High Alpha startup Filo lands $3M in seed funding
Filo, which was launched by Indianapolis-based venture studio High Alpha last year, offers an interactive platform for online meetings, gatherings and events.
Technology
German team wins Indy Autonomous Challenge with average speed near 136 mph
TUM Autonomous Motorsport from the Technische Universität München won the $1 million grand prize in the inaugural Indy Autonomous Challenge on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Hertz orders 100,000 electric vehicles from Tesla
The deal likely is worth around $4 billion. Mark Fields, Hertz’ interim CEO, said that Teslas are already arriving at the company’s sites and should be available for rental starting in November.
Microsoft: Russian-backed hackers targeting cloud services
The group, which Microsoft calls Nobelium, has employed a new strategy to piggyback on the direct access that cloud service resellers have to their customers’ IT systems, hoping to “more easily impersonate an organization’s trusted technology partner.”
U.S. intel warns that China could dominate advanced technologies
U.S. officials say China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and a range of advanced technologies could eventually give Beijing a decisive military edge and possible dominance over health care and other essential sectors in America.
Bloomington-based startup developing drone-assisted construction techniques
Terran Robotics, established in 2019, is developing technology that enables self-flying drones to build walls for earthen homes. The company plans to build its first home next year.
Indianapolis chocolate business lands $5.25M in venture funding
The Indianapolis-based company behind artisanal chocolate brand SoChatti plans to use the funding to launch new products and innovations into the food-production industry. It also finalized its first industrial licensing agreement.
Consumer watchdog to probe Big Tech payment systems
In its first significant action under a new director, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is ordering Apple, Amazon, PayPal and other tech giants to reveal how their proprietary payment networks function.
Allison Transmission to invest $42M in Chinese company’s public offering
Indianapolis-based Allison, which recently formed a partnership with Beijing-based Jing-Jin Electric, announced Wednesday that it will participate in Jing-Jin’s upcoming initial public offering.
Facebook to pay more than $14M in U.S. settlement over discrimination against workers
Facebook has agreed to pay penalties over findings that the company’s hiring practices intentionally discriminated against Americans in favor of foreign workers, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
IBJ Podcast: Driverless race cars to compete in first-ever challenge at Speedway
The Indy Lights-style cars will be outfitted with sophisticated sensors to recognize their (quickly changing) surroundings. The cars then will rely on their programming to navigate the oval at speeds expected to reach 100 miles per hour.
Challenge brings teams to IMS to showcase driverless vehicle tech
Experts say whether the event yields results that revolutionize the driverless car industry or not, it is another feather in the cap for Indiana and likely to serve as a springboard for new jobs and investments in the state’s tech sector.
You don’t need to be a coder to be part of upcoming 5G sports hackathon
About 300 techies, designers and other young specialists are expected to descend on Butler University next week to participate in the AT&T 5G Sports Hackathon, with $100,000 in prize money up for grabs.
Indiana AG Rokita files lawsuit against robocall scammers
Startel Communication LLC allegedly helped robocallers from India, the Philippines and Singapore make more than 4.8 million calls to Hoosiers and hundreds of millions of calls to other states, Todd Rokita said Thursday.
Artificial intelligence consultant opens downtown office, plans to hire 38
Atrium is led by CEO Chris Heineken, the former chief operating officer of Indianapolis-based cloud consulting firm Appirio.
High Alpha launches Pillar, which aims to help clients do better interviews
According to High Alpha, Pillar uses artificial intelligence and provides in-interview coaching to help companies assess a candidate’s fit for a job during the interview process.
Survey: Cyberattacks concerning to most U.S. citizens
The poll shows that about 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about hacking that involves their personal information, financial institutions, government agencies or certain utilities.
Telamon founder Albert Chen launches firm to put ‘cobots’ in factories
Retired from Telamon Corp., Chen founded Telamon Robotics, which sells collaborative robots and helps companies integrate the technology into their operations.
U.S. poised to sue contractors who don’t report cyber breaches
Officials have repeatedly spoken of the need for better private-sector engagement as the government confronts a surge in ransomware attacks that in the last year have targeted critical infrastructure and major corporations.
High Alpha announces $18M in funding to seed new crop of startups
The announcement comes six months after that investment division—High Alpha Capital—announced it had closed a $110 million venture fund that is likely to provide growth capital for its newest startups.