Wednesday, July 25, 2018

China sends mixed signals on Facebook. It's The Daily Crunch.

THE DAILY CRUNCH
WEDNESDAY, JULY 25 2018 By Anthony Ha

Facebook gains and loses a business license in China, Uber's self-driving cars get back on the road and Grubhub acquires LevelUp. Here's your Daily Crunch for July 25, 2018.

1. Confusion reigns as Facebook briefly receives China business license

Facebook's long-running efforts to expand into China seemed to move forward this week when the company obtained a license to set up a subsidiary in the country. But once the news broke, the license was seemingly revoked.

When asked about the company's plans in China, a Facebook spokesperson said, "We are interested in setting up an innovation hub in Zhejiang to support Chinese developers, innovators and start-ups."

2. Uber self-driving cars back on public roads, but in manual mode

Uber is putting its autonomous vehicles back on Pittsburgh's city streets, four months after a fatal accident involving one of its self-driving cars. But for now, Uber's modified self-driving Volvo XC90 vehicles will only be driven manually by humans and under a new set of safety standards.

3. Grubhub acquires payments and loyalty company LevelUp for $390M

LevelUp offers a platform to manage digital ordering, payments and loyalty, with customers like KFC, Taco Bell and Bareburger. Grubhub says that buying the company allows it to deepen its integration with restaurants' point-of-sale systems. That, in turn, will allow them to handle more deliveries.

4. Valve's answer to Discord is now live for everyone

Just a month ago, Valve announced Steam Chat — an overhaul to its aging chat system, and the company's answer to rapidly growing competition from apps like Discord. Yesterday, it opened up to all.

5. Blockchain startup Tron closes BitTorrent acquisition

The news confirms rumors that have been floating around since the middle of last month. BitTorrent didn't confirm any specifics, but Tron, a relatively new entrant in the wild world of blockchain startups, was said to have paid around $126 million in cash.

6. Waymo partners with Walmart, Avis, AutoNation and others to expand access to self-driving cars

Through these deals, Waymo will pick up customers and drive them to businesses in the Phoenix area.

7. Segway's whacky new roller shoes will cost $399

Did you know Segway is making a pair of self-balancing roller shoes? Well, now you do!

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