Netflix tests a free promotional offering, Amazon’s drone delivery gets trial flight approval from the FAA and Neuralink shows off its human-brain tech. This is your Daily Crunch for August 31, 2020.
The big story: Netflix sets some content free
Netflix has taken some of its best-known Originals out from behind the paywall.
The company has already been testing out making select titles free in certain markets, and today it expanded that test across the globe, with a library of Netflix content, including “Stranger Things,” “Bird Box,” “When They See Us” and “Our Planet” now available free to non-subscribers (only the first episode, in the case of series). A skippable 30-second ad for Netflix plays before you watch.
“We’re looking at different marketing promotions to attract new members and give them a great Netflix experience,” the company said in a statement.
The tech giants
Amazon’s Prime Air drone delivery fleet gains FAA approval for trial commercial flights — While this doesn’t mean that Amazon can immediately start operating a consumer drone delivery service, it does represent a significant step toward that goal.
Apple will now allow developers stuck in App Store jail to push bug fixes to their apps — Developers currently in standoffs with Apple’s app review team still won’t be able to submit updates with new features or content updates, however.
Google launches Google Kids Space, a ‘kids mode’ feature for Android, initially on Lenovo tablets — The feature will launch first on the Lenovo Smart Tab M10 HD Gen 2, but Google aims to bring Kids Space to more devices in time.
Startups, funding and venture capital
Elon Musk demonstrates Neuralink’s tech live using pigs with surgically implanted brain-monitoring devices — The company’s technology is meant to serve as a new kind of interface between the human brain and computing devices.
There’s a growing movement where startup founders look to exit to community — This is a collaborative working project led by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Media Enterprise Design Lab and Zebras Unite, exploring ways to help startups transition from investor-owned to community ownership.
On the matter of who was really behind @VCBrags — This is really the only post you need on the weekend’s Twitter kerfuffle.
Advice and analysis from Extra Crunch
In a post-NDA world, does transparency help founders identify conflicts of interest? — Today, everyone is a fintech investor and no one signs NDAs, which puts founders in a difficult position.
What pandemic? Inside Boston’s scorching VC summer — Boston-area startups raised more private capital during summer 2020 than they did in summer 2019.
(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program, which aims to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)
Everything else
Original Content podcast: Netflix’s ‘High Score’ is a selective tour through video game history — For older gamers, the series provides some pleasant jolts of nostalgia.
Some of the brightest minds in Europe are joining us at Disrupt — A roundup of all the speakers we’ve got lined up in sessions specially timed for European attendees.
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