Tech

Digital securities platform iSTOX closes $50 million Series A to make private equity accessible to more investors

Oi Yee Choo, chief commercial officer of digital securities platform iSTOX iSTOX, a digital securities platform that wants to make private equity investment more accessible, has added new investors from Japan to its Series A round, bringing its total to $50 million. Two of its new backers are the government-owned Development Bank of Japan and JIC Venture Growth Investments, the venture capital arm of Japan Investment Corporation, a state-backed investment fund. Other participants included Jur...
Tags: Fundings & Exits, Startups, TC, Asia, Europe, Japan, Australia, China, Southeast Asia, Singapore, Tech, Investing, Fintech, Blockchain, Chongqing, Development Bank of Japan

Vietnam awaits you with wonders

With its beautiful beaches, lush green landscapes, fresh food and vibrant culture, travelers the world over have been enchanted by Vietnam. In fact, in 2019, Vietnam welcomed 18 million international guests and Da Nang was named the top trending destination for 2020. Sadly, the pandemic has had severe implications for travel, and that is one reason we’re excited to share this new project. Before the pandemic, Google Arts & Culture partnered with Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism,...
Tags: Google, Vietnam, Arts And Culture, Da Nang, Quang Binh, Son Doong Cave, Son Tra Peninsula, Google in Asia, Pierre Caessa, Da Nang Quang Nam Thua Thien Hue, Tran Tuan Viet, Nha Nhac Nha Nhac, Linh Ung Pagoda, Tomb of Tu Duc

Treasury Nominee Yellen Is Looking To Curtail Use of Cryptocurrency

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Cryptocurrencies could come under renewed regulatory scrutiny over the next four years if Janet Yellen, Joe Biden's pick to lead the Treasury Department, gets her way. During Yellen's Tuesday confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) asked Yellen about the use of cryptocurrency by terrorists and other criminals. "Cryptocurrencies are a particular concern," Yellen responded. "I think many are used -...
Tags: Tech, Treasury, Yellen, Treasury Department, Janet Yellen Joe Biden, Senate Finance Committee Sen Maggie Hassan D N H

China Plans Online Payment Rules That May Hit Ant, Tencent

hackingbear writes: People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said on Wednesday that any non-bank payment company with half of the market in online transactions or two entities with a combined two-thirds share could be subject to antitrust probes, potentially dealing another blow to financial technology giant Ant Group Co. and its biggest rival Tencent Holdings Ltd. Ant's Alipay accounts of 55.6% of the Chinese online payment market, while Tencent's WeChat accounts for 38.8%, according...
Tags: China, Tech, Alibaba, Tencent, Jack Ma, Pboc, Ma, People s Bank of China, Tencent Holdings Ltd, Ant Group Co, Yahoo Finance Firms

Mysterious 'Jetpack Guy' Could Actually Be This Weird Mannequin Drone

Bizarre, ongoing sightings of what appears to be a man flying a jetpack at high altitudes have understandably baffled the public. The sightings, which started last August, have involved multiple commercial airline pilots and have all taken place at incredibly high elevations—up to 6,000 feet in the air. People…Read more...
Tags: Science, Technology, Articles, Robotics, Science and Technology, Embedded Systems, Jet pack, Emerging Technologies, Avionics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Ultralight Aircraft, Unidentified Flying Object

Indian stock exchanges approve $3.4B Reliance and Future deal in setback for Amazon

Indian stock exchanges approved the $3.4 billion deal between retail giants Reliance Retail and Future Group on late Wednesday in yet another setback for Amazon, which has invested over $6.5 billion in the world’s second largest internet market and sought to block the aforementioned deal. The Bombay Stock Exchange said in a notification that it had spoken with India’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and had no objection or adverse observation on the deal. We...
Tags: Amazon, Ecommerce, Asia, Singapore, India, Tech, Amazon India, Delhi High Court, Reliance Industries, BCG, SEBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India SEBI, Hon, Reliance Retail, Future Group, Kishore Biyani

Tim Cook Gifted Donald Trump 'First' 2019 Mac Pro

Apple CEO Tim Cook gifted former United States President Donald Trump with the first 2019 Mac Pro that came off of the assembly line in Austin, Texas, according to a financial disclosure report that was released today (via The Verge). "‌Mac Pro‌ Computer, the first created at the Flex Factory in Austin, Texas," reads the entry, which values the machine at $5,999, the base price for a ‌Mac Pro‌. The ‌Mac Pro‌ would not have been the very first from the Flex Factory because the facility was als...
Tags: Apple, Texas, Cook, United States, Tim Cook, Donald Trump, Trump, Austin Texas, United States Apple, Tim Cook Donald Trump, Tim Cook Gifted Donald Trump, Flex Factory

A billionaire New York hedge-fund CEO just dropped $20 million on a Miami Beach mansion as Wall Street firms plan moves to Florida

A Google Maps street view of Loeb's new Miami Beach home. Google Maps New York hedge-fund CEO Daniel Loeb just spent $20 million on a seven-bedroom waterfront home in Miami Beach, per The Real Deal. Loeb is the billionaire founder and CEO of New York-based hedge fund Third Point, which manages $15 billion in assets. South Florida has seen an influx of celebrities, executives, and financial firms like Elliott Management moving there during the pandemic. Visit Business Insider's homepage...
Tags: Google, Florida, Real Estate, New York, Finance, Wall Street, Trends, Cnn, Billionaires, Manhattan, Miami, Tom Brady, Goldman Sachs, Cher, Karlie Kloss, Financial Times

Maker of crowd-sourced coronavirus spread tracker app sues Apple for 'arbitrary and capricious' iOS store snub

Offer to challenge rules a 'scam', too, we're told The maker of a disallowed iOS app called Coronavirus Reporter has sued Apple claiming the iPhone overlord's refusal to approve the software violates America's antitrust law.…

A Chinese Hacking Group Is Stealing Airline Passenger Details

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: A suspected Chinese hacking group has been attacking the airline industry for the past few years with the goal of obtaining passenger data in order to track the movement of persons of interest. The intrusions have been linked to a threat actor that the cyber-security has been tracking under the name of Chimera. Believed to be operating in the interests of the Chinese state, the group's activities were first described in a report [PDF] and Black Hat...
Tags: Asia, Tech, Fox, NCC, NCC Group, CyCraft

Daily Crunch: Trump pardons Anthony Levandowski

On his way out the door, President Donald Trump pardons a former Googler, Jack Ma reappears and Wattpad gets acquired. This is your Daily Crunch for January 20, 2021. The big story: Trump pardons Anthony Levandowski Although Donald Trump is no longer president of the United States as I write this, he still held the role on Tuesday evening, when he included former Googler Anthony Levandowski (who had been sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing trade secrets) in his final set of 73 pardons....
Tags: Amazon, South Korea, White House, Tech, Joe Biden, Mit, Policy, United States, Alibaba, Peter Thiel, Silicon Valley, Biden, Donald Trump, Jack Ma, Fintech, Naver

Kia Will Lead Apple Car Project Work Under Hyundai Motor, Report Says

Hyundai Motor, the parent automaker of Hyundai and Kia, will task the Kia division with Apple Car work. The brand also said on Wednesday it's looking at cooperation with foreign firms surrounding self-driving and electric vehicles. CNET reports: Kia made no mention of Apple, though the comment follows the reported connections to the tech giant. Earlier this month, various reports pegged the Apple Car as alive and well inside the tech company and said we could see a final vehicle in 2024 at the e...
Tags: Apple, Tech, Georgia, Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, Cnet, Hyundai Motor

New global publications sign on to News Showcase

The events of this past year have proven that providing access to diverse, high-quality news sources is more important than ever. Whether it’s information about COVID-19, the latest environmental story or reporting on governments around the world, people are looking for the news that affects their lives. Our investment of $1 billion over the next three years towards news partnerships and for Google News Showcase helps support publications to produce, distribute and explain essential information ...
Tags: Google, News, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Google News, Reuters, Pernambuco, Libération, Brad Bender, La Gaceta, Google News Initiative, Sächsische Zeitung, Google News Showcase, Le Monde Le Figaro, France El Cronista

Genflow nabs $11M investment from BGF

Genflow, a London an0d LA-based brand building agency that offers an e-commerce and mobile tech platform to let influencers start companies, has raised $11 million in funding. Leading the round is U.K. investor BGF. The injection of capital will be used by Genflow to further scale its offering and for international expansion. Founded in 2016 by entrepreneur Shan Hanif to help social media influencers develop their brands and extract revenue from their audiences, Genflow combines aspects of a tra...
Tags: Fundings & Exits, Startups, TC, Facebook, Europe, London, Youtube, La, Tech, Hanif, BGF Ventures, Recent Funding, Genflow, Shan Hanif

Biden Rejoins Paris Climate Accord, Works To Overturn Trump's Climate Policies

During his first moments in the Oval Office on Wednesday, President Biden returned the United States to the Paris climate accord and directed federal agencies to begin unraveling Donald Trump's environmental policies. The Washington Post reports: Biden's executive order recommitting the United States to the international struggle to slow global warming fulfilled a campaign promise and represented a stark repudiation of the "America First" approach of Trump, who officially withdrew the nation fro...
Tags: Washington Post, Washington, Tech, Canada, United States, Paris, Epa, Biden, Donald Trump, Environmental Protection Agency, Trump, Oval Office, Transportation Department, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, The Washington Post He

79 gift ideas for everyone on your list - all under $100

When you buy through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more. Hollis Johnson/Crystal Cox/Alyssa Powell/Business Insider With a $100 budget, you can buy anything from a smart speaker to a . These 70+ gift ideas cover a wide range of interests and needs, so you can find something unique and thoughtful for your loved ones. If your budget changes, here are our guides to gifts under $25 and gifts under $50. Or If you don't have a budget at all, we have a gift gui...
Tags: Reviews, Google, Amazon, Nordstrom, NYC, Disney, US, Trends, Walmart, Features, Gifts, Fox, Tennessee, New York Times, Amazon Kindle, Toyota

In Hidden Message on White House Website, Biden Calls For Coders

The recently updated website for President Joe Biden's White House carried an invitation for tech specialists savvy enough to find it. From a report: Hidden in the HTML code on www.whitehouse.gov was an invitation to join the U.S. Digital Service, a technology unit within the White House. "If you're reading this, we need your help building back better," the message said. Former President Barack Obama launched the service in 2014 to recruit technologists to help revamp government services -- for ...
Tags: White House, Barack Obama, Tech, Joe Biden, Medicare, Biden, U S Digital Service, Digital Service

What's an 'Uncertified' Android Device?

Google will start disabling Google Messages from working on “uncertified” Android devices starting March 31. This change shouldn’t affect most of you, but it does beg the question: What exactly is an “uncertified” Android device, and how do you make sure you’re not using one?Read more...
Tags: Google, Android, Lifehacks, Alphabet Inc

Speed in Sales at Startups

The Ferrari Museum in Modena, Italy The defining characteristic of the Silicon Valley startup is speed. It is so important that not a week goes by without a successful investor/founder extolling the benefits of moving quickly.Sam Altman recently tweeted:Move faster. Slowness anywhere justifies slowness everywhere. 2021 instead of 2022. This week instead of next week. Today instead of tomorrow. Moving fast compounds so much more than people realize.Jeff Bezos leverages speed in Amazon’s decisio...
Tags: Amazon, Startups, UK, Technology, Leadership, Wisdom, France, Berlin, US, Sales, Startup, Amazon Prime, Silicon Valley, Sam Altman, Pentagon, Eiffel Tower

Curtsy, a clothing resale app aimed at Gen Z women, raises $11 million Series A

Curtsy, a clothing resale app and competitor to recently IPO’d Poshmark, announced today it has raised $11 million in Series A funding for its startup focused on the Gen Z market. The app, which evolved out of an earlier effort for renting dresses, now allows women to list their clothes, shoes and accessories for resale, while also reducing many of the frictions involved with the typical resale process. The new round was led by Index Ventures, and included participation from Y Combinator, prior ...
Tags: Startups, TC, Mobile, Ecommerce, Apps, Y Combinator, Marketplace, Shopping, Funding, Clothing, Tech, Usps, Index Ventures, Oates, Gen Z, Poshmark

Opera Now Has a Game Engine To Go With Its Gamer-Focused Browser

Opera has acquired YoYo Games, a British game development platform best known for GameMaker Studio 2, and is launching its Opera Gaming division. Engadget reports: Opera has bought the company for a simple reason: Opera GX. The gamer-focused web browser was launched in early access back in June 2019. Its headline feature is a slide-out control panel that lets you limit the browser's bandwidth and see which tabs are demanding the most CPU and RAM resources. Opera says it will create a new divisio...
Tags: Tech, Ram, Engadget, Opera Gaming, Stuart Poole General Manager of YoYo Games

What is Shazam? Here's what you need to know about the music-identification app

The Shazam app matches the digital fingerprint of an audio to a database of millions of tracks. Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images Shazam is an app that can identify music and TV shows by listening to a short sample of their audio. To use Shazam, simply tap the Shazam button in the app or activate it through Siri on an Apple device. Once a song or TV show is identified, Shazam displays additional information and sharing options. Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference lib...
Tags: Apple, Music, Trends, Siri, Music Streaming, TV Shows, Ads, Shazam, Tech Insider, BI-freelancer, Tech Reference, Laptops & Tablets (Reference, Software & Apps (Reference, Tech How To, Smartphones (Reference, Rafael Henrique

Buyers can bid on America’s priciest home via Google Forms

Developer Nile Niami is asking buyers interested in his $350 million Bel Air spec mansion to submit an application through Google Forms — and he’d like to know which influencer turned them onto the property.
Tags: Google, Instagram, Listings, America, Radio, Luxury, Compass, Architectural Digest, Google Forms, Nile Niami, Aaron Kirman, Rayni Williams, Brendan Williams, Williams & Williams Estates Group, Luxury Lens, Rita Kogan

Courtbot: Should Courts Text You About Your Next Court Date?

As we have seen in the last year, technology can improve access to justice. A new product called Courtbot is another great example of technology improving interactions with the courts. The new App Courtbot helps remind litigants of upcoming court appearances. It is a text-messaging App based in Oklahoma. According to its website, once clients text their case number to Courtbot, clients receive an automatic reminder of court dates. Courtbot claims that “research shows that reminders work… Around ...
Tags: Technology, Law, Oklahoma, Tulsa County Jail, Court Date Reminders, Courtbot, Text Messages From Courts

JBL’s speaker-packed Google Nest Hub alternative is $220 off

This device has gotten cheaper over the past three years.
Tags: Google, Jbl

Python language – why is this technology so popular?

People who are seriously interested in programming should first think seriously about choosing the right language. According to many IT specialists, Python is the best choice for beginners. In this article, you will learn what are the biggest advantages of this language, which makes it stand out from the competition and what is its use. What is the Python programming language? Python is a very popular object-oriented programming language, which is used on a large scale to create various ...
Tags: Python, Sales, Tech, Django

African edtech startup uLesson lands a $7.5 million Series A

ULesson, an edtech startup based in Nigeria that sells digital curriculum to students through SD cards, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. The round is led by Owl Ventures, which closed over half a billion in new fund money just months ago. Other participants include LocalGlobe and existing investors, including TLcom Capital and Founder Collective. The financing comes a little over a year since uLesson closed its $3.1 million seed round in November 2019. The startup’s biggest differenc...
Tags: Startups, Marketplace, Education, India, Nigeria, Africa, Tech, South Africa, Kenya, World Health Organization, Series A, Early Stage, University Of Georgia, Localglobe, Digital Learning, Owl Ventures

‘Zillow Gone Wild’: Instagram account featuring kooky homes gains popularity

An Instagram account that finds the biggest, flashiest and otherwise weirdest listings on Zillow is quickly gaining a loyal following.
Tags: Technology, Instagram, Buzzfeed, Listings, Lifestyle, Radio, Luxury, Zillow, Samir Mezrahi, Tiktok

There's Still No Sign of Privacy Labels for Most Google iOS Apps

As of December 8, Apple has been requiring developers submitting new apps and app updates to provide privacy label information that outlines the data that each app collects from users when it is installed. Many app developers, such as Facebook, have complied and now include the privacy labels alongside their apps, but there's one notable outlier -- Google. Google has not updated its major apps like Gmail, Google Maps, Chrome, and YouTube since December 7 or before, and most Google apps have ...
Tags: Apple, Google, Facebook, Featured, Privacy, App Store, Google Google, App Store Google, Google Maps Chrome Waze YouTube Google, Google Voice Google News Gboard Google

New realtor.com partnerships will add more 3D tour options

The listing portal will now support 3D tours from imaging startups Asteroom and CloudPano, in addition to Matterport.
Tags: Facebook, Technology, Radio, Google Street View, Matterport, Industry News, Select, News Brief, Realtor.com, Pandemic, 3D Tour, Coronavirus, COVID-19, COVID, Coronavirus Pandemic, Asteroom