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Mastercard may have to pay $18.5 billion in a Lawsuit

15Dec By AdityaNo Comments

News

Mastercard may have to pay $18.5 billion in a Lawsuit

London, Dec 15, 2020 (AP): Mastercard could have to pay U.K. consumers as much as 14 billion pounds (USD 18.5 billion) after the country's Supreme Court allowed a class-action lawsuit against the credit card company to move forward. The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a competition tribunal to reconsider its decision to block a lawsuit alleging that Mastercard overcharged businesses that accepted the company''s credit and debit cards. These fees were then passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, the suit claims. Mastercard does not accept that merchants passed on all or any part of any overcharge to their customers. The Competition Appeal Tribunal must now reconsider its refusal to certify the lawsuit as a “collective proceeding.” Certification is required before mass...

Reddit Acquires Short Video Making Platform Dubsmash

14Dec By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Reddit Acquires Short Video Making Platform Dubsmash

Calif., San Jose, Dec 14, 2020: Communities based social media platform Reddit has acquired short-form video social platform Dubsmash. The details of the deal have not been disclosed. In 2017, Reddit launched its first native video platform and now looking at the future growth Reddit want to expand in this area and dubsmash acquisition is just one of the example. Reddit in its press release said, "Video is increasingly core to how people want to connect, and as we continue to grow our community, we’re committed to providing the best possible tools users need to find, create, and interact with one another through video. " After this acquisition, Reddit will integrate Dubsmash’s innovative video creation tools, which empower Reddit’s own creators to express themselves thr...

Synechron acquires Australian Tech firm Attra

12Dec By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Synechron acquires Australian Tech firm Attra

Melbourne, 12th December 2020: IT company Synechron acquire Australian technology services and solutions provider firm Attra. Synechron did not disclose the deal consideration but announced that the acquisition is its biggest yet and will increase top-line by USD 100 million to USD 650 million, and also add 2,000 employees to take its overall headcount to over 10,000. Melbourne-headquartered Attra was incorporated in 1995 and provides consulting, application development, maintenance and engineering services to clients across the payments value chain worldwide, as per a statement. "The acquisition of Attra enables us to strengthen our service offerings. The enhanced competencies that Attra brings will allow us to further advance our clients'' banking and digital payment technology...

CyberSecurity Firm FireEye Raises $400 Million Led by Blackstone

11Dec By AdityaNo Comments

FUNDING

CyberSecurity Firm FireEye Raises $400 Million Led by Blackstone

MILPITAS, Calif., 10th December 2020--FireEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE), the intelligence-led security company raises $400 million in funding led by Blackstone. Blackstone was joined by ClearSky, a cybersecurity-focused investment firm, as a co-investor in the transaction. FireEye also announced that Viral Patel, a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone, and Art Coviello, former chief executive officer of RSA Security, have been appointed to the FireEye Board of Directors, effective immediately. Viral Patel, a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone said, "We have confidence in FireEye's long-term strategic vision and its world-class set of cyber security products and services. As a member of the Board of Directors, I look forward to partnering with management and my fellow board members ...

US Govt Filed Antitrust Lawsuits Against Facebook For Crushing Smaller Competitors

11Dec By AdityaNo Comments

News

US Govt Filed Antitrust Lawsuits Against Facebook For Crushing Smaller Competitors

Washington, Dec 10, 2020: The US government and 48 states have filed parallel antitrust lawsuits against Facebook, accusing the social media giant of anti-competitive conduct by abusing its market power to create a monopoly and crushing smaller competitors, a move which may force it to sell WhatsApp and Instagram. Soon after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and 48 state attorney generals sued the California-headquartered company, Facebook shares fall significantly. The bipartisan coalition led by New York attorney general Letitia James alleged that Facebook has engaged in a systematic strategy to eliminate threats to its monopoly. This includes its 2012 acquisition of up-and-coming rival Instagram, its 2014 acquisition of the mobile messaging app WhatsApp and the imposition of ant...

Okinawa discontinues lead-acid battery scooters to sell lithium-ion Version

10Dec By AdityaNo Comments

Automobile

Okinawa discontinues lead-acid battery scooters to sell lithium-ion Version

New Delhi, Dec 10, 2020: Electric two-wheeler maker Okinawa discontinued the sale of lead-acid battery-based scooters and will be focusing on the lithium-ion versions only. The startup started its journey in the country with the lead-acid scooter Okinawa Ridge and had later introduced four lead-acid scooters in three years. Gradually, the brand moved on to the lithium-ion detachable battery-equipped e-scooter versions, which received overwhelming response due to better technology and addressed the charging problem of the users. "We are shifting to 100 per cent lithium-ion battery pack based two-wheelers. When we launched the brand, lead acid was the most advanced option available in the market. Now, with rigorous growth of the industry and the brand, we have taken a step ahead an...

9Dec By AdityaNo Comments

FUNDING

Reface secures $5.5M in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz

KYIV, Ukraine, Dec. 9, 2020-- Reface, AI app for a video and GIF face-swaps raises $5.5 million in the seed round of financing led by Andreessen Horowitz and several well-known angel investors. With these funds, the startup aims to reinvent the way people interact with content. Reface strives to build the first social platform of dynamically personalized media content empowered with machine learning technologies. Since the official launch in January 2020, Reface app has been downloaded over 70 million times. Reface app allows you to snap a picture of your face and apply your likeness to any number of celebrities, without needing any After Effects or VFX knowledge. Within seconds, users can export their creations to a multitude of formats including animated GIF and standard ...

Apple Introduces New Wireless Headphone AirPods Max

8Dec By AdityaNo Comments

Tech

Apple Introduces New Wireless Headphone AirPods Max

CUPERTINO, Calif., 8th December 2020-- Tech company Apple launched AirPods Max, an innovative wireless headphones that bring the magic of AirPods to an over-ear design with high-fidelity sound. AirPods Max combine a custom acoustic design with Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency Mode, and spatial audio. AirPods Max comes in five gorgeous colors, including space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink, and are available to order starting today, with availability beginning Tuesday, December 15. AirPods Max feature great battery life with up to 20 hours of high-fidelity audio, talk time, or movie playback with Active Noise Cancellation and spatial audio enabled.2 AirPods Max comes with a soft, slim Smart Case that puts AirPods Max in an ultralow power state that helps to pr...

7Dec By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Apparel Brand Supreme acquired by VF Corp for $2.1 billion

VF Corp, the owner of Vans, Timberland, and The North Face clothing brand has acquired the famed streetwear brand Supreme in a deal worth $2.1 billion. The Carlyle Group and Goode Partners, are selling their stakes in the Supreme brand. This deal comes three years after private equity firm The Carlyle Group bought a 50% stake in the streetwear brand for $500 million, which valued Supreme at $1 billion. This is the same Carlyle Group who owned 50% stake for $500m in Beats Electronic and sold their stake to Apple for $3 billion just after eight months of the deal. Supreme sells apparel, accessories and footwear under its namesake brand globally through direct-to-consumer channels, primarily digital. The Supreme brand’s founder, James Jebbia and the senior leadership team of ...

Fylamynt Raises $6.5 Million from Google

4Dec By AdityaNo Comments

FUNDING

Fylamynt Raises $6.5 Million from Google

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 4, 2020-- Fylamynt, a cloud automation platform raises $6.5 million in seed funding. Fylamynt allows cloud engineering teams to build, run and analyze automation workflows securely for any cloud with little to no code. The seed round is led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused fund, with additional investment from Mango Capital and Point72 Ventures. The cost of operations is still very high in Fortune 1000 enterprises with application downtime costing an estimated $1.25 to $2.5 billion per year and the average cost per hour for critical application failures is $500,000 to $1 million. Cofounders Dr. Pradeep Padala, Dr. Xiaoyun Zhu and David L...

AI-powered Home Maintenance Platform Dobby Secures $1.7 Million in Seed Round

3Dec By AdityaNo Comments

FUNDING

AI-powered Home Maintenance Platform Dobby Secures $1.7 Million in Seed Round

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2020-- Dobby, an AI-powered home maintenance platform raises $1.7 million in the seed round of funding. The capital will use to strengthen the company's growth initiatives, and spotlight its proprietary, automated, AI-first experience to homeowners, service providers, and ancillary beneficiaries such as real estate agents. This equity finance raise comes as Dobby scales to meet strong demand in the home maintenance sector, which, according to a Bank of America spending report, is seeing home maintenance consumer spending 60% above the Jan-2020 level. "During my days at DataRobot, I saw an opportunity to build an AI-first company from the ground up in a large and unsexy industry," said Satadru Sangupta, Dobby's CEO and co-founder. "I chose home maintenance bec...

Shopify Merchants Cash In Record $5.1+ Billion in Holiday Sales Worldwide

1Dec By AdityaNo Comments

News

Shopify Merchants Cash In Record $5.1+ Billion in Holiday Sales Worldwide

OTTAWA, Ontario, 1st December 2020-- Shopify Merchants cash in $5.1+ billion in global sales of Black Friday through Cyber Monday. The total sales grew by 76% from the $2.9+ billion reported for Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend in 2019. In this record-setting weekend, shopify retailers daily total sales increasing 19 days before Cyber Monday, nearly two weeks earlier than previous years. In fact, in the week leading up to Cyber Monday, from November 23 through November 30, sales increased by 84% from 2019. “This has been a transformative year for commerce globally,” said Harley Finkelstein, President of Shopify. “The record sales we saw on Shopify over Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend demonstrate the power of the independent and direct-to-consumer businesses on our platform. With ...