New Funding Allows for Tech Innovations to Create Substantial Impact

Emerging Tech Roundup — August 6

The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.

This week in tech: Square agrees to acquire Afterpay, Harvard donates 29 VR headsets to AHN Cancer patients, YouTube launches a $100M fund for YT Shorts, TikTok jumps on the story bandwagon, Russia plans to subsidize EVs, Apple builds technology to scan for child abuse images within iCloud libraries, and Yelp adds a new feature disclosing vaccination policies within businesses.

Square Agrees to Acquire Afterpay for $29 Billion in All-Stock Deal

(WSJ, August 1)

Square has made their biggest deal to date official and it is expected to drive growth for both companies involved. One of the main reasons Square made the decision to acquire Afterpay was to highlight the importance of traditional credit for young adults. Square plans on integrating Afterpay into payment options through smaller merchants who currently use their devices and stimulate the adoption of Afterpay among consumers.

VR Provides for Escape During Treatments for AHN Cancer Patients

(Post-Gazette, August 2)

Harvard MedTech has donated 29 VR headsets to Allegheny Health Network’s Cancer Institute, for patients to use during treatment. The headsets allow for VR therapy by distraction and behavioral health care, offering 47 scenery options. Researchers hope that the experience lessens anxiety and helps depression of patients undergoing treatments.

YouTube’s $100 Million Shorts Fund to Challenge TikTok Goes Live

(Tech Crunch, August 3)

YouTube has introduced a $100 million fund in an effort to increase usage of YouTube Shorts and gain a competitive advantage over TikTok and Instagram Reels. Creators who are 13 and older will be rewarded anywhere from $100 to $10,000 based on the engagement received on their content. The videos must be original content that is created, specifically using YouTube Shorts. YouTube is making such payments through third-party AdSense.

TikTok is Testing a Snapchat-style Stories Feature

(The Verge, August 4)

TikTok is jumping on the bandwagon with Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and various other apps, and introducing 24-hour stories onto their platform. Users will be able to interact with stories similar to how they can on other platforms, including replies and comments. As of now, TikTok is only experimenting with videos for stories, not still photos.

Russia Plans to Subsidize Electric Cars to Spur Demand

(Reuters, August 4)

Russia is planning to subsidize purchases of domestically-purchased electric vehicles in an effort to make them more affordable and increase the demand. The government is planning to contribute 25% of a given purchase price up to 625,000 roubles, or $8,570. Russia hopes this incentive will contribute to their goals of cutting emissions substantially by 2030 and replace most of the existing, gasoline-powered cars with electric cars.

Apple Confirms it Will Begin Scanning iCloud Photos for Child Abuse Images

(TechCrunch, August 5)

Apple plans to create technology that will both scan for and report child pornography within iCloud libraries, while still maintaining user privacy. In the midst of moderation of libraries, photos will not be decrypted until “a threshold is met” and will have to pass several steps of validation before they are brought into manual review for flagging and reporting. This is all made possible through Apple’s new privacy-reserving CSAM detection system and is expected to rollout later this year.

Yelp Will Let Business List Their COVID-19 Vaccination Policies

(The Verge, August 5)

Yelp will soon let businesses list their company vaccination policies on their profile, including the vaccination status of their staff and their requested vaccination guidelines for customers. With the new rollout, Yelp hopes that both their customers and business owners will find more comfort in their choices of which crowds they choose to immerse themselves in. To avoid any unfair or biased reviews surrounding the topic of vaccines, Yelp will be monitoring reviews to make sure that they only consist of “the customers’ actual experiences.”