Mike Wheatley
Latest from Mike Wheatley
Chinese AI model maker Stepfun raises hundreds of millions in Series B funding
Chinese generative artificial intelligence model maker Stepfun has reportedly closed on a bumper funding round worth “several hundred million dollars” from a host of investors including state-owned private equity firms and local technology giants. The round was led by Fortera Capital, which is the private equity arm of the Shanghai state-owned group Capital Investment Co. It ...
Russia’s finance minister reveals bitcoin is being used to conduct foreign trade
Russia’s finance minister has revealed domestic companies are already using bitcoin and other digital currencies as a mechanism for international payments. The admission comes after the country issued legislative changes allowing the use of crypto to get around sanctions, Reuters reported today. The sanctions, imposed on Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine, ...
Iran votes to lift bans on WhatsApp, Google Play and other foreign-owned apps
Iran’s government has unblocked access to the WhatsApp messenger and Google Play store after banning them two years ago, state media reported. The Supreme Cyberspace Council, which is tasked with safeguarding the internet for Iranian citizens, voted unanimously to lift restrictions on a number of foreign-owned applications during a meeting today, according to a report ...
Crypto advocates push Trump to take action on day one
Prominent figures in the cryptocurrency industry are putting pressure on U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to take immediate steps to fulfill his campaign promises once he returns to the White House in January. Trump is reportedly planning to deliver a flurry of executive orders on his first day in office, Reuters said. He’ll take over from ...
US officials launch investigation into China’s legacy chip sector
The outgoing Biden administration today said it’s launching a fresh probe into China’s semiconductor industry, with a particular focus on legacy chips that are used in products such as cars, electrical goods and defense systems. The White House said the investigation stems from the Chinese government’s “non-market policies and practices, as well as industrial targeting” ...
Financial services giant Fiserv buys Payfare to move into gig economy financing
The financial infrastructure services firm Fiserv Inc. said today it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Canadian payments startup Payfare Inc. for C$201.5 million ($140 million) in a deal that will enable it to expand its payments offerings for gig economy workers. Fiserv is a major player in the financial technology sector, offering ...
Broadcom CEO Hock Tan claims he has no interest in buying Intel
The boss of $1 trillion chipmaking giant Broadcom Inc. has said he’s not interested in trying to acquire struggling rival Intel Corp., as he’s too busy trying to make his company into an artificial intelligence powerhouse. In an interview with the Financial Times, Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan (pictured) rejected the idea of a hostile ...
Google tries to persuade judge in antitrust case not to force the sale of its Chrome browser
Google LLC has proposed putting limits on its search partnerships in order to resolve antitrust violations in its search business, as an alternative to the U.S. Department of Justice’s suggestion that it sell its Chrome browser. Google Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Lee-Anne Mulholland detailed the company’s remedies proposal in a blog post Friday. It ...
Report: Palantir and Anduril join forces to try to secure US government defense contracts
The data analytics company Palantir Technologies Inc. reportedly is holding talks with the defense industry tech startup Anduril Industries Inc. on the creation of an alliance to win more work from the U.S. government. According to the Financial Times, Palantir’s and Anduril’s consortium may also include companies such as SpaceX Corp. and OpenAI, as well as ...
Automated accounting software startup Aiwyn raises $113M
Revenue management lifecycle automation software provider Aiwyn Inc. said today it has closed on $113 million in fresh funding. The round was led by the global investment firm KKR, which participated through its Next Generation Technology III Fund, and Bessemer Venture Partners. The round is significant, bringing the startup’s total amount raised to date to $127 ...