Hyundai Motor Group acquires 80% stake in Softbank Group-owned Boston Dynamics

According to a source familiar with the matter at hand, Hyundai Motor Group has agreed to acquire a 80% stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group in a deal worth around $736 million to $828 million (800 billion to 900 billion won). The development assumes significance since Hyundai can leverage the technology to expand automation…

Chinese electric vehicle startup Great Wall Motor to launch new brand targeting premium segment

According to sources familiar with the matter at hand, Chinese electric vehicle startup Great Wall Motor plans on launching a new standalone brand for electric and smart vehicles in China, as it tries to pursue growth in this burgeoning segment. Inspired by U.S. technology and auto giant Tesla Inc, several Chinese automakers have announced plans…

Autonomous cars to hit the market after 2025: VW CEO Herbert Diess

In an interview, to Germany’s Wirtschaftswoche weekly magazine, Herbert Diess, Volkswagen’s CEO stated the carmaker expects autonomous vehicles to be ready for sale between 2025 and 2030. Improvements in artificial intelligence, as well as improvements in the performance of computer chips are speeding up the development of autonomous vehicles. “It is foreseeable that the systems…

Hyundai Motor to launch dedicated Electric Global Modular Platform in major push towards electric vehicles

On Wednesday, in a statement South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group stated, early next year it will introduce an electric vehicle-only platform which will use its battery technology to cut production time and costs. The plan by Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s No.5 auto group, aims to become a major player in the global EV market,…

France issues digital service tax notices to big tech

In a statement, France’s Finance Ministry said, it has sent out notices to big tech companies to pay digital service tax as planned earlier. Earlier France had suspended collection of the digital service tax, since negotiations were underway at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on an overhaul of international tax rules. The…

India takes resolute trade action to defend consumer data from harvesting Chinese apps

With India taking legal resolute measures to fight China’s harvesting of consumer data through apps and promptly banning those which do not comply to its security standards, China is starting to feel the pinch of loss of business and has opposed New Delhi’s move. The development comes in the wake of China making belligerent claims…

Astanor Ventures raises $325 million for investing in agri-food tech startups

On Friday, Astanor Ventures, a backer French insect breeder Ynsect as well as Germany’s vertical farmer InFarm stated, it had raised a $325 million fund to invest in sustainable agriculture, food, and ocean technology startups. The new fund will back ventures that seek to make the food supply more resilient to climate change and attempt…

Brazil backs U.S.-led global alliance for Huawei-free 5G Network

In a significant development, the Brazilian government said it has backed Washington’s push to build a global alliance of Clean Network that excludes technology companies that are manipulated by governments including China’s Communist regime. The development came in the wake of Keith Krach, U.S. Under secretary of state for economic growth, energy and environment, advising…

Cloud security startup SentinelOne’s valuation touches $3 billion in latest funding round

In an interview, Tomer Weingarten, the CEO of SentinelOne said, the startup has raised $267 million from venture capital backers including Sequoia and Tiger Global, and saw its valuation jump to more than $3 billion – nearly three times its valuation in February 2020. The startup uses artificial intelligence technology to protect mobile phones and…