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French startup Majelan raises another €6m for its personalized podcast platform
The French podcast platform Majelan has raised an additional €6 million in funding, according to EU-startups.com, to develop its app offering thousands of podcasts in one place. The startup is also publishing original audio content to compete with established companies like Apple, Spotify, Audible, and Luminary. “Podcasts are growing in popularity in France, with more than […]
Airbnb doesn’t need to comply with regulations for real estate brokers, Europe’s top court rules
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Airbnb is an online platform rather than a real estate broker, allowing the firm to avoid further local regulation across Europe, according to The Guardian. Cities around the world are increasingly seeking to regulate Airbnb, to address concern over its impact on local neighborhoods and housing markets. The […]
French antitrust watchdog fines Google €150m over unclear rules for its ad platform
France’s competition authority has issued a €150 million antitrust fine against Google for abusing its dominant position in the search advertising market, with opaque, unpredictable, and arbitrarily applied rules for its ad platform, according to Reuters. It’s the first fine issued by French antitrust authorities against Google, which is under heightened scrutiny in the rest of […]
German court ruling effectively bans Uber from operating in Germany
A Frankfurt court has effectively banned Uber’s ride-hailing service in Germany, according to Reuters, in yet another major setback for the company after losing its license to operate in London. In Germany and much of the European Union, Uber exclusively works with licensed drivers through private hire vehicle companies, to comply with a 2017 decision from the region’s […]
UK to establish new watchdog to regulate tech giants after Brexit, amid calls to curb their power
The UK will create a new regulator next year, tasked specifically with monitoring and regulating large tech companies following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. The watchdog will wield new powers to enforce a code of conduct for tech giants. The move was recommended in a review of large […]
Belgian firm Odoo raises $90m to develop and expand its business software platform
The Belgian firm Odoo has raised $90 million to fund product development and global expansion for its all-in-one business software, according to Tech.eu. Odoo Enterprise offers 30 applications to help businesses of every size run nearly every aspect of their company, from accounting to manufacturing, project management, marketing, human resources, and eCommerce, to name just a […]
The startup behind TikTok trials new music app, taking aim at Spotify and Apple Music
A new music streaming app from the company behind TikTok could soon challenge the dominance of Apple Music and Spotify, according to The Independent. TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has been trialing the app in Indonesia and India, nations with some of the world’s largest populations, where users are already familiar with the company’s video-sharing platform TikTok. Called Resso, […]
London startup Portify raises £7m, offering credit building and financial tools for self-employed and gig workers
The London fintech startup Portify has raised £7 million in a Series A funding round, for its platform to help gig economy and self-employed workers manage their finances, according to TechCrunch. In addition to financial planning with Open Banking to track and plan finances through a mobile app, the company also wants to help workers access credit […]
Waymo acquires the UK firm Latent Logic, using ‘imitation learning’ to help self-driving cars learn human behavior
Waymo has acquired the UK artificial intelligence firm Latent Logic, giving Alphabet’s self-driving car company its first foothold in the UK, according to The Guardian. With roots at Oxford University, Latent Logic specializes in a type of machine learning called imitation learning, which models the behavior of human drivers and pedestrians to help emulate and react to […]
Paris startup Outsight raises €18 million to develop 3D sensor cameras for smart cities and self-driving cars
The Paris-based startup Outsight has raised €18 million in seed funding, tying for the largest seed funding round in Europe this year, to develop AI-powered, 3D sensor cameras for drones, autonomous vehicles, and smart city infrastructure, according to Venture Beat. Outsight’s 3D Semantic Camera can not only perceive, but also interpret its surroundings and environment. It […]