Also on today’s menu: A funding news for a Chinese cryptocurrency startup, a new regulation for motorbike taxi drivers in Thailand, and a new language feature for a Q&A platform
Uber, Waymo in self-driving partnership talks – Reuters
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced that the company is currently in talks with Alphabet Inc’s self-driving unit Waymo about using its technology in Uber’s ride-hailing app, Reuters reported.
Speaking at the Code Conference, Khosrowshahi said that the company’s relationship with Waymo was “getting better” following its agreement to pay Waymo US$245 million in shares to settle their legal dispute over trade secrets.
“We’re having discussions with Waymo. If something happens, great. If not, we can live with that, too,” he explained.
Waymo has declined to comment on the matter.
SoftBank Vision Fund participates in a funding round for GM’s self-driving unit Cruise – TechCrunch
General Motors announced that SoftBank Vision Fund will invest US$2.25 billion into its self-driving unit GM Cruise, to be followed by an additional US$1.1 billion when the deal closes, TechCrunch reported.
The investments are expected to inject enough capital for the unit to reach commercialisation at scale in early 2019.
Having had purchased the self-driving startup in 2016, GM reportedly has let the unit operate largely on its own.
Cruise has had 30 self-driving test cars on the road in the same year.
Quora launches Bahasa Indonesia version – DailySocial
Information- and knowledge-sharing platform Quora announced the launch of its Bahasa Indonesia version, accessible for users browsing the site from the country, DailySocial reported.
The feature is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia.
Quora Engineer Manager Veni Johanna said that the launch of the feature aims to help Indonesians, particularly the youth, in spreading knowledge and information.
Also Read: Today’s top tech news, May 28: JustCo to enter Indonesia, Uber-ComfortDelGro dissolve deal
Thailand calls upon motorbike taxi drivers to register – Bangkok Post
The Thailand government announced that people seeking to register as new motorbike taxi drivers can submit their application to the Department of Land Transport (DLT) from July 1 to August 31, as part of the government’s effort to regulate motorbike taxis to ensure safety and reasonable fares for commuters, Bangkok Post reported.
Motorbike taxi drivers are also encouraged to join ride-hailing services such as Grab, which offers courier service in Thailand.
The company itself stated that it is willing to accept and give incentives to yellow-plated motorbike taxi drivers to join its network.
Chinese cryptocurrency startup ImToken raises US$10M from IDG Capital – Dealstreet Asia
ImToken, a Chinese startup which was one of the first the develop the earliest cryptocurrency wallet apps for Ethereum, has raised US$10 million in Series A funding round from IDG Capital, Dealstreet Asia reported.
The cryptocurrency wallet has attracted four million users who use it to keep US$35 billion of crypto assets over the past year.
The company plans to use the new funding to support its expansion outside of China, where 70 per cent of its users are.
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Image Credit: Janis Rozenfelds on Unsplash
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