One Thing Today in Tech
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Tinder takes Apple to India's Competition Commission — Report; Omnivore's OmniX Bio picks the second startup
Tinder-owner Match Group has filed an antitrust case against Apple with the competition regulator in India, accusing the iPhone maker of "monopolistic conduct" that forces developers to pay high commissions for in-app purchases. And OmniX Bio, an initiative from VC firm Omnivore to fund early-stage agri-science startups has picked its second venture in Loopworm
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Apple aiming for faster release of new iPhone in India—report; Meta rolls out metaverse accounts
Apple will make and release its latest smartphone, the iPhone 14, in India two months after it comes out in China, narrowing the gap between its main production facility and the small but growing one in India. Meta is rolling out its metaverse accounts and profiles. And Fidelity International has picked up a 5 percent stake in Zomato, the global investment firm told stock exchanges in Mumbai
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Sequoia picks 37 founders, 15 startups for Surge 7; US lawmaker pushing EV industry to kill dependence on China
Sequoia Capital, yesterday, named the next batch of its accelerator programme Surge, in India and Southeast Asia, picking entrepreneurs who are finding opportunities in tackling a range of problems from climate change and agritech to Web3. Many of the founders are women, and several have rich prior experience in their sectors — from finance to aerospace. Some have started straight out of college as well
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Paytm shareholders near unanimous in voting to approve Vijay Shekhar Sharma's reappointment and pay
Shareholders of One97 Communications, which operates the fintech platform Paytm, voted almost unanimously for founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma's reappointment as managing director and CEO for another five years, at the company's annual general meeting last week. Nandan Nilekani's VC firm Fundamentum has raised $227 million for its second fund. And some Tesla drivers tested the 'self-driving' feature on their own children
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Apple, Google release security updates; Flipkart names six startups for the second batch of 'Leap Ahead'
Apple released software updates for iPhones, iPads and Macs on Wednesday that fix two security vulnerabilities known by Apple to be actively exploited by attackers. Google also released a security update, to the Stable channel of its Chrome browser. And Flipkart Ventures has picked six startups for the second batch of its 16-week accelerator programme
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Facial recognition launched at Delhi and Bengaluru airports; India chip market at $300 bln by 2026
Facial recognition tech, as part of India's Digi Yatra Central ecosystem, has been rolled out at the airports in Delhi and Bengaluru that will allow passenger identities to be verified in a matter of seconds. A corresponding mobile app is now available on Google's Play store and an iOS version is expected soon. And India's semiconductor chip component market is projected to touch $300 billion in cumulative sales in the five years through 2026
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'Asia inflation has peaked' — Morgan Stanley; China tech giants reveal algorithms; Ola Electric's car by 2024
Inflation in Asia has peaked compared with other major economies such as the US and Europe, according to the chief Asia economist at Morgan Stanley. China's tech giants, in an unprecedented move, have revealed details of their algorithms to the country's government. And Bhavish Aggarwal aims to bring an Ola Electric car to market in 2024
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Xiaomi shows off humanoid robot prototype CyberOne; CCF's Climate Startup Week next month
Xiaomi showcased its humanoid robot prototype, called CyberOne, at an event yesterday, ahead of Tesla's AI day. CyberOne is 5.8 feet tall, weighs 52kg, and is nicknamed "Metal Bro." It has also been given a zodiac sign, Leo. In a video shared by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, on Twitter, one can see the robot walk up to him onstage, introduce itself, offer him a flower, and strike a kung fu pose
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India's fintech startups welcome RBI's 'customer-centric' rules on digital lending
India's fintech startups, yesterday, welcomed the comprehensive rules on digital lending released by the Reserve Bank. The rules provide clarity that only regulated entities can offer loans and stipulate that a consumer must be told upfront what the total cost of a digitally sourced loan will be. Explicit consent must also be sought to collect data, with the option to delete it
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69 percent of jobs in India under threat from automation by 2040, says Forrester's Future of Jobs report
Working populations in the five largest economies in the Asia Pacific—India, China, South Korea, Australia, and Japan—are more at risk due to physical robot automation than in Europe and North America, according to a forecast by Forrester. India, which has a relatively young workforce, will add 160 million new workers over the next 20 years, reaching a working population of 1.1 billion by 2040, but 69 percent of India's jobs are under threat from automation, according to the forecast
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Indian children the most cyberbullied, finds McAfee survey, racial bullying online rising worldwide
Cyberbullying among children in India is the highest and in multiple categories, double the rates reported by other countries, cybersecurity company McAfee said in a press release yesterday, as part of a global report, titled 'Cyberbullying in Plain Sight'. And racially motivated bullying online is on the rise worldwide, with India and the US topping the list, reporting the most such instances