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A London-headquartered startup called LOVE, valued at $17 million following its pre-seed funding, aims to redefine how people stay in touch with close family and friends. The company is launching a messaging app that offers a combination of video calling as well as asynchronous video and audio messaging, in an ad-free, privacy-focused experience with a number of bells and whistles, including artistic filters and real-time transcription and translation features.

But LOVEs bigger differentiator may not be its product alone, but rather the companys mission.

LOVE aims for its product direction to be guided by its user base in a democratic fashion as opposed to having the decisions made about its future determined by an elite few at the top of some corporate hierarchy. In addition, the companys longer-term goal is ultimately to hand over ownership of the app and its governance to its users, the company says.

These concepts have emerged as part of bigger trends towards a sort of Web 3.0, or next phase of internet development, where services are decentralized, user privacy is elevated, data is protected and transactions take place on digital ledgers, like a blockchain, in a more distributed fashion.

LOVEs founders are proponents of this new model, including serial entrepreneur Samantha Radocchia, who previously founded three companies and was an early advocate for the blockchain as the co-founder of Chronicled, an enterprise blockchain company focused on the pharmaceutical supply chain.

As someone whos been interested in emerging technology since her days of writing her anthropology thesis on currency exchanges in Second Lifes virtual world, shes now faculty at Singularity University, where shes given talks about blockchain, AI, Internet of Things, Future of Work, and other topics. Shes also authored an introductory guide to the blockchain with her book Bitcoin Pizza.

Co-founder Christopher Schlaeffer, meanwhile, held a number of roles at Deutsche Telekom, including chief product & innovation officer, corporate development officer and chief strategy officer, where he along with Google execs introduced the first mobile phone to run Android. He was also chief digital officer at the telecommunication services company VEON.

The two crossed paths after Schlaeffer had already begun the work of organizing a team to bring LOVE to the public, which includes co-founders Chief Technologist Jim Reeves, also previously of VEON, and Chief Designer Timm Kekeritz, previously an interaction designer at international design firm IDEO in San Francisco, design director at IXDS and founder of design consultancy Raureif in Berlin, among other roles.

Image Credits: LOVE

Explained Radocchia, what attracted her to join as CEO was the potential to create a new company that upholds more positive values than whats often seen today in fact, the brand name LOVE is a reference to this aim. She was also interested in the potential to think through what she describes as new business models that are not reliant on advertising or harvesting the data of our users, she says.

To that end, LOVE plans to monetize without any advertising. While the company isnt ready to explain its business model in full, it would involve users opting in to services through granular permissions and membership, were told.

We believe our users will much rather be willing to pay for services they consciously use and grant permissions to in a given context than have their data used for an advertising model which is simply not transparent, says Radocchia.

LOVE expects to share more about the model next year.

As for the LOVE app itself, its a fairly polished mobile messenger offering an interesting combination of features. Like any other video chat app, you can video call with friends and family, either in one-on-one calls or in groups. Currently, LOVE supports up to five call participants, but expects to expand that as it scales. The app also supports video and audio messaging for asynchronous conversations. There are already tools that offer this sort of functionality on the market, of course like WhatsApp, with its support for audio messages, or video messenger Marco Polo. But they dont offer quite the same expanded feature set.

Image Credits: LOVE

For starters, LOVE limits its video messages to 60 seconds, for brevitys sake. (As anyone whos used Marco Polo knows, videos can become a bit rambling, which makes it harder to catch up when youre behind on group chats.) In addition, LOVE allows you to both watch the video content as well as read the real-time transcription of whats being said the latter which comes in handy not only for accessibilitys sake, but also for those times you want to hear someones messages but arent in a private place to listen or dont have headphones. Conversations can also be translated into 50 languages.

A lot of the traditional communication or messenger products are coming from a paradigm that has always been text-based, explains Radocchia. Were approaching it completely differently. So while other platforms have a lot of the features that we do, I think thatthe perspective that weve approached it has completely flipped it on its head, she continues. As opposed to bolting video messages on to a primarily text-based interface, [LOVE is] actually doing it in the opposite way and adding text as a sort of a magically transcribed add-on and something that you never, hopefully, need to be typing out on your keyboard again, she adds.

The apps user interface, meanwhile, has been designed to encourage eye-to-eye contact with the speaker to make conversations feel more natural. It does this by way of design elements where bubbles float around as youre speaking and the bubble with the current speaker grows to pull your focus away from looking at yourself. The company is also working with the curator of Serpentine Gallery in London, Hans Ulrich-Obrist, to create new filters that arent about beautification or gimmicks, but are instead focused on introducing a new form of visual expression that makes people feel more comfortable on camera.

For the time being, this has resulted in a filter that slightly abstracts your appearance, almost in the style of animation or some other form of visual arts.

The app claims to use end-to-end encryption and the automatic deletion of its content after seven days except for messages you yourself recorded, if youve chosen to save them as memorable moments.

One of our commitments is to privacy and the right-to-forget, says Radocchia. We dont want to be or need to be storing any of this information.

LOVE has been soft-launched on the App Store, where its been used with a number of testers and is working to organically grow its user base through an onboarding invite mechanism that asks users to invite at least three people to join. This same onboarding process also carefully explains why LOVE asks for permissions like using speech recognition to create subtitles.

LOVE says its valuation is around $17 million USD following pre-seed investments from a combination of traditional startup investors and strategic angel investors across a variety of industries, including tech, film, media, TV and financial services. The company will raise a seed round this fall.

The app is currently available on iOS, but an Android version will arrive later in the year. (Note that LOVE does not currently support the iOS 15 beta software, where it has issues with speech transcription and in other areas. That should be resolved next week, following an app update now in the works.)

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LOVE unveils a modern video messaging app with a business model that puts users in control - TechCrunch

The disgraced founder of the blood-testing startup Theranos plans to blame emotional and sexual abuse by her former boyfriend, also a senior executive at the company, at her federal fraud trial beginning next week, according to legal papers published on Saturday.

Elizabeth Holmes, 37, says she is not responsible for decisions she made as head of the company because her mind was impaired by manipulation from Ramesh Sunny Balwani, 56, the chief operating officer of Theranos who faces a separate fraud trial next year.

Holmes and Balwani, who was also the companys president, have both pleaded not guilty to charges they defrauded investors, doctors and patients.

The filing in US district court in San Jose, California, by Holmess lawyers was published on Saturday by NPR. It outlines for the first time her strategy to defend herself against claims she ripped off patients and investors for hundreds of millions of dollars. It says Holmes is likely to take the stand.

The trial, delayed earlier this year by Holmess pregnancy, is scheduled to begin on Tuesday and last several months.

Jurors will hear allegations that Holmes raised more than $700m from investors on claims Theranos invented a revolutionary machine that could conduct hundreds of laboratory tests from a single finger-prick of blood, but was actually using other companies technology for the tests. The company folded in 2018.

This pattern of abuse and coercive control continued over the approximately decade-long duration of Ms Holmes and Mr Balwanis relationship, including during the period of the charged conspiracies, the filing states.

Citing the syndrome known as intimate partner abuse, the lawyers claim: Mr Balwani was controlling with Ms Holmes, that Ms Holmes was isolated by Mr Balwani, that Mr Balwani was combative with Ms Holmes, and that Mr Balwani was often physically present in Ms Holmes office, all tactics that are abuse tactics used by abusers.

Holmes has claimed in previous filings that Balwani was sexually abusive, withdrew affection if she displeased him, controlled what she ate, how she dressed, how much money she could spend, who she could interact with. He also threw hard, sharp objects at her and controlled her sleep, lawyers have said.

But this is the first declaration by Holmess legal team that she plans to use the alleged abuse as a defense of her actions, claiming Balwani was dominating her and erasing her capacity to make decisions. As a result, the attorneys claim, it affected Holmess ability to deceive her victims.

Lawyers for Balwani have called Holmess allegations outrageous, salacious and inflammatory.

Holmes dropped out of Stanford University at 19 and became a star in a startup space dominated by men. She founded Theranos in 2003, with the goal of revolutionizing blood testing. The companys rise and fall became a cautionary tale about the Silicon Valley hype machine.

Theranos received glowing media coverage and raised more than $700m from investors on claims it had invented a machine that could conduct hundreds of laboratory tests from a single prick.

The tests were rolled out in Walgreens stores and Theranos reached a $9bn valuation before it became clear that many of the claims about the supposedly revolutionary blood test were bogus.

The story became the subject of the ABC News true crime podcast, The Dropout.

Excerpt from:
Disgraced Theranos founder will blame abusive ex-boyfriend in fraud trial - The Guardian

BURNABY (NEWS 1130) A fire in Burnaby stirred up some chatter Thursday night, but the fire department confirms it was part of a controlled burn near the Parkland Refinery.

Reports first started coming into CityNews and NEWS 1130 around 11 p.m. of large flames lighting up the night sky and smoke coming from the area north of Capitol Hill, west of Burnaby Heights.

Some people told us the sky was glowing orange and red, almost flashing.

In a statement to us, Burnaby Fire says the flames were in fact part of a control burn at the refinery, adding it got a bit out of hand.

People took to social media with images and video of the fire.

Some shared photos of the flames and glow from across the water, in North Vancouver.

I called 9 1 1 and spoke to NV City Fire Dept (sic) and the glow is coming from Burnaby and the oil refinery. Amazing we can see it, one person wrote.

No injuries have been reported as a result of the fire.

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Burnaby fire near refinery part of controlled burn - News 1130

DENVER, Colo., Aug. 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the appointment of Holiday Goodreau, executive director of the LivLyme Foundation and chief executive officer/co-inventor of TickTracker, as co-chair of the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group (Working Group).

Congress established the Tick-Borne Disease Working Group in 2016 as part of the 21st Century Cures Act to provide subject matter expertise and to review federal efforts related to all tick-borne diseases to help ensure interagency coordination and minimize overlap, and to examine research priorities. The focus of the groups effort is the development of a report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and Congress on the findings and any recommendations of the Working Group for the federal response to tick-borne disease prevention, treatment and research, as well as how to address gaps in these areas. The Working Group is required to submit a report every two years.

It is truly an honor to see caregivers in this leadership capacity as this country and the world continue to fight against tick-borne diseases, said Ms. Goodreau. As my daughter, Olivia, says about her fight against the illness, I was recruited by a tick. In so many ways that same tick recruited me as well, as I continue to advocate for finding a cure and effective treatments for my daughter and the millions of people across the globe suffering from Lyme disease. The work ahead is daunting, but having the support of the federal government, private partnerships, advocacy groups, doctors, scientists, and patients in this fight will surely elevate the conversations and actions that are needed in the fight against tick-borne diseases.

Ms. Goodreau is a part of a new team of Working Group members who were officially sworn in by the Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Rachel Levine during the August 26, 2021 meeting.Ms. Goodreau and Linden Hu will co-chair the Working Group, which will produce the third and final report to the HHS Secretary and Congress. The Working Group members are:

New Public Members

Regular Government Employees (Federal Members)

About Holiday Goodreau

Holiday Goodreau is the Executive Director of the LivLyme Foundation whose mission is to provide funding for Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease treatment and research, while delivering tick education and awareness around the globe. She is a co-creator of the free global app, TickTracker, allowing users to report and track ticks in real-time with the use of geo-location, and she is a Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease advocate.

Ms. Goodreau is an inaugural member of the United States Health and Human Services (HHS), Tick-Borne Disease Working Group Access to Care and Patient Support subcommittee. She also serves as a peer reviewer for the Department of Defenses (DoD) Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for Tick-Borne Disease Research as a consumer advocate and is a board member of the MSIDS (Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome) Scientific Research Board in New York. She was selected as a 2019 Fellow for The Gratitude Network, which involved a 12-month leadership development program for those dedicated to serving children and youth.

Ms. Goodreaus advocacy work has led her around the country where she has presented at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Boy Scouts of America, Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Chan Zuckerberg Institute, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Duke University and University of New Haven. In her ongoing efforts to find a cure for her daughters diagnosed Lyme disease in 2011, Ms. Goodreau continues to work for Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease patients and their families through her extensive advocacy work.

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Denver Mom of Chronically Ill Child Becomes First Caregiver - GlobeNewswire

Taliban members patrol the streets of Jalalabad city, Afghanistan on August 17, 2021, as the Taliban takes control of Afghanistan after President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

Stringer | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

World leaders are racing to evacuate their citizens from Afghanistan after the Taliban's lightning takeover last week but the impact of the Islamist militants' control will have implications beyond its borders, analysts warn.

The capital of Kabul fell into the hands of the ultraconservative militants more than a week ago, marking the collapse of the civilian government as the U.S. withdrew its military presence ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline.

The international community will likely have to confront three issues as the Taliban's takeover reverberates across the globe, experts told CNBC.

They include: a rise in terrorism activities, an influx of refugees as Afghans flee violence and persecution, as well as escalating tensions between India and its neighbors, Pakistan and China.

Afghanistan could once again become a "hotbed" for terrorism, providing sanctuary for extremists, experts warned.

The Taliban have "never broken" their alliance with al-Qaeda over the last two decades despite military pressure and two years of negotiations in Qatar, according to Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security.

A United Nations report this year reached a similar conclusion: It said the Taliban and al-Qaeda "remain closely aligned and show no indication of breaking ties." The Taliban previously refuted those claims.

The militant group has said it would not allow other terrorist organizations to use Afghanistan as a base to launch attacks, but some analysts expressed doubts over its pledge.

"The Taliban doesn't really stick to its ideals. We will have to wait and see," Amir Handjani, a fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told CNBC's "Capital Connection" last Tuesday.

As the Taliban swept across Afghanistan, it reportedly released about 5,000 to 7,000 prisoners from Parwan prison some of whom are hardened Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.

Fontaine explained that the thinking in the U.S. is that it can handle any potential threats from outside Afghanistan. "We'll see how effective that is, if it comes to that. But I think it's something of a gamble," he added.

Afghanistan was a haven for terrorist groups when the Taliban were in power in the late 1990s. But the U.S. invaded the country in 2001 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Former U.S. national security advisor John Bolton told CNBC last week that the U.S. invasion was targeted at ousting the Taliban and the "sanctuary they had provided to al-Qaeda."

There are growing fears of an impending refugee crisis much like the one from 2015, when more than a million refugees fled the war in Syria to seek refuge in Europe.

"You are likely to have an influx of refugees pretty much anywhere the [Afghans] can go," said Shamaila Khan, director of emerging market debt at AllianceBernstein.

"We can see from the pictures that have emerged from Kabul airport that they are desperate to leave, so if they can find a route to any of these countries, they will go," she told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" last Tuesday.

Scenes of thousands of Afghans at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, desperate to escape the country, flooded social media and grabbed media headlines last week. One video showed a U.S. military aircraft attempting to take off as Afghans ran alongside and clung to the exterior of the plane as it lifted off.

Analysts from Eurasia Group, however, said in a recent note that the European Union's concerns about an influx of Afghan refugees may be overblown since the bloc has taken steps to reduce irregular migration.

Additionally, anti-refugee sentiment in Turkey where many refugees normally travel through could mean President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may take a tougher stance against migrants. Any refugee influx that reaches the EU will likely be "manageable," Eurasia Group said.

The political chaos in Afghanistan could spill into neighboring countries, and potentially exacerbate tensions between India and its neighbors, Pakistan and China.

Indian analysts are worried that the Taliban's return may create space for terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to launch attacks against Indian targets, according to Elizabeth Threlkeld, senior fellow and deputy director of the South Asia Program at the Stimson Center.

"They also recognize that a Taliban government would give Pakistan significant influence in Kabul to India's detriment," she told CNBC.

India appears to have adopted a wait-and-see approach for now. If an attack against Indian targets were to originate from Afghanistan, New Delhi would almost "certainly point the finger of blame at Islamabad," explained Threlkeld, who was previously a foreign service officer with the U.S. State Department in Pakistan.

"The result [will] be an India-Pakistan crisis with dangerous escalatory potential," she said, adding it will likely be easier for Pakistan and China to seek deals with the Taliban to ensure their security.

While India has reportedly made efforts to engage with the Taliban, experts say it will be harder for New Delhi to secure similar deals to those with Pakistan and China. India's political willingness to do so would also be less, they added.

If renewed instability in Afghanistan spreads to Pakistan, India may also be compelled to shore up its defenses along the western border that may limit New Delhi's attention and resources to respond to Beijing's military pressure, according to Eurasia Group.

Threlkeld pointed out that although neighboring countries are wise to be concerned, it is still "too soon to say how significant the terrorist threat from a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan will be."

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Three ways the victory of the Taliban might reverberate around the world - CNBC