Verizon snaps up Blue Jeans amid booming demand for video conferencing April 16, 2020 Verizon today said it has entered into an agreement to buy video conferencing firm Blue Jeans as the coronavirus lockdown fuels huge demand for remote working. The US telecoms giant did not disclose the value of the deal but the Wall Street Journal reported a price tag of under $500m (£401m). California-based Blue Jeans provide [...]
Tiktok bans direct messaging for under-16s amid safety concerns April 16, 2020 Tiktok will ban users under the age of 16 from sending direct messages as the platform looks to improve safety and stave off concerns about harmful material. The video-sharing platform, which is popular with teenagers, today said that from 30 April new and existing users who do not meet the age requirements will no longer [...]
London fintech firm Previse secures $11m in funding round April 16, 2020 London-based fintech startup Previse has secured $11m (£8.8m) in fresh funding as the invoice payment platform defied wider economic gloom sparked by the coronavirus crisis. Previse, which was founded in 2016, uses artificial intelligence to help suppliers get invoices paid instantly when no manual intervention is needed. The King’s Cross-headquartered firm currently processes more than [...]
Recipe box firm Gousto secures £33m investment as coronavirus boosts business April 16, 2020 Recipe box firm Gousto has secured £33m in new funding from investors including celebrity fitness coach Joe Wicks, as growth in the meal-kit market has been accelerated by the coronavirus outbreak. The funding round was led by Perwyn, BGF, and MMC Ventures and Joe Wicks, taking the total funds raised to more than £130m in [...]
Tesla to face shareholder lawsuit Elon Musk’s ‘funding secured’ tweet April 16, 2020 Tesla boss Elon Musk must face a shareholder lawsuit over a tweet in which he stated the company had secured funding for a go-private deal worth $72bn (£58bn), a judge has ruled. Shareholders have filed a suit alleging the billionaire founder attempted to defraud them with a 2018 tweet that read: “Am considering taking Tesla [...]
Apple unveils second generation version of budget iPhone SE April 15, 2020 Apple today unveiled the second generation model of its budget iPhone SE as the tech giant looks to tap into demand for more affordable smartphones. The new iPhone SE resembles the design of the iPhone 7 launched in 2016, with a smaller 4.7-inch retina display and the traditional Touch ID fingerprint sensor, rather than facial [...]
WHO launches coronavirus chatbot on Facebook Messenger April 15, 2020 The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched its coronavirus chatbot on Facebook Messenger as it expands its efforts to tackle online misinformation. The interactive Health Alert service will allow the messaging app’s 1.3bn users to ask questions and get the latest information about the Covid-19 outbreak. It follows the launch of a similar service on [...]
British AI startup Onfido in talks to provide coronavirus immunity passports April 15, 2020 British AI startup Onfido revealed a $100m (£80m) funding round today and confirmed it is in talks to provide so-called coronavirus immunity passports when lockdowns begin to ease. The entirety of Onfido’s new stake comes from US investor TPG Growth’s $45bn fund, and brings the digital identity startup’s total funding to $200m. Founder Husayn Kassai [...]
Tiktok owner Bytedance to hire 10,000 new staff amid lockdown boom April 15, 2020 The Chinese company behind hit social media platform Tiktok is looking to hire 10,000 new employees as it defies a wider downturn that has forced global tech firms to lay off staff. Bytedance has opened applications for the vacancies, with roughly a third of the roles in high-level research or software coding, according to an [...]
China ‘using Covid cover’ to seize control of Imagination Technologies April 14, 2020 A state-owned Chinese investor is exploiting the coronavirus crisis to seize control of Imagination Technologies, the British chipmaker’s former boss has warned. Sir Hossein Yossaie, who served as chief executive until 2016, has written to ministers urging them to block China Reform Holdings from taking control of the company’s board, Sky News reported. Yossaie also [...]