Author: Bilal

The Berlin-based startup behind Tandem, an app for practicing a second language, has closed a £4.5 million (~$5.7 million) Series A round of financing to capitalize on growth opportunities it’s seeing as the coronavirus crisis continues to accelerate the switch to digital and online learning. With many higher education institutions going remote as a result of concerns … Continue reading Tandem snags $5.7M for its language buddy app amid COVID-19’s e-learning boom Continue Reading →

Early last year, excitement over the burgeoning cannabis industry was palpable in Silicon Valley, with a small number of venture firms writing their first checks to cannabis-related startups. Among them is the cross-border venture firm DCM, which even hosted an “inaugural” cannabis “tech summit” in May 2019 that drew so many investors that finding a seat … Continue reading Cannabis VC Karan Wadhera on why the industry, which took a hit last year, is now quietly blazing Continue Reading →

Cross-border financial transactions are a major headache for individuals and large companies alike, who often have to deal with long wait times and high fees in order to send money to recipients in other countries. EMQ, a Hong Kong-based startup that develops network infrastructure to make international payments faster, announced today that it has raised a … Continue reading Hong Kong-based EMQ raises $20 million for its cross-border financial settlement tech Continue Reading →

It’s been seven years since Tencent picked up a 36.5% stake in Sogou to fend off rival Baidu in the online search market. The social and gaming giant is now offering to buy out and take private its long-time ally. NYSE-listed Sogou  said this week it has received a preliminary non-binding proposal from Tencent to acquire its remaining shares for … Continue reading Tencent wants to take full control of long-time search ally Sogou Continue Reading →

So far, this test flight has been a great success. Nearly two months have passed since a Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying two astronauts blasted off the face of the Earth and delivered NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken into orbit. Now, it’s time to come home. So far, this test flight of the SpaceX-built crew spacecraft … Continue reading NASA, SpaceX preparing to bring Crew Dragon home this week Continue Reading →

Qualcomm is calling it the “World’s fastest commercial charging solution.”      In the constantly incremental march of technology, it’s not often you get to call something “revolutionary,” but Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 5 just might be that. The new quick-charging scheme promises to fully charge your phone in just 15 minutes and go from zero to … Continue reading Qualcomm’s 100W charging scheme will go from 0-50 in 5 minutes Continue Reading →

Google is the first major tech company to announce office closures until mid-2021. Google will keep “nearly all” of its workforce—around 200,000 employees and contractors—working from home for another year, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Google CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly made the decision last week. The long timeline gives more certainty for Googlers who are … Continue reading Google will keep 200,000 workers home through next summer Continue Reading →

Israeli sites show how the plague impacted the fringes of the Byzantine Empire. Ancient trash heaps recently yielded some clues about how the Plague of Justinian, part of a one-two punch with volcanic climate havoc, devastated commercial farming at the fringes of the Byzantine Empire in the 540s CE. They tell us a lot about … Continue reading Ancient trash heaps reveal the Plague of Justinian’s economic toll Continue Reading →

Analysis shows costs—and subsidies—are falling rapidly. Once renewable sources of electricity meet or beat the costs of fossil fuel generation, everything changes. With the immediate financial benefit just as clear as the long-term environmental benefit, utilities turn their attention to how to make it work rather than debating whether it’s worth the investment. Solar and … Continue reading Offshore wind in Europe won’t need subsidies much longer Continue Reading →

The search giant will keep many employees at home until next summer.   Google won’t reopen offices for many employees amid the coronavirus pandemic until next summer. CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday told employees that the search giant will extend its work from home option through June 30, 2021 for roles that don’t need to be in … Continue reading Google won’t reopen offices until July 2021 Continue Reading →