Tech and health companies including Microsoft and Salesforce team up on digital COVID-19 vaccination records
A new cross-industry initiative is seeking to establish a standard for digital vaccination records that can be used universally to identify COVID-19 vaccination status for individuals, in a way that can be both secure via encryption and traceable and.....»»
Accounting automation startup Geroges raises $42.4 million and rebrands to Indy
French startup Georges — or Georges.tech — is raising a new round of funding of $42.4 million (€35 million). The company is also getting a new name and will be called Indy going forward. The startup has been building an accounting automation ap.....»»
Digital securities platform iSTOX closes $50 million Series A to make private equity accessible to more investors
iSTOX, a digital securities platform that wants to make private equity investment more accessible, has added new investors from Japan to its Series A round, bringing its total to $50 million. Two of its new backers are the government-owned Developmen.....»»
Opera buys YoYo Games, the team behind GameMaker Studio
This news was announced on Opera's official blog today, so it seems the acquisition went through fairly recently......»»
Genflow nabs $11M investment from BGF
Genflow, a London an0d LA-based brand building agency that offers an e-commerce and mobile tech platform to let influencers start companies, has raised $11 million in funding. Leading the round is U.K. investor BGF. The injection of capital will be u.....»»
Joe believes playing video games helps his mental health
Many argue the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to gaming and mental health.....»»
In Hidden Message on White House Website, Biden Calls For Coders
The recently updated website for President Joe Biden's White House carried an invitation for tech specialists savvy enough to find it. From a report: Hidden in the HTML code on www.whitehouse.gov was an invitation to join the U.S. Digital Service, a.....»»
As COVID-19 Mutates, AI Algorithms Keep Pace
Machine learning model meant for understanding language searches for coronavirus strains that could evade the vaccine As new variants of the coronavirus continue to spring up like wildfires across the planet, researchers have bee.....»»
Skyrim modders have a new machine learning tool that turns text to realistic NPC speech
VASynth creator Dan Ruta used NPC voices from various Bethesda video games to train the tool's machine learning AI models. He published multiple flavors of the app, including variations for Skyrim, Fallout 4, Oblivion, Fallout New Vegas, Morrowind, a.....»»
Amazon offers Biden resources for COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Following Joseph Biden’s swearing in as the 46th president of the United States, Amazon is offering help in the administration’s stated goals for rolling out the COVID-19 vaccine. In a letter provided to TechCrunch, Worldwide Consumer CEO Dave Cl.....»»
African edtech startup uLesson lands a $7.5 million Series A
ULesson, an edtech startup based in Nigeria that sells digital curriculum to students through SD cards, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding. The round is led by Owl Ventures, which closed over half a billion in new fund money just months ago......»»
Nepali climbers overcame "treacherous" conditions to make history on K2
A Nepali climbing team which made history at the weekend by becoming the first to summit the world's second-highest mountain in winter told Wednesday how they battled hurricane-force winds and freezing temperatures to achieve the record......»»
Describing the worldviews of the new "tech elite"
The new tech elite share distinct views setting them apart from other segments of the world's elite more generally, according to a study published January 20, 2020 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Hilke Brockmann from Jacobs University Bremen,.....»»
Remote workers are greener, but their tech still has a real carbon cost
The massive shift to remote work due to COVID-19 has resulted in a huge reduction in emissions from vehicles and other sources, but it comes with costs of its own. A new study puts tentative carbon costs on the connectivity and data infrastructure th.....»»
Amazon offers Biden resources for Covid-19 vaccine rollout
Following Joseph Biden’s swearing in as the 46th President of the United States, Amazon is offering help in the administration’s stated goals for rolling out the Covid-19 vaccine. In a letter provided to TechCrunch, Worldwide Consumer CEO Dave Cl.....»»
China Builds Massive Covid-19 Quarantine Camp For 4,000 People as Outbreak Continues
China is rushing to build a massive quarantine camp that can house more than 4,000 people, after an outbreak of Covid-19 this month that has left tens of millions of people under strict lockdown. From a report: The quarantine camp is located on the o.....»»
Biden Sworn In as 46th President
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, taking office at a moment of profound economic, health and political crises with a promise to seek unity after a tumultuous four years that tore at the f.....»»
Samsung heir"s prison sentence casts a shadow on South Korea"s tech titan
The man who calls the shots at Samsung was just sent to prison for the second time in less than five years. Even if the South Korean tech giant can keep its day-to-day business humming in his absence, the verdict is still likely to cast a long shadow.....»»
EU chief warns over ‘unfiltered’ hate speech and calls for Biden to back rules for big tech
In a speech to the European Parliament today marking the inauguration of US president Joe Biden, the president of the European Commission has called for Europe and the US to join forces on regulating tech giants, warning of the risks of “unfilt.....»»
An anode-free zinc battery that could someday store renewable energy
Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, could help decrease the world's reliance on fossil fuels. But first, power companies need a safe, cost-effective way to store the energy for later use. Massive lithium-ion batteries can do the j.....»»
MIT develops method for lab-grown plants that eventually lead to alternatives to forestry and farming
Researchers at MIT have developed a new method for growing plant tissues in a lab – sort of like how companies and researchers are approaching lab-grown meat. The process would be able to produce wood and fibre in a lab environment, and researchers.....»»