US-based IT services company DXC Technology to acquire Switzerland-based software development company Luxoft for ~$2B in deal expected to close in June 2019 — Multibillion-dollar deal expected to boost DXC Technology's digital transformation capabilities.
Royole unveils FlexPai, a hybrid device that measures 7.8 inches in tablet form and becomes two Android phones when closed; available now in China for ~$1,320 — You asked for this — The Royole FlexPai is the sort of device that companies rush out when they feel the absolute imperative to be first with some new technology.
Report: VC funding in US startups reached $99.5B in 2018, the highest since 2000, in a total of 5,536 deals, the lowest since 2013 — U.S. startups are raising investment dollars at levels unseen since the dot-com era. — Venture capital funding in U.S. companies reached $99.5 billion in 2018 …
Google Assistant-supported car devices announced: Anker's $50 Roav Bolt USB charger with Bluetooth 5.0 and JBL's $60 Link Drive, both shipping this spring — Anker added Amazon Alexa to its Roav Viva charger a year ago, and now it offers Google, too — Amazon's Alexa got a head start …
Chinese startup Nreal unveils Light, consumer AR glasses about the size of a pair of sunglasses, slated to launch mid-2019 for ~$1,000 — A former Magic Leap engineer believes the problem with most consumer-facing augmented headsets on the market is their bulky size.
Twitter says it is launching a program to let a limited set of users try out new conversational features with their followers in the coming weeks — Twitter is launching a new program to let users reshape how conversations on its site look and feel, the company announced today in an interview with Engadget at CES 2019.
Customers have been annoyed by Samsung's deal to pre-install Facebook on devices, including Galaxy phones, because the app can only be disabled, not deleted — - Galaxy owners take to Twitter to complain about permanent app — Pre-install deals are common, but privacy concerns are rising
Comcast now offers Xfinity customers additional security protection on home networks for $5.99/month with xFi Advanced Security, which can quarantine devices — Better internet protection, for a price — Comcast has announced a new service as part of its Xfinity xFi internet platform at CES 2019 …
Sources: Amazon has acquired Israeli disaster recovery service CloudEndure for around $200M — Amazon has reportedly acquired Israeli disaster recovery startup CloudEndure. Neither company has responded to our request for confirmation, but we have heard from multiple sources that the deal has happened.
Google agrees to add YouTube viewers on mobile devices to Nielsen's Total Ad Ratings, which measures audience across TV, computers, tablets, and smartphones — YouTube mobile viewing included in Total Ad Ratings — Nielsen has reached an agreement with Google that will upgrade its measurement …
Sources: self-driving startup Aurora is raising $500M+ at a $2B+ valuation in a round led by Sequoia — Aurora's appeal is predicated on three well-credentialed founders from Google, Tesla, and Uber. — The startup Aurora — which is not yet two years old but has made waves …
Mark Zuckerberg says his challenge for 2019 is to host a series of public discussions about the future of technology in society — Every year I take on a personal challenge to learn something new. I've built an AI for my home, run 365 miles, visited every US state, read 25 books, and learned Mandarin.
Google makes over a dozen announcements for Google Assistant at CES, including Google Assistant Connect for third-party developers and flight check-ins — Today, Google is showing off auto-translation on smart display speakers, letting you naturally talk to each other with the speaker acting as the translator automatically.
Google debuts Interpreter Mode in Google Assistant for smart displays and speakers to translate languages in real time for people in the same physical space — OVER THE PAST year Google has been making its virtual assistant, the eponymous Google Assistant, more capable of handling …
Alienware unveils the Area-51m, an ultra-powerful gaming laptop with a 17.3" 1080p display that's designed to let users swap out parts, starting at $2,549 — The 'world's most powerful gaming laptop' wants to bring user-replaceable processors, graphics cards, storage, and RAM to portable computers
New York Times : Sources: the US State Department ordered embassies to push back against foreign influence campaigns, as officials worry ...
