India’s Paytm turns Android smartphones into POS machines in merchants push

Paytm said on Tuesday it is turning NFC-enabled Android smartphones into point-of-sale machines, as it looks to win more merchants in one of the world’s largest mobile payments markets. A Paytm merchant partner will now be able to enable card acceptance feature from their Paytm Business app. Once activated, they will be able to process a transaction...

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Taipei-based Influenxio gets $2M from DCM Ventures for its “microinfluencer” marketing platform

Influenxio’s team, with founder and chief executive officer Allan Ko in the center “Microinfluencers” are gaining clout among marketers. Though they may have as little as a thousand followers, microinfluencers tend to focus on specific content and be seen as more engaging and trustworthy by their audience, said Allan Ko, founder and chief executive...

1h

Kia’s electric vehicle plans take shape with EV6 teaser, new naming strategy

Kia started the year by dropping “motor company” from its corporate name and revealing a new logo and slogan as part of Plan S, a strategy to shift its business away from internal combustion engines and towards EVs, mobility services and autonomous vehicle technology. Now, the South Korean automaker is starting to share more details of the first vehicle...

2h

PUBG Mobile-developer invests $22.4 million in India’s Nodwin Gaming

Krafton, the developer of popular gaming title PUBG Mobile, has invested $22.4 million in Indian esports firm Nodwin Gaming, the two firms said today as the South Korean firm looks to maintain some presence in what was once a key overseas market for it. Nodwin Gaming, backed by local gaming giant Nazara, has established itself as one of the largest...

4h

Apple releases important iPhone, iPad, Mac and Watch security patches

Apple has released a set of security updates for iPhones, iPads, Macs and Watches. There are no new features — but these are updates you will still want to install. As part of these security fixes, iPhones and iPads will update to iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1, watchOS users will update to 7.3.2 and macOS Big Sur will update to 11.2.3. Those on older versions...

8h

Max Q: Starship’s good landing (and less good post-landing)

Max Q is a weekly newsletter from TechCrunch all about space. Sign up here to receive it weekly on Mondays in your inbox. Sometimes even the biggest successes look like failures on video. That’s the theme of this week, because the biggest news by far was SpaceX’s test launch of its latest Starship prototype in South Texas. It looked fake – but the...

8h

Daily Crunch: PayPal acquires Curv

PayPal acquires a cryptocurrency startup, Apple discontinues the iMac Pro and McAfee sells its enterprise business. This is your Daily Crunch for March 8, 2021. The big story: PayPal acquires Curv This deal will grow PayPal’s cryptocurrency team by bringing on Curv, a startup working with exchanges, brokers and over-the-counter desks to help their...

8h

Zapier buys no-code-focused Makerpad in its first acquisition

Zapier, a well-known no-code automation tool, has purchased Makerpad, a no-code education service and community. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. TechCrunch has covered Zapier often during its life, including its first, and only fundraising event, a $1.2 million round back in 2012 that tapped Bessemer, DFJ, and others. Since then company has added...

10h

White-label voice assistants will win the battle for podcast discovery

Amir Hirsh Contributor Share on Twitter Amir Hirsh is the CEO of AudioBurst. More posts by this contributor Powering the golden age of audio Americans are bored, housebound and screened out. This has created a golden opportunity for audio as consumers...

10h

The path forward for essential workers

Gig workers and warehouse workers have become essential in a pandemic-ravaged economy. In California, a law went into effect earlier this year that makes gig workers independent contractors. Meanwhile, Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama are actively seeking to form a union to ensure better protections at the workplace. At TC Sessions: Justice, I spoke...

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