India bans PUBG and other Chinese apps – ProWellTech
India continues to crack down on Chinese apps, Microsoft is launching a deepfake detector and Google is offering a personalized news podcast. This is your daily crisis for September 2nd, 2020.
The big story: India bans PUBG and other Chinese apps
The Government of India is continuing to clean up apps created by or associated with Chinese companies. 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, were banned in June.
The Indian IT Ministry justified the decision as a “targeted measure to guarantee the security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace”. The apps banned today include the search engine Baidu, the business collaboration suite WeChat Work, the cloud storage service Tencent Weiyun and the game Rise of Kingdoms. But PUBG is the most popular with more than 40 million active users per month.
The technology giants
Microsoft is launching a deepfake detector tool ahead of the US elections. The video authentication tool provides a confidence factor that a particular medium has been artificially tampered with.
Google’s personalized audio news feature, your news update, is provided for Google Podcasts. This means you will receive a personalized podcast with the latest headlines.
Twitch launches watch parties for all developers worldwide – Twitch will be more than just a place for live streaming gaming videos.
Startups, Financing and Venture Capital
Indonesian insurtech startup PasarPolis is receiving Series B worth 54 million US dollars from investors such as LeapFrog and SBI. The startup’s goal is to reach people who have never taken out insurance before with products such as low-cost “micro-policies” that cover defective device screens.
XRobotics keeps the dream of pizza robots alive – the range from XRobotics is similar in size and form factor to an industrial 3D printer.
India’s online learning platform Unacademy brings in $ 150 million valued at $ 1.45 billion – India has a new startup unicorn.
Advice and analysis of extra crunch
The IPO parade continues while Wish files are released. Bumble Aims for a Potential Debut – Alex Wilhelm catches up on the latest IPO news, including Bumble’s plans to go public at $ 6-8 billion.
3 Ways COVID-19 Has Impacted The Real Estate Investment Market – COVID-19 has stirred up the long-established dust in real estate investing.
Deep Science: Dog Detectors, Mars Mappers, and AI Scrambling Sweaters – Devin Coldewey is launching a new feature designed to keep you all updated on the latest research and scientific discoveries.
(Reminder: Extra Crunch is our subscription membership program designed to democratize information about startups. You can sign up here.)
Everything else
‘The Mandalorian’ kicks off its second season on October 30th – The show ended its second season just before the pandemic stopped production everywhere.
GM and Ford complete ventilator production and return to auto business. Both automakers said they signed contracts with the Department of Health and Human Services.
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