Daily Crunch: After raising $3 million in seed funding, global fintech platform Payday plans to obtain licenses in Canada, UK

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Hello, and welcome to Wednesday Crunch!

Everyone is thinking about the power of AI these days and whether we are all doomed. Connie reports that more than 1,100 notable signatories have just signed an open letter asking “all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months.” In the meantime, Amanda explores how everything is “Goncharov” as the meme makers go mainstream with a huge help of AI technology.

Christine And Hey

Contents

The gotechbusiness.com Top 3

  • The future of work is limitless: Payday, now flush with $3 million in new capital, plans to expand its Africa-based business to Canada and the United Kingdom, Tage writes. The company offers those who work remotely a way to receive payments in the currency of their choice.
  • “Alexa, call grandma”: A new Amazon capability brings nearby T-Mobile customers to make and receive calls through an Alexa device, Ivan reports.
  • Insure new funds: India-based insurtech firm Acko, already backed by Amazon, is in talks for $120 million in new funding. Manic has more.

Startups and VC

With a drier than usual investment scene, founders are looking for more effective ways to reach the right VCs. Thousands of founders have signed up for land capital through a common app, Natasha M reports. The platform they use is Seed Checks. Founders are invited to apply using a one-minute form asking for a deck, memo, and region. The app is then beamed to 16 investors.

Autio, a location-based audio entertainment app co-founded by actor Kevin Costner and formerly known as HearHere, has raised $5.9 million. The funding round was led by iHeartMedia, Aisha reports. Autio uses GPS to tell stories about nearby landmarks, towns and villages with the aim of fostering deep connections and understanding of the places users travel through.

And we have five more for you:

Ask Sophie: What to do if selected/not selected in the H-1B lottery?

lone figure at the entrance of a maze hedge with an American flag in the middle

Image Credits: Bryce Durbin/gotechbusiness.com

Dear Sophie,

After three attempts, I finally got selected in the H-1B lottery this year! What do we do next?

— Wonder Winner

Dear Sophie,

I’m on VOTE OPT. My employer placed me in the H-1B lottery for the third time this year, but I was not selected again! What shall I do?

— Lottery loser

Three more from the TC+ team:

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Big Tech Inc.

Lots of Google related news today, so let’s recap, shall we? The gotechbusiness.com audience in particular was charmed Aisha‘s story about a new feature on extreme heat warnings. Why? Maybe it’s because our weather isn’t cooperating with the current month. In the meantime, Frederick reports on the launch of AlloyDB Omni by Google Cloud; Ivan has your eye on Google’s new ad transparency center; Manic reports on an Android antitrust case in India; Aisha writes about new features of Google Search; And Lorenzo And Carly wrap it up with a story about hackers using spyware to attack users in the UAE.

And with that, we hope you’re having a Google day!

Here are five more for you: