The year 2017 has been extremely exciting up till now. The last one week has been especially interesting in terms of the tech and the startup world. With startups receiving new funding, companies being taken over and new launches, the last week has been a pretty interesting read. Check out our weekly wrap up here!

1. Tim Cook And Sundar Pichai Speak At China’s World Internet Conference 

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook and Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai spoke together at the 4th edition of the World Internet Conference held in China. Tim Cook appeared as a keynote speaker and gave a surprise speech at the conference and addressed issues regarding “cyberspace sovereignty.” The conference focused on the world of AI and had a host of interesting speakers including Cisco’s CEO Chuck Robbins.

2. Ola And Uber Drivers To Go On Strike 

Cab aggregators Ola and Uber have been hit by people from all sides because of their severe mismanagement. First, it was the riders who had issues with the cab aggregators. Now, it is the drivers themselves who have issues with the owners. The drivers have now said that due to loss of pay and a reduction of overall benefits, they will go on a strike from the 10 December, 2017. Ola’s and Uber’s drivers called for a strike not just in Mumbai, but all over India.

3. Google Doodle Teaches Kids To Code

Technology giant Google came up with an amazing way to celebrate 50 years of coding. It created a Google doodle in order to teach noncoders how to code. Google’s Doodle team along with Google’s Blocky team and researchers from MIT Scratch worked on this doodle as a part of Computer Science Education Week. Google’s doodle, which features on the home screen, gave people an opportunity to learn thing they didn’t thought was extremely difficult.

4. Google Invests In Task Management Startup Dunzo

In an attempt to diversify its reach to homegrown startup services, Google has extended its reach to Bangalore based concierge service provider startup, Dunzo. Funded in 2015, Dunzo works to help people get services and products delivered whenever and where ever needed. Dunzo currently has 1350 active riders and completes 3000 to 4000 orders a day. With this round of investment from Google, Dunzo plans on launching offices all across the country.

5. Google Launches Google Go, Android Oreo Go And Maps Update

Google, one of the worlds largest technology giants announced multiple new launches today at its annual “Google for India” event. Google Maps Update, Google Go, Android Oreo Go and Files Go were some of the updates launched by Google at the Event. The apps were tested in the Beta version first before being launched in public.

6. Bitcoin Crosses Another Mark, Touches $ 12,000

Bitcoin, one of the fastest growing cryptocurrencies in the world, crossed the $ 12,000 mark for the first time early Wednesday morning. According to Reuters data, the digital currency rose by as much as 5.1% to reach $12,275, gaining over $ 500 since the day opened. Despite being down to $ 11, 769.02 on Tuesday, the valuation rose to over $ 14,000, according to data from CoinMarket App. Post the rise of Bitcoin, the valuation of cryptocurrency all over the world has reached up to $ 354 million.

7. Google Blocks YouTube On Amazon Devices In Bitter Feud

Technology giant, Google, has blocked video sharing site YouTube on all Amazon devices in a feud that escalated to unimaganable heights. According to reports, YouTube will also be blocked on Amazon Fire Stick and Echo Show starting in January. This is not the first time Google has done this. Earlier in September, Google blocked Amazon’s Echo Show, because Amazon reportedly created a broken user experience.

8. Top Indian Startups Are Leading The Job Postings

Top unicorn companies like Snapdeal, Paytm, ShopClues and Flipkart are on a hiring spree. Snapdeal in itself maked up for more than half the jobs posted by these startups. As per Indeed’s report, Snapdeal, ShopClues and Flipkart are expected to experience a boom in the business. While Snapdeal topped the chart with 53% job postings, Paytm came in a close second with 23%, followed by ShopClues at 11% and Flipkart at 4%. Zomato, Ola and InMobi are the other startups looking to hire freshers.

9. Little Internet And Nearby To Merge, Paytm Gets Majority Stake

Ecommerce platform Paytm announced acquisition of delivery and deals platform, Nearbuy and Little Internet.  The online payments platform initially acquired 100 % equity in Little and gained complete shareholding through a share swap with Nearbuy.  Along with Paytm, Sequoia India and the founders of Nearbuy Ankur Warikoo, Ravi Shankar and Snehesh Mitra have a minority stake in the merged firm.

10. Bitcoin On A Blazing Path, Soars Past $ 14,000 To Hit $ 15,000

Bitcoin surpasses records by hitting $ 15,000. However, despite the Wall Street accepting Bticoin as a valid currency, the Reserve Bank of India has issued warnings against using cryptocurrencies. All over the world, Bitcoin’s valuation in the market increased to $ 250 million according to data from CoinMarketCap. All over the world, Bitcoin’s more than 10 fold upsurge this year also led to warnings of a bubble.

11. PhonePe Processes 1 Million Daily Transactions In November

Flipkart owned UPI based app, PhonePe, recorded over 1 million transactions on a daily basis valued over $ 15.4 million, as of reports in November. PhonePe also introduced new categories like Credit Card Bill Payments and Gift Cards in its mobile application. According to sources, there were 105 million UPI transactions in November, with Rs. 9,679 crores being transacted.

12. Alibaba Buys 40% Stake In BigBasket For $ 300 Million

China based ecommerce website, Alibaba, is all set to enter India’s grocery retail industry by acquiring 40% stake in the homegrown hyperlocal delivery startup, BigBasket. As per the deal, Alibaba is going to invest $ 200 million in the first round and will also buy shares worth of $ 80 million from existing investors. Alibaba and Paytm have been interested in getting into the Indian grocery ecommerce market for a while and for this reason, Paytm has also started due diligence on BigBasket accounts. 

13. WhatsApp Business Stand Alone App Coming Soon

WhatsApp, the widely recognised texting, calling and video calling service, is all set to launch a stand alone business app. All verified business owners will get a green checkmark badge on their profile, thereby giving users direct access to people they conduct business with. At the moment, the service is being tested by a group of private businesses. One of the major difference between regular WhatsApp and the Business WhatsApp is that the WhatsApp Business app will have a B inside the green WhatsApp icon.

14. The/Nudge Foundation Receives Grant Worth Of $ 250,000

The Nudge/Foundation, backed by the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, received a grant worth $ 250,000. Currently, the Foundation is based only in Karnataka and with this grant, the Foundation has designs on extending its reach to different parts of the country. Through two different arms, the Foundation works at educating underprivileged children and aims at decreasing the poverty levels in different parts of India as well.

15. Shazam To Be Acquired By Apple 

Music, movies and TV shows identifier app, Shazam, is going to be acquired by Apple. Currently, Shazam is at a low valuation as it stands with tough competition. With technology progressing at exponential rates, it has become easier for people to replicate this app. The music discovery platform will be valued at $ 400 million for this acquisition deal. Through this merger, Apple stands to gain Shazam’s augmented and unique recognition technology which will help the tech giant boost it’s own Apple Music.

That’s all for this week! Subscribe to our portal to never miss updates from the startup world! If your startup has an exciting announcement coming up, you can even write to us at [email protected]. Catch up with the highlights of the week with our The News This Week section.