Tag: Innovation

(Innovation/Technology) These Are the Riskiest ‘Smart City’ Technologies, Cybersecurity Experts Say (Defense One)

Bill Lucia Technology like sensors built into infrastructure and emergency alerts has possible benefits, but in a new study dozens of experts weigh in on...

(Innovation/Technology) Spotify rolls out redesigned desktop and web apps (TechCrunch)

Sarah Perez Spotify today announced it’s rolling out a new look for its streaming service on the desktop, with the launch of a redesigned app for both...

(Innovation/Technology) PPRO extends latest round to $270M, adding JPMorgan and Eldridge to grow its localized payments platform (TechCrunch)

Ingrid Lunden In January, localized payments provider PPRO became the latest fintech-as-a-service startup to hit a billion-dollar valuation when it closed $180 million in funding. https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/25/ppro-extends-latest-round-to-270m-adding-jpmorgan-and-eldridge-to-grow-its-localized-payments-platform/

(Innovation/Technology) Brazil’s iFood outlines sustainability initiatives aiming to reduce its carbon footprint (TechCrunch)

Jonathan Shieber The Brazilian-based pan-Latin American food delivery startup iFood has announced a series of initiatives designed to reduce the company’s environmental impact as consumers push companies...

(Innovation/Technology) FatFace tells customers to keep its data breach ‘strictly private’ (TechCrunch)

Zack Whittaker Clothing giant FatFace had a data breach, but doesn’t want you to tell anyone about it. https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/25/fatface-data-breach-strictly-private/

(Innovation/Technology) Argentina’s Digital House raises over $50M to help solve LatAm’s tech talent shortage (TechCrunch)

Mary Ann Azevedo Digital House, a Buenos Aires-based edtech focused on developing tech talent through immersive remote courses, announced today it has raised more than...

(Innovation/Technology) Acquisition-happy space infrastructure company Redwire set to go public via SPAC (TechCrunch)

Darrell Etherington The latest in a string of space tech SPACs announced this year is Redwire, an entity created by a PE firm in 2020,...

(Innovation/Technology) Indian edtech giant Byju’s in talks to raise over $600 million at $15 billion valuation (TechCrunch)

Manish Singh Indian edtech giant Byju’s, which raised over a billion dollars last year as the pandemic accelerated the adoption of online learning services in...

(Innovation/Technology) Video games are the new contested space for public policy (Brookings)

Joshua Foust In February, the video game publisher Victura announced it would launch what it described as a realistic video-game portrayal of the Second Battle...

(Innovation/Technology) Bitcoin selloff takes a bite out of cryptocurrency’s biggest fund (Al Jazeera)

Katie Greifeld The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust free fall highlights the extent to which the latest leg of the retail-driven crypto craze is cooling. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/3/25/bitcoin-selloff-takes-a-bite-out-of-cryptocurrencys-biggest-fund

(Innovation/Technology) Is liftoff of Cathie Wood’s new ARK Space ETF imminent? (Al Jazeera)

Claire Ballentine Ark Investment Management’s new space ETF could debut as soon as the start of next week, based on regulatory filings, which would cap...

(Innovation/Technology) Closing on $103M, MaC VC is changing the face of venture capital (TechCrunch)

Jonathan Shieber The partners at MaC Venture Capital, the Los Angeles-based investment firm that has just closed on $103 million for its inaugural fund, have spent...

(Innovation/Technology) Ribbon wants to make it easier for product teams to interview users (TechCrunch)

Steve O'Hear Everybody says they want to build user-centric companies and products, but how exactly is that achieved? Talking and listening to users, of course — a...

(Innovation/Technology) Digital banking solutions provider Meniga closes additional €10M investment (TechCrunch)

Steve O'Hear Meniga, the London fintech that provides digital banking technology to leading banks, has closed €10 million in additional funding. https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/25/digital-banking-solutions-provider-meniga-closes-additional-e10m-investment/

(Innovation/Technology) Hong Kong-based viAct raises $2M for its automated construction monitoring platform (TechCrunch)

Catherine Shu Hong Kong-based viAct helps construction sites perform around-the-clock monitoring with an AI-based cloud platform that combines computer vision, edge devices and a mobile app. https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/24/hong-kong-based-viact-raises-2m-for-its-automated-construction-monitoring-platform/

(Innovation/Technology) TuSimple’s IPO filing reveals roadblocks for self-driving startups with Chinese ties (TechCrunch)

Rita Liao While the governments of the United States and China are pushing policies for technological decoupling, private tech firms continue to tap resources from...