Microsoft will launch xCloud game streaming service Sept. 15 on Android

(Microsoft Image)

Microsoft on Tuesday revealed a launch date and other details about its new cloud-based gaming service.

Project xCloud will debut across 22 markets (including the U.S.) on Sept. 15 for Android, allowing Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription members to play more than 100 games on their phone or tablet. Microsoft did not say when xCloud will be coming to iOS devices; there could be a delay due to Apple’s App Store policies, as The Verge noted.

Bit disappointed we havent heard an update yet on xCloud for PC or iOS.

Android stuff is good, but only one piece of a much larger pie.

— Brad Sams (@bdsams) August 4, 2020

xCloud lets users play high-powered Xbox games such as Halo on their smartphones. xCloud will be coming to Windows 10 as well as the Xbox platform. The service was in public preview across North America, Europe, and South Korea earlier this year; the preview will end on Sept. 11.

Microsoft said last month that Project xCloud would be included in its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership program. The Ultimate package includes access to both console and PC games, in addition to an Xbox Live Gold membership, for $14.99/month. There are more than 10 million Xbox Game Pass members.

Some refer to xCloud as the “Netflix of games,” given that it lets users access a library of games via the cloud.

Microsoft said today it is partnering with Razer, PowerA, 8BitDo, and Nacon to sell new accessories built for xCloud such as phone clips and travel controllers. Gamers can also use the Xbox One Bluetooth Wireless and PlayStation DualShock 4 controllers.

Games available via xCloud include Halo 5: Guardians, Destiny 2, Grounded, Gears 5, Tell Me Why, Forza Horizon 4, and most of the titles in the Xbox Game Pass library, according to an FAQ page.

Microsoft is competing with companies including Google and Nvidia that are also investing in cloud-based gaming services.

“Cloud gaming removes the need to wait until you can access your console in order to play your favorite games: Just pick up your phone or tablet and play the games you want, any time you want,” xCloud chief Kareem Choudhry wrote in a blog post.

Microsoft is also gearing up to release its new console, the Xbox Series X, later this year.

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JetClosing raises $8.5M as pandemic highlights demand for digital title and escrow service

JetClosing CEO Dan Greenshields. (JetClosing Photo)

Social distancing rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic are driving up demand for JetClosing‘s digital home closing service.

The startup just landed $8.5 million in a Series B round from existing investors. Funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates led the round; Pioneer Square Labs and Trilogy Equity also invested again. Total funding to date is $35 million.

Founded in 2016 and spun out of Pioneer Square Labs in Seattle, JetClosing digitizes the home closing process for buyers, sellers, and realtors, removing paper forms and bringing everything to the cloud. The company charges a flat escrow fee to both sides for each transaction and makes additional revenue on issuing owners and lenders title insurance policies. It also helps homeowners refinance.

JetClosing is part of a growing trend in real estate to shift the homebuying experience online — one that has accelerated due to the global health crisis. Redfin reported today that nearly half of people who bought a home in the past year made an offer on a property hadn’t seen in person, up from 28% in 2019.

JetClosing CEO Daniel Greenshields said people are now “dependent” on digital tools to skip in-person meetings and complete home transactions from anywhere in the world.

Order activity on the company’s platform increased 124% from April to July. This month there have been a record number of new orders — half for home purchases, and half for refinancing.

Greenshields added that the pandemic has accelerated adoption of digital notary services, a key feature of the company’s offering.

JetClosing uses machine learning, serverless computing, and other technology to digitize the closing process. Its competitors — incumbent title and escrow services — can do the same job, but JetClosing does it faster, cheaper, on mobile, and with more transparency, according to the company.

Real estate agents using JetClosing can provide real-time notifications and messaging to homebuyers about the progress of a close. JetClosing can deliver seller proceeds in 60 minutes. The company also offers its own property title scoring system called JetScore, similar to a FICO score for credit services, and recently partnered with CertifID to bolster its fraud and security protections.

JetClosing is now licensed to operate in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

The company’s largest competitors are firms such as Rainier Title and Chicago Title, which is owned by Fidelity.

The 83-person startup landed a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan between $1 to $2 million, GeekWire reported earlier this month. It made some “tough staffing decisions” at the onset of the pandemic, Greenshields said, but is now hiring again and plans to open a new office in the coming months.

Greenshields previously spent nearly 15 years helping run ShareBuilder, a company now owned by Capital One which digitized and sped up the process of buying stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 401(K) plans, and more.

JetClosing is one of several startups in the Seattle region building tech for the real estate industry. Others include Flyhomes, Knock, Remarkably, Pro.com, Porch, MoxiWorks, IMPREV, Faira, Picket Homes, Modus, and more — not to mention industry giants such as Zillow Group and Redfin.

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JetClosing raises $8.5M as pandemic highlights demand for digital title and escrow service

JetClosing CEO Dan Greenshields. (JetClosing Photo)

Social distancing rules due to the COVID-19 pandemic are driving up demand for JetClosing‘s digital home closing service.

The startup just landed $8.5 million in a Series B round from existing investors. Funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates led the round; Pioneer Square Labs and Trilogy Equity also invested again. Total funding to date is $35 million.

Founded in 2016 and spun out of Pioneer Square Labs in Seattle, JetClosing digitizes the home closing process for buyers, sellers, and realtors, removing paper forms and bringing everything to the cloud. The company charges a flat escrow fee to both sides for each transaction and makes additional revenue on issuing owners and lenders title insurance policies. It also helps homeowners refinance.

JetClosing is part of a growing trend in real estate to shift the homebuying experience online — one that has accelerated due to the global health crisis. Redfin reported today that nearly half of people who bought a home in the past year made an offer on a property hadn’t seen in person, up from 28% in 2019.

JetClosing CEO Daniel Greenshields said people are now “dependent” on digital tools to skip in-person meetings and complete home transactions from anywhere in the world.

Order activity on the company’s platform increased 124% from April to July. This month there have been a record number of new orders — half for home purchases, and half for refinancing.

Greenshields added that the pandemic has accelerated adoption of digital notary services, a key feature of the company’s offering.

JetClosing uses machine learning, serverless computing, and other technology to digitize the closing process. Its competitors — incumbent title and escrow services — can do the same job, but JetClosing does it faster, cheaper, on mobile, and with more transparency, according to the company.

Real estate agents using JetClosing can provide real-time notifications and messaging to homebuyers about the progress of a close. JetClosing can deliver seller proceeds in 60 minutes. The company also offers its own property title scoring system called JetScore, similar to a FICO score for credit services, and recently partnered with CertifID to bolster its fraud and security protections.

JetClosing is now licensed to operate in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington.

The company’s largest competitors are firms such as Rainier Title and Chicago Title, which is owned by Fidelity.

The 83-person startup landed a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan between $1 to $2 million, GeekWire reported earlier this month. It made some “tough staffing decisions” at the onset of the pandemic, Greenshields said, but is now hiring again and plans to open a new office in the coming months.

Greenshields previously spent nearly 15 years helping run ShareBuilder, a company now owned by Capital One which digitized and sped up the process of buying stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 401(K) plans, and more.

JetClosing is one of several startups in the Seattle region building tech for the real estate industry. Others include Flyhomes, Knock, Remarkably, Pro.com, Porch, MoxiWorks, IMPREV, Faira, Picket Homes, Modus, and more — not to mention industry giants such as Zillow Group and Redfin.

View the original article here

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