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Showing posts from October, 2019

BIG TECH IN HEALTHCARE: How Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft are shaking up healthcare — and what it means for the future of the industry (GOOGL, AAPL, AMZN, MSFT)

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This is a preview of a research report from Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence, click here . The healthcare industry is undergoing a profound transformation.   Costs are skyrocketing, consumer demand for more accessible care is growing rapidly, and healthcare companies are unable to keep up.  Health organizations are increasingly turning to tech companies to facilitate this transformation in care delivery and lower health expenditures. The potential for tech-led digital health initiatives to help healthcare providers and insurers deliver safer, more efficient, and cost-effective care is significant. For healthcare organizations of all types, the collection, analyses, and application of patient data can minimize avoidable service use, improve health outcomes, and promote patient independence, which can assuage swelling costs. For their part, the "Big Four" tech companies — G...

China's three state-backed wireless carriers launch 5G in some cities, ahead of original 2020 date; China Mobile aims to bring 5G to 50+ cities by year's end (Washington Post)

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Washington Post : China's three state-backed wireless carriers launch 5G in some cities, ahead of original 2020 date; China Mobile aims to bring 5G to 50+ cities by year's end   —  BEIJING — Chinese cellphone carriers will begin offering super-fast, next-generation 5G service on a commercial basis Friday … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2N4UY55

Amazon says Alexa skill personalization, which allows developers to provide personalized experiences for different customers, is now generally available (Kyle Wiggers/VentureBeat)

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Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat : Amazon says Alexa skill personalization, which allows developers to provide personalized experiences for different customers, is now generally available   —  Future voice skills built for Alexa might respond uniquely to your voice.  That's thanks to Alexa skill personalization … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2puEGcM

Altria writes down $4.5 billion from its investment in Juul

Facing increasing scrutiny from international and domestic regulators, the Altria Group has decided to write down its investment into the e-cigarette company JUUL by $4.5 billion. That’s roughly one-third of the $12.8 billion that the tobacco giant had invested into JUUL a little less than one year ago. Juul Labs gets $12.8 billion investment from Marlboro maker Altria Group What a difference a year has made. JUUL, which has become synonymous with the vaping phenomenon that has swept the U.S., was once hailed as being at the forefront of a wave of companies that were making smoking obsolete and nicotine consumption safer for consumers. Vaporization Startup Pax Labs Introduces Juul, Its Next-Gen E-Cigarette The company began running into problems as its popularity increased exponentially (in part by allegedly turning to some of the same tactics big tobacco used to target underage consumers ). As the complaints began to roll in, and as JUUL was held responsible fo...

Japanese instant-credit provider Paidy raises $143 million from investors including PayPal Ventures

Paidy , a Japanese financial tech startup that provides instant credit to consumers in Japan, announced today that it has raised a total of $143 million in new financing. This includes a $83 million Series C extension from investors including PayPal Ventures and debt financing of $60 million. The funding will be used to advance Paidy’s goals of signing large-scale merchants, offering new financial services and growing its user base to 11 million accounts by the end of 2020. In addition to PayPal Ventures, investors in the Series C extension also include Soros Capital Management, JS Capital Management and Tybourne Capital Management, along with another undisclosed investor. The debt financing is from Goldman Sachs Japan, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank. Earlier this month, Paidy and Goldman Sachs Japan established a warehouse facility valued at $52 million. Paidy also established credit facility worth $8 million with the three banks. Th...

How Netflix is navigating strict, sometimes vague, censorship standards in countries like Turkey and India, while viewers decry the concessions to censorship (Alex Marshall/New York Times)

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Alex Marshall / New York Times : How Netflix is navigating strict, sometimes vague, censorship standards in countries like Turkey and India, while viewers decry the concessions to censorship   —  The streaming giant is having to navigate different political and moral landscapes, and calls for government oversight, as it seeks subscribers worldwide. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2pjidPX

How 3PL providers can thrive in light of their changing relationship with retail partners

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This is a preview of a research report from   Business Insider Intelligence , Business Insider's premium research service. To learn more about Business Insider Intelligence,   click here . Current subscribers can read the report   here . Third-party logistics (3PL) providers have been the cornerstone of retail supply chains for decades. 3PL providers are  defined by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) as "a specialized company that handles the outsourcing of much or all of a company's logistics operations." Today, the term has become nearly synonymous with any company in the logistics industry that operates planes, trucks, or warehouses.  But the rapid growth of e-commerce has given rise to new services and business models, challenging the 3PL model.  Traditional 3PL relationships are well suited to route orders from a factory to a distribution center to a brick-and-mortar store, but they're typically ill-equipped to bring parc...

Fiat Chrysler beats thanks to strong US sales — and the automaker announced plan to merge with Peugeot (FCAU)

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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles posted another strong quarterly profit as North American sales of pickups and SUVs remained robust. Earlier FCA and the PSA Group announced their intention to execute a 50-50 stock-swap merger . FCA jas been seeking a merger partner for years; most recently, a potential deal with Renault fell through. FCA's shares moved up on Thursday's combination of news. On Thursday, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France's PSA Group announced their intention to execute a 50-50 stock-swap merger that would create world's fourth-largest automaker. But FCA on Tuesday also reported third-quarter earnings and again posted a strong result due to pickup and SUV sales in the North American market. The strong results led Fiat Chrysler (FCA) to reiterate its full-year guidance of adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) over 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion). It also expects a further improvement of its financial performance next year. "Our str...

As lawmakers home in on tech giants' data policies, Crunchbase said it has found a lucrative loophole with company data. And it just raised $30 million to prove it.

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Crunchbase, a former Verizon/AOL company that collects, tracks, and shares data on private companies , announced on Thursday it raised $30 million in Series C funding. As the conversation around data trends towards regulation and privacy , Crunchbase CEO Jager McConnell is focused on a less sensitive realm, trafficking in data about businesses instead of individual users. Corporate data, a closely guarded resource in Silicon Valley's startup world, can actually help improve representation across founders, investors, and employees, McConnell said. McConnell told Business Insider that he plans to turn the database company into the LinkedIn for private companies, replacing the need for separate corporate websites and jobs pages. Click here for more BI Prime stories . Data has become a dirty word. Although groundbreaking technologies like machine learning and predictive analytics rely on vast troves of the stuff , the lax treatment of people's data by tech giants like Goo...