ProducePay, which offers an analytics service to track market prices of fruits and vegetables, raises $43M Series C led by G2VP, bringing total raised to $300M (Pat Maio/Los Angeles Business Journal)

Pat Maio / Los Angeles Business Journal:
ProducePay, which offers an analytics service to track market prices of fruits and vegetables, raises $43M Series C led by G2VP, bringing total raised to $300M  —  Downtown-based ProducePay Inc., a fintech-like business that has created a privately run commodity trading exchange …

Marvel Avengers: Black Widow-special Red Room Takeover event goes live

The Black Widow-special Red Room Takeover event in Marvel Avengers is live and will run till May 31. The limited-time event was announced in March and is now available on all platforms including PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Stadia.The Red Room Takeover is the build up to how the previous two weeks in the game have shaped up for players, with them sleuthing the Rooskaya Protocols out. The Rooskaya Protocols is a program that has infiltrated AIM Synthoids. https://ift.tt/3fasDbK

Snap to Buy Augmented Reality Company WaveOptics for Over $500 Million

Snapchat parent company Snap announced on Friday that it will acquire WaveOptics, a British augmented reality (AR) technology company, for over $500 million (roughly Rs. 3,645 crores). https://ift.tt/3f9Mbgl

People Adapt to 'Third' Robotic Thumb in Just Days in New Study

A new research has shown that the human brain can adapt to body augmentation much faster than expected. The study conducted by University College London (UCL) and the University of Oxford researchers... https://ift.tt/3wtEzLc

Spaceships Instead of Airplanes? Japan Unveils Plan for 2040

The Japanese government plans to develop an intercontinental passenger spaceship network that will enable people to fly to the major cities of the world in two hours or even lesser. https://ift.tt/3wpU9rh

A look at the characters behind the speculative shitcoin crypto scene, including promoters who can earn anywhere from $5K-$10K to hype a coin (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg:
A look at the characters behind the speculative shitcoin crypto scene, including promoters who can earn anywhere from $5K-$10K to hype a coin  —  The Bud Light Mango Mai Tais were beginning to take hold when Eric Hackney — 38, unemployed and ticked off by watching other people get rich …

Social Media Firms Asked to Remove 'Indian Variant' Reference of Coronavirus

The IT ministry in a letter issued on Friday has asked all social media companies to remove down any content that refers to an "Indian variant" of the coronavirus. The World Health Organization (WHO)... https://ift.tt/3fbDTEs

Nissan, Suzuki Said to Curtail Production in June Due to Chip Shortage

A global chip shortage is forcing automakers including Nissan, Suzuki, and Mitsubishi to temporarily halt production at some of its plants in June. https://ift.tt/347skIo

WhatsApp Says Still Discussing Data Collection Update in Turkey

WhatsApp said on Friday that it was still discussing the rollout of its updated privacy policy in Turkey, despite a statement from Turkey's Competition Board saying the update would not be issued. https://ift.tt/2Se238s

Bitcoin Extends Losses As China Clamps Down on Cryptocurrency Trading

Bitcoin price fell further on Friday after China doubled down on its efforts to crack down on cryptocurrency mining and trading. China's Financial Stability and Development Committee singled out... https://ift.tt/3uf3lx7

Informed.IQ raises $20M Series A for its AI tech that helps financial institutions verify income, assets, residence, and other loan origination data and docs (FinSMEs)

FinSMEs:
Informed.IQ raises $20M Series A for its AI tech that helps financial institutions verify income, assets, residence, and other loan origination data and docs  —  Informed.IQ, a San Francisco, CA-based technology company used by financial institutions to verify income, assets, residence …

A look at a fossil fuel power plant in NY that has been restarted to mine crypto, as NY considers a bill for placing a three-year moratorium on crypto mining (Wall Street Journal)

Wall Street Journal:
A look at a fossil fuel power plant in NY that has been restarted to mine crypto, as NY considers a bill for placing a three-year moratorium on crypto mining  —  The lofty prices of cryptocurrencies have investors sinking money into electricity generation, risking a backlash

Apple App Store profits look 'disproportionate,' US judge tells CEO Cook

Cook testified for more than two hours in Oakland, California, as the closing witness in Apple's defense against Epic's charges that the iPhone maker's App Store controls and commissions have created a monopoly that Apple illegally abuses. https://ift.tt/3vcvEOi

Fearing exclusion of smartphone-less tribals, Jharkhand seeks to use own app for vaccination

Fearing exclusion of a large chunk of the tribal people in the ongoing vaccination drive against Covid-19 due to non-availability of smartphones among many of them and access to internet in remote areas, the Jharkhand government wants to use its own "more user-friendly" app for registration. It has been made mandatory for people in the 18-45 age group to register themselves at Co-WIN to get the vaccine. https://ift.tt/3hSqYZQ

App Store Would Be 'Toxic' Mess Without Control, Says Apple CEO Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook on Friday said that App Store would become a "toxic" mess if the iPhone maker were forced to allow third-party apps without reviewing. He was the last scheduled witness in the case... https://ift.tt/3oCMT8M