Twitter chair and ex-Google CFO Patrick Pichette just backed deep tech startup Apheris in a $3 million seed round

* Twitter chair Patrick Pichette just backed Berlin-based deep tech startup Apheris in a $3 million seed fundraising round. * Apheris helps private companies navigate the complexities of local data privacy laws, allowing them to extract insights from datasets through the use of AI technology. * A growing industry, the application of deep tech in privacy is predicted to be worth $50 billion globally by 2027, according to analysts at Meticulous Research. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Patrick Pichette, the chair of Twitter's board of directors and Google's ex-CFO, has backed deep tech startup Apheris in a $3 million seed funding round. Founded in 2019, Apheris helps clients analyse data without risking privacy infractions. The free flow of internal data can be a minefield for private businesses, with large bulks of valuable information remaining unusable or unshareable due to privacy, compliance, legal or security concerns. Apheris is part of Europe's burgeoning enterprise software market, which has produced high-flying startups such as Darktrace and UiPath. Seed investor LocalGlobe led the round alongside Dig Ventures and Pichette. Additional investors include Another.vc, System.One, and angel investors Charles Songhurst, NaturalMotion founder Torsten Reil, and Songkick founder Ian Hogarth. "What this year has crystallized is that the world's largest problems — from fighting pandemics and disease spread to developing life-saving drugs and reducing climate change — require collaborative efforts to solve," said CEO and cofounder Robin Röhm. "Apheris is the solution to enabling new ways to solve the complex problems of our time without sacrificing privacy or security." Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: What it's like inside North Korea's controversial restaurant chain
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Apple has backed down in its latest developer fight, apologizing to WordPress after it pressured the website-builder to add in-app payments

* Apple has apologized after it tried to force WordPress to add in-app payment options to a free app. * WordPress' founder said on Friday that Apple was refusing to allow any updates to the WordPress iOS app until the website builder added in-app purchases, from which Apple takes a 15-30% commission. * Apple is in a fierce fight with developers including "Fortnite" maker Epic Games and Spotify over its rules on in-app purchases. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Apple has backed down in its latest skirmish with a developer over its App Store rules. The tech giant on Sunday issued a rare apology to WordPress after it pressured the website builder to add payment options to its free iOS app, or else be blocked from updating. "We believe the issue with the WordPress app has been resolved," an Apple spokesman told The Verge. "Since the developer removed the display of their service payment options from the app, it is now a free st...

SpaceX has a 'go' from NASA to return 2 astronauts to Earth on Sunday as Hurricane Isaias threatens several Florida splashdown locations

* NASA on Saturday gave SpaceX a "go" to undock the company's first crewed space mission, called Demo-2, and land it on Sunday evening. * Hurricane Isaias complicated original plans to return two astronauts to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship in the Atlantic Ocean. * Elon Musk's aerospace company may now try to splash down NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in the Gulf of Mexico. * Two out of seven total landing sites near Florida must have good weather conditions, and NASA has until about 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to call off the undocking. * Should the weather worsen, NASA and SpaceX can try again a day later or some other date over the next two months. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have a "go" to return to Earth this weekend and wrap up an historic space mission for both NASA and SpaceX. Behnken and Hurley launched to orbit aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehic...

What an independent contractor actually is and how it's classified under California's Assembly Bill 5, the gig worker law Uber, Lyft, and others are fighting with a November ballot measure

* California's Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) went into effect in January, adopting a narrow definition of independent contractor that forces Uber and other gig economy businesses to choose between reclassifying workers as employees or risking significant liability for misclassification. * The law serves as a reminder to California businesses to be careful when classifying workers as contractors. * Classifying independent contractors falls into two main categories: the "right to control" test (often called the "IRS test") and the tougher "ABC test" recently adopted in AB5. * Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have recently poured $30 million into Proposition 22 — a ballot measure intended to exempt major ridesharing and food delivery companies from AB5. If California residents vote the measure into effect in November, Uber and Lyft can continue classifying drivers as contractors. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In September 2019, Californ...

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