Google is always tracking users, US states allege; Boeing adds $450 mln to air taxi venture; DarwinBox turns unicorn
Google tracks you even when your location is turned off, US states allege Google tracks people’s movements using information from its search engine, Maps app, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth services even after users turn off location tracking, three US states allege in a lawsuit, Reuters reports. Texas, Indiana, Washington State, and the District of Columbia sued Google on Monday over what they called deceptive location-tracking practices that invade users’ privacy, according to Reuters. “Google falsely led consumers to believe that changing their account and device settings would allow customers to protect their privacy and control what personal data the company could access,” Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine's office said in a statement. Yet Google “continues to systematically surveil customers and profit from customer data," which was "a clear violation of consumers’ privacy,” the statement added. Boeing adds $450 mln to air taxis venture with Google co-founder Page Boeing is investing a further $450 million in Wisk Aero, its joint venture with Kitty Hawk, a company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page to develop small, pilotless aircraft for short passenger hops in and around cities, The Verge reports. Wisk says it will use the new funds to undertake a period of rapid growth, adding new employees to its current workforce of approximately 350 people, and kicking off a manufacturing process that it says will result in a full-scale, commercially operational air taxi business within the next five years. Once that happens, the company predicts that it will conduct 14 million flights annually in around 20 major markets around the globe. Delhi releases draft regulation on e-mobility for food tech, ecommerce The Delhi government has released a draft regulation for the transportation activities of various tech companies, including food delivery, ride-hailing apps and e-commerce in the National Capital Region, Economic Times reports. The draft focuses on electrification, bringing transparency in pricing and access to data—like the number of drivers on the road, the quality of vehicles, drivers’ ratings, movement—and ensuring adequate customer care service is in place. The state government has given three weeks for public feedback. DarwinBox turns unicorn after $72 million series D funding from TCV Darwinbox, a cloud software provider for human resources management, has become India’s latest unicorn, being valued at $1 billion after raising $72 million in a new round of funding, the Hyderabad startup said in a post on its website. The investment was led by Technology Crossover Ventures, known for its investments in Netflix, Facebook, Spotify and Airbnb, with participation from existing investors—Salesforce Ventures, Sequoia, Lightspeed, SCB 10X, JGDEV, Endiya Partners, and 3One4Capital. This brings DarwinBox’s total funding to more than $110 million, the company said. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds