Sunday, December 22

Author: Priyanka

WhatsApp added Shopping button in its App
News

WhatsApp added Shopping button in its App

New York, 11th Nov. 2020: Leading messenger platform WhatsApp has added a new shopping button on its app to make it easier for people to discover a business catalog to get information about the goods and services offered by the firm. More than 175 million people message a WhatsApp Business account every day and more than 40 million people view a business catalog each month. "And, we want to make the shopping experience even better especially as we get ready for a holiday shopping season unlike any other when people will need helpful ways to make purchases remotely and businesses want digital tools to close sales," WhatsApp said in a statement. The new shopping button is available now across the world and will replace the voice call button, it added. To find the voice call butto...
VPN Platform Tailscale Raises $12M Led by Accel
FUNDING

VPN Platform Tailscale Raises $12M Led by Accel

TORONTO, 10th Nov 2020-- Corporate VPN platform Tailscale raises $12 million in Series A funding from Accel, with participation from Heavybit and Uncork Capital. Tailscale is a new kind of corporate VPN that helps remote teams and organizations securely access the services they need. Leveraging zero-trust architecture from BeyondCorp at Google and the WireGuard protocol, Tailscale makes network security accessible to teams of any scale. The company launched in April with a Seed round and has since served tens of thousands of customers a month. “A large fraction of the workforce is remote for the first time, forcing teams of every size to rethink security,” said Avery Pennarun, co-founder and CEO of Tailscale. “We offer an easy and fast way to leverage secure private networks w...
Spotify acquired adtech firm Megaphone for $235 million
ACQUISITION

Spotify acquired adtech firm Megaphone for $235 million

New York, NOV 10 2020: Sweden-based digital music platform Spotify to acquire podcast advertising and publishing platform Megaphone for $235 million. For podcast publishers, the acquisition will unlock innovative tools that will help them earn more from their work. This includes the opportunity to opt-in to have their content monetized, matching their listeners with even greater demand from advertisers. Spotify will soon make Streaming Ad Insertion available to all podcast publishers on Megaphone, the first time this technology will be made available to third-parties. With Streaming Ad Insertion, podcast publishers will be able to offer more valuable podcast audiences to advertisers based on confirmed ad impressions. Spotify has 1.9 million podcasts including biggies such as "The...
Stonepeak acquire Astound Broadband from TPG for $8.1 Billion
ACQUISITION

Stonepeak acquire Astound Broadband from TPG for $8.1 Billion

PRINCETON, N.J., 3rd Nov 2020-- Stonepeak, a private equity firm specializing in infrastructure investing acquire Astound Broadband (Astound), the sixth-largest U.S. cable operator for $8.1 billion. Stonepeak will acquire the company from TPG Capital and Patriot Media Management. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Stonepeak is partnering with Patriot Media, the industry-leading management team headed by Steve Simmons and Jim Holanda that currently manages Astound. The company is a premier broadband provider offering internet, entertainment, communications, connectivity, and fiber infrastructure solutions for residential customers and businesses of all sizes. The...
Wipro Acquire Fintech Service Provider Encore Theme
ACQUISITION

Wipro Acquire Fintech Service Provider Encore Theme

BANGALORE, India, 28th Oct 2020 -- Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading global IT company acquire Encore Theme, a specialist in providing SaaS and Cloud solutions in financial services for an undisclosed amount. Over the past decade, Encore Theme headquartered in Chennai, India has focused exclusively on implementing a broad suite of Trade Finance solutions, developed by Finastra, one of the world’s largest fintech, to financial institutions across the Middle East, Africa, India, and the Asia Pacific. They have successfully delivered more than 75 large scale Finastra Trade Finance projects for banks across these regions. Financial institutions are all looking to modernize their trade platforms and focus on the end-to-end digitalization of commercial routines....
Linktree Raises $10.7 Million Series A Led by Insight Partners and AirTree Ventures
FUNDING

Linktree Raises $10.7 Million Series A Led by Insight Partners and AirTree Ventures

LOS ANGELES, 26th Oct 2020-- Linktree, the trusted tech platform that connects audiences to a user’s entire online ecosystem, has raised $10.7 million in Series A funding, led by Insight Partners, an investor in Shopify, and AirTree Ventures, an early investor in Canva. The funding will accelerate Linktree’s expansion in international markets, including global team growth, and the evolution of Linktree’s product and functionality in new ways to deliver valuable user experiences. Linktree allows anyone from big brands to solopreneurs, celebrities to everyday content creators to build a microsite that houses their digital ecosystem, making it easier than ever to connect with their audiences wherever they are. In the same way Shopify and Stripe simplify the internet economy for eCommerc...
BitTorrent acquire DLive, Launched BitTorrent X Ecosystem
ACQUISITION

BitTorrent acquire DLive, Launched BitTorrent X Ecosystem

SAN FRANCISCO, 23rd Oct 2020-- BitTorrent Inc., the leader in peer-to-peer (P2P) technology acquire live streaming platform DLive.tv and migrate all BitTorrent related services to one unified ecosystem named BitTorrent X. BitTorrent X represents the transformation of BitTorrent, a world-renowned peer-to-peer service from a software company into a conglomerate of decentralized storage and data protocols and content distribution platforms. The entirety of BitTorrent X’s utilities and services will be powered by the BTT cryptocurrency. BitTorrent started as a data transferring protocol used not long by over 2 billion users but also some tech giants such as Facebook, Twitter, and Blizzard. It also inspired the design of Bitcoin and the movement of decentralization. Acquired by Justin...
Bangladesh based ShopUp raises $22.5 Million in Funding
FUNDING

Bangladesh based ShopUp raises $22.5 Million in Funding

Dhaka, 20th Oct 2020: Bangladesh based digital store making platform ShopUp raises $22.5 million in a Series A round funding led by Sequoia Capital India and Flourish Ventures. VEON Ventures, Speedinvest, and Lonsdale Capital (Singapore) also participated in the round. The funding will use to extend its retail reach, as it deepens its partnerships with manufacturers and focuses on building tech-first infrastructure. ShopUp offers small businesses easy access to B2B sourcing, last-mile logistics, digital credit, and business management solutions. This helps these neighborhood mom-and-pop sellers achieve more profit with less effort, allowing them to focus their efforts towards engaging with their customers and business expansion. “COVID-19 has further underscored the need for d...
Pakistan unblock TikTok after it vows to moderate content
News

Pakistan unblock TikTok after it vows to moderate content

ISLAMABAD, Oct 19, 2020: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority decided to unblock the video-sharing app TikTok after receiving assurance from Tiktok management to remove the vulgar content. The spokesperson of PTA said the TikTok management has assured the authority that it will block all accounts repeatedly involved in spreading obscenity and immorality and moderate content in accordance with local laws. The authority has not announced whether the app will be unblocked immediately. The authority had said at the time of the ban that the decision was made after it received complaints ‘against immoral/indecent content’ on the app. The PTA said it had issued a final notice to the app and gave considerable time to respond and develop and an effective mechanism for ‘proactive modera...
Apple Launch 4 New iPhones for Faster 5G Wireless Networks
Tech

Apple Launch 4 New iPhones for Faster 5G Wireless Networks

Washington, Oct 14, 2020: Apple launched four new iPhone 12 equipped with technology for use with faster new 5G wireless networks in its latest Apple event. There's the iPhone 12, with a 6.1-inch display, the same as the iPhone 11 but lighter and thinner, starts at almost USD 800 and the iPhone 12 Mini with a 5.4-inch display at almost USD 700. A higher-end iPhone 12 Pro with more powerful cameras will begin at roughly USD 1,000; the 12 Pro Max, with a 6.7-inch display, will set buyers back at least USD 1,100. Apple said the phones should be more durable. In a move that may annoy some consumers, Apple will no longer include charging adapters with new phones. It says that will mean smaller, lighter boxes that are more environmentally friendly to ship. Apple, however, separately se...
CarDekho to open 50 offline stores in India
Automobile

CarDekho to open 50 offline stores in India

Jaipur, Oct 13th, 2020: Automobile portal CarDekho has decided to open 50 offline stores in the country within the next six months in view of rising demand for used cars, according to a senior company official. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, people are looking forward to using their own car instead of public transport and, therefore, the demand for used cars has increased, particularly in the segment of $3000 to $7000 (Rs 2-Rs 5 lakh), CarDekho Group Head (Trust Mark Stores) Sharad Jaiswal told PTI. He added that the company's first store ''CarDekho Gaadi Trust Mark'' was opened in New Delhi, and the firm is planning to open 50 such exclusive stores by March 2021 to sell used cars. He said the company plans to open 50 Trust Mark Exclusive stores and 200 Retail Touchpoints by march...
Twilio to Acquire Segment for $3.2 billion
ACQUISITION

Twilio to Acquire Segment for $3.2 billion

SAN FRANCISCO, 12th Oct 2020-- Twilio (NYSE: TWLO) to acquire Segment for approximately $3.2 billion in stock and cash deal. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020. “Data silos destroy great customer experiences,” said Jeff Lawson, co-founder, and CEO of Twilio. “Segment lets developers and companies break down those silos and build a complete picture of their customer. Combined with Twilio's Customer Engagement Platform, we can create more personalized, timely, and impactful engagement across customer service, marketing, analytics, product, and sales. We are thrilled to welcome Segment to the Twilio team.” The businesses that deliver the best experiences are the ones that know their customers well and use customer data to provide more relevant interaction...