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London-based The Applied AI Company, which uses AI to automate repetitive work prone to human error in insurance, pharma, and other sectors, raised a $42M seed
Meituan reports Q3 revenue up 28.2% YoY to ~$8.7B and ~$170M in profit, as its "core local commerce" segment, including food delivery and hotels, rose 24.6% YoY
Binance releases its proof-of-reserves system, starting with BTC, claiming it has 582,485 BTC and 575,742 BTC user balance, a reserve ratio of 101% for users
The UK government says its Online Safety Bill will return to the parliament in December and will be expanded to criminalize nonconsensual "deepfake" pornography
How crypto helped users buy horrific child abuse images on Dark Scandals, whose founder was sentenced to 10 years by a Dutch court, often aided by exchanges
Amazon will shut down its food delivery business in India on December 29, after launching it in May 2020 in Bengaluru, as part of a broader restructuring
techcrunch.com · 5 hours ago
The FCC imposes a ban on equipment from Huawei and ZTE, camera providers Hikvision and Dahua, and radio maker Hytera, citing "a risk to national security"
Report: several US states are investigating Genesis Global as part of an inquiry into interconnectedness of crypto firms, securities laws violations, and more
The UK government asks its departments to stop installing Chinese surveillance cameras at sensitive sites, after calls to ban devices from Hikvision and Dahua
Hong Kong-based XanPool, a cross-border payments infrastructure provider for both crypto and fiat currencies, raised $41M in Q2 2022 at a $400M valuation
How Woolworths, Loblaws, and other retailers are developing digital advertising arms and profiling customers, aiming to become ad venues for large brands
Experts and employees detail Uber's struggles in Pakistan as it discontinues service in five cities, cuts spending, and faces increased competition from inDrive
Inside Zhengzhou's "iPhone City" lockdown, where China's zero COVID-19 policy, related propaganda and fears, and Foxconn's missteps led to the worker riots
Analysis: AI startup funding has been around 9%-10% of global VC investment in recent years, led by robotics, autonomous vehicles, and enterprise software
Reserve Bank of India declines a payment aggregator license for Paytm parent One 97, asking it to comply with foreign direct investment guidelines and reapply
Hamburg-based Localyze, which offers a B2B SaaS service for employee immigration and relocation support, raised a $35M Series B led by General Catalyst
Sundar Pichai said in a Code Conference interview that Google is "pro-competitive" and cited Microsoft, Apple, and TikTok as competitors in different businesses
As Spotify and YouTube's rivalry heats up, some worry the podcasting industry's pivot to video could risk ruining what makes the audio format so satisfying
theguardian.com · 3 months ago
Google expands Google Maps' fuel-efficient eco-friendly driving routes, first introduced to US-based users in 2021, to 40 more countries across Europe
ISPs drop their legal bid to overturn a Maine law requiring opt-in consent before using, disclosing, selling, or providing access to customers' personal info
US Senator Amy Klobuchar, the AICO's primary sponsor, says an "incredible onslaught of money" to fund ads against the bill has been an obstacle to passing it
UK drugstore chain Boots plans to launch an online marketplace for third-party health and beauty brands in spring 2023
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the US with 600,000+ students, says a ransomware attack over the weekend disrupted its operations
Tencent plans to invest €200M in Ubisoft to increase its direct stake from 4.5% to 9.99% at an implied €80 per share, alongside another €100M in the company
Google announces an in-person Pixel hardware event for October 6 at 10am ET in Brooklyn, where the company will detail the Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel Watch
Source: a holding company created by merging PrismHR and Vensure Employer Services acquires HR startup Namely, which raised $200M+ from Sequoia and others
Meta announces its Connect conference will be held virtually on October 11, when it is expected to debut its high-end Quest Pro standalone VR headset
A book excerpt details how YouTube's love affair with PewDiePie soured in 2017, before he stopped pushing boundaries and signed a livestreaming deal in 2020
Sources: amid lockdowns, Chinese staff and suppliers provided more complex work for the iPhone 14 than past models even as Apple tries to cut reliance on China
Twitter tells Judge McCormick that Peiter Zatko never raised spam concerns until he filed his whistleblower complaint and "started parroting" Musk's allegations
Internal memo: Instagram plans to eventually eliminate its existing Shopping page and will test a simpler and less personalized page over the next few months
theinformation.com · 3 months ago
Google confirms the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro will run on a new "Tensor G2" SoC
In a text exchange on May 8, Elon Musk suggested slowing down the Twitter deal ahead of a speech by Putin to see if "we're heading into World War III"
VTS, which provides online tools to landlords for managing leases and tenant data, raised a $125M+ Series E led by CBRE Group, sources say at a $1.7B valuation
Japan-based Josys, which helps companies automate IT operations, has raised a $32M Series A led by Global Brain
State Farm will invest $1.2B in ADT for a ~15% stake, and $300M more for product innovation; Google invests $150M toward new products, pledges $150M more
Signal appoints former Google manager Meredith Whittaker as its first president, helping shape strategy, comms, and policy
Sony says longtime PlayStation hardware architect Masayasu Ito plans to retire on October 1; Ito joined Sony in 1986 and began working on consoles in 2000
A look at the crypto real estate market, as a growing pool of investors seek safer assets, and its challenges, such as money laundering and gyrating valuations
As Chinese consumers become thrifty amid an economic slowdown, Insider Intelligence forecasts just 9.1% increase in e-commerce sales in 2022, lowest since 2008
Google updates Chrome to address an actively exploited high-severity zero-day vulnerability in Mojo, its sixth patch for zero-day vulnerabilities in 2022
A look at YouTube's "coolhunters" who were tasked with finding and promoting talented YouTubers in the company's early years, before the algorithms took over
Venture Intelligence: Indian startups raised 18 $100M+ funding rounds totaling $3.6B in Q2 2022, down from 29 such rounds worth a total of $6.7B in Q1 2022
Singapore-based Docquity, a collaboration and learning platform for health care professionals, raised a $44M Series C, bringing its total funding to $57.5M
The EU launched its new San Francisco office to liaise with US tech companies and promote EU standards and technologies, digital policies, and governance models
US public school districts in seven states are piloting or have introduced Starlink internet access to rural students' homes, as some question the affordability
Utility company Xcel locked 22,000 Colorado users in an energy saving program out of their smart thermostats for hours on August 30 citing an "energy emergency"
Sources: Amazon plans to partner with small and medium-size pharmacies in Japan to open an online store that delivers prescription drugs in the country in 2023
asia.nikkei.com · 3 months ago