Asteria Aerospace launches drone software platform SkyDeck

Asteria Aerospace, a drone manufacturer and solution provider in India, has launched its drone operations platform SkyDeck, a Jio Platforms subsidiary. According to a press announcement, SkyDeck is a cloud-based software platform that provides a Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) solution for a variety of industry verticals, including agriculture, surveying, industrial inspections, and surveillance and security. SkyDeck offers a unified dashboard and services for drone fleet administration, drone flight scheduling and execution, data processing, visualisation, and AI-based analysis of aerial data gathered by drones. The SkyDeck platform, according to the release, promotes operational…

Enterprise software firm Locofy.ai raises $3 million in funding

Enterprise software business Locofy.ai has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding from investors including Accel, January Capital, Golden Gate Ventures, and Boldcap. The cash will be used to expand the engineering and data science teams at the startup, which provides a platform that translates concepts into production-ready code. Angel investors and tech founders from Ola, Hasura, Holistics, Wego, GajiGesa, 1Bstories, Ohmyhome, CyberSierra, and Wekan, as well as the former head of growth for Australian visual design platform Canva, took part in the round. Honey Mittal and Sohaib Muhammad founded Locofy.ai…

Tiger Global-backed Bizongo acquires internet-of-things startup Clean Slate

Bizongo, a B2B platform for customised goods, announced the acquisition of Clean Slate Technologies, a Mumbai-based internet-of-things (IoT) startup, for an undisclosed sum. Clean Slate’s Internet of Things (IoT) technology aids factory efficiency. Bizongo hopes to outfit more than 100 Indian manufacturers with its IoT-powered cloud factory solution by 2023 as a result of this acquisition. It also intends to roll out the solution at three different locations by July. Clean Slate’s asset, goods, and people-tracking capabilities and sensors will be integrated into the tech platform to generate data and…

Inflection Point Ventures to launch a $50M VC fund

Inflection Point Ventures, a Gurugram-based angel investing platform, has announced the opening of its CAT II fund, Physis Capital. Physis Capital will have a corpus of $50 million and a green shoe option of additional $25 million, with a first close of $20 million. Physis Capital will invest in firms seeking pre-Series A to Series B fundraising rounds as a participant or lead investor. Physis Capital intends to establish a portfolio of 15 — 20 businesses with an average ticket size of US$2.5 million, according to the announcement. Following the…

Google’s Android app now lets you delete last 15 minutes of search history

Google’s Android app now offers a new privacy option that allows users to remove their search history fast. According to The Verge, the corporation has begun rolling out this feature, which should be available to everyone within the next few weeks. Users of the Google app will be able to remove the last 15 minutes of search history with the latest update. This feature was first made accessible on Google’s iOS app and was first unveiled at last year’s Google I/O event in May. It is now available for Android…

Google acquires microLED startup Raxium

Raxium, a five-year-old business focusing on producing microLED displays for AR and VR applications, has apparently been acquired by Google. The terms of the acquisition are undisclosed, but according to a storey from The Information, Google valued Raxium at $1 billion. MicroLED is similar to OLED in that it does not have a backlight and instead emits light from each pixel. North, a pioneer in human computer interfaces and smart eyewear, was bought two years ago, and the company has created a strong technological foundation. After failing to impress with…

Talent hunt begins at indian unicorn startups

Indian unicorns and soonicorns have ramped up their search for talent, owing to continued investor interest in the country’s thriving startup ecosystem. According to data from specialist staffing firm Xpheno, net headcount at startups increased by more than 11% in the first two months of this year compared to the same period last year. Soonicorns saw a 21% increase in headcount, while unicorns saw a 10% increase. During this time, thirteen startups were added to the unicorn list, with several more projected to join the list soon with billion-dollar values….

Auto makers fast-track partnerships in battery-swap market to hasten EV adoption

Automakers, energy companies, and startups have begun fast-tracking partnerships in the emerging battery-swap market in order to hasten the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and alleviate customers’ range anxiety. According to experts, such partnerships will enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to reduce upfront acquisition costs by at least 40% to 50%, resulting in increased adoption and sales. Bounce, a Bengaluru-based startup, announced a partnership with Greaves Retail this week, making Greaves the first retailer to join the Bounce Infinity battery-swap network. “This enables more Indians to have access to affordable…

Qualcomm Stops Selling Products to Russian Companies

Qualcomm Inc announced that it has stopped selling its products to Russian companies in order to comply with US sanctions imposed after Moscow invaded Ukraine. Nate Tibbits, the company’s senior vice president of government affairs, revealed the company’s action in a tweet in response to a comment by Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. Fedorov urged Tibbits to stop supplying Qualcomm products to Russia, claiming that they “inadvertently enable this country to kill thousands of Ukrainians.” In his reply, Tibbits said, “This is incorrect. Qualcomm has called for a peaceful…

Meta Faces Lawsuit In Australia For Inaction Against Scam Ads

Reuters filed a lawsuit against Facebook owner Meta Platforms, alleging that the social media giant failed to prevent scammers from promoting fake ads featuring celebrities on its platform. The advertisements, which endorsed cryptocurrency or money-making schemes, may have led Facebook users to believe they were promoted by celebrities, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The lawsuit filed in the Federal Court also alleges Facebook “aided and abetted or was knowingly concerned in false or misleading conduct and representations by the advertisers,” the ACCC said in a statement. “The…