Tech Nuggets with the Technology

Monday, May 4, 2020

Apple, Google ban use of location tracking in contact tracing apps

Both the companies said privacy and preventing governments from using the system to compile data on citizens was a primary goal https://ift.tt/2ytZtS7 https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Google is integrating Meet with Gmail for non-G Suite customers, with some users already seeing a link to launch Meet from Gmail's sidebar (Kim Lyons/The Verge)

Kim Lyons / The Verge:
Google is integrating Meet with Gmail for non-G Suite customers, with some users already seeing a link to launch Meet from Gmail's sidebar — Google Meet zooms into Gmail, starting a houseparty with its other messaging services — Google has wasted no time integrating its Meet videoconferencing …

Average daily transactions via AePS double to 113 lakh

Aimed at promoting financial inclusion and providing digital payment services in rural and remote areas, such transactions totalled 430 million, amounting to Rs 16,101 crore https://ift.tt/2z6PJxg https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

IT hardware body red-flags Aarogya order

MAIT says company heads can't be held liable for Covid-19 app downloads, wants punitive steps dropped https://ift.tt/3dksm2e https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Edtech’s newest unicorn, ApplyBoard, lands $1.4B valuation with fresh funding

Brothers Martin, Meti and Massi Basiri all left Iran to study abroad in Canada. After struggling with every aspect from the visa process to grade conversions, the brothers saw an opportunity to make the transition to study internationally more seamless. So, they started Applyboard in 2015 at University of Waterloo’s Velocity Garage.

ApplyBoard has two main parts of its business. First, the company helps international students search and apply from a single platform to universities and colleges across the world. Similar to how American students use the Common App to apply to schools, ApplyBoard seeks to be the college undergrad application for international students, and serve as a marketplace. It is free for students.

The other part of ApplyBoard’s business is on the university side. The startup makes money from revenue-sharing agreements with colleges and universities. If a student attends a college from using their services, ApplyBoard gets a cut of the tuition.

While the SaaS-enabled startup did not disclose revenue, it said it took in $300 million in sales last year.

Five years after founding, ApplyBoard has helped assist over 100,000 students across 110 countries to study internationally. Today, the Ontario-based startup announced it raised $75 million (USD) at a $1.5 billion valuation, making it the latest edtech unicorn.

Unlike most of the reported rounds we’ve been covering these days, this round was closed at the end of March in the thick of the pandemic for Canada, co-founder Martin Basiri told TechCrunch. It means that ApplyBoard’s new valuation is yet another example of how edtech as a sector is feeling dollar sign momentum from COVID-19.

The pandemic has forced millions of students to learn from home, putting tech companies at the forefront of making remote education possible. ApplyBoard, said Basiri, had a 200% month-over-month surge of new schools signing up for its service.

“A lot of investors noticed the importance of our digital platform that can do such an important job,” said Basiri.

While most unicorns in the edtech space hail from the B2C space, like Duolingo and Udemy, the story with ApplyBoard shows that there is promise in selling to large businesses. Across the world, colleges have been turning to alternative marketing channels as campus tours and limited travel hurts their exposure to international students.

The new round was led by Drive Capital. Other participating investors include Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, Business Development Bank of Canada, Anthos Capital, Artiman Ventures, and Plug and Play Tech Center. ApplyBoard plans to hire 100 more employees, atop its existing 400 staff.

Xiaomi, Realme says potential of offline sales post Covid-19 intact; consumers may change buying habit

Xiaomi and Realme said they will restructure their product plans and portfolio this year with the change in buying habit. https://ift.tt/2WptvyB https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Ontario-based ApplyBoard, a SaaS-enabled recruitment service for international students applying to educational programs, has raised $75M at a $1.4B valuation (Mary Ann Azevedo/Crunchbase News)

Mary Ann Azevedo / Crunchbase News:
Ontario-based ApplyBoard, a SaaS-enabled recruitment service for international students applying to educational programs, has raised $75M at a $1.4B valuation — ApplyBoard, a SaaS-enabled recruitment platform aimed at helping international students gain greater access to higher education …

Top multinationals from HUL to Apple brace for rising online sales post Covid-19

LG, Samsung, Vivo and Xiaomi are also rolling out hyperlocal sales platforms that will connect their offline stores to consumers searching products online https://ift.tt/2W3WFo3 https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Redmi Note 9 Pro to Go on Sale via Amazon, Mi.com at 12 Noon

Redmi Note 9 Pro will go on sale at 12pm (noon) today, for the first time after the government eased restrictions amid the nationwide lockdown that has been in force due to the coronavirus pandemic. https://ift.tt/2Yw3kZH

Sources: Uber is in talks to lead $170M investment in Lime at a $510M valuation, down 79% from last valuation, and will get option to buy Lime between 2022-2024 (The Information)

The Information:
Sources: Uber is in talks to lead $170M investment in Lime at a $510M valuation, down 79% from last valuation, and will get option to buy Lime between 2022-2024 — Uber is in talks to lead a $170 million financing in scooter rental firm Lime, whose business has dropped sharply amid the coronavirus pandemic …

The new 13" MacBook Pro marks the end of Apple's butterfly keyboards, which debuted in 2015 and remained unreliable despite numerous iterations (Dieter Bohn/The Verge)

Dieter Bohn / The Verge:
The new 13" MacBook Pro marks the end of Apple's butterfly keyboards, which debuted in 2015 and remained unreliable despite numerous iterations — In Apple's product lineup, at least — With today's announcement of a new 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple has finally stopped trying to fix …

Faster clearance for Govt drones for Covid-19 work

Fast-track approval not for operations such as drone package delivery or spraying disinfectants, which local authorities were doing during lockdown https://ift.tt/35wLZB8 https://ift.tt/eA8V8J