October 2023

Didi’s autonomous vehicle arm raises $149M from state investors

October 12, 2023
When Didi created an autonomous vehicle subsidiary in 2020, the venture was seen as a Chinese counterpart to Uber’s AV unit. The tides of change have since swept across China’s tech landscape, where internet firms went through a wave of regulatory crackdown and foreign investments dwindled amid worsening U.S.-China relations. Didi’s AV unit remained in […]

EyeEm, the photo marketplace, changes hands as Freepik picks it up out of bankruptcy

October 12, 2023
EyeEm, the Berlin-based photo marketplace that once was loftily thought of as a possible challenger to Instagram in Europe but more recently has fallen on much harder times, has a new owner. Freepik — a Spain-based platform partly owned by EQT that provides images, graphics, and other media for designers and other online creatives — […]

The quest for equitable climate solutions

October 12, 2023
Sweeping legislation in the US, including the Inflation Reduction Act, is infusing hundreds of billions of dollars into new climate and energy technologies, funding research, development, and implementation. But as the money begins to flow, there are open questions regarding who will benefit most, and who might bear the brunt of unexpected consequences.  Shalanda Baker,…

India’s CtrlS says it will invest $2B to expand datacenter business

October 12, 2023
CtrlS Datacenters, the India-headquartered data center giant, said Thursday it plans to invest $2 billion over the next six years to scale its operations and expand business, as the demand for data processing and cloud storage surges across major markets.  The Hyderabad-based company said it will invest in technologies and strategies in areas such as […]

Microsoft faces $28.9 billion tax bill in ongoing audit dispute

October 12, 2023
Microsoft says that it’s facing a hefty tax bill over historical accounting practices dating back nearly twenty years. In a filing yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company confirmed that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has arrived at a figure of $28.9 billion — plus penalties and interest — that Microsoft allegedly […]

EVPassport scored $200M to build out its app-less charging infrastructure

October 12, 2023
Charging infrastructure startup EVPassport says its charging stations are designed to pass the grandma test. “When you arrive, you don’t need to download an app. You just scan a QR code and it integrates with your digital wallet,” Hooman Shahidi, co-founder and CEO of EVPassport, told TechCrunch. “Or if you’re really old fashioned, you can […]

How AI could supercharge battery research

October 12, 2023
This article is from The Spark, MIT Technology Review’s weekly climate newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Wednesday, sign up here. During one of the final sessions at our ClimateTech event last week, I got to hear about how AI could help develop battery materials for future electric sports cars.   This came during…

CRED in talks to acquire mutual fund startup Kuvera

October 12, 2023
CRED is in talks to acquire Kuvera, a startup that operates an online wealth management platform, a source familiar with the matter told TechCrunch, in what is a sign of the Indian fintech giant’s growing interest in the lucrative category of mutual funds. The acquisition deliberations are ongoing and a deal could finalize within weeks, […]