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Technology

Quarterly global InsurTech fundraising trend slashed by over 50%, COVID-19 a likely culprit:Willis Towers Watson

InsurTechs raised a total of US$912 million during the first three months of 2020.Deal count, at 96, was up 28% over Q4 2019, 10% more than the first quarter of that year. It is the highest number of investment rounds by transactional volume ever recorded by the Quarterly InsurTech Briefing.Overall total funding was down by 54 percent,  however, reflecting in part far fewer ‘mega-deals’ (US$100 million-plus deals) taking place in the year so far.

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Online car sales may gain traction post COVID-19, auto retail needs to become virtual: EY

The Indian customer’s views and behaviour towards an online car purchase platform is only going to evolve. Indian OEMs and car aggregators can take a cue from global players and gradually develop their capabilities to support this transformation. Globally, OEMs like BMW, Peugeot, Hyundai and Volvo have successfully deployed almost contactless online sales, it added.

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BSE puts in place penalty structure for non-submission of cyber security report

Non-submission of the report after three months will attract disablement of trading terminals across segments after giving two weeks’ notice, the exchange said.

BSE, further, said “disablement notice issued to the member would be shared with all the exchanges for information” and member will be enabled only after submission of the report.

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Robots are playing many roles in the coronavirus crisis – and offering lessons for future disasters

Research laboratories and startups are creating new robots, including one designed to allow health care workers to remotely take blood samples and perform mouth swabs. These prototypes are unlikely to make a difference now. However, the robots under development could make a difference in future disasters if momentum for robotics research continues.

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Facebook invests $5.7 billion in Reliance unit to reach small Indian grocers

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “India is home to the largest communities on Facebook and WhatsApp, and a lot of talented entrepreneurs. The country is in the middle of a major digital transformation and organizations like Jio have played a big part in getting hundreds of millions of Indian people and small businesses online.”

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Virus upends outsourcing as firms ‘Reshore’, Embrace AI

But the bigger lasting change from the pandemic will likely involve the wider use of artificial intelligence to handle tasks currently performed by human beings, experts said.

“AI doesn’t go on strike, it can work 24/7 and throws up fewer complications,” said Michael Czinkota, who teaches international business at Washington’s Georgetown University.

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