Techflier

As I write this Elon Musk has joined Clubhouse for his first ever in-person session and the boundaries of the app have already been tested. Only 5,000 people are in the room, BUT… the session is being live-streamed from here or here . We are live blogging the session and will update this post (apologies for typos in the interim). Musk initially talked about going gong to Mars and said it was likely to be a “hard” for the early pioneers, but that it would be a matter of keeping the “candle of civilization alive in the dark”. Asked if he believed in aliens, he said there wasn’t a single piece of conclusive evidence for the existence of aliens, although it’s “quite possible” there is such a thing as Alien tech, at least at a “7/11” level, and a joked that they evidence so far suggests they might be at the “500 Megapixel camera” or “at least iPhone 6 level”. He said his kids were not quite into the idea of going to Mars. Asked about memes online he quipped: “He who controls the meme...

Speaking is one of the hardest parts of learning a new language, especially if you don’t have someone to practice with regularly. ELSA is an app that helps by using speech recognition technology to correct pronunciation. Based in San Francisco and Ho Chi Minh City, ELSA announced today it has raised a $15 million Series B, led by VI (Vietnam Investments) Group and SIG. Other participants included returning investors Google’s AI-focused fund Gradient Ventures, SOSV and Monk’s Hill Ventures, along with Endeavor Catalyst and Globant Ventures. The capital will be used to expand ELSA’s operations in Latin America and build a scalable B2B platform, allowing companies and educational organizations to offers the app’s coaching services to employees or students. Founded in 2015, ELSA, which stands for English Language Speech Assistant, now claims more than 13 million users. Its last round of funding was a $7 million Series A announced in 2019. Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI fund, leads $7M...

Ben , a London-based employee benefits and rewards platform, has raised $2.5 million in funding. The seed round is led by Cherry Ventures, and Seedcamp. A number of angel investors with backgrounds in fintech and HR tech also participated. They include Paul Forster (founder of Indeed), Taavet Hinrikus (founder of TransferWise), Carlos Gonzalez-Cadenas (previously an exec at GoCardless but now a partner at Index Ventures ), Philip Reynolds (VP of Engineering at Workday), and Matt Robinson (founder of Nested). Part fintech, part HR play, Ben has built an employee benefits platform to enable SMEs to offer much more personalised and flexible benefits to employees. The U.K. startup does this via a SaaS for managing benefits, including a benefits marketplace, combined with per-employee debit cards powered by Mastercard. The idea is to give employees more individual choice around which benefits they choose, while making it easy to on-board additional providers. This can be via the marketp...

Despite China’s history of stringent media control, an industry of uninstitutionalized, individual publishers has managed to flourish on social media platforms like Tencent’s WeChat and ByteDance’s Toutiao. These self-publishers are called “We Media” in the Chinese internet lexicon, denoting the independent power of citizen journalists and content creators. Meanwhile, self-publishers have always had to tread carefully on what they post or risk being targeted by censors who deem them illegal or inappropriate. The topics they cover are myriad, ranging from fashion and food to politics and current affairs. WeChat, a major destination for self-publishers, hinted last July it had 20 million “public accounts” , platforms for individuals to broadcast content and in businesses’ case, reach customers. In 2020, 360 million users read articles published on WeChat public accounts, WeChat founder Allen Zhang disclosed recently. Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, has long attracted citizen ...

Access to the internet in Myanmar dropped sharply after the military detained leaders of ruling party National League for Democracy , including Aung San Suu Kyi, and declared a state of emergency. The NLD won a wide majority of parliamentary seats in November’s general election , which the military alleges was the result of election fraud. In a statement on military-owned television, the army said a year-long state of emergency would be declared in Myanmar and power handed to military chief Min Aung Hlaing. According to NetBlocks , a non-governmental organization that monitors digital rights, cybersecurity and internet governance around the world, internet disruptions began around 3AM Monday morning local time, with national connectivity falling to 75% of ordinary levels, and then reaching about 50% around 8AM. Data shows that the cuts affected several network operators, including the state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and Telenor. NetBlocks said “preliminary findin...

FILE PHOTO: Photos of Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi are seen in a shop in Yangon Reuters The military of Myanmar said it would be taking control of the country for the next year. Earlier on Monday, several top government officials, including Aun San Suu Kyi and president Win Myint, were round up. Global diplomatic leaders are expressing outrage and dismay at the move.  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Myanmar's military announced on Monday that it would be taking over the country for at least a year.  The announcement was made on the military-owned television channel Myawaddy TV, and followed the detainment of several top Myanmar politicians, including Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar President Win Myint. Members of the ruling National League for Democracy were also taken into custody, according to the AP. The military, called the Tatmadaw, claimed there was massive voter fraud during the country's November 2020 election, and on Januar...

In this July 28, 2011, file photo, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Democrats' new congressional map forced Kinzinger to challenge the veteran Rep. Don Manzullo in the 16th Congressional District in the March 20, 2012 Illinois primary. Kinzinger was one of five victorious freshman Republicans in 2008. Harry Hamburg/AP GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger launched a new PAC to work against Republicans still aligned with Trump.  Kinzinger is one of 10 GOP members who voted to impeach Trump.  He's faced backlash, including his family sending around a petition to disown him.  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger has launched a new political action committee to push back against Republicans who embrace former President Donald Trump.  "The Republican Party has lost its way. If we are to lead again, we need to muster the courage to remember who we are," Kinzinger said in ...

Shaq bought the Florida estate for a little less than $4 million in 1993. Compass Florida Shaquille O'Neal just sold his lakeside Florida mansion for $16.5 million. The retired NBA player bought the home in 1993 for a little less than $4 million. The 12-bedroom home near Orlando has an indoor basketball court, a 17-car garage, and a 95-foot swimming pool. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories . Retired NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal just sold his lakeside mansion in Florida for $16.5 million , Sarah Paynter reported for The New York Post. The 31,000-square-foot house sits on nearly four acres in the exclusive, gated golf community about a 30-minute drive from Orlando. O'Neal, who retired in 2011 after making more than $286 million over the course of his basketball career , bought the house in 1993 for a little less than $4 million, according to Realtor. He first put it on the market in 2018 for $28 million, dropped the price to $21.9 milli...