Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Dublin-based Wayflyer, which offers e-commerce funding in exchange for future revenue, raised $1B from Neuberger Berman via an "off-balance sheet program" (Kyle Wiggers/TechCrunch)

Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch:
Dublin-based Wayflyer, which offers e-commerce funding in exchange for future revenue, raised $1B from Neuberger Berman via an “off-balance sheet program”  —  Wayflyer, which provides financing to e-commerce startups in exchange for a portion of their future revenue …



Tecno to soon launch its first laptop Megabook T1 in India

https://ift.tt/KxR8Y7C

The EU lists the 22 services falling under the Digital Markets Act, including TikTok and Facebook, and will assess if Microsoft's services and iMessage qualify (Samuel Stolton/Bloomberg)

Samuel Stolton / Bloomberg:
The EU lists the 22 services falling under the Digital Markets Act, including TikTok and Facebook, and will assess if Microsoft's services and iMessage qualify  —  - Tech firms set to challenge EU in digital antitrust clampdown  — Apple's App Store, Google Search, Amazon marketplace on list



The UK says a bug caused its air traffic system to confuse two checkpoints 4,000 nautical miles apart, leading to a huge outage, and plans to review the issue (Kate Duffy/Bloomberg)

Kate Duffy / Bloomberg:
The UK says a bug caused its air traffic system to confuse two checkpoints 4,000 nautical miles apart, leading to a huge outage, and plans to review the issue  —  - Checkpoints 4,000 miles apart had duplicate identifiers  — System update in the works, NATS says after day of disruption



Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Filing: SoftBank prices Arm's shares at $47 and $51, aiming to raise up to $4.87B by selling 95.5M shares, for a $52B+ valuation and the biggest US IPO of 2023 (Manya Saini/Reuters)

Manya Saini / Reuters:
Filing: SoftBank prices Arm's shares at $47 and $51, aiming to raise up to $4.87B by selling 95.5M shares, for a $52B+ valuation and the biggest US IPO of 2023  —  SoftBank Group's (9984.T) Arm is aiming to raise up to $4.87 billion in the chip designer's U.S. initial public offering, a regulatory filing showed on Tuesday.



Israeli payments company ThetaRay, which uses AI to monitor financial transactions, raised $57M led by Portage, taking its total funding to $148M (Globes Online)

Globes Online:
Israeli payments company ThetaRay, which uses AI to monitor financial transactions, raised $57M led by Portage, taking its total funding to $148M  —  The investment will allow ThetaRay to capitalize on significant market demand as banks and fintech companies look to replace legacy tools …



iPhone 16 Ultra could get this Apple Vision Pro feature

Apple's upcoming iPhone Ultra, possibly the iPhone 15 Ultra, is rumored to have a "spatial photos and videos" feature that allows users to record immersive 3D content. The content can be uploaded and viewed on Apple Vision Pro. The camera setup is expected to revolutionize mobile phone photography, and it is likely that the new iPhone model will have a similar setup to the Vision Pro headset. The spatial photos and videos feature aims to provide an immersive experience with incredible depth, allowing users to relive their favorite memories. The Ultra model may be released next year. https://ift.tt/7Xw42Os

Indian telecoms giants Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone-Idea ask regulators to consider forcing internet companies to pay for network usage, echoing efforts globally (Manish Singh/TechCrunch)

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Indian telecoms giants Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone-Idea ask regulators to consider forcing internet companies to pay for network usage, echoing efforts globally  —  Telecom operators in India, the second largest wireless market, would like internet companies to compensate for using their networks …



Happy Teachers Day 2023: How to download and share WhatsApp stickers

In order to celebrate Teachers' Day on September 5th, people are using WhatsApp stickers to reach out to their teachers and express their gratitude. Android users can download stickers by opening WhatsApp, tapping on the 'Smiley' icon, selecting the stickers icon, and then tapping on the '+' icon to download more stickers. For iPhone users, they can ask an Android user to download the stickers and share them with them on WhatsApp. https://ift.tt/HTNOGkW

Sources: China plans to launch a new state-backed fund that aims to raise ~$41B for its chip sector, larger than the ~$19B and ~$27B funds from 2014 and 2019 (Reuters)

Reuters:
Sources: China plans to launch a new state-backed fund that aims to raise ~$41B for its chip sector, larger than the ~$19B and ~$27B funds from 2014 and 2019  —  China is set to launch a new state-backed investment fund that aims to raise about $40 billion for its semiconductor sector …



Sunday, September 3, 2023

How Google may have a 'Shorts problem' on YouTube

Google has announced that over 2 billion logged-in users are watching YouTube Shorts, surpassing the 1.5 billion previously reported. While this gives YouTube an advantage over competitors like TikTok and Instagram Reels, it may be detrimental to the platform itself. YouTube is concerned that Shorts could cannibalize its core long-form video business, as creators are making fewer long-form videos due to a lack of consumer interest and brand preferences for short-form content. YouTube is now investing in creators and exploring ways to increase ad revenue from Shorts. Despite this, Google's overall quarterly results were positive, with growth in ad and cloud revenues. https://ift.tt/q03cI82

iPhone SOS feature: Elon Musk's SpaceX will send satellites for Apple-backed company

Apple has partnered with satellite communications company Globalstar to expand its Emergency SOS feature. Globalstar has signed a $64 million deal with SpaceX to launch more satellites, which will be used to enhance the emergency SOS services provided by Globalstar. Apple will reimburse Globalstar for 95% of the capital expenditures related to the satellites. https://ift.tt/r1jhWEI

How startups offering AI-powered cameras, tree-mounted sensors, water-dumping drones, satellite data, and more are helping prevent, detect, and fight wildfires (Christopher Mims/Wall Street Journal)

Christopher Mims / Wall Street Journal:
How startups offering AI-powered cameras, tree-mounted sensors, water-dumping drones, satellite data, and more are helping prevent, detect, and fight wildfires  —  We can already detect fires from space, soon after they start.  Here's why we don't yet have a nationwide system for alerting us when they do—but could someday.



After ADL's CEO noted talking to X CEO Yaccarino last week, anti-Semitic X posts surged and #BanTheADL trended as Elon Musk replied to and liked far-right posts (Matt Binder/Mashable)

Matt Binder / Mashable:
After ADL's CEO noted talking to X CEO Yaccarino last week, anti-Semitic X posts surged and #BanTheADL trended as Elon Musk replied to and liked far-right posts  —  Anti-Semitic rhetoric has been especially rampant on the platform over the past 24 hours.  —  Over the past 24 hours …



A look at the endless battle being waged by a group of internet sleuths, trans engineers, and activists to banish stalking forum Kiwi Farms from the internet (Nitasha Tiku/Washington Post)

Nitasha Tiku / Washington Post:
A look at the endless battle being waged by a group of internet sleuths, trans engineers, and activists to banish stalking forum Kiwi Farms from the internet  —  The anonymous forum, known as Kiwi Farms, keeps popping back online despite a relentless campaign by transgender activists and a former insider



SpaceX launches Starlink in Indonesia to improve internet access in remote parts of the country, starting with three local health centers (Stefanno Sulaiman/Reuters)

Stefanno Sulaiman / Reuters : SpaceX launches Starlink in Indonesia to improve internet access in remote parts of the country, starting w...