Wednesday, October 4

Tag: California

California Launched Early Warning Earthquake app
18Oct By PriyankaNo Comments
USA

California Launched Early Warning Earthquake app

California on Thursday launched the country's first earthquake warning system in the hope that residents will be alerted within seconds of a possible impending disaster and can "drop, cover and hold on. The app created by the University of California, Berkeley, and unveiled on the 30th anniversary of the deadly Loma Prieta quake, uses ground motion sensors located across the state to detect the start of earthquakes before humans can feel them. "Nothing can replace families having a plan for earthquakes and other emergencies," Governor Gavin Newsom said in unveiling the warning system. "And we know the Big One might be around the corner. I encourage every Californian to download this app and ensure your family is earthquake ready." The cellphone app called MyShake can provide p...
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Uber, Lyft & Doordash Threatened to Spend $90M on California ballot fight
30Aug By AdityaNo Comments
USA

Uber, Lyft & Doordash Threatened to Spend $90M on California ballot fight

Uber, Lyft and DoorDash threatened to spend $90 million on a California ballot measure if they can't reach a deal with unions and lawmakers on legislation that would change the rights of their drivers and other so-called gig workers. "We remain focused on reaching a deal, and are confident about bringing this issue to the voters if necessary," Adrian Durbin, senior director of communications at Lyft, said in a statement. The companies' team-up comes as California lawmakers debate a bill that would make it harder to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees. As employees, workers are entitled to more wage protections and benefits. But the ridesharing and on-demand delivery companies say labeling workers as such would upend their business model built around d...
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Blackberry Acquires California-based AI Firm for $1.4 billion
19Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments
ACQUISITION

Blackberry Acquires California-based AI Firm for $1.4 billion

The phone maker BlackBerry has raised its bets on artificial intelligence and cyber-security. The company has acquired a California-based machine-learning specialist known as Cylance. The deal has been finalised for $1.4 billion (roughly Rs. 10,063 crores). Blackberry, the Canadian technology company which dominated the smartphone market a decade eaelier has shifted to selling software to manage mobile devices, as well as emerging sectors like autonomous cars. Cylance will continue to operate as a separate business unit after the deal closes and this deal is expected to close by Feb 2019. The acquired company Cylance uses machine learning to prevent security breaches before they occur. Its applications seek to block malware or infiltration attempts rather than react after a breach...
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California-based ServiceTitan Raises $165 million in Series D Funding
15Nov By Gauri SinghNo Comments
FUNDING

California-based ServiceTitan Raises $165 million in Series D Funding

California based service management software company ServiceTitan that helps leading home services businesses generate more leads and close more sales has secured funds amounting to $165 million in Series D funding round. This round was led by Index Ventures. Fresh investors such as New backers Dragoneer and T. Rowe Price also participated in the financing round along with existing investors Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners and ICONIQ Capital. The company has stated that this funding is the “largest software raise in Southern California history.” Along with this, the valuation of the company has now reached $1.65 billion — making it the newest unicorn out of the region. Prior to this, ServiceTitan raise funds seven months back. The funds raised in this funding round wil...
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California-based Turo Expands its Services to the UK
25Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments
USA

California-based Turo Expands its Services to the UK

California-based peer-to-peer car-sharing platform Turo is reportedly expanding its services to the UK, and his time, everyday car owners can actually use it. It was in 2016 that the company earlier expanded to the UK once but the services were only offered to small rental car companies under its commercial host program. However, this time anyone who owns or leases a 2008 model-year or newer vehicle can list it on the Turo app. All the vehicles rented by its pre-approved users are covered by the company’s insurance partner Allianz. The company since its launch has expanded services to markets like Canada and Germany. As of now, the firm has 8 million users. According to Turo CEO Andre Haddad, the UK is the company’s most-searched-for destination outside North America. “This makes ...
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Blood-Testing Company Theranos is Shutting Down
6Sep By Gauri SinghNo Comments
USA

Blood-Testing Company Theranos is Shutting Down

Health technology company Theranos based in California that was once known as a high flying blood-testing start-up accused of cheating and betraying its investors is reportedly shutting down. It is being stated that the company was not able to sell itself and is now looking to pay unsecured creditors its remaining cash of about $5 million in the coming months. A major portion of the employees already had their last day. Theranos tries to sell itself, but, unfortunately, nobody was willing to acquire a company that has been disgraced and lost its investors nearly $1 billion. This move has come three months after the company’s founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, along with former chief operating officer Ramesh Balwani were charged with criminal fraud. They were accused of misleading ...
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Tesla’s Model 3 Production Leader Exits the Company
3Jul By AnkitaNo Comments
News

Tesla’s Model 3 Production Leader Exits the Company

The automotive and energy storage company, Tesla has confirmed that the head of Model 3 production, who went on leave after chief executive Elon Musk took over his duties, will not be coming back. The departure of engineering senior vice president Doug Field came as California-based Tesla appeared to have finally hit a self-imposed goal of cranking out 5,000 Model 3 electric cars in a week. Tesla co-founder Elon Musk fired off a Twitter post over the weekend saying "7,000 cars, 7 days." In a note to investors yesterday, Analyst Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities said that in the preceding week, Tesla produced 5,000 of its Model 3 cars, along with a combined total of 2,000 Model S and Model X vehicles. Musk has been managing the Tesla production line, which has been rejiggered to pu...
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China’s Baidu Tests Self-Driving Cars on Expressway
22Jun By Lavina TolaniNo Comments
CHINA

China’s Baidu Tests Self-Driving Cars on Expressway

China’s search engine major, Baidu Inc. on Thursday tested its two self-driving cars on an unused expressway in north China's Tianjin City. As informed by the company, this was the very first time for Baidu's automated cars to be tested on the Tangshan-Langfang expressway which is scheduled to open later this year. The trial run conducted will enable developers to collect data on the car's performance in sensing the environment and self-control and positioning, a senior engineer with within the road test team said. Meanwhile, the Chinese giants have been quietly testing vehicles in China and trying to take over Silicon Valley tech giants. The companies battling a head-on competition with each other include Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba, all of which are investing heavily in the technolo...
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Indian Developer Raja Vijayaraman wins the Apple’s Design Award
6Jun By Gauri SinghNo Comments
Tech

Indian Developer Raja Vijayaraman wins the Apple’s Design Award

A Chennai-based app developer Raja Vijayaraman has been awarded the reputable Apple’s Design Award yesterday for his iOS app 'Calzy' on the very first day of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2018, which is being hosted in San Jose, California. The WWDC offers prestigious awards to the best iOS app developers across the globe. Vijayaraman’s app called Calzy which is a modern and beautifully designed calculator app for iPhone/iPad was chosen by Apple for the award. The award is given on the basis of the creative artistry and technicality of the developer that reflected the best in design, innovation and technology on Apple platforms.   Today people across 150+ countries use my apps and I just received an Apple Design Award ?. Thanks to Apple’s @AppStore and huge s...
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Japan Based Company Acquires Hiring Platform Glassdoor for $1.2 Bn
9May By Sheldan RungasamyNo Comments
ACQUISITION

Japan Based Company Acquires Hiring Platform Glassdoor for $1.2 Bn

Recruit Holdings, a Japan-based HR services provider announced on Wednesday that it reach an agreement with California-based job site operator Glassdoor to acquire the company for $1.2 billion to get access to the database of company reviews and salary data. Glassdoor is a private company founded in 2007 that allows its employees and former employees to anonymously review companies for which they work or previously worked for and their management as well. TechCrunch defines the company as a site that “collects company reviews and real salaries from employees of large companies and displays them anonymously for all members to see.” The company last received decent funding throughout its years of activity. The company raised a Series B funding round of $3 million in 2008 from Benchmark...
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Tesla Reaffirms Effort To Build Cars In China; Mum On Deal Report
23Oct By reutersNo Comments
News

Tesla Reaffirms Effort To Build Cars In China; Mum On Deal Report

Electric car maker Tesla Inc reaffirmed on Sunday it is talking with the Shanghai municipal government to set up a factory in the region and expects to agree on a plan by the end of the year, but declined to comment on a report that a deal has been reached. China levies a 25 percent duty on sales of imported vehicles and has not allowed foreign automakers to establish wholly owned factories in the country, the world’s largest auto market. Those are problems for Tesla, which wants to expand its presence in China’s growing electric vehicle market without compromising its independence or intellectual property. China’s government has considered allowing foreign automakers to set up wholly owned factories in free trade zones in part to encourage more production of electric and hybrid vehi...
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