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According to recent surveys, more Americans are using technology than ever before. This growth in technology has changed the way we work, communicate, and access entertainment. Technology isn’t slowing down, either. Big businesses and startup companies alike are introducing innovative tech advancements that are continuing to change the world. With all these advances and all the noise that comes along with them, it can be hard to know what’s soon to be in the past and what’s bound to define our future. You can be sure that these 5 tech trends are in it for the long haul. And they’re taking us all with them. Artificial Intelligence Will Not Slow Down Since Apple released Siri in 2011, AI personal assistants have become a popular technology trend. Amazon and Google have added variety to the options available to consumers. In 2017, we expect more companies to introduce their own personal assistants to the market. This AI…

Do you have a business idea you think would make a lot of money, but don’t have the funds to get it off the ground? You could go down the traditional route of getting a loan from a bank, but there are different ways to get money. Crowdfunding has helped a lot of people fund amazing ideas and launch new businesses and products. As of April 2017 over 350,000 campaigns have been launched on a variety of crowd funding sites. The only trouble with using crowd funding is figuring out how to pick the one you want to use. How to Pick a Crowdfunding Platform If you’re here, you’re looking for a crowdfunding platform for your startup. A lot of factors go into picking a platform, and you need to be aware of them before you make a decision. Are you ready to pick your crowd funding platform? If you follow these tips,…

Anyone who follows Gary Vaynerchuk online knows that he’s a zealous proponent of voice technology–both audio content like podcasts as well as tools that run on voice commands, like Amazon Alexa. Vaynerchuk’s bullishness is borne out by how things are shaping up in the real world. Both investors and consumers appear to have taken a liking to voice of late, and that’s a trend that isn’t going away anytime soon. One of the things voice is making easier is consuming online content. That’s thanks to services like Curio, which employs voiceover artists to convert journalistic pieces from premium publications into narrated audio. These narrated articles are then organized into user-tailored playlists based on topic, and packaged into a $8-a-month subscription.   The service has its origins in lessons the founding team drew from its years spent in media. “From my previous role as a strategist for the BBC, I knew…

If you’re looking to start a business now, you need to know what’s happening in the startup world now. Historical information and last year’s news will only get you so far. Investing in the success of your startup means being informed about the latest startup trends. Let’s touch on this year’s top seven, and then you smarty-pants entrepreneurs can go make the most of them. Infinite Competition The Internet is making it easier for no-name competitors from around the world to break into your local marketplace and swipe your marketshare. If you’re local, make sure you don’t skimp on investment in local SEO, and always be on the lookout for partnerships with other businesses to grow marketshare on the ground. Regardless of whether you’re local or not, you need to keep an eye on the technology that is really raising the bar when it comes to key areas of your…

Founded in 2016 by Mary Biggins and Katie Ghelli, MealPal (formerly known as MealPass) has facilitated more than 2 million reservations for lunch, and is already in 10 cities worldwide: NYC, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Philadelphia, SF, Miami, London, Toronto, and Sydney. In February this year the company announced $15 million in Series A financing led by Comcast Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corp., with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Haystack Partners, and NextView Ventures. SnapMunk spoke to MealPal co-founder Mary Biggins. Can you describe Meal Pal in five words? I can do it in four words. Eat intelligently and affordably. What makes MealPal stand out from the noise? For most meals, consumers are looking for three things: great food, efficient to get, and affordable. With MealPal, we partner with great restaurants, making lunch efficient and affordable so that people can go into a restaurant, skip the line, pick…

Applying more intelligence and innovation to the way we source, manage, apply and analyze the energy used to power our planet is one of the most important tasks we could hope have taken on by our brightest entrepreneurs and startups. With help from folks like University of Missouri System, UMSL Accelerate and Capital Innovators, the future of energy innovation looks like a bright one.  Ameren Accelerator is a partnership between the University of Missouri System, USML Accelerate and Capital Innovators, and Ameren (a Fortune 500 utility company), intended to assess, mentor, and invest in energy technology startup companies. The entity is based out of St. Louis, and is ranked the 3rd best accelerator by Entrepreneur Magazine. The creators of the accelerator look to invest $100,000 in five to seven companies each year. Recently the Ameren Accelerator selected several companies to be part of their latest batch of startups to receive…

Yep. We’re talking about sex robots. Because, apparently that’s the moral battleground of the future, what lonely folk do while alone at home. You wouldn’t think there’d be an argument against this since it means there is a new option for people who are otherwise lonely or can’t obtain physical intimacy: a sex robot that can communicate and interact with its end user. Companies like Realdoll are racing to produce the first functional sex robot that crosses the uncanny valley.     But, apparently, there’s a contingent of folk out there, who strongly disagree with the idea of sex robots as a whole. So I’m going to open this one up, and you might disagree with what I have to say, but you also have to admit you’re invested. The Argument for Sex Robots If I summarize here, it’s because everyone’s rather familiar with them. A sex robot allows someone…

Show of hands: How many of you have checked your symptoms online before? For those of you who have, how confident were you in the potential diagnoses you found? And was it enough to keep you from visiting a physician? These are all questions London-based Your.MD, a booming AI health information service, wants to put to rest. Mario Alemi, Chief Data Office of Your.MD, told Access AI that “[t]urning to Google is the worst possible place to try and diagnose yourself. The information is not regulated and may not be correct. The advice could be harmful both physically and potentially mentally.” This is why Your.MD was founded. Although they’ve been steadily raising money since 2013 (the latest round of $10 million in venture funding came from Orkla Ventures in June 2017), the app was launched at the end of 2015. Since then, Your.MD has been downloaded by 2.1 million people on iOS and Android;…

Up to now, the self-driving car race has been all about building the car of the future. Tesla, the undisputed leader in terms of consumer-ready self-driving technology, is all about building the car of tomorrow, with the self-driving feature just one of many with a futurology bent. But a newer self-driving startup—and what some would call the leader insofar as fully-autonomous tech is concerned—recently announced a new approach that could prove revolutionary. Why Retro Could be the Future of Self-Driving Cars Drive.ai never set out to build the best self-driving car. They’ve never approached this technology or the markets it serves (and will serve) from a vehicle-creation standpoint. For them, it’s always been about achieving the best software solution. As their homepage declares, they’re “building the brain of self-driving vehicles.” Instead of striking early deals with car manufacturers to see who can roll out the most robust working product—though Drive.ai…

According to a June 12 SEC filing, secretive San Francisco-based startup Momentum Machines has secured $18.39 million in a new round of venture funding, adding to previous investments from VC firms including Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures. Made up of “foodies and engineers with decades of robotics experience,” the startup focusses on replacing humans with food robots in the kitchens of fast-food restaurants – with the aim of producing gourmet quality food that can be sold at fast food prices. Putting the Fast Into Fast Food In 2012, Momentum Machines debuted a robot that could make nearly 400 custom hamburgers in an hour, in a fully autonomous process. From slicing and dicing the toppings, to grilling the patties, and assembling and bagging the resulting burgers, the orders would travel from kitchen to customer untouched by human hands. “Our device isn’t meant to make employees more efficient,” the company’s co-founder, Alexandros…

Are you looking to change your bad habits using tried and proven methods? When it comes to improving the way you live, there’s nothing like a (literal) shock or jolt to keep your mind in the zone. This is where Pavlok comes into play. You see, the patent-pending electrical stimulus releases a zap ranging from 50-450V that quickly gets attention and triggers the brain out of automatic mode.     The makers of the device claim it can track nail biting, snoring, chewing/eating, hair picking, scratching, face touching, and other activities programmed by the user. Users also can ‘teach’ their device customized gestures for it to detect. As with many smart devices, Pavlok comes with a companion mobile app to significantly enhance the features of the device. With Pavlok Core, users can create modules for different behavior. These components are built around the bad habits the user is aiming to…

Rings have become the form factor of choice for wearables that do all kinds of cool stuff. You can find a smart ring to track your calorie intake, to make payments, and even a smart ring using which long-distance couples can feel each other’s heartbeat. Token is a less creepy wearable that boasts a whole array of impressive features, including the ability to use it as a door lock, credit card, and car key. It launched last week, and is available for pre-order right now.     Setting up Token seems to be quite simple. You start by using the on-board fingerprint sensor to identify yourself as the owner. One ring can have only one authorized user, for obvious reasons. Once authorized, you can use Token’s mobile app to link your credit card, computer passwords, and any other smart access point. The ring can then be used to carry out…