One Thing Today in Tech
-
Amazon Alexa gets Amitabh Bachchan, Samsung Galaxy Z gets Alia Bhatt; and Counterpoint's Neil Shah on Google's smartphone strategy
Amazon has rolled out India's first celebrity voice feature on Alexa with the country's best known movie star Amitabh Bachchan. Indian customers can choose to add Bachchan's voice to their Alexa voice assistant on Echo devices or by pressing the mic icon on the Amazon shopping app (Android only) for an introductory price of Rs 149 for one year. Samsung has signed Alia Bhatt as brand ambassador or its Galaxy Z. And in our tech conversation today, Neil Shah of Counterpoint Research analyses Google's smartphone strategy
-
Amazon backs Smallcase; GPT 3 worries AI researchers; and a hark back to a chat with Postman's Abhinav Asthana
Amazon has invested in Smallcase Technologies, a Bangalore startup that is making it very easy for people to invest in baskets of stocks and exchange traded funds, which it calls, well, smallcases. Amazon has joined a $40 million investment in Smallcase led by Faering Capital and Premji Invest, IT billionaire Azim Premji's family office. And today's conversation is a hark back to chat with Abhinav Asthana, whose company Postman has just become one of the most valued SaaS startups to be led by Indian founders anywhere
-
Google Pixel 5a at $449; Microsoft, Rubrik step up ransomware fight; and Harsh Rajat unpacks Ethereum Push Notification Service
Google has announced its Pixel 5a smartphone with 5G wireless support, for $449. The latest A-series Pixel phone from Google arrives on August 26 in the US and Japan, and includes IP67 water resistance, a bigger battery than the Pixel 5, and a dual camera system. No word on availability in India yet. And in our tech conversation today, Harsh Rajat unpacks his Ethereum Push Notification Service
-
Tesla's Autopilot probed; Facebook, Google back undersea cables in Asia; and why Ather Energy is open sourcing its EV charger connector
Tesla's advanced driver assistance system, Autopilot, is being investigated by the US auto safety regulators after a series of crashes at emergency sites, according to multiple news reports. The investigation, by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, covers an estimated 765,000 Tesla Model Y, X, S and three vehicles from the 2014 model year onward. And in our tech conversation today, Ather Energy's Ravneet Phokela explains why the company is open sourcing its electric vehicle charging connector
-
July hottest month in history; Ola launches e-scooters; and a chat with Shridhar Gupta and Vidit Jain of LocoNav
July 2021 has become the hottest month ever recorded, according to new global data released on Friday by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Centers for Environmental Information. This comes on the heels of a report by the Inter Government Panel on Climate Change that added incontrovertible evidence that human activity such as burning fossil fuels has exacerbated adverse climate change. And in our tech conversation today, we talk to the founders of LocoNav
-
Facebook may have to sell Giphy; Eruditus, VerSe in big funding rounds; and Krishna Depura on Mindtickle's sales-readiness tech
Facebook may be required to sell off Giphy if a provisional finding by Britain's antitrust authority is confirmed. The deal may impede competition between social media platforms and the in-display advertising market, according to Britain's Competition and Markets Authority. EdTech startup Eruditus and local language technology platform VerSe raised capital in the latest funding rounds. In our tech conversation today, CEO Krishna Depura talks about plans ahead at Mindtickle
-
US bill targets Google, Apple app store duopoly; Samsung's new foldable phones; and Anand Inamdar on apps at Amoeboids
Google and Apple, will be forced to allow third-party app stores and side-loading of apps if a new bipartisan bill in the US becomes law. The Open App Markets Act, led by three US lawmakers, would break open the business model of both companies' app stores and the structure of their mobile operating systems. Samsung introduced Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 at the 'Galaxy Unpacked' event on Wednesday. And in our tech conversation today, Anand Inamdar talks about his Pune company Amoeboids, which makes enterprise apps on the Atlassian marketplace
-
Google blocks ad targeting for under-18 users; Xiaomi launches Mi Mix 4; and Bhavin Turakhia's Titan bet
Google is blocking ad targeting of users under 18, based on age, gender or interests. It will also turn off its location history feature, which tracks location data, for users under 18 globally. Apple is doubling down on pro camera features for the upcoming iPhone lineup. Xiaomi launched Mi Mix 4 and Mi Pad 5. In our tech conversation, billionaire Bhavin Turakhia talks up his email for business—Titan
-
Amazon, Catamaran to part ways; Ather open-sources EV charger; and a chat with Byju's CPO Ranjit Radhakrishnan
Amazon has decided to end its relationship with one of its biggest sellers in India, Cloudtail—a joint venture between Amazon and India's Catamaran. The move comes after the US company was accused of giving preferential treatment for years to a small group of sellers. Apple will have a record year in India with sales of $3 bn in revenue. Ather has decided to share its proprietary fast-charging connector design with other OEMs, hoping to create a single EV connector standard. In our tech conversation today, a chat with Byju's CPO Ranjit Radhakrishnan
-
Special Briefing: Mike Cannon-Brookes on Atlassian's growth in the pandemic and India's talent base
Atlassian, is probably not a very well known company in India outside the world of software products. However, some of India's best-known companies—from Reliance Industries to Flipkart and Ola—use Atlassian's team collaboration software. Three years ago, Atlassian also set up its third global R&D centre in Bangalore. Mike Cannon-Brookes spoke to Forbes India about how Atlassian has grown through the pandemic and plans ahead for the India centre—which has emerged as the fastest-growing talent location for the company
-
Moderna says Covid-19 booster jab may be needed; Apple to scan uploads for child abuse; and a chat with Anand Ramamoorthy at Micron Tech India
Moderna, a US-based pharmaceuticals company, said a booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine may be necessary as new variants of the coronavirus emerge. The company made the announcement as part of its second quarter earnings release on Thursday. Apple is implementing a technology to scan photo uploads to iCloud in the US for child abuse images. In today's tech conversation, Anand Ramamoorthy, MD of Micron Technology India, offers a glimpse into the semiconductor industry.