By Sophie Yu and Josh Horwitz BEIJING (Reuters) - For more than a decade, Alibaba Group has been China's undisputed e-commerce king but of late its crown has shown signs of slipping, unsettled by an influx of aggressive competitors into the sector. This week, Alibaba announced it was reorganising its e-commerce businesses into two units, one for China and one for … [Read more...] about Analysis-Alibaba’s e-commerce empire under threat from Douyin, Pinduoduo
White House to fund tech to evade censorship and increase privacy
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House will launch an initiative on Wednesday to award grants to innovators working on technology to bolster democracy by developing tools that enhance privacy or circumvent censorship, a White House official told Reuters. Winners of the two biggest grants will get a total of $3.75 million, the official said. The project, part of U.S. … [Read more...] about White House to fund tech to evade censorship and increase privacy
Waymo’s slow-going in Arizona opens up U.S. robotaxi race
By Paresh Dave and Hyunjoo Jin CHANDLER, Ariz. (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Waymo risks losing its lead in the U.S. race to prove robotaxis are a viable business as it sticks to a limited service and rivals backed by automakers near their own launches. Companies including Ford Motor Co's Argo AI and General Motors Co's Cruise are competing for the billions of dollars in … [Read more...] about Waymo’s slow-going in Arizona opens up U.S. robotaxi race
AI video avatar platform Synthesia raises $50 million in venture capital
By Jane Lanhee Lee (Reuters) - Synthesia, a London-based artificial intelligence startup that creates video avatars of real people, said on Wednesday it raised $50 million from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins and GV, formerly known as Google Ventures, and other investors. An increasing number of startups are creating such synthetic media and as they … [Read more...] about AI video avatar platform Synthesia raises $50 million in venture capital
Russia ratchets up internet control by blocking privacy service Tor
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia stepped up state oversight of internet activity on Wednesday by blocking the website of global privacy service Tor and part of its wider network, with the communications regulator accusing it of enabling access to illegal content. Russia has exerted increasing pressure on foreign tech companies this year over content shared on their platforms and … [Read more...] about Russia ratchets up internet control by blocking privacy service Tor
