Global sources is a Hong-Kong based business-to-business (B2B) media company that is known to run the largest Sourcing Trade Show in the world and Asia’s largest hardware trade show dubbed as ‘Startup Launchpad’.

Startup Launchpad facilitates global distribution between startups and renowned online and offline retailers. The event showcases over 250 startups to more than 60,000 global buyers from 240 countries and regions.

“Possibly the most difficult stage of being a hardware startup is sales and distribution. That’s why we’re excited to partner with Revvx in bringing hardware startups from India to Global Sources’ Startup Launchpad in Hong Kong this April,” said Ben Wong, Head of Global Sources Launchpad.

“Startups will showcase their products in front of established global distributors and retailers to identify quality online and offline retail channels at scale,” he added.

The company will work with Revvx on a Pan India Roadshow to select the top hardware startups to showcase in Hong Kong. Under this, a delegation of 10 qualified startups from India are expected to attend the Startup Launchpad Trade show under Revvx’s management.

Prior to the commencement of the trade show, the startups will attend a soft-landing tour in Shenzhen and Hong Kong to meet manufacturing and distribution stakeholders and participate in the product demo program on-site to pitch for retail to VIP buyers.

“Market-creating innovations come from imagining and delivering something that unexpectedly delights whole new groups of customers. The pace of change is so great that today’s bright spark is next year’s standard requirement. Bringing an idea to reality is a totally different story.” said Avinash Kaushik, Founder and CEO, Revvx.

“While part of the problem is manufacturing which is being addressed through Make in India push in the country, commercialization of innovation and scaling has remained the biggest challenge for hardware startups. We are building access to market for hardware/IOT startups by pairing products with the channels that popularize them. We are excited to partner with Global Sources which is a great platform to showcase Indian innovation to global retail buyers and distributors,” Kaushik added.

This year, the Startup Launchpad Show will have two phases. The first phase will have 3,700 booths and will be held from April 11 to 14 with the focus on consumer electronics, VR & Gaming, components and smart living. The second phase will run from April 18 to 21 with 2,700 booths of smartphones, tablets, wearables and accessories.

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Microsoft is seriously looking at the huge potential in the job market in India, and a lite version of Skype is a work in that direction. According to Microsoft, employers in poor network areas will be able to chat with ‘Aadhaar Verified’ users on both the regular Skype app and the new Skype Lite app while interacting for job interviews.

“Skype will now support Aadhaar. Skype Lite will come in to help people connect in poor network areas and it is going to come with Aadhaar capabilities,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, who is on an India visit currently.

Skype Lite is only available for Android currently; and has been designed for India specifically with new and integrated features, such as support for SMS, native phone contacts and calls, data usage tracking, India focused Skype bots to help “users be more productive.”

Besides English, the lighter version is available in seven other Indian local languages: Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.

Linking the poor network areas

Microsoft, in June, last year, acquired Linkedin for a whopping US$2.5 billion. Targeting this very poor network segment in India, LinkedIn had also launched LinkedIn Lite — a lighter version of its mobile site in September, last year.

Nadella stressed on the importance of job creation and skill development as a plank for economic upliftment of individuals and the country. The company plans to leverage the 39-million-strong LinkedIn user base in India, the second largest in the world

“LinkedIn India is creating products just for India and the first one is LinkedIn Lite, a tool that will help people connect from low connectivity zones in the country,” Nadella added.

According to Microsoft, the home page of the lighter version of LinkedIn only consumes 150KB, and other pages weigh about 70KB.

Read More: How LinkedIn-Microsoft deal can shakeup the enterprise ‘Dynamics’

Looking to tap users early, LinkedIn has started focusing on the student community as well, and had launched a Placements program in the country in September last year. Placements will help students find the right job. For this, it has partnered with HackerRank, Aspiring Minds, Co-cubes and Wheebox to develop an online test for students, which will recommend jobs based on how they score.

Recently, Nadella, met Ravi Shankar Prasad, Indian Minister for Electronics and IT, wherein both discussed the benefits of technology in various ‘Digital India’ projects.

Meanwhile, Nadella also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the company’s digital inclusion programme that leverages technology for improving rural healthcare and education.

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This deal is a part of a strategic partnership to help connect the company’s 450 million global users with Kakao Pay.

“South Korea is an important market for Ant Financial in its global expansion, and we see many opportunities in the market for innovative services and growth in mobile payments,” said Douglas Feagin, President, Ant Financial International.

According to media sources, Kakao Talk has 48 million users. It is installed in over 95% of smartphones in Korea and has long offered mobile payments through its platform.

Last month, Ant Financial announced an $880 million deal for US money-transfer firm MoneyGram International. It has investments in Indian mobile payment and e-commerce website Paytm and Thai financial technology firm Ascend Money. It plans to expand in the Philippines with a stake in Globe Telecom’s fintech firm Mynt.

The company is also in the process of closing a $3 billion debt funding round which would be used to make investments and acquisitions.

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According to the alliance, Daniel has brought extensive expertise to CTA in developing strategic cyber partnerships and programs that span the private and public sector, as well as other nations to build the most effective security solution.

In addition to Daniel’s appointment, CTA’s founding Members Fortinet, Intel Security, Palo Alto Networks, and Symantec announced the addition of Check Point Software Technology and Cisco as new alliance founding Members.

CTA combating cyber-threats

The company claims that it has regularly exchanged information on botnets, mobile threats and indicators of compromise (IoCs) related to advanced persistent threats (APTs), and advanced malware samples since its inception.

The CTA’s research and findings pushed cybercriminals to develop CryptoWall version 4, which claims to have resulted in less successful attacks, validating the power of CTA’s cooperative threat intelligence sharing.

“The future of cyber security is here. The CTA collaboration will enable us to accelerate the pace of innovation as we work to protect the cloud, mobile and provide the best means for advanced threat prevention,” said Gil Shwed, Founder and CEO, Check Point.

The six founding members together have contributed to the development of a new, automated threat intelligence sharing platform to exchange actionable threat data, further driving the company’s mission of a coordinated effort against cyber adversaries.

In addition to expanding its founding Members, the CTA has also added new affiliate Members, including IntSights, Rapid7 and RSA, who join existing Members Eleven Paths and ReversingLabs.

“We believe there is power in working together, as people, as products and as an industry. For the last three years, we have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with our Cyber Threat Alliance founding Members to share threat intelligence, build context around advanced threats, and provide our customers the benefits of our collective knowledge,” said Chris Young, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Intel Security Group, Intel Corporation.

This ongoing effort will help Intel Security customers build defenses that understand and counter complex attacks more quickly and effectively, throughout all stages of the threat defense lifecycle,” he added.

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The company plans to use these funds to upgrade their app and aims to reach 100 million downloads in 2017.

True Balance is a mobile app that lets its users check their mobile call & data balances. It converts a text message with available balance to infographics so that the users can easily check the balance, purchase a prepaid account, recharge their balance and track data usage. It was launched by Balance Hero in India in 2014. Balance Hero is a startup founded in 2014 by Cheol-won Lee.

“The additional funding will help us spur our business growth even further. True Balance has been growing exponentially passing the 30 million download mark, targeting 100 million by the end of this year. We have also recently introduced the ‘one-click recharge feature’ to dramatically improve the convenience of mobile life,” said Cheol-won Lee, CEO, Balance Hero.

The mobile recharge segment is dominated by payment companies such as Paytm, Freecharge, and MobiKwik. Other apps such as Smartapp, BillBachao, and Mubble use analytics in the backend and help consumers track various metrics of usage and save on bills.

In March last year, True Balance had raised an undisclosed amount of investment in a Series A round of funding from SoftBank Ventures Korea.

“Within the first year of investment, there was 3000% growth in app downloads, and this denotes the company’s growth. Due to rapid expansion of the Indian market, the company’s estimated potential seems to be even greater,” said Gyu Hak(Greg) Moon, President and Chief Executive, SoftBank Ventures, Korea.

In India, SoftBank has investments in unicorns such as Hike, Ola, Snapdeal and InMobi.

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The report was cited on Israeli site Calcalist which claimed that the company will pay millions of dollars for acquiring the startup and develop technology that replaces passwords with facial recognition.

According to several media reports, the acquisition may lead the company to develop an app or a feature, but it’s unlikely to be included in the upcoming iPhone. The iPhone8 (rumored) is likely to be launched in fall this year, and is speculated to have have a new glass design and wireless charging, among other features.

Founded in 2014 by Adi Eckhouse Barzilai and Aviv Mader, RealFace’s software enables authentication, automated on-boarding and mobile conversion optimization using deep learning methods, focusing on a frictionless user experience.

The company claims that its technology provides users with the highest level of authentication and security available on all platforms. RealFace also claims to have a proprietary IP in the field of frictionless face recognition and effective learnings from facial features. It provides smart biometric login that aims to make passwords redundant by verifying users on mobile and PC.

According to Startup Nation Central the startup has also rolled out an application called Pickeez which employs the RealFace recognition software to automatically choose the best photos from every platform in which the user’s photos are stored. It has also raised $1 million in seed funding in its R&D stage, before Apple acquired the company.

Interestingly, this is not the only AI powered facial-recognition startup Apple has acquired. January last year the iPhone maker bought Emotient for an undisclosed amount. Emotient was a facial-recognition company backed by machine learning, that cloud read human emotions.

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Launched by Welspun owned subsidiary, TILT Textiles, the duvets and rugs focus on multi-dimensional storytelling, educational activities, and augmented reality and are targeted at kids, aged three and up.

SpinTales has been currently released in the US market and was showcased at CES 2017 in Las Vegas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=540EikJkj3U

Each story includes video, narration, activities and augmented reality. To access the augmented reality, a marker appears on the duvet or rug, and the camera on the device is turned on. Kids are then expected to match illustrations on their duvet or rug. Holding the device over the marker activates augmented reality.

Of course one needs an internet connection, and adequate light for the AR to work. Content developed by Tata Elxsi’s creative team is inspired by stories that kids already know: Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs and Jungle Book.

Both, the duvet and rug are available on TiltTextiles.com and ToysRUs.com for $99.99 each.

Qaizar Hassonjee, President, TILT Textiles, said:

“Imagine if your favorite characters could come to life in your own room, right in front of your eyes! With SpinTales, we hope to deliver meaningful and delightful textiles experiences to our users. We are happy to partner with industry leaders like Tata Elxsi who helped us to deliver high quality work and explore a new frontier in futuristic textiles.”

Anil Sondur, EVP, Industrial Design, Tata Elxsi, added, “By combining beautiful textiles and augmented reality, we have built a SpinTales experience that engages kids and parents in immersive storytelling and shared experiences with innovative and futuristic textiles,” he added.

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The funding round also saw investment from Global Innovation Fund, MDI Ventures, and Endeavor Catalyst. Existing investors 500 Startups, IMJ Investment Partners, and Kickstart Ventures also participated in the round.

Founded in 2014, the health-tech startup claims to have a presence in six markets in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

“We are solving the issue of access to pharmacies, patients and data at the last mile of the pharmaceutical supply chain,” said Farouk Meralli, Founder and CEO, mClinica.

The company provides a platform for drug companies to connect with distributors, pharmacies, and patients. It collects comprehensive data to allow deployment of programs with an aim to unify the ecosystem to improve patients’ health outcomes and access to affordable medicine.

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ESET, Europe-based IT security provider shares five basic cyber security lessons from its experts. Dave Maasland, CEO, ESET, Netherlands in association with Fred Streefland, IT Security Manager, LeaseWeb, explore a new way of looking at cybersecurity, something that is directly connected to business needs.

Lesson 1: Start with the business (and its risks)

Security is nothing more than reducing or taking away risks, and making them visible so that the business can accept them and continue doing its work. It can be exceptionally complex but its essence is simple. People have to understand the business to face the challenges of security effectively and efficiently. They should not see it solely from an IT perspective but from the broader perspective of the business. When starting from the business, Firstly, they have to identify, map, and categorize the risks of the specific business. Secondly, they need to determine which risks need to be dealt with and in which order together with the business itself. Afterwards, the person responsible for the security within the company has to set up a security plan that describes how these changes are to be executed and there has to be clear goals and deadlines in doing so. Ideally, this should be done in a ‘smart’ way, such as one step at a time, so as not to engage in too many projects at once.

Lesson 2: Determine a security roadmap with a clear goal, step by step

Defining the security approach (or security roadmap) is essential and it should be discussed with the business on an ongoing basis to make necessary adjustments. This will reduce the risk and contribute to the achievement of the goal. The people responsible for security shouldn’t ‘restrict or obstruct’ business with security measures. The creation of plan should be something that is understandable to everyone, even one without IT skills. Of course IT plays a role, but only at the last moment when IT solutions are needed for the execution of the security projects.

Lesson 3: Cover the basics before implementing more advanced security solutions

Most organizations don’t even have basic security measures in place, let alone advanced security solutions. The presentations of security companies on these technologies often looks stunning and offer interesting content, but they are simply too advanced for most companies. Furthermore, experience shows that the most hacks (about 90%) still use the simplest methods and weaknesses for attack such as phishing emails, malware attachments, etc. Of course, there is the weakest link of all, human being.

That’s why, the companies need to create basic security solutions before they turn their attention to more advanced technologies. Although, these are important but these should be implemented in the future, only after the basics are fortified. During security congresses, the companies focus on sophisticated threats and APTs (advance’s persistent threats), but the companies such as TalkTalk and Ashley Madison might have been protected from attack if even basic security was in place.

Lesson 4: Build the right partnerships; Cooperation between IT Security professionals is essential

New developments are arising quickly. Malicious groups and individuals are using more varied, and advanced attacks and tactics. Eventually, more advanced security solutions will become inseparable from our organizations’ broader security roadmaps. However, the foundation has to be in place before the ‘house’ can be built. And to build this house, cooperation is needed between the architect, the realtor, the mason, the plasterer and of course the homeowner.

This sense of building something together, step by step, is exactly what needs to happen in the security world. There is a need to cooperate intensively because, much like building a house, there is no single owner or architect who is also the best in masonry, painting, or construction. No single security company has the best solution for each and every security risk, so working together is a must. Those who would cause the company harm are already doing this, so it’s time security professionals do the same. First, start with the owner (the business) and the foundation (the roadmap), and then forge relationships with the right contractors (security vendors). Only then can a strong, reliable, and safe house be built.

Lesson 5: Get everyone involved, it’s the only road to success

To make progress between security and the business, there has to be understanding and support from the business – and vice versa. The one(s) responsible for security has to be able to provide short and clear explanations in order to to get all of the different stakeholders in the company to participate. If he or she can’t, then the business (and the board) will never understand, and there won’t be the necessary buy-in and support to implement your plans (no matter how good they may be). As Einstein once said, ‘if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough!’

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“We see eLoc as the most simple, precise and powerful way of locating addresses, navigating to them and sharing information about addresses/places/buildings/flats etc. I am confident that MapmyIndia eLoc is a powerful idea whose time has come, and which will benefit hundreds of millions of Indians, millions of Indian businesses and thousands of government departments at all levels across India,” said Rakesh Verma, Managing Director, MapmyIndia.

The company claims that MapmyIndia eLoc will transform historical addresses into digital and eliminate the complexity of multi-line address. It is the Aadhaar of addresses which is easy to remember, share, type and provide.

According to the company, this new digital address will minimize time and effort and help ecommerce businesses in navigating end user’s address. The company is open to partnership with other map service providers who can integrate eLoc data and APIs into their own platform, states a Team-BHP report.

Additionally, It will help Indian travelers and commuters to search, share and navigate destinations’ exact doorstep far more easily and quickly. It will also reduce money and fuel wastage and expenses for businesses in the ecommerce, transportation, logistics and field operations domains. According to the media sources, the company has currently generated two crore eLocs across the country.

Prior to this, MapmyIndia had partnered with machine-to-machine (M2M) communications company, Aeris for offering geospatial Internet of Things (IoT) solutions in India. Last month, the company launched Rover Bike, an IoT device that connects to bikes and provides users with the bike’s location and other details. The company had also launched DriveMate, a solution for cars with similar functions, after having partnered with Avis car rentals to connect all its cars with tablets in 2015.

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