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Skype Will Use Aadhaar-based ID Authentication: Microsoft

23Sep By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

News

Skype Will Use Aadhaar-based ID Authentication: Microsoft

Microsoft today said it has presented to central authorities various “case scenarios” on how its Skype service can be used for identity authentication using the Aadhaar database. “We have presented various case scenarios on how Skype can be used. We already support iris authentication (on Windows 10). Now it depends on them how they want to proceed,” Microsoft India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik said. Citing an example, he said Skype can be used by people to authenticate themselves for accessing government services that require Aadhaar-based authentication. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is in discussions with handset makers and operating system providers for embedding the identification technology onto mobile devices. This will help people authenticate their Aadhaa...

23Sep By reutersNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Thomson Reuters Acquired Tech Firm REDI

World's largest international multimedia news agency Thomson Reuters has agreed to acquire trading technology firm REDI Holdings, it said in a statement on Thursday. Thomson Reuters said the REDIPlus execution management system would strengthen its Eikon financial markets desktop by making it easier for institutional customers to trade seamlessly on the platform. The statement gave no details on the cost of the transaction. "Integrating REDI into Thomson Reuters solutions will enable us to transform Eikon into a world-class trading solution for the buy-side," said Michael Chin, managing director, global head of equities at Thomson Reuters. Reuters News is owned by Thomson Reuters. (Reporting by Patrick Graham; editing by Susan Fenton)

PayU Acquires Indian Payments Technology Citrus Pay For $130 Million

14Sep By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

PayU Acquires Indian Payments Technology Citrus Pay For $130 Million

PayU, a global online payment service provider has acquired Indian payments technology Citrus Pay for $130 million in an all-cash deal, a joint-statement said here on Wednesday. The agreement is due to close in the third quarter of 2016. The statement described $130 million transaction as the largest ever merger and acquisition cash deal in the Indian fintech sector. "Today's announcement is a significant milestone for both businesses, as well as the fintech industry in India. It is exciting for everyone across the PayU and Citrus teams as we bring together new capabilities that will help us to better serve our collective clients." said Laurent le Moal, CEO of PayU. The deal will grow PayU India customers to more than 30 million, processing a forecasted 150 million trans...

Israel Satellite Owner Demand $50 Million or Free Flight From SpaceX

5Sep By reutersNo Comments

News

Israel Satellite Owner Demand $50 Million or Free Flight From SpaceX

Israel's Space Communication Ltd said on Sunday it could seek $50 million or a free flight from Elon Musk's SpaceX after a Spacecom communications satellite was destroyed last week by an explosion at SpaceX's Florida launch site. Officials of the Israeli company said in a conference call with reporters Sunday that Spacecom also could collect $205 million from Israel Aerospace Industries, which built the AMOS-6 satellite. SpaceX said in an email to Reuters that it does not disclose contract or insurance terms. The company is not public, and it has not said what insurance it had for the rocket or to cover launch pad damages beyond what was required by the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees commercial U.S. launches, for liability and damage to government property. SpaceX h...

31Aug By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Zapmart to Raise $10 Million From First Round of Funding

Mumbai based online grocery startup Zapmart is all set to raise $10 Million in its first round of funding from investors. Zapmart which is a self-funded startup by Parvez Siddiqui has got a seed funding of Rs.3 Crore, which was led by two businessmen from the real estate sector. "The seed funding will be used to strengthen our technology backbone and logistics within Mumbai," said Parvez Siddiqui, founder of Zapmart. Zapmart is also keen to raise $10 million from its Series A round of funding, in which they are in talks with few angel investors and are looking out for large venture capital funds. “The Series A funds will be utilized for geographic expansion in Maharashtra and especially in Pune within this year. Another main usage of the funds will be utilized for turning k...

Facebook CEO Says Group Will Not Become a Media Company

30Aug By reutersNo Comments

News

Facebook CEO Says Group Will Not Become a Media Company

Facebook will not become a media company, its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday, telling students the firm would remain a technology platform. An increasing number of users are turning to social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, to find their news, but Zuckerberg said his firm had no ambitions to become a content provider. "No, we are a tech company, not a media company," said Zuckerberg, after a young Italian asked him whether Facebook intended to become a news editor. While acknowledging the role Facebook has in supplying users with news through their connections and stressing the advantages of obtaining information from different parts of the world, Zuckerberg said Facebook was "a technology company, we build the tools, we do not produce any content". ...

28Aug By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

CHINA

Top 500 Firms of China Report First Revenue Decline in 15 Yrs

Chinas top 500 enterprises reported their first annual decline in combined revenues in 15 years, with a 0.07 per cent drop last year, as the economy continued to slow down amid falling oil prices and overcapacity issues. Among the top 500 firms, 155 reported declines in revenues in 2015, 61 more than a year ago, with many of them representing the overcapacity-plagued coal, steel, oil and chemicals industries. Meanwhile, 72 firms reported losses, 15 more than a year ago. The data was contained in 2016 edition of the top 500 Chinese Enterprises released China Enterprise Confederation and China Enterprise Directors Association. The list is based on revenues from 2015, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The State Grid grabbed the top spot with 2.07 trillion yuan (USD 310 bil...

25Aug By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

FUNDING

Witworks Raises Funding From Fireside Ventures, Investopad and Execs of Ola, ITC & Oyo

Witworks Consumer Technologies today said it has received an undisclosed amount of seed funding led by Fireside Ventures, Investopad and executives from Ola, Oyo Rooms and ITC. The consumer technology company will use the funds for development and launch of Blink a wrist-wearable platform designed to provide access to contextual information and services on the go. Witworks aims to tap into the nascent smart wearables market currently dominated by large technology players. "Witworks has raised a seed investment round from Fireside Ventures, Investopad, P39 Capital and a syndicated group of angels, including Anupam Mittal (Shaadi.com founder), Pranay Jivrajka (Ola COO), Maninder Gulati (OYO Rooms chief of strategy), Abhinav Sinha (OYO Rooms COO) and top executives from ITC," it said i...

Apple Acquired Health Startup Gliimpse Founded By Indian-Origin Duo

24Aug By NitishNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Apple Acquired Health Startup Gliimpse Founded By Indian-Origin Duo

IANS- Tech giant Apple has quietly acquired personal health data startup Gliimpse founded by two Indian-origin entrepreneurs. The acquisition happened earlier this year but was not publicly announced, according to media reports. An Apple spokesperson has responded, saying: "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans." Founded in 2013 by serial entrepreneur Anil Sethi and Karthik Hariharan, Gliimpse provides a secure platform where consumers can manage and share their medical records and information. Before Gliimpse, Sethi had co-founded several health startups like Xlipstream, Pinch Bio and Dakota Imaging. This acquisition will likely strengthen Apple's efforts to collect or manage health data. In 2014, it had...

23Aug By PriyankaNo Comments

FUNDING

Uberdreams.com, a Platform for Turning Dreams Into Reality Secures $0.5 Million Funding

Uberdreams.com, an online portal to get all your dreams come true has been launched and is now Live for users to avail multiple experiences. This unique business model, operates in a simple format, wherein various dreams are listed on the website, which can be redeemed for the experience at a nominal fixed cost. Currently the website lists more than 75 unique experiences. One of the unique features about this is that the listings and categorization of dreams is designed in an extremely personalized and tailor-made format for different demographics and age groups. For dreams that are not listed, Uber Dreams has a dedicated section known as 'You Dream, We Fulfil.' On this section, visitors and users can express their dreams to be fulfilled by us. The Founding Journey and The...

Divyank Turakhia’s Media.net Got Acquired By Beijing Based Miteno For $900 Million

23Aug By NitishNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Divyank Turakhia’s Media.net Got Acquired By Beijing Based Miteno For $900 Million

Media.net, a key player in the ad-tech space got acquired by Beijing-based Miteno in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $900M USD. Mitneo is led by Mr. Zhiyong Zhang, the chairman of Beijing Miteno Communication Technology Co. Ltd., a technology, media and telecom (TMT) business listed on the GEM Board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. This completes the first step toward Media.net being acquired by, and integrated into, Beijing-based Miteno. Media.net is a large, growing and profitable business with 2015 IFRS revenue of $232M. It currently manages more than $450M of annual advertising revenue via its platform, more than 50 percent of which is generated from mobile users. Ninety percent of Media.net’s total revenue comes from the U.S. With seven offices world...

Will Achieve $1 Bn-GMV Figure This Fiscal, Says Myntra

23Aug By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Will Achieve $1 Bn-GMV Figure This Fiscal, Says Myntra

Flipkart-owned online fashion retailer Myntra today said it is on track to touch the USD 1 billion Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) mark this fiscal. Myntra also said it has become the first ever Indian fashion e-commerce platform to clock the USD 1 billion run rate in annualised average GMV (post discounts) in July. "We have now surpassed our January benchmark (USD 800 million) to make July 2016 the biggest month ever for Myntra. The annualised GMV run rate of USD 1 billion puts us on the path to touching the USD 1 billion GMV mark in a fiscal," Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan told reporters here. He said in the past month, the company had taken some market transforming steps, and "our focus is to continue to transform fashion and lifestyle in India through technology." The reason why ...