Tech News: January 2021

Sunday, January 31, 2021

Budget 2021 Expectations: What India’s fintech industry wants

Industry experts said reforms to further the country’s financial inclusion mandate through effective use of technology could be expected from the budget.

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Automation impact: Tech Mahindra to reduce BPO staff by 5,000 in FY21 even as revenues grow robustly

It can be noted that the business process outsourcing (BPO) vertical, which has its genesis in the 'call centres' business of the past, is one of the biggest employment generators in the technology space, where Indian executives handle a slew of processes for overseas clients often across time zones.

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Poco M3 India launch on Feb 2: Here’s everything we know so far

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3teu7GI

Xiaomi may be making smart glasses capable of phototherapy, report says

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Google Chrome now allows Tab Grouping on Android: Here’s how to do it

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India could introduce legislation to ban cryptocurrencies

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Asus to develop local Esports talent with ROG Academy in India

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Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t convinced Australia pull back new law

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Asus ROG launches virtual incubation programme for gamers

Asus ROG will identify PC gamers through a screening process and prepare them for competitive tournaments on a national and a global level in a bid to strengthen the e-sports talent pool in the country.

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From redesigned AirPods to iPad Pro, six things Apple could launch in the first half of 2021

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Padma Shri Sridhar Vembu on politics, working in a village and why atmanirbhar India makes sense

No fancy fleet of cars, private jets, or stories of employees becoming “crorepatis” after every funding round. In fact, Zoho, which launched in 1996, has no external investors.

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The iPhone 12s (or iPhone 13) could feature both FaceID and in-screen TouchID

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3pyRKaZ

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Inside a pro-Huawei influence campaign

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Myntra changes logo after complaint calls it offensive to women

The complaint had been lodged last month with the cyber cell in Mumbai.

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iPhone 12 mini available at an effective price of Rs 55,490: Here’s how

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3j14QLo

Why Myntra is changing its logo following a police complaint

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Netflix to soon offer sleep timer feature: Here’s how it will work

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How to stop Facebook from tracking you on apps and websites

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The world’s biggest drone, Ravn X will send satellites into space on a rocket

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Google, Facebook sued by West Virginia newspaper publisher

The company, HD Media, owns several papers in the state, including the Herald-Dispatch in Huntington and the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

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Happiest Minds acquires Pimcore Global Services for $8.25 million

The acquisition will further strengthen Happiest Minds' offerings and leadership in the digital transformation space.

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Government to introduce bills to set up DFI, Digital Currency

“To set up a new DFI as a provider, enabler and catalyst for infrastructure financing,” the NaBFID Bill 2021 purpose of statement noted, adding that NaBFID will be the, “principal financial institution and development bank for building and sustaining a supportive ecosystem across the life cycle of infrastructure projects.”

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Autonomous driving to be cheaper than cost of a car: Softbank chief Son

Speaking at the World Economic Forum's online Davos Agenda Summit, he said the COVID-19 situation is a tragedy, but technology is evolving faster due to the pandemic.

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Xiaomi sues US seeking to reverse investment ban

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3t6qQJA

Amazon can make just about anything—Except a good video game

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Facebook is hated — and rich

The company said Wednesday that its sales — nearly all of which come from the ads it sells on Facebook, on Instagram and its other apps — reached nearly $86 billion in 2020 and are growing rapidly.

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ETtech Weekly Recap: What startups want from Budget 2021, verification badge scam, & more

We tracked the Economic Survey 2020-21 and what it had to say about the country's startup ecosystem and how the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns helped make India one of the largest gig economy hubs in the world.

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US lobby group urges India not to tighten foreign e-commerce rules

India is considering revising the rules after traders in the country accused Amazon's Indian division and Walmart's Flipkart of creating complex structures to bypass investment regulations.

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Amazon battle is about ownership of the Indian customer at any cost, Kishore Biyani tells employees

"For reasons we never believed earlier but quite evident today, this battle is about ownership of the Indian customer at any cost. The stated and evident policy of vexatious litigation and harassment makes one wonder about the similarity in ruthless ambition to scorch the earth akin to the Greek Alexander - after all, they are inspired to name their product as Alexa," he wrote adding that Alexander conquered large parts of the world but failed in India.

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Fantastic blue ticks and where to buy them

Verified badges for social media accounts are being sold on private marketplaces, putting their credibility quotient at stake.

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Friday, January 29, 2021

How do I look? SoftBank's Zozo offers tech specs to help buyers get skin tone right

Augmented reality functionality in the online retailer's app will allow consumers to see how the make-up will look.

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Govt notifies Rs 945 crore seed fund scheme for startups

The funds will be disbursed through selected incubators across India from 2021-25, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said in a notification.

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Robinhood raises $1 billion from its investors: Report

Venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Ribbit Capital came together to offer emergency funding to the trading platform

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Samsung Galaxy S21 series, Galaxy Buds Pro now on open sale: Check cashback offers and India price

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Google CEO says internal rancor over AI due to transparency

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Samsung Galaxy S21+ unboxing, first impressions

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Saveo Healthtech gets $4 million led by Matrix Partners, RTP Global

The company said it would utilise the capital to expand deeper into geographies where it is already present and into newer regions within the country.

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InfoBeans net profit up 85.4%

The company added four new clients during the quarter, including the $2.2 million contract from a financial services firm.

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OYO Hotels & Homes strengthens its global leadership team

Among those who have been promoted and hired are Ayush Mathur who is now the chief supply officer (Global), Ankit Mathuria as Chief Technology Officer, OYO, Abhinav Sinha as Global COO & Chief Product Officer (Interim), Kavikrut as Chief Growth Officer, Gautam Swaroop as CEO, OYO International.

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More focus on mathematics essential to drive AI research in India: Simputer co-inventor

Among other challenges for research in India, Vinay pointed out the huge disparity budget for IISc compared with the global institutions.

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Investors should believe in the long-term nature of the markets: Scripbox CEO

Atul Shinghal discusses personal investment strategies, expectations from the Budget, use of technology in investing and more.

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Bengaluru's Balan Engineering launches six variants of electric vehicles

The company is currently engaged in the manufacture, assembly and sale of electric vehicles from a production facility in Bengaluru and will shift to a larger facility in Bagalkot in North Karnataka.

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Google under fire again as Australia hits advertising heft

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/2YnpWKq

Xiaomi unveils ‘Air Charge Technology’ that can charge your smartphone from a distance

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3j1dVUz

Bill Gates on missed opportunity: Microsoft didn’t end up doing the mobile OS well enough… I made mistakes

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3oxxFQJ

How this Gurgaon-based connected fitness startup aims to make Synq.Fit India’s answer to ‘Peloton’

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/2L2tyPc

Facebook, Apple chiefs unleash barbs as App Store feud heats up

The suit accuses Apple of abusing control of its App Store by requiring outside app developers, such as Facebook, to abide by rules not applied to its own apps, tech publication The Information reported.

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Ula raises $20 million in funding led by Quona Capital, B Capital Group

The company is focused on digitising their supply chain, inventory and also helps them manage their working capital.

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TO THE NEW Appoints Amit Gupta as CFO

Gupta is an alumnus of IIT Roorkee with an MBA in Finance & Strategy from the University of Texas at Austin.

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Apple’s Tim Cook criticises social media practices, intensifying Facebook conflict

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Facebook shuts popular stock trading group amid GameStop frenzy

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TikTok ban puts brake on parent ByteDance's India office space expansion plan

The Beijing-headquartered company had entered into a flexible office space deal for 1,250 seats at WeWork India’s Nesco property in Mumbai’s Goregaon suburb last year.

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TikTok, Tik.... The clock runs out on Bytedance’s India dream

TikTok always had a rocky relationship with India. Now, as the most valued startup in the world exits its biggest international market, a look at the key events that underscored the tumultuous run.

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Thursday, January 28, 2021

Airtel 5G: Airtel successfully demonstrates live 5G services in Hyderabad

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Quess Corp enters the gig economy by investing in Taskmo

The investment marks Quess' entry in the Indian digital gig economy and makes it the first organised staffing player to do so.

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Over 13,000 malware threats detected every hour in 2020: Seqrite Threat Report 2021

While the total number of malware attacks dropped by 35 million compared to 2019, that was mainly a reduction in threats like Adware and PUA that are the least detrimental in nature.

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Apple says new privacy notifications to roll out in ‘early spring’

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Facebook’s sales jump, but social network warns of ‘uncertainty’

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Samsung net profit misses estimates after 5G iPhone’s debut

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Video: Virgin Hyperloop showcases what the future of travel could look like by 2030

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Apple to produce iPhone 12 series in India this quarter: Report

Apple is reportedly ramping up production of iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices in India and Vietnam to end its dependence on China and new iPhone 12 series could be assembled in India "as soon as this quarter", Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday.

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Mobile Premier League raises $500,000 from employees

Under the employee investment plan, employees of the company could invest anywhere between $2,300 and $23,000 in the company

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Explainer: Google, Facebook battle Australia over proposed revenue-sharing law

The dispute is being closely watched worldwide since it would be the biggest challenge yet to how the U.S. tech companies that dominate social media and search engines use news on their websites.

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Chiratae Ventures appoints Andreas Hettich to its global advisory board

Hettich said he was bullish about the Indian market and expects new-age companies to take their digital solutions and products to European markets, especially Germany.

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Apple says new privacy notifications to roll out in "early spring"

The one-time notices will require an app developer to ask a user's permission before the app tracks their activities "across other companies' apps and websites.

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Mark Zuckerberg defends WhatsApp's privacy update, takes shot at rivals

Earlier in the month, WhatsApp unveiled a new privacy policy update that allows it to share extensive metadata and business chats with parent Facebook.

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Apple beats Samsung to become the biggest smartphone player in Q4 2020

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3qZbqVy

Apple's India business roughly doubled in October-December quarter, says Tim Cook

Cook said the launch of company-owned exclusive online stores has received a great reaction and the upcoming offline retail store will further strengthen the channel for the brand in India.

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Facebook CEO calls Apple ‘significant’ future competitor

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3qUx9Oz

Business doubled in India, feel good about trajectory: Apple CEO Tim Cook

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Tesla underwhelms Wall Street with hazy 2021 delivery outlook, profit miss

The disappointing results come after shares of the electric carmaker led by CEO Elon Musk surged nearly 700% over the past 12 months.

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Facebook scores earnings beat on holiday retail advertising; Apple privacy changes loom

Facebook forecast that Apple's update of its iPhone operating system to iOS 14 could start biting into revenues as early as the end of the first quarter.

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ETtech Morning Dispatch, 28 Jan 2021: Top Tech News to Start Your Day

From the government’s plans to fund startups using pension and insurance monies to US President Joe Biden's H-1B visa policy, here’s a look at the top tech news to start your day.

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India's smartphone market contracts 4% in 2020, 150 million units shipped

Xiaomi recaptured the number one spot with 26% market share in the October-December quarter, followed by Samsung's 20%, Vivo's 15%, Realme's 11% and Oppo's 10% share.

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GrowFix raises $2 million in seed funding from Zerodha, others

GrowFix will use the funding from Zerodha Rainmatter, Better Capital and other investors to develop the technology to underwrite risks and educate investors about investing in debt assets and the attendant risks.

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Apple revenue tops $100 Billion for first time on iPhone sales

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3qVtqQK

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Google revives Australia news platform launch amid content payment fight

The launch of the News Showcase product as early as next month is Google's latest tactic in a high-profile campaign against the Australian government's planned legislation to make the company pay local news providers for content that appears in its search engine.

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Realme X7 series India launch set for Feb 4, X7 Pro features confirmed on Flipkart

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TikTok owner ByteDance to cut down Indian workforce after apps remain banned

from Technology | The Indian Express https://ift.tt/2KSarHv

Tiktok to shut down India business

Tiktok's global interim head Vanessa Pappas and vice president for global business solutions Blake Chandlee in a joint email to employees have communicated the decision of the company that it is reducing team size and the decision will impact all employees in India.

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TikTok owner's sales doubled to $35 billion despite US ban

The Chinese company managed to grow operating profit to roughly $7 billion in 2020 from less than $4 billion the prior year.

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Venwiz raises $3 million led by Accel, Nexus Venture Partners

The startup said it will use the funds for talent acquisition, strengthening technology, and business expansion.

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Silicon Valley workers have had enough

Historically, white-collar workers in tech, including software engineers and product designers, have rarely engaged in collective action.

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YouTube CEO talks up economic benefits amid regulatory scrutiny

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Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 10 series could launch in China soon: Here’s everything we know so far

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Google pressed in lawsuit to dump Telegram just like Parler

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Apple releases iOS 14.4 update for iPhone, along with updates for Apple Watch and HomePod mini

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They found a way to limit Big Tech's power: Using the design of Bitcoin

When YouTube and Facebook barred tens of thousands of Trump’s supporters and white supremacists this month, many flocked to alternative apps such as LBRY, Minds and Sessions.

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Vista Rooms lands Rs 10 crore funding led by DSG Consumer Partners

Vista Rooms cofounder Ankita Sheth said they plan to use the funds raised across four key areas - launching new locations, improving technology, strengthening the team, and enhancing its brand awareness.

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