All posts tagged: Collections: Technology

Fintech Startup Ramp Raises 0 Million as Valuation Recovers

Fintech Startup Ramp Raises $150 Million as Valuation Recovers

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(Reuters) – Ramp, a developer of finance and expense management software for companies, has raised $150 million in a funding round led by Khosla Ventures and Founders Fund, the company said on Wednesday. The funding valued Ramp at $7.65 billion, marking a recovery of its valuation from $5.8 billion in the last round in August 2023. Like many other fintech startups, Ramp hit its valuation peak of $8.1 billion in a funding round in 2022 amid the low-interest rate environment when venture capital was ample for private companies. It also marks a rare late-stage bet by Khosla Venture, which recently recruited Keith Rabois, a long-time investor in Ramp from Founders Fund. Rabois will keep his board seat at Ramp. New York-based Ramp started as a corporate card provider and now has expanded into expense and finance management tool for businesses. It competes with startups such as Brex, as well as public companies like American Express and SAP-owned Concur. New investors including Sequoia Capital and Greylock also participated in Ramp’s latest funding round. Photos You Should …

Trump Media Stock Slides Again to Bring It More Than 66% Below Its Peak as Euphoria Fades

Trump Media Stock Slides Again to Bring It More Than 66% Below Its Peak as Euphoria Fades

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NEW YORK (AP) — The stock price for Donald Trump’s social media company slid again Monday, pushing it more than 66% below its peak set late last month. Trump Media & Technology Group closed down 18.4% at $26.61 as more of the euphoria that surrounded the stock fades. It’s a sharp comedown since nearing $80 after the owner of Truth Social merged with a shell company to get its stock trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “DJT,” for Trump’s initials. Part of the decline may be due to criticism that the stock price had zoomed way past what skeptics said the money-losing company is worth, particularly one with tough odds for success. But another part is also likely because of action Trump Media took Monday. The company filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that open the door for the future potential sale of millions of shares. The document, called an S-1, relates to warrants held by investors that can be transformed into shares of stock, as well as shares held by …

Microsoft Engineer Sounds Alarm on AI Image-Generator to US Officials and Company’s Board

Microsoft Engineer Sounds Alarm on AI Image-Generator to US Officials and Company’s Board

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A Microsoft engineer is sounding alarms about offensive and harmful imagery he says is too easily made by the company’s artificial intelligence image-generator tool, sending letters on Wednesday to U.S. regulators and the tech giant’s board of directors urging them to take action. Shane Jones told The Associated Press that he considers himself a whistleblower and that he also met last month with U.S. Senate staffers to share his concerns. The Federal Trade Commission confirmed it received his letter Wednesday but declined further comment. Microsoft said it is committed to addressing employee concerns about company policies and that it appreciates Jones’ “effort in studying and testing our latest technology to further enhance its safety.” It said it had recommended he use the company’s own “robust internal reporting channels” to investigate and address the problems. CNBC was first to report about the letters. Jones, a principal software engineering lead whose job involves working on AI products for Microsoft’s retail customers, said he has spent three months trying to address his safety concerns about Microsoft’s Copilot Designer, …

Canada to Crack Down on Foreign Investment in Digital Media Sector

Canada to Crack Down on Foreign Investment in Digital Media Sector

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OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada will crack down on foreign investment in the interactive digital media sector to stop state-sponsored actors from endangering national security, Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Friday. Starting immediately, Ottawa will increase scrutiny of investments “by entities owned or influenced by foreign states, particularly states that engage in activities that may pose a risk to Canada’s national security”, he said. The term interactive digital media includes video games and virtual reality devices. “Hostile state-sponsored or state-influenced actors may try to … spread disinformation and manipulate information,” Champagne said in a statement. Although he did not identify any particular nation, Canada has repeatedly accused China and Russia of foreign interference. Both countries deny the charges. The Latest Photos From Ukraine Starting now, foreign entities wishing to invest in the sector might have to give stricter undertakings for a longer period of time, particularly with respect to creative independence, corporate governance and transparency, he said. Photos You Should See Factors Ottawa will be looking for when studying proposed foreign investment include the reach …

Germany Wants Big Tech to Pay Towards Compliance Costs of New Digital Law

Germany Wants Big Tech to Pay Towards Compliance Costs of New Digital Law

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BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany wants Big Tech companies Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta Platforms and Microsoft to contribute towards the compliance costs of new European Union rules aimed at curbing their power, a senior German economy ministry official said on Thursday. Sven Giegold, state secretary in charge of competition policy at Germany’s economy ministry, said such a move would help EU antitrust regulators better enforce the Digital Markets Act (DMA) which the six companies have to comply with on March 7. The landmark rules set out a list of requirements for the six companies, such as allowing rival services to inter-operate with their services, as well as letting business users promote their offer and conclude contracts with their customers outside their platforms. The six companies are prohibited from unfairly ranking their own services and products above their rivals on their platforms or preventing users from un-installing any pre-installed software or app on their devices. “The (European) Commission needs additional resources for enforcement,” Giegold told a conference organised by the German antitrust agency. Photos You Should …

Germany Wants Big Tech to Pay Towards Compliance Costs of New Digital Law

French Company Atos Takes on Two Directors Representing Shareholder Onepoint

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PARIS (Reuters) – Atos appointed three new directors to its board, two of whom will represent its “anchor” shareholder Onepoint, which holds 11.4% of the group, the embattled French IT company said on Thursday. The directors appointed are David Layani, founder and chief executive of Onepoint, which provides consultancy and technological implementation services, as well as Helen Lee Bouygues, who is president of consulting firm LB Associes and has worked for McKinsey, in recovery and transformation services, and JPMorgan in mergers and acquisitions. The third appointed director is Atos’ own Mandy Metten, who currently serves as head of group executives and strategic functions, and joins the board as employee director. The appointments come at a time when the company is struggling to turn around its loss-making businesses, having churned through four chief executives in less than two years following a string of profit warnings. Its latest boss, Paul Saleh, was promoted from finance chief only last month. On Wednesday, talks over the sale of its legacy Tech Foundations arm with Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky collapsed. …

Reliance, Disney to Dominate Indian Entertainment With Streaming, TV Assets

Reliance, Disney to Dominate Indian Entertainment With Streaming, TV Assets

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MUMBAI (Reuters) – Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Walt Disney on Wednesday announced the merger of their India TV and streaming media assets, creating a $8.5 billion powerhouse in the world’s most populous nation. The merged entity will have 120 TV channels and two streaming platforms, making its business much larger than rivals such as Japan’s Sony, Netflix and India’s Zee Entertainment in the country’s $28 billion media and entertainment sector. Together, Reliance and Disney will have over 750 million viewers across India and will also cater to the Indian diaspora across the world. Below is a breakdown of their assets: * Viacom18, majority owned by Reliance, has 40 television channels, including Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV. * Disney Star, a household name in India, has about 80 channels and the brand is known for Hindi family dramas as well as Hollywood movies. * Both companies’ channels span general entertainment, sports, children’s TV, documentaries and lifestyle programmes. They also cover several regional language programming. * Viacom18 has the TV rights for domestic and …

EU Should Upgrade Submarine Cable Infrastructure With State Aid, Paper Says

EU Should Upgrade Submarine Cable Infrastructure With State Aid, Paper Says

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Europe should take measures to build or upgrade its submarine cable infrastructure and with state aid if necessary, according to a European Commission proposal, underscoring concerns about vulnerabilities exposed by the damage on two Baltic Sea telecoms cables last year. Submarine cable infrastructures, which form the backbone of the internet by carrying more than 97% of the world’s data traffic, have become the latest flashpoint among countries amid rising geopolitical uncertainties and conflicts. Such concerns have prompted the EU executive to come up with a roadmap including measures to protect and secure the bloc’s subsea cables, according to the proposal due to be announced on Wednesday. “This Recommendation aims to encourage the deployment or significant upgrade of submarine cable infrastructure via CPEIs in compliance with EU law, including state aid rules,” the Commission document seen by Reuters said. Photos You Should See CPEI (Cable Projects of European Interest) refers to projects jointly funded by the private sector and governments chipping in on easier terms. The document said funding could come from EU …

Dutch Government Says China Seeks Military Advantage From ASML Tools

Dutch Government Says China Seeks Military Advantage From ASML Tools

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AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Fears that ASML’s computer chip equipment will be used for Chinese military ends underlie recent decisions to deny the company export licences, the Dutch trade minister said in answers to questions from parliament. Netherlands-based ASML, Europe’s largest tech firm, dominates the world market for lithography systems, needed by computer chip makers to help create circuitry. “China focuses on foreign expertise, including Dutch expertise in the field of lithography, to promote self-sufficiency in its military-technical development,” Trade Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen wrote in a Feb. 5 note, seen by Reuters. Van Leeuwen said that ASML tools are used to make advanced semiconductors that can go into “high-value weapons systems and weapons of mass destruction” and the Dutch government focuses on “the risk of undesirable end use” when reviewing export licensing decisions. Photos You Should See Under pressure from the United States, the Dutch government last year introduced a licensing requirement for ASML’s mid-range DUV machines. The company’s most advanced tools have never been sold in China. The questions posed by lawmaker Femke Zeedijk …