UK digital bank Monzo raised $430M led by Alphabet's CapitalG at a $5B valuation, up from $4.5B in December 2021, and plans to use funds to expand in the US (Financial Times)

Financial Times:
UK digital bank Monzo raised $430M led by Alphabet's CapitalG at a $5B valuation, up from $4.5B in December 2021, and plans to use funds to expand in the US  —  London-based digital bank raised $430mn from investors including CapitalG and HongShan  —  Monzo has secured a fresh round …

Sources: Chinese AI startup MiniMax raised $600M+ led by Alibaba at a $2.5B+ valuation; the round remains in progress and HongShan has committed funds (Jane Zhang/Bloomberg)

Jane Zhang / Bloomberg:
Sources: Chinese AI startup MiniMax raised $600M+ led by Alibaba at a $2.5B+ valuation; the round remains in progress and HongShan has committed funds  —  - Minimax scores funding from investors including HongShan  — Alibaba has spearheaded two major deals so far this year

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: How to update address on voter ID card online, documents required, and track application status

An Election Commission ID card, commonly known as a Voter ID card, holds significant importance as it is a prerequisite for exercising one's voting rights. The Election Commission of India facilitates various online tasks for citizens, including the updating of residence addresses on Voter ID cards. If you have recently relocated or shifted to a different city, you can conveniently amend your address on the Voter ID card by completing 'Form 8' on the National Voter's Service portal website. https://ift.tt/3yIcVgM

Saudi Arabian e-commerce software startup Salla raised $130M from Investcorp, Sanabil, and others, in what is likely to be its last funding round before an IPO (Matthew Martin/Bloomberg)

Matthew Martin / Bloomberg:
Saudi Arabian e-commerce software startup Salla raised $130M from Investcorp, Sanabil, and others, in what is likely to be its last funding round before an IPO  —  - Sanabil, STV also participated in the pre-IPO fundraising  — Salla is part of bevy of Saudi startups prepping for listing

A profile of Lanny Smoot, Disney's only research fellow, who holds 100+ patents and has built an omnidirectional HoloTile Floor to allow users to walk in VR (Marah Eakin/Wired)

Marah Eakin / Wired:
A profile of Lanny Smoot, Disney's only research fellow, who holds 100+ patents and has built an omnidirectional HoloTile Floor to allow users to walk in VR  —  If you've ever seen a lightsaber at a Disney park or marveled at BB-8, you've seen Lanny Smoot's work.

Some users turn to AI therapist chatbots, finding them cheap, quick, available 24/7, and easy to talk to, but experts warn about a lack of emotional connection (Alice Robb/The Guardian)

Alice Robb / The Guardian:
Some users turn to AI therapist chatbots, finding them cheap, quick, available 24/7, and easy to talk to, but experts warn about a lack of emotional connection  —  It's cheap, quick and available 24/7, but is a chatbot therapist really the right tool to tackle complex emotional needs?