Tuesday, September 15, 2020
Government plans to introduce law to ban cryptocurrency trading
Redmi 9A Set to Go on Sale Today at 12 Noon via Amazon, Mi.com
Safety driver in 2018 Uber crash is charged with negligent homicide
Enlarge / The Uber vehicle after it struck Elaine Herzberg. (credit: Tempe Police Department)
An Arizona grand jury has indicted Rafaela Vasquez, a former safety driver in Uber's self-driving car project, for the 2018 death of pedestrian Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Arizona. Prosecutors decided not to charge Uber criminally last year.
The crash occurred after dark on a well-lit stretch of Mill Avenue. Herzberg was crossing the multilane road with her a bicycle when the Uber SUV struck her at 38 miles per hour. Footage from a driver-facing camera shows Vasquez looking down at her lap for more than five seconds just prior to the crash. Officials found that Vasquez had been streaming a reality show called The Voice to her phone just before the crash.
Vasquez is being charged with negligent homicide, a charge similar to manslaughter that carries a recommended sentence of 2.5 years. However, the grand jury also charged that the crime was committed with a "dangerous instrument"—namely the car. When negligent homicide is committed with a dangerous weapon or instrument, the recommended sentence increases to six years.
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Cloud-based data catalog startup Data.World raises $26M led by Tech Pioneers Fund, bringing its total raised to $71.3M (Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat)
Cloud-based data catalog startup Data.World raises $26M led by Tech Pioneers Fund, bringing its total raised to $71.3M — Cloud-based data catalog startup Data.World today closed a $26 million venture capital funding round led by Tech Pioneers Fund. According to cofounder and CEO Brett Hurt …
Realme C11 to Go on Sale in India Today Again at 12 Noon
Apple Event Highlights: New iPad Air at $599; Apple Watch Series 6 comes to India at Rs 40,900 onwards
Sources: Microsoft plans to build a WeChat-like experience across its 365 services in the form of a "MetaOS" (Mary Jo Foley/ZDNet)
Sources: Microsoft plans to build a WeChat-like experience across its 365 services in the form of a “MetaOS” — Microsoft has a strategy to build a WeChat-like experience across its various Microsoft 365 business and consumer services in the form of a ‘MetaOS’ foundational layer.
Record transactions worth Rs 5.99 lakh crore via mobile apps in June
Fashion etailers, brands look to get back in shape during festivals
Adobe reports Q3 revenue of $3.23B, up 14% YoY, subscription revenue increased to $3B, from $2.55B YoY, with remote work offsetting a typical Q3 slump (Natalie Gagliordi/ZDNet)
Adobe reports Q3 revenue of $3.23B, up 14% YoY, subscription revenue increased to $3B, from $2.55B YoY, with remote work offsetting a typical Q3 slump — Adobe said cash flows from operations were a record $1.44 billion in Q3. — Adobe delivered better-than-expected third quarter financial results on Tuesday.
Sources: the FTC is preparing a possible antitrust lawsuit against Facebook by year-end, but no final decision has been made on whether to sue Facebook (Wall Street Journal)
Sources: the FTC is preparing a possible antitrust lawsuit against Facebook by year-end, but no final decision has been made on whether to sue Facebook — No final decision has been made on the outcome of a yearlong probe as discussions with the social-media giant continue
AT&T says it is considering offering wireless phone plans partially subsidized by advertising as soon as a year from now (Reuters)
AT&T says it is considering offering wireless phone plans partially subsidized by advertising as soon as a year from now — (Reuters) - AT&T Inc is considering offering wireless phone plans partially subsidized by advertising as soon as a year from now, Chief Executive John Stankey said in an interview on Tuesday.
Monday, September 14, 2020
Homage announces strategic partnership with Infocom, one of Japan’s largest healthcare IT providers
Homage, a Singapore-based caregiving and telehealth company, has taken a major step in its global expansion plan. The startup announced today that it has received strategic investment from Infocom, the Japanese information and communications technology company that runs one of the largest healthcare IT businesses in the country. Infocom’s solutions are used by more than 13,000 healthcare facilities in Japan.
During an interview with TechCrunch that will air as part of Disrupt tomorrow, Homage co-founder and chief executive Gillian Tee said “Japan has one of the most ageing populations in the world, and the problem is that we need to start building infrastructure to enable people to be able to access the kind of care services that they need.” She added that Homage and Infocom’s missions align because the latter is also building a platform for caregivers in Japan, in a bid to help solve the shortage of carers in the country.
Homage raised a Series B earlier this year with the goal of entering new Asian markets. The company, which currently operates in Singapore and Malaysia, focuses on patients who need long-term rehabilitation or care services, especially elderly people. This makes it a good match for Japan, where more than one in five of its population is currently aged 65 or over. In the next decade, that number is expected to increase to about one in three, making the need for caregiving services especially acute.
The deal includes a regional partnership that will enable Homage to launch its services into Japan, and Infocom to expand its reach in Southeast Asia. Homage’s services include a caregiver-client matching platform and a home medical service that includes online consultations and house calls, while Infocom’s technology covers a wide range of verticals, including digital healthcare, radiology, pharmaceuticals, medical imaging and hospital information management.
In a statement about the strategic investment, Mototaka Kuboi, Infocom’s managing executive officer and head of its healthcare business division, said, “We see Homage as an ideal partner given the company’s unique cutting-edge technology and market leadership in the long-term care segment, and we aim to drive business growth not only in Homage’s core and rapidly growing market in Southeast Asia, but also regionally.”
Indian e-commerce deals site CashKaro gets $10 million Series B led by Korea Investment Partners
CashKaro co-founders Rohan and Swati Bhargava
CashKaro, one of the leading cashback and coupon sites in India, will expand its range of services for e-commerce after raising $10 million in Series B funding, the New Delhi-based startup announced today. The round was led by Korea Investment Partners, with participation from returning investor Kalaari Capital.
TechCrunch last covered CashKaro five years ago when it raised a $3.8 million Series A. The latest round brings the company’s total funding so far to $15 million.
Over the past five years, the company has introduced new products, including a price comparison service, and EarnKaro, a social commerce cashback app that launched about 18 months ago. Part of the Series B will be used to expand EarnKaro, which has about one million registered users. It allows social commerce sellers, or people who use social media platform and messaging apps like WhatsApp to sell items, make extra cash by creating affiliate links to major e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart. The launch of EarnKaro also allowed CashKaro to reach into smaller cities and rural areas, where shoppers often prefer to order from people whose recommendations they trust (i.e. “micro-influencers”) instead of e-commerce sites.
Founded in 2013 by husband-and-wife team Swati and Rohan Bhargava, CashKaro currently claims about five million users and has partnerships with more than 1,500 e-commerce sites, including some of the biggest players in India, like Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra and Ajio. The company monetizes by charging brands a commission for transactions made through CashKaro links. The commissions are also how CashKaro is able to give cash back to shoppers, which can be deposited into their bank accounts or redeemed as gift vouchers for Flipkart and Amazon. CashKaro’s founders says it currently processes more than one million monthly transactions.
CashKaro competes for the attention of online shoppers with a bevy of other coupon and cashback services in India. Some of its rivals include CouponDunia, GrabOn and GoPaisa.
“We are the only VC-funded cashback site in India. While capital itself is not the differentiator, it is what we have been able to do with that capital which sets us apart,” Bhargava told TechCrunch, adding that CashKaro’s cashback rates are among the highest in the market.
“Given that we now drive close to a half a billion dollars in GMV through CashKaro and EarnKaro to our partner sites, we are able to get higher commission rates from partner sites, which in turn helps us pass the most benefit to our members.”
While COVID-19 has affected e-commerce businesses around the world because of sudden changes in consumer habits, the situation in India was particularly complicated in April and May because there were containment zones throughout the country, and in some zones, deliveries of non-essential items was not allowed until May.
“COVID-19 caught us by surprise and Indian e-commerce was neither prepared to handle the surge in demand, nor did we expect so many supply side and delivery issues,” said Bhargava. “Given CashKaro works with all e-commerce sites, we saw these trends as well.”
Since June, however, sales have started to recover and is seeing growth as people continue to stay home and shop online.
“Our business is growing month on month and, in fact, the pandemic spurred our expansion into new digital categories, like education, gaming and online video streaming, which have seen exponential growth,” Bhargava added. Sales of electronics, home and kitchen items, personal care and beauty have also increased over the past few months.
At the same time, the economic impact of the pandemic has prompted more people to seek cashback offers and other money-saving deals.
“We are seeing that saving consciousness has gone up amongst online shoppers and people are finding services like CashKaro and EarnKaro more useful than ever before,” Bhargava said. “On the client side, our partners, such as Amazon, Myntra and Ajio, are also working with us more closely because they are seeing that our performance marketing model is the perfect way to scale while keeping profitability in mind amidst these tough times.”
The new round of capital will be used for CashKaro’s goal of doubling its registered member base over the next 12 months from the current 5 million. Bhargava told TechCrunch that it will expand cashback offers into categories like credit cards and education, and launch new marketing campaigns focused around events like upcoming festivals and the Indian Premier League season, which starts this weekend.
The company is also “chasing aggressive growth for EarnKaro and reaching out to more influencers, resellers, housewives and students who are our primary target market for this product,” she added. Finally, part of the Series B will be used for hiring, including leadership positions.
For Korea Investment Partners, one of the largest South Korean venture capital firms, CashKaro represents a chance to tap into India’s fast-growing e-commerce market. In a statement, managing partner Hudson Kyung-sik Ho said, “We believe this is a highly scalable opportunity and both Swati and Rohan have set it on a truly exciting growth trajectory. CashKaro and EarnKaro together have shown exceptional unit metrics and we are really excited to be a part of India’s affiliate story.”
Disney, Fox, and WBD say they have agreed to discontinue their Venu Sports streaming joint venture and will focus on existing products and distribution channels (Alex Weprin/The Hollywood Reporter)
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter : Disney, Fox, and WBD say they have agreed to discontinue their Venu Sports streaming joint venture...
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Jake Offenhartz / Gothamist : Since October, the NYPD has deployed a quadruped robot called Spot to a handful of crime scenes and hostage...
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Lorena O'Neil / Rolling Stone : A look at the years of warnings about AI from researchers, including several women of color, who say ...
