U.S. private equity firm General Atlantic LLC and SoftBank Group Corp invests $107 million in Brazilian facial recognition startup Acesso Digital

In a statement Brazil’s facial biometrics and digital admission startup Acesso Digital said, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp and U.S. private equity firm General Atlantic LLC are leading a $107.25 million (580 million reais) funding round. Following the investment, both, General Atlantic and SoftBank, will hold a minority stake in Acesso Digital. Founded in 2007, Acesso…

Dating app Bumble preparing for U.S. IPO, aims for valuation between $6 to $8 billion

According to sources familiar with the matter at hand, Bumble, a dating app, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), which could see the company being valued between $6 billion to $8 billion. Bumble’s IPO could come early next year, said a report from Bloomberg citing sources. Sources cautioned that Bumble’s IPO plans have…

Exxon Mobil offers volumtary redundanct scheme for Australia midst looming multi-billion quarterly loss

On Wednesday, in a statement Exxon Mobil Corp said, it has started a voluntary redundancy programme for its Australian employees, as means to mitigate the current predominant “unprecedented” market conditions. The voluntary redundancy programme is being offered to all employees in Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Gippsland, and Perth, said Exxon in a statement. When asked to…

Tech firms deploy Bluetooth enabled contact tracing apps to contain spread of coronavirus

Technology companies have begun developing their own contact tracing systems to help prevent and contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreaks in their offices. The development comes in the wake of countries begining to ease lockdown measures and return to the workplace. Juniper Networks Inc plans on equipping its nearly 10,000 employees with work identification…

Chinese auto market 2020 is moderately positive: Daimler-BAIC’s CEO

On Wednesday, the CEO of Daimler-BAIC’s joint venture’s stated, he views the Chinese auto market in 2020 as “moderately positive”; his assessment is based on its April sales performance in China. Daimler-BAIC’s CEO Arno van der Merwe made the comments during a visit to the Beijing Benz Automotive Co’s plant. He did not comment on…