More funding developments in the highly competitive world of car services. Didi Kuaidi, an Uber rival based in China, has today confirmed that it has invested in Ola, another Uber rival based out of India, as part of Ola’s latest round of funding. As we reported earlier this month, Ola is looking to raise a megaround of…
Today, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai shared details on a new plan to bring more Indian residents online. He notes that there’s still over a billion of them in his native country that aren’t connected. The key? India’s train system. And a plan to bring Wi-Fi to its 10 million rail passengers a day. And it’s…
If you’ve dreamt of taking a ride in one of the beautiful Tesla S sedans, you have options. You could go to one of Tesla’s showrooms and try to take one for a test drive. Or you could get arrested in Los Angeles if you don’t mind sitting in the back seat. LAPD introduced one…
It looks like yet more fuel is about to get poured on the already-hot transportation app market in Asia. India’s Ola is raising $500 million+, at a valuation that we’ve heard is around the $5 billion mark, with $225 million committed so far. The news comes as the company — which competes in its home market…
Easily one of the most exciting areas of Alphabet/Google’s future is its self-driving car unit. Today, that group got a CEO with a massive amount of automotive experience. Right now, the company reports to Sundar Pichai and Google, but could be spun out as a company under Alphabet, since it’s going to turn into a…
Kevin Mahaffey Contributor Kevin Mahaffey is co-founder and CTO of mobile security leader Lookout. When you connect a car to the Internet, it is no longer just a car: It is a computer on wheels. For years, the security industry has asked itself, “When will cyberattacks affect the physical world?” The connected car is a…
Hilton and Uber announced a partnership today to let hotel guests grab a ride from anywhere they are staying in the world on the hotel’s HHonors app. Ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft are not an uncommon site alongside taxis at the front entrance of hotels these days. But Uber believes the Hilton integration will add a…
Hopper, a travel application launched earlier this year with the goal of helping you pay less for airfare by telling you the best time to buy tickets, is out today with a new version that will actually help you book tickets yourself without leaving the app. Because it was initially sending traffic to third-party websites…
The battle between yellow cabs and Uber cars is about heat up. According to Crains New York, a new app called Arro is being beta tested among 7,000 yellow and green taxis in the NYC area, allowing potential passengers to e-hail a regular cab instead of an Uber. The app should roll out fully in…