Baidu-backed Chinese EV startup WM raises $1.5 billion in funding round

On Tuesday, Baidu-backed Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup WM Motor said, it has raised $1.47 billion (10 billion yuan) in its latest funding round. In recent months, shares of Electric Vehicle makers, including that of Tesla Inc, have surged with auto makers looking to the markets for funds. Incidentally, China’s Xpeng Inc and Li Auto…

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…

Heightened demand for human augmentation technology: survey results by Opinium Research

According to a research report commissioned by Kaspersky, two thirds of those who were surveyed in leading Western European countries consider technology induced augmentation of human body parts, most of which are related to improving health, will improve their lives. With technological revolutions shaping humanities near future, tech leaders opine it will change every aspect…

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…

WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann files lawsuit against SoftBank Group Corp and its Vision Fund against wrongful termination of tender

Adam Neumann, WeWork’s co-founder has filed a lawsuit against SoftBank Group Corp and against its Vision Fund for terminating a $3 billion tender offer to the office-sharing startup’s shareholders. In October, the tender was part of a $9.6 billion financial rescue package that SoftBank had agreed to, following which WeWork gave it control of the…

GM’s self-driving car startup unveils EV without steering wheel or pedals

In a statement, Cruise, General Motors’ self-driving car unit said, it has unveiled an electric vehicle without any steering wheel or pedals for use in its planned autonomous ride-sharing service. Cruise did not disclose when the car will go into production. The vehicle, named “Cruise Origin”, was developed with Honda Motor Co Ltd following the…