Silicon Valley

VW to build autonomous cars

Frankfurt am Main - Muslimchronicle

The world's largest carmaker Volkswagen said Thursday it would work with Silicon Valley firm Aurora to create self-driving cars, hoping to deploy fleets of autonomous taxis to city streets by 2021. "With Aurora, VW gains access to an experienced and globally leading development team in software and hardware for driverless vehicles," the Wolfsburg-based group said in a statement. Founded by former autonomousRead more

Key Silicon Valley investor takes leave amid harassment claims

San Francisco - Muslimchronicle

Prominent Silicon Valley investor Shervin Pishevar, an early Uber stakeholder and a founder of the high-speed transport startup Hyperloop One, said Tuesday he was stepping away from business activities to fight claims of sexual harassment. Pishevar said he was taking an immediate leave of absence from Sherpa Capital, Virgin Hyperloop One and the boards of companies in his investment portfolioRead more

Nissan to begin field tests for 'robo-taxis'

Tokyo - Muslimchronicle

Nissan Motor Co. will start testing robo-taxis on Japanese streets in March, the first step in rolling out a self-driving taxi service, as Japan’s top car makers struggle to keep pace with Detroit and Silicon Valley. In January, the Japanese car maker said it would team up with Tokyo software company DeNA Co. to build a fleet of self-driving LeafRead more

Silicon Valley investor Shervin Pishevar

San Francisco - Muslimchronicle

Shervin Pishevar, one of Silicon Valley's most powerful venture capitalists, has denied claims by several women of sexual harassment, saying he is the victim of an "organized smear campaign". Five women told the Bloomberg News agency that Pishevar sexually assaulted or harassed them while meeting them in a professional context. Some of the alleged events took place as early asRead more

Lawsuit accuses Google of stealing data of 5m UK users

London - Muslimchronicle

A consumer activist launched Thursday a lawsuit accusing Google of illegally collecting data on more than five million British iPhone users, who could possibly see a payout reaching into the hundreds of millions. A campaign group dubbed 'Google You Owe us' says the tech giant owes consumers "trust, fairness and money" after unlawfully placing cookies on mobile phones between 2011Read more

Google ditched autopilot driving feature after test user napped behind wheel

California - Muslimchronicle

Alphabet Inc’s self-driving car unit stopped developing features that required drivers to take control in dangerous situations, its chief executive said Monday, as autopilot reliance left users prone to distractions and ill-prepared to maneuver. The decision followed experiments of the technology in Silicon Valley that showed test users napping, putting on makeup and fiddling with their phones as the vehiclesRead more

Self-driving startups race down a narrowing road

San Franciisco - Muslimchronicle

Lei Xu and Justin Song once worked at electric carmaker Tesla, one of the hottest companies in Silicon Valley. But with interest and investments in autonomous vehicles mounting, they left to pursue what they see as the next big thing. Their company, Nullmax, is one of more than 240 startups worldwide, including 75 in Silicon Valley, attempting to design software,Read more

US moves closer to EU position

Washington - Muslimchronicle

Washington is softening its position on European plans to impose taxes on US tech giants such as Apple and Google, officials said this week. The evolving attitude in recent days would mark a stark shift from American officials' frustration at previous efforts by European authorities to collect taxes from Silicon Valley firms. "The United States is open to consideringRead more

EU cases against US firms

Brussels - Muslimchronicle

The EU's decision to slap Amazon with a multi-million euro tax bill and take Ireland to court for not complying with a landmark case against Apple are the latest in a string of competition cases against US firms. Here are the main European Union competition investigations targeting the US that Silicon Valley and Washington have slammed as unfair. - GoogleRead more

Tesla's remote control raises eyebrows

Washington - Muslimchronicle

Electric car maker Tesla helped its owners fleeing the path of Hurricane Irma, offering a complementary boost to the car battery's range to allow them to travel further before needing to recharge. The goodwill gesture was a publicity boost for the Silicon Valley firm, but the ability to remotely access to its customers' cars also drew some attention. As millionsRead more