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Reuters exclusively reported how deployments of facial recognition from Israeli start-up Any Vision show how the surveillance software has gained adoption across the United States even as regulatory and ethical debates about it rage. The technology finds certain faces in photos or videos, with banks representing one sector that has taken interest in systems from Any Vision or its many competitors to improve security and service. Organizations in other industries are chasing similar goals. The Los Angeles hospital Cedars-Sinai and oil giant BP Plc are among several previously unreported users of Any Vision.

The post Reuters exclusively reports why a U.S. hospital and oil company turned to facial recognition appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters revealed that Italy aims to spend almost 7 billion euros ($8.33 billion) in European recovery funds on ultra-fast networks, up 60% from a previous goal, as ministers lay out alternatives to a long-delayed single national broadband plan. The government of Mario Draghi, which took office in February, is revising a national Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) that would entitle it to some 206 billion euros by 2026 from an EU program to help nations hardest hit by the novel coronavirus.

The post Reuters reveals Italy to spend 60% more of EU funds on better broadband appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that India is offering more than $1 billion in cash to each semiconductor company that sets up manufacturing units in the country as it seeks to build on its smartphone assembly industry and strengthen its electronics supply chain. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ drive has helped to turn India into the world’s second-biggest mobile manufacturer after China. New Delhi believes it is time for chip companies to set up in the country.

The post Reuters exclusively reports India is offering a billion for every chipmaker who ‘makes in India’ appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that U.S. semi-conductor maker Analog Devices Inc (ADI) is set to gain unconditional European Union antitrust approval for its proposed $21 billion takeover of Maxim Integrated Products. The deal, ADI’s biggest, will boost its market share in automotive and 5G chipmaking and enable it to better compete with larger firms including Texas Instruments.

The post Reuters reveals Analog Devices’ $21 billion Maxim buy set for EU approval; market reacts appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters broke the news that Google’s plan to block a popular web tracking tool called “cookies” is a source of concern for U.S. Justice Department investigators who have been asking advertising industry executives whether the move by the search giant will hobble its smaller rivals. The questions from Justice Department investigators have touched on how Chrome policies, including those related to cookies, affect the ad and news industries, Reuters sources said. 

The post Reuters reveals Google’s privacy push draws U.S. antitrust scrutiny appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters was first to report that database software firm Couchbase Inc has registered for a stock market debut that could come in the first half of this year and value it at as much as $3 billion. The company has achieved more than $100 million in annual revenue. Reuters has learned that the initial public offering (IPO) filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is confidential and has not yet been made public. 

The post Reuters first to report Database company Couchbase files for IPO appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters examined how dominant Chinese drone giant DJI Technology Co Ltd’s North American operations have been hit by internal ructions in recent weeks and months, with a raft of staff cuts and departures. The loss of key managers, some of who have joined rivals, has compounded problems caused by U.S. government restrictions on Chinese companies, and raised the once-remote prospect of DJI’s dominance being eroded.

The post Reuters examines how Chinese giant DJI hit by U.S. tensions, staff defections appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters broke the news that U.S. grocery delivery app Instacart is considering going public through a direct listing, concerned that it could leave money on the table through a traditional initial public offering (IPO). Investment bankers working on Instacart’s listing have estimated that it could be valued by the stock market at more than $50 billion. The move would make Instacart the latest company to snub an IPO, for decades the primary path to a stock market debut, because it risks pricing its offering too low compared to where its shares end up trading. 

The post Reuters reveals Instacart mulls direct listing in snub to IPOs appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters reported exclusively that the U.S. government has been slow to approve licenses for American companies to sell chipmaking equipment to China semiconductor giant SMIC, as the impact of a global chip shortage spreads. Many licenses for U.S. suppliers to ship an estimated $5 billion dollars’ worth of equipment and materials have not come through, sources said, though many firms submitted applications soon after the Chinese company was blacklisted in December.

The post Reuters exclusively reports amid shortage, U.S. suppliers to Chinese chip giant SMIC struggle to get export licenses appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that Apple could face an EU antitrust charge sheet in the coming weeks after a complaint by rival Spotify that it unfairly pushed its own music streaming service. The European Commission could send the statement of objections setting out suspected violations of the bloc’s antitrust rules to Apple before the summer. The case is one of four opened by the EU competition enforcer against Apple in June of last year. The EU charge sheet usually indicates whether a fine is merited and what companies have to do to halt anti-competitive practices. 

The post Reuters exclusively reports Apple faces EU charges over Spotify complaint appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters offered an insightful look at a new type of digital asset - known as a non-fungible token (NFT) -which has exploded in popularity during the pandemic, as enthusiasts and investors scramble to spend enormous sums of money on items that only exist online. Blockchain technology allows the items to be publicly authenticated as one of a kind, unlike traditional online objects which can be endlessly reproduced. Examples of NFTs range from digital artworks and sports cards to pieces of land in virtual environments or exclusive use of a cryptocurrency wallet name, akin to the scramble for domain names in the early days of the internet.

The post Reuters offers an insightful look at how a 10-second video clip sold for $6.6 million appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters reported exclusively that China’s Huawei plans to make electric vehicles under its own brand and could launch some models this year, as the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, battered by U.S. sanctions, explores a strategic shift. Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is in talks with state-owned Changan Automobile and other automakers to use their car plants to make its electric vehicles (EVs). Huawei is also in discussions with Beijing-backed BAIC Group’s BluePark New Energy Technology to manufacture its EVs.

The post Reuters exclusively reports Huawei considering move into EVs appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Swedish payments firm Klarna may list on the stock market without raising money by selling new shares, its CEO told Reuters, as banking sources said the company was close to securing more private funding. The “buy now, pay later” firm completed a $650 million funding round in September from a group of investors led by Silver Lake that valued it at $11 billion. Reuters sources said it was finalizing another private funding round to raise at least $500 million that could be completed within days.

The post Reuters exclusively reports Klarna may opt for direct listing as private funding looms appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

In a special report, Reuters revealed that Amazon has for years given preferential treatment to a small group of sellers on its India platform, publicly misrepresented its ties with the sellers and used them to circumvent increasingly tough foreign investment rules. The revelations are contained in hundreds of internal Amazon documents reviewed by Reuters. The documents, dated between 2012 and 2019, provide an inside look at the cat-and-mouse game Amazon has played with India’s government, adjusting its corporate structures each time the government imposed new restrictions aimed at protecting small traders. With Amazon facing increasing scrutiny by Indian regulators, news of the strategy detailed in the documents could deepen the risks for the company in one of its key growth markets.

The post Reuters Special Report: Amazon documents reveal company’s secret strategy to dodge Indian regulators appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that Europe’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, has warned Apple to treat all apps equally on its platform after its planned privacy changes drew strong criticism from Facebook, advertisers and app developers worried that the modifications would slash their revenues with users likely to opt out from such tracking used for targeted advertising. This is the first comment from Vestager on the issue. She is now investigating Apple over its App Store and Apple Pay policies.

The post Reuters exclusively reports EU’s Vestager warns Apple to treat all apps equally amid privacy dispute appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters reported exclusively that suspected Chinese hackers exploited a flaw in software made by SolarWinds Corp to help break into U.S. government computers last year, marking a new twist in a sprawling cybersecurity breach. Two people briefed on the case said FBI investigators recently found that a federal payroll agency was among the affected organizations, raising fears that data on thousands of government employees may have been compromised.

The post Reuters exclusively reports suspected Chinese hackers used SolarWinds bug to spy on U.S. payroll agency appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters revealed that China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is in early-stage talks to sell its premium smartphone brands P and Mate, a move that could see the company eventually exit from the high-end smartphone-making business. The talks between the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker and a consortium led by Shanghai government-backed investment firms have been going on for months, Reuters sources said.

The post Reuters reveals Huawei to sell premium smartphone brands appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters broke the news that the United States has warned India that it won’t get a waiver on its decision to buy Russian air defense systems, raising the risk of sanctions similar to those imposed on Turkey last month for buying the same missile batteries. The $5.5 billion deal is the first point of friction with the new Democratic administration led by president Joe Biden.

The post Reuters breaks news on India’s friction with U.S. rises over planned purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters revealed that China plans to push tech giants, including Ant Group, Tencent and JD.com, to share consumer loan data to prevent excess borrowing and fraud, in Beijing’s latest tightening of scrutiny. The plan, if implemented, would effectively end the government’s laissez-faire approach to the industry. Large Internet platforms have tended to resist handing over their data, a crucial asset that helps them run operations, manage risk and lure new customers. Chinese regulators, including the central bank, plan to instruct internet platforms to feed their vast loan data to some of the nationwide credit agencies.

The post Reuters reveals Chinese regulators to push tech giants on consumer credit data appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters was first to report that French IT consulting firm Atos has made a more than $10 billion bid approach for U.S. rival DXC technology to create a digital services powerhouse with a global presence. Atos is working with advisers to take control of New York-listed DXC, a former Hewlett Packard Enterprise business, and made a formal approach this week, Reuters sources said. %. If successful, a combination with DXC would give Atos access to a wide range of clients and B2B products including analytics and cloud applications, as well as IT outsourcing services. The deal, which would rank as Atos’ biggest ever acquisition, would also lead to synergies and cost savings.

The post Reuters reveals French IT firm Atos made $10 bln DXC bid approach; market reacts appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters reported exclusively on Monday that Apple Inc is moving forward with self-driving car technology and is targeting 2024 to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The post Reuters exclusively reports Apple targets self-driving car production by 2024; market reacts appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters exclusively reported that Facebook Inc will shift all its users in the United Kingdom into user agreements with the corporate headquarters in California, moving them out of their current relationship with Facebook’s Irish unit and out of reach of Europe’s privacy laws. The change takes effect next year and follows a similar move announced in February by Google here. Facebook later confirmed the move. 

The post Reuters exclusively reports Facebook to move UK users to California terms, avoiding EU privacy rules appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters reported exclusively how China’s market regulator is now gearing up to put more transactions under scrutiny, after having levied fines and announced a probe into deals backed by the likes of Alibaba Group and Tencent. The regulator is particularly keen to “make an example” of a $3.5 billion plan for search engine Sogou Inc to be taken private by shareholder Tencent Holdings. Also in its sights is a bid by private-equity firm MBK Partners to buy China’s top online car rental firm, due to concerns it could cause competition issues as MBK already owns the industry’s No.2 player. 

The post Reuters exclusively reports China to crank up anti-trust heat on Big Tech appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

Reuters broke the news that hackers believed to be working for Russia have been monitoring internal email traffic at the U.S. Treasury Department and an agency that decides internet and telecommunications policy. The hack was so serious it led to a National Security Council meeting at the White House, a Reuters source said. The breach presents a major challenge to the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden as officials investigate what information was stolen and try to ascertain what it will be used for. 

The post Reuters breaks news on suspected Russian hackers spied on U.S. Treasury emails appeared first on Reuters News Agency.

The U.S.-China tech war rages unabated. Nation-state hackers are meddling in everything from COVID-19 vaccines to U.S. politics. Big Tech companies and governments are facing off over misinformation, data protection, taxes and more. As geopolitics shapes the future of the global technology industry, Reuters is leading the way with exclusive news, in-depth special reports and the context and data that readers and clients need to stay ahead.

The post Global tech and politics collide | Edition 2 appeared first on Reuters News Agency.