First Merchants to close 17 bank branch locations
The company said it would use the savings from the closures to beef up its digital banking and in-branch technology initiatives.
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High Alpha launches company based on product that spurred its own growth
High Alpha on Thursday announced the launch of its 10th company this year. Filo—which has eight employees and makes and markets a virtual meeting space for teams, workshops, programs and events—has already signed deals with more than 20 customers.
Indiana, nine other states sue Google for ‘anti-competitive’ online ad sales
The states are accusing the search giant of “anti-competitive conduct” in the online advertising industry, including a deal to manipulate sales with rival Facebook.
U.S. spent billions on system for detecting hacks, but Russians outsmarted it
This year’s months-long hack of federal networks has revealed new weaknesses and underscored some previously known ones, including the government’s reliance on widely used commercial software that provides potential attack vectors for nation-state hackers.
City partners on pilot network connecting students to high-speed internet
If proven successful in the pilot stage, the Marion County Dedicated Network Pilot could be expanded to serve public school students countywide as soon as early 2022.
Regulators homing in on social media companies’ data collection
The Federal Trade Commission is ordering Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, TikTok’s parent and five other social media companies to provide detailed information on how they collect and use consumers’ personal data and how their practices affect children and teens.
U.S. agencies, companies secure networks after huge hack
The potential threat was significant enough that the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity unit directed all federal agencies to remove compromised network management software and thousands of companies were expected to do the same.
Gmail, YouTube go down briefly as Google suffers short, massive outage
The problem affected users across the world, but appeared especially widespread in the northeastern United States, Britain and other parts of Europe.
Local educational-technology firm fuels growth with two quick acquisitions
Open LMS isn’t wasting any time making its mark locally and globally. London-based Learning Technologies Group launched the company in Indianapolis in March, and its already acquired two competitors and put them under the Open LMS umbrella, growing its staff.
Israel-based agtech firm Taranis moving global headquarters to Westfield
The company announced Thursday that it plans to spend $10.5 million to relocate its global headquarters, expand operations and add 60 employees over the next three years.
Another judge blocks Trump’s TikTok ban; app still in limbo
The Trump administration has alleged that TikTok is a security threat because the Chinese government could spy on app users’ personal data.
Venture studio High Alpha launches ninth company this year
High Alpha’s latest portfolio company, Trava, makes and markets an automated risk-management and cyber-insurance software platform designed for small- and mid-sized businesses.
Indianapolis Art Center launches online marketplace to help counter COVID
The marketplace it says is open to all artists, regardless of their affiliation with the center or where their wares are displayed.
Local podcast software firm beating growth projections during pandemic
The Indianapolis-based company, which was founded in early 2019, has grown its staff from seven to 20 full-time employees over the past year.
Salesforce to buy work chat service Slack for $27.7 billion
The acquisition announced Tuesday is by far the largest in the 21-year history of Salesforce, which located its Marketing Cloud division in Indianapolis after it acquired ExactTarget in 2013.
Left for dead twice, RadioShack getting another shot online
The big question: How much value does the RadioShack brand have when the prized target audience of younger consumers might have never owned a radio, let alone stepped inside a RadioShack store?
DeliverEnd has bold vision to make peer-to-peer online sales safer
The tech company markets an app designed to improve the safety, security and convenience of delivering items bought and sold on online marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.
Legislative priorities for tech industry include focus on diversity, inclusion
The Indiana Technology and Innovation Association, which represents more than 100 members from large technology companies and small startups, announced its legislative agenda on Thursday and about a quarter of the items are focused on equity and inclusion.
Apple to cut App Store fees in half for most developers
Apple has faced ongoing scrutiny from government regulators and criticism from developers about the percentage of revenue it takes for App Store purchases.
Local marketing software biz SmarterHQ acquired by New York City-based firm
SmarterHQ, a fast-growing Indianapolis-based marketing software firm that has raised more than $42 million in venture capital since its founding in 2010, has been acquired.