THE NEWS WRAP: Google+ acquires photo archiving startup

Google has acquired photo and video archiving startup Odysee, with its team set to join Google+.

According to a statement on Odysee’s website, the service will continue until 23 February.

“Odysee’s vision was to be the easiest way for everyone to capture unlimited memories and access them everywhere,” the statement reads.

“We are very excited to join Google where we’ll continue to focus on building amazing products that people love.”

It’s all in a name

Researchers at MIT have mapped the entrepreneurial hotspots in San Francisco, identifying what makes startup more likely to be successful.

The study, published in Science, found one of the best indicators of a tech company’s success was – of all things – its name.

Companies with shorter names and words that were associated with technology scaled faster on average. In addition, companies that weren’t named after their founders tended to fare better over time.

Uber wants to be cheaper than owning a car

Uber’s chief executive Travis Kalanick has flagged his intention to make the ride-sharing service cheaper for users than owning a car.

“Our intention is to make Uber so efficient, cars so highly utilized that for most people it is cheaper than owning a car,” Kalanick wrote on Twitter in response to a journalist’s question.

The statement follows rumours Google is planning on entering the transportation network space with the aim of competing directly with Uber.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.34%, falling 60.59 points to 17,824.29. The Australian dollar is currently trading at 0.76 US cents.

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