to the report, Arizona ranks second in employment growth and third in...
ASU and Coursera create online program to meet high demand for computer scientists
Arizona State University and online learning platform Coursera have partnered to create an online Master of Computer Science degree that will be offered this fall. Professor Sandeep Gupta, director of ASU’s School of Computing, Informatics, & Decision Systems Engineering, explained in an email that this program was created to produce experienced graduates who can fill the enormous need for qualified computer scientists. According...
Waymo to launch self-driving test run service in Phoenix
Waymo is a self-driving technology company that originated as a project with Google in 2009. Their mission was to have over ten uninterrupted 100-mile routes drive autonomously using Toyota Prius vehicles. Months after the launch, they succeeded in driving further and longer than had ever been driven autonomously in previous years. By 2012, over 300,000 miles had been self-driven. The Lexus RX450h was added to the mix, and the journey...
