October 2023

These Chinese companies prove green tech can be profitable

October 11, 2023
This story first appeared in China Report, MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. Living through the epic rainfall that flooded New York City a few weeks ago was nothing if not a reminder of just how urgently we need to tackle the climate crisis. Fortunately,…

Klarna launches a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool

October 11, 2023
Klarna is introducing a suite of new features, including an AI-powered image-search tool called Shopping lens, the company announced on Wednesday. The company is also launching shoppable videos in Europe, in-store product scanning, a new cashback program, express refunds and more. The new Shopping lens allows users to take a picture of items and styles […]

UK regulator launches antitrust investigation into $19B Vodafone/Three mobile merger

October 11, 2023
When Vodafone and Hutchison-owned Three in the U.K. announced their plan to merge in a non-cash deal to create a $19B mega mobile operator in June of this year, we noted that it would likely face a sizeable regulatory hurdle. The next chapter in that story opened up today: the country’s Competition and Markets Authority, […]

SBF started a $2 billion venture fund using Alameda loans

October 11, 2023
On January 14, 2022, former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted: “First, we’re launching a $2 billion venture fund, FTX Ventures. As a founder, it’s important to support other founders creating great companies. Hopefully this will allow us to do that a lot more.” A noble goal, to be sure. But rather than raise capital for […]

Mastercard CFO says India’s UPI ‘incredibly painful experience’ for ecosystem participants

October 11, 2023
India’s UPI is “fantastic at many levels” but remains an “incredibly painful experience” for ecosystem participants, Mastercard CFO said at a recent conference, underscoring tensions around the mobile payments rail that facilitates over 10 billion transactions monthly in the nation with low card penetration. When questioned about Mastercard’s prospects in emerging markets such as India, […]

Recs is a social ‘wallet’ for stashing and sharing your favorite places

October 11, 2023
The most popular apps suck us into the technological equivalent of couch lock, but it’s easy to imagine how things might have gone differently. Rather than idly scrolling and mindlessly issuing likes into the void, social media could — and, at its best, does — empower us to connect beyond its virtual confines. It’s not […]

WM Motor’s bankruptcy highlights challenges faced by EV startups in China

October 11, 2023
Chinese electric vehicle startup WM Motor has filed for bankruptcy, an example of yet another once-promising EV upstart that has been pushed to insolvency as bigger players gain market share and Chinese spending on big ticket items dwindles. WM Motor, backed by Baidu and Tencent, was one of the most well-funded EV startups in China, […]

Evolution Space to build solid rocket motor testing center at NASA Stennis

October 11, 2023
Mojave, California-based Evolution Space has a new deal with NASA to begin building a solid propulsion center and solid rocket motor testing at the agency’s Stennis Space Center, which will see former facilities repurposed into Evolution’s “Space Propulsion Center.” Evolution plans on repurposing former facilities that were part of the Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant, which […]