Today’s featured stories Smart gameball startup Play Impossible inks retail deal with Apple, partners with NFL players, raises cash Seattle engineer creates Cluck, a Chrome extension to identify scams in Craigslist apartment listings How can U.S. improve its immigration policy? We asked immigrant entrepreneurs and tech leaders Subscribe to GeekWire on YouTube. [Editor’s Note: TLDR is GeekWire’s tech news rundown show, hosted by Starla Sampaco. Watch today’s update above, subscribe to GeekWire on YouTube, check back weekday afternoons for more, and sign up for TLDR email updates below.]
Play Impossible started with a simple thesis: the internet-of-things world had lost a sense of joy and fun. So its founders went to work, creating a sensor-infused smart inflatable ball that links to a smartphone app and lets people play different physical games. Now the Seattle startup has landed a retail deal with Apple; inked a partnership with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA); discovered demand in an unexpected market; and raised more venture capital dollars to fuel its growth. Play Impossible today announced an additional $1.25 million in new funding from existing investors Two Sigma Ventures, Hardware Club, and Ben Franklin… Read More
Playing with a ball can be a lot of fun when you throw sensors and computer chips into the mix. That’s the thought behind Play Impossible, a Seattle startup that sells a smart, connected inflatable ball which links to a smartphone app and lets people play different physical games. The company launched last year and raised $1 million from Two Sigma Ventures, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and WestRiver Group, the firm led by TopGolf Entertainment Group Co-Chairman Erik Anderson. Its first product is a small rubber ball that looks completely normal from the outside but has a bevy of electronics inside —… Read More
Can a high-tech, sensor-infused ball help a generation of device-addicted kids be more active? One startup is about to find out. Seattle-based Play Impossible is coming out of stealth mode and just announced a $1 million investment round that included participation from Two Sigma Ventures, Ben Franklin Technology Partners, and WestRiver Group, the firm led by TopGolf Entertainment Group Co-Chairman Erik Anderson. The company has developed a smart, connected inflatable ball that looks completely normal from the outside but has a bevy of electronics inside — accelerator, barometer, microcontroller, ultracapacitor, etc. — and sends real-time data via Bluetooth to an accompanying iOS or… Read More
