June 2020

Amazon buys Zoox

Amazon Gets a New Lift

Amazon recently announced it is acquiring Zoox, a 6-year-old startup designing self-driving cars. Zoox raised $955 million in venture-backed funding to build progressive mobility options and meet urban transportation needs. Autonomous car company Zoox now owned by Amazon Aicha Evans, Zoox CEO, and Jesse Levinson, co-founder and CTO, will continue to lead the team. Zoox is working on developing zero-emission vehicles that can be autonomously ridden. The company is also devising an end-to-end autonomy software stack, to…


Re-opening post Corona will mean new innovations

Capitalizing on New Market & Tech Opportunities

With most states loosening some restrictions and businesses approved to reopen, many tech and design companies are expanding to new markets: touchless fever scanners, apps to plan socially-distant office spaces, sensors to limit touching in highly frequented areas, and scheduling platforms to prevent crowding in public spaces. Truework, for example, is an income verification start-up, that has launched software to allow employers to track workers’ health status. Gensler, an architecture and planning company, has improved…


New York and France Draft FinTech Collaboration

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) and its counterpart in France have mutually agreed to ease regulations and policies for fintech startups looking to set up shop in the respective markets. The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed with the French Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) on June 3, seeks to expand the innovative capacities of both locations. In 2019, DFS became the first US state banking regulator to join the Global Financial Innovation…


savings during a crisis

Making the Money You Are Saving Work for You

Many Americans are facing an uncertain financial future right now. The coronavirus pandemic, though, hasn’t been all bad economic news. Strict stay at home orders have meant fewer expenses in many areas: travel, eating out, cultural events, gas, new clothing, etc. Similarly, the importance of an emergency fund, has become evident to most people, and causing them to reduce their extraneous spending. In fact, the personal savings rate — the sum people are putting away as a percentage of their disposable…


New York Looks to Canada Partnership for Clean Energy

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced a new environmental plan to bolster the economy and promote clean energy. New York has set very ambitious clean-energy targets, including emissions-free energy sources exclusively by 2040. The latest plan runs cables from upstate New York to Canada and brings wind and solar power down from these rural regions to New York City and the suburbs. The proposal also hastens a latent scheme for the delivery of hydropower…