Mission Everywhere

Zheping Huang / Bloomberg : Alibaba debuts AliExpress Connect, a service to pair influencers with brands and merchants, hoping to attract 100,000+ creators this year with a focus on Europe   —  - AliExpress Connect links social media darlings with merchants  — Model replicates China success of Taobao's live-streaming app from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3clsk9h

Apple is at a tipping point. The tech giant’s fiscal Q1 2019 represented the first time in more than a decade the company saw declines in both revenue and profit during a holiday season. Apple’s peripheral segments — 'Services' and 'Wearables, Home, and Accessories' — were two bright spots for the company. And Apple’s latest event marked a shift in the company’s approach, with a focus on news, games, videos, and other content. Business Insider Intelligence has outlined the road ahead for the tech giant in   The Future of Apple . To get your copy of this exclusive report absolutely FREE, simply click here . Join the conversation about this story » from Tech Insider https://ift.tt/2rSdohp

The Indian government has rejected Flipkart’s proposal to enter the food retail business in a setback for Walmart, which owns majority of the Indian e-commerce firm and which recently counted its business in Asia’s third-largest economy as one of the worst impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), a wing of the nation’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, told Flipkart, which competes with Amazon India, that its proposed plan to enter the food retail business violates regulatory guidelines. Flipkart’s proposed food retail business, called Flipkart FarmerMart, cannot be structured on a 100% foreign direct investment, the Indian agency said. Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer at Flipkart, told TechCrunch that the company was evaluating the agency’s response and intended to re-apply. “At Flipkart, we believe that technology and innovation driven marketplace can add significant value to our country’s

This is a preview of the AR in Social Media research report from Business Insider Intelligence. 14-Day Risk Free Trial: Get full access to this and all Apps & Platforms industry research reports. Augmented reality's (AR's) ability to link our digital and physical worlds is transforming the way brands engage with consumers on social media. Digital titans Snapchat and Facebook are monetizing consumers' love for AR with ads and branded experiences, opening the door for brands to use a new means of creativity and immersive storytelling to reach consumers in a way they appreciate and respond to. While the use of AR in social media is still in early stages, the immersive technology is already becoming impossible for brands to ignore. This fun, memorable, and convenient way to merge a brand into consumers' lives is catalyzing the way brands escalate converted sales, drive consumer engagement, and lift brand awareness. With AR ads expected to generate over  $13 bill

Beam, a Singapore-headquartered micromobility firm that offers shared e-scooters, has raised $26 million in a new financing round as it looks to expand its footprint in Korea, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. Sequoia India and Hana Ventures led the two-and-a-half-year-old startup’s Series A financing round, while several more investors from Asia Pacific region participated, Beam said without disclosing their names. The startup has raised $32.4 million to date, a spokesperson told TechCrunch. Beam , like Bounce and Yulu in India , offers electric scooters in the aforementioned five markets. Electric and gasoline scooters have become popular in several Asian nations and elsewhere as people look for alternative transportation mediums to move around faster and at less cost. While these vehicles make inroads into various markets, it’s also not uncommon to find these scooters abandoned carelessly in the streets. Beam said unlike other startups, it incentivizes its riders th

Jonathan Shieber / TechCrunch : Tia Health, the developer of a network of digital wellness apps, clinics, and telehealth services focused on women's health, raises $24M Series A   —  Tia Health, the developer of a network of digital wellness apps, clinics and telehealth services designed to treat women's health holistically … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3gHUe2w

Ben Thompson / Stratechery : Facebook Shops integration with Shopify is good for Shopify merchants, but using Facebook Checkout limits the upside of Shopify's own payments offering   —  In the month since I wrote The Anti-Amazon Alliance, there has been two significant announcements from two of the principals in that alliance: from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3doQtwQ

Taylor Soper / GeekWire : A look at recent statements by tech companies, including Amazon, T-Mobile, Microsoft, and others, regarding racism in America   —  Comments Share 70 Tweet Share Reddit Email  —  Seattle tech giants Amazon and Microsoft issued statements this weekend in response to the outrage and protests … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/3gHGJQo

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg : Tim Cook, in a memo to staff addressing racism in US, says Apple will give to non-profits like Equal Justice Initiative, match staff donations 2-to-1 in June   —  - Tim Cook writes letter to employees after George Floyd killing  — Apple donating to equal justice, human rights groups, CEO says from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2ZU1Jxr

Amy Feldman / Forbes : Benchling, which makes software for tracking and managing data from biotech research, raises $50M at a $850M valuation, bringing its total raised to $114M   —  Sajith Wickramasekara started working on an idea for a cloud-based Crispr design tool for scientists during college at MIT eight years ago. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2XkmGje

A Tesla shareholder intends to agitate at the company's annual meeting next month for more old-school advertising. Tesla has never spent any money on traditional ads, while other carmakers have spent billions. But Tesla and CEO Elon Musk enjoy an immeasurable amount of goodwill, earned advertising, both from fans and customers, but also from Musk's other companies and his celebrity status. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Tesla, famously or infamously, doesn't really spend an money on advertising. Contrast that with the traditional auto industry, which, for decades, has been among the biggest and most reliable ad spenders on the planet. In the "Mad Men" era, it was possible to devote an entire career to the Buick account and retire happily. Tesla CEO Elon Musk isn't exactly anti-advertising; several years ago, on a quarterly earnings conference call, he even speculated that Tesla would eventually develop an ad budget, because