Sep 19, 2017

Shasta Ventures debuts fund focused on AR/VR

Kia Kokalitcheva / Axios

Shasta Ventures, known for its early investments in companies like Nest, is debuting a new investment initiative dubbed the Shasta Camera Fund. Principal Jacob Mullins unveiled the fund on Monday at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco.

Through the new fund, the firm is going after the recent boom in apps and tools focused on photos, videos, and augmented reality. Major social media companies like Snap and Facebook have already declared the camera as the next frontier, and with tools like Apple's ARKit and Google's ARCore, among other tools, it's easier than ever for entrepreneurs to build these new media experiences.

Fund details: It will invest at the pre-seed or seed stage, up to $100,000 per startup. It's a carve-out from Shasta Ventures' Fund V.

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Rashaan Ayesh

Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

As the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the U.S., Axios is answering readers' questions about the pandemic — how it spreads, who's at risk, and what you can do to stay safe.

What's new: This week, we answer five questions on smokers' vulnerability, food safety, visiting older parents, hair cut needs, and rural vs. urban impact.

To the answers13 mins ago - Health

Alison Snyder, Eileen Drage O'Reilly

The other coronavirus test we need

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Researchers are racing to develop tests that detect whether someone may have developed immunity to the coronavirus, which could help society return to normal faster.

Why it matters: These tests could help people know if they are able to go back to work, as well as aid researchers in tracking the scale and death rate of the disease — key data for current and future pandemic policies.

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Sam Baker

What the U.S. can learn from other countries in the coronavirus fight

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Note: Cases are shown on a logarithmic scale; Chart: Naema Ahmed/Axios

The countries that have most successfully fended off the novel coronavirus have mainly done it with a combination of new technology and old-school principles.

Why it matters: There's a lot the U.S. can learn from the way other countries have handled this global pandemic — although we may not be able to apply those lessons as quickly as we'd like.

Go deeper19 mins ago - Health