Pro Features
Siri’s Fate in the AI Age Gains Further Clarity
What’s Siri’s fate in the AI age? Signs point to Apple keeping it around and upgrading it to modern LLM standards.
Instagram
Instagram Escalates the Social Mapping Wars
Instagram this week fired the latest shot in the ongoing social mapping wars. Users can now share their locations with friends via direct messages. Once those messages are received and activated, the recipient can see the sender’s live location within Instagram’s mapping feature for up to an hour.
Local Radar
Local Radar: Mapping, Event Planning & Food Tech
In this edition of Localogy’s Local Radar, we examine Atlas.co, Partiful & Wonder
AI
Searching for Meaning in a Post-GPT World
What does AI mean for media companies, brands, and everyone else that has optimized themselves for search engines? This was the topic of a presentation at Street Fight Live from Yext VP of Strategic Partnerships, Brooke Henderson.
Google
Google Lens Doubles Down on Local Offline Shopping
Google Lens continues to be a sleeping giant in the world of local commerce. As a visual search tool, it can identify and contextualize items that you point your phone at. Carrying similar user intent as web search, Google is salivating over the idea of more high-intent query volume that flows from your camera.
MULO
Tiger Pistol’s Latest Playbook Tackles Multi-Location Campaign Management
Tiger Pistol is on a roll. Just one week after launching its playbook on overcoming inflation, today it releases one on campaign management. Specificially, it guides brands to manage cohesive marketing efforts across several channels and geographies, and keep everything rowing in the same direction.
Local Radar
Local Radar: AI Writers & ‘Travel Convenience’
In this edition of Localogy’s Local Radar, we examine newly funded companies Bounce, Cogna & Writer
Amazon
Amazon Inches Closer to Last Mile Drone Delivery
Amazon has reached the latest milestone in the elusive dream for last-mile logistics: ubiquitous drone delivery. After recently concluded its delivery trials in California, it’s now moving on to the next test market: Phoenix.
AI
Meta Breaks Down AI-Fueled Ads
There’s lots of talk about Meta’s AI integrations in its ad creation and campaign workflows. But we rarely get a glimpse into how those integrations and infusions are happening. Last week at Street Fight Live, we were given just that. Meta’s Brody Karmenzind presented all the ways AI enters the picture.
MULO
Tiger Pistol Offers a Playbook for Overcoming Inflation
Tiger Pistol today addressed the world of multi-location brands with a new playbook on overcoming inflation. Entitled Overcoming Inflation: A Playbook for Maximizing Franchise Profitability Through Local Advertising, it’s meant to navigate MULO operators through the current macroeconomic headwinds.
Local Radar
Local Radar: Optimizing Audio, Customer Service and Wine
In this edition of Localogy’s Local Radar, we examine newly funded companies Ferovinum, Agency & Gladia
Pro Features
Hot Takes & Takeaways from Street Fight Live
Street Fight Live takeaways are many and we’ll be drilling down into sessions, themes, and ah-ha moments in the coming weeks. For now, here are easily-digestible top takeaways. And just for fun, we’ve also captured several zingers and one-liners, which flowed freely from the stage in Meta’s Chicago event space.
AI
Gemini Uplevels Google Maps
Google Maps is the latest product to get an infusion of Google’s generative AI model, Gemini. This involves several angles but the main takeaway is that Google Maps users will be able to tap into Gemini’s capabilities to make it more intuitive to find places and ask questions about them.
Pro Features
Street Fight is Back: The View from the Ground in Chicago
After several years off the scene, Street Fight events are back, starting tomorrow in Chicago. We’ll be there to absorb vibes & insights.
Local Radar
Local Radar: AI & Social Invade Healthcare, Banking and Food Delivery
In this edition of Localogy’s Local Radar, we examine newly funded companies Pharos, Interface.ai and Glovo.
M&A
Thryv Acquires Keap for $80 Million to Expand Product and Market Share
SMB-marketing-focused SaaS leader Thryv has announced the acquisition of CRM and marketing automation platform Keap. The transaction is valued at $80 million, all in cash and subject to customary adjustments, and is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to standard closing conditions.
Funding
Hummingbirds Scores $5.4 Million in Fresh Funding
Localized influencer network Hummingbirds has announced a $10 million seed round that includes existing and new investors like Allos Ventures and M25 Fund. This brings the company’s funding to date to $14.4 million by our count, and comes less than a year after its last funding round of $3.3 million.
Pro Features
Yelp Documents the Transformation of the American Shopping Mall
The role of the Shopping Mall – once a defining venue of American culture in the 80s and 90s – continues to transform. Despite the bloodletting of retailpocalypse, the shopping mall hasn’t gone away. But it has morphed considerably in both “form and function,” according to a new report from Yelp.
AI
Salvaging Siri: Apple Intelligence Comes to the Rescue
Apple Intelligence is now live with this week’s iOS 18.1 general availability. This will mean many things, as Apple Intelligence is more of an embedded set of system functions than it is a feature or app. But the most important thing it could do is to rescue Siri from its morass of mediocrity.
AI
Read AI Closes $50 Million Series B, Expands Product
AI-driven enterprise analytics player Read AI is out today with a one-two punch. The first is a fresh Series B funding round, to the tune of $50 million. And the second is the expansion of its product from a call/meeting analytics tool to a broader play that spans email, Slack, and productivity tools like Jira.