Feast your eyes on the space rocks Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission harvested from asteroid Ryugu

Japan’s ambitious second asteroid return mission, Hayabusa 2, has collected a wealth of material from its destination, Ryugu, which astronomers and other interested parties are almost certainly champing at the bit to play with. Though they may look like ordinary bits of charcoal, they’r

New FAA rule requires Remote ID for drones

The FAA today announced that it will be issuing two new rules for drone pilots in the U.S. The first is the implementation of a long-awaited Remote ID. The system effectively works as a kind of digital license plate for unmanned aircraft, broadcasting identifying details, including the location of

Samsung hasn't announced the Galaxy S21 yet, but you can already reserve one

For obvious reasons, many of us are spending the final week of 2020 looking forward. Samsung is hoping some folks are looking far enough ahead to reserve a spot in line for its still-unannounced Galaxy S21 handset (not an official name, mind, but probably a safe guess). If you're on the Samsung

VW’s prototype robot is designed to offer full-service charging for electric vehicles

Volkswagen Group has developed a mobile electric vehicle charger that can autonomously navigate parking areas, power up an EV and then make its way back to its outpost without the intervention of humans. The prototype, which VW Group Components created, aims to showcase how the automaker will expan

Global investors flee from Chinese tech stocks after the government crackdown on Ant and Alibaba

Global investors are running from Chinese tech stocks in the wake of the government’s crackdown on Ant Group and Alibaba, two high-flying businesses founded by Ma Yun (Jack Ma) that were once hailed as paragons of China’s new tech elite. Shares of major technology companies in the count

US government appeals the injunction against its TikTok ban

The U.S. government is appealing the ruling that blocked the Trump administration’s TikTok ban, according to a new court filing. On December 7, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols in Washington became the second U.S. judge to block the Commerce Department’s attempt to stop the

Tappity raises $1.3M for its interactive and educational video library for kids

When kids today want to learn about a new topic they’re interested in, they’ll often turn to YouTube. But the quality of the educational content on the platform can be hit or miss, depending on what specific videos kids happen to come across. Tappity, a digital educational startup now b

2021 will be a calmer year for semiconductors and chips (except for Intel)

If ever there was a typically quiet tech industry that seemed to drive massive headlines this year, it was semiconductors. From record-setting M&A purchases to prodigious venture capital financing, the decline of major players and huge international trade fights, semiconductor companies found t

Tesla to make India debut ‘early’ next year

Tesla will begin operating in India in “early” 2021, a top Indian minister said on Monday, a day after the tech-centric carmaker said it was confident it would enter the world's second-most populated market next year. Tesla’s operations will begin with sales in early 2021 and then “

2020 was a defining year for cannabis: What comes next?

To say that COVID-19 has dominated the past year would be an understatement. We've seen the pandemic reorient how we interact with businesses, each other and the world around us. It's accelerated many trends in business — from e-commerce to digital payments — by several years in a matte

4 keys to international expansion

During my five years with Global Founders Capital, Rocket Internet's $1 billion VC arm, I saw more than a hundred of Rocket's incubated companies attempt to internationalize. For background, Rocket Internet has helped launch some very successful businesses internationally, including HelloFr

Chinese online education app Zuoyebang raises $1.6 billion from investors including Alibaba

The rivalry between China’s top online learning apps has become even more intense this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest company to score a significant funding round is Zuoyebang, which announced today (link in Chinese) that it has raised a $1.6 billion Series E+ from investor

China lays out ‘rectification’ plan for Jack Ma’s fintech empire Ant

What a whirlwind holiday for Jack Ma and his fintech empire. The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, summoned Ant Group for regulatory talks on December 26, announcing a sweeping plan for the fintech firm to “rectify” its regulatory violations. The meeting ca

Indian startups raised $9.3 billion in 2020

The coronavirus pandemic — and a handful of other factors — slowed dealmaking for startups in India this year. Compared to their record $14.5 billion fundraise last year, Indian startups are ending 2020 with about $9.3 billion. This is the first time since 2016 that startups in India, o