Technological World for March 9, consumer tech: Canadian women launch investment fund, Epic Games buys Bandcamp, Apple's new computers, tablets, and phones

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Canadian women look to invest in Canadian women entrepreneurs, Epic Games buys Bandcamp, Apple’s new Mac Studio, iPad Air, iPhone SE, and green iPhone 13.

New angel investment fund launched by Canadian women tech leaders

Leen Li, the chief executive of Wealthsimple, Iliana Oris Valiente, managing director of Accenture Canada, and Tealzel Lee, founder and president of eFund, an investment vehicle based in B.C., are among the founding members of Phoenix Fire.

The new investment group will focus on angel stage investment in women entrepreneurs, who receive only three percent of venture capital funding, according to a release announcing the initiative.

The collective of thirteen founders also includes Diane Wolfenden, board chair at investment firm, Equation Angels, and Claudette McGowan, the chair of CILAR (the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism) and an executive officer with TD Bank in cyber security. “Collectively, the team has decades of investing experience, and expertise assessing and selecting successful start-ups for angel capital.”

Epic Games acquires Bandcamp

The news that video game developer and publisher Epic Games has purchased internet music company Bandcamp might seem strange, but it makes sense for both companies.

Epic’s biggest franchise right now is Fortnite, and in that virtual space the company has staged some massive musical events with such notables as Ariana Grande and Travis Scott.

Bandcamp, which was built to allow musical creators to have control over their online presence and digital sales, and it became a place where indie game developers were able to monetize the soundtracks for their games.

Epic now has direct access to artists on the platform.

Bandcamp, meanwhile, and the musicians who use it, benefit from some of the technology that Epic has developed around streaming and cross-platform integration as well as access to a global marketplace.

Chinese company, Tencent, owns 48% of Epic Games.

Apple reveals powerful new Mac, updated iPad Air, improved iPhone SE, and a green iPhone 13

Apple’s work to make its own silicon continues to pay off. The company announced yesterday the M1 Ultra chip, which practically is two M1 Max chips fused together, enabling a personal computer that can have 128 GB of RAM. The M1 Ultra has a 64-core graphical processing unit (the M1 chip has an 8-core GPU).

That incredible new chip is an option in Apple’s new Mac Studio computer, intended for professionals – like film companies and game developers – who are doing work that requires intensive processing power. Knowing this customer, Apple designed the box with lots of ports, including four Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB-A ports, and either two USB-C or Thunderbolt 4 ports on the front, along with an SD card slot.

The Mac Studio starts at $2,500 CAD and will ship on Friday, March 18.

The new system requires a monitor, and Apple’s new Studio Display was designed for the job. It’s a 27-inch, 5K Retina monitor ($1,999) equipped with a 12 MP ultra wide camera and six speakers.

The Peek Performance event also included reveals of a new iPad Air designed with an M1 chip and a new, ultra wide 12 MP camera.

Apple’s iPhone lineup also got an update, with a new iPhone SE, with an A15 Bionic chip (the same one that’s in the iPhone 13), 5G connectivity, and Touch ID, all starting at $579.

The iPhone 13 models, meanwhile, are now available in very nice new tints. The iPhone 13 Pro is “Alpine Green”, and the iPhone 13 is a slightly darker “Green”.

Green hasn’t looked this good since Kermit.

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