VARINDIA IT MAGAZINE

There is a buzz going around that Future Group is in talks to buy Snapdeal's logistics arm Vulcan Express. The deal will be an all-cash and it would cost about Rs 50 crore. Vulcan Express was formed about three years ago to replace gojavas as the primary logistics partner. The firm currently manages about half of Snapdeal's deliveries and shipments and is operational in more than 100 cities, offering logistics and supply chain solutions for retail and consumer companies. Company sources close to the development said that the deal will be a distress sale and the final valuation could be less than Rs 50 crore. The nature of the deal, including the size and through which company will it be done are still being worked out.... Read More

The proposed acquisition of MoneyGram by Alibaba’s Ant Financial might come to a stop with the U.S. Government disapproving the $1.2 billion deal. Ant Financial, the Alibaba affiliate announced the deal to buy Nasdaq-listed MoneyGram in April 2017. It initially bid for MoneyGram in January 2017 as a means to develop its cross-border payment network into the U.S., and major corridors including India and the Philippines. “The geopolitical environment has changed considerably since we first announced the proposed transaction with Ant Financial nearly a year ago. Despite our best efforts to work cooperatively with the U.S. government, it has now become clear that CFIUS [Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] will not approve this merger,” MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes said in a statement.... Read More

Nissan has unveiled a research that will enable vehicles to interpret signals from the driver’s brain, redefining how people interact with their cars. The company’s Brain-to-Vehicle, or B2V technology, promises to speed up reaction times for drivers and will lead to cars that keep adapting to make driving more enjoyable. B2V is the latest development in Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the company’s vision for transforming how cars are driven, powered and integrated into society. “When most people think about autonomous driving, they have a very impersonal vision of the future, where humans relinquish control to the machines. Yet B2V technology does the opposite, by using signals from their own brain to make the drive even more exciting and enjoyable,” said Nissan Executive Vice-President Daniele Schillaci. “Through Nissan Intelligent Mobility, we are moving people to a better world by delivering more autonomy, more electrification and more connectivity.... Read More

BlackBerry and Baidu have announced that the two companies will collaborate to accelerate the deployment of connected and autonomous vehicle technology for automotive OEMs and suppliers worldwide. The companies have signed a statement of intent to make BlackBerry QNX’s industry-leading ISO26262 ASIL-D certified safety operating system (OS) the foundation for Baidu’s Apollo autonomous driving open platform. Also, BlackBerry and Baidu will work together to integrate Baidu’s CarLife, the leading smartphone integration software for connected cars in China, as well as its conversational AI system DuerOS, and high-definition maps to run on the BlackBerry QNX Car (Infotainment) Platform. “BlackBerry QNX has established itself as the OS platform for safety-certified production-based systems,” said Li Zhenyu, General Manager of Intelligent Driving Group, Baidu. “We aim to provide automakers with a clear and fast path to fully autonomous vehicle production, with safety and securi...

Barracuda Networks has acquired PhishLine. Combining Barracuda’s AI-driven protection against phishing and spear phishing with PhishLine’s platform gives customers comprehensive defense against email-borne targeted attacks and social engineering. Email remains the most targeted threat vector and one that requires both security technology and the human layer of defense. PhishLine offers data analytics and reporting to allow customers to measure and report on risks at macro and micro levels across the human and process layers. With this transaction, Barracuda combines gateway security, data protection, AI-based targeted threat protection, and user awareness training to deliver comprehensive protection against email-borne threats. “Security awareness training is an important and quickly evolving area, particularly with increasingly targeted attacks making the human element a critical link in the security value chain,” said BJ Jenkins, President & CEO, Barracuda. “Phish...

Traditional TV losing viewers to streaming services, the industry is still figuring out what its new economic model will look like. People love TV content, but they don't love the linear TV experience, where channels present programs only at particular times. However, internet or digital TV - which is on-demand, personalized, and available on any screen - is replacing linear TV. With the growth of digital TV content and even pictures got released through TV and personalised studio, opens a new era of growth of internet TV apps will generate more viewing and become more valuable. Now, you can watch first day first show on your TV, by just paying extra bucks. Since, consumers can watch content on demand, on any screen, and the experience is personalized to individual tastes. The internet is getting faster and more reliable, while penetration of smart TVs and smart phones is also rising and the competition in the streaming market is heating up considerably after Disney ann...