Building on Amazon’s Peritor purchase last year, the company is to hire more than 70 engineers in Berlin and Dresden to work on various cloud management and machine learning technologies. Read more »
The country’s economics and technology minister has reportedly urged Telekom to watch its step, after the telco announced caps for fixed-line users. Thing is, usage of Telekom’s own entertainment services won’t count towards those caps. Read more »
Google is trying to paint a new German law regulating news excerpts as a victory, just as it did with the deals it cut with France and Belgium . But it feels like Google is losing more than it is winning. Read more at paidContent »
The controversial ancillary copyright law has now made its way through the Bundestag, although the opposition SPD party will try to defeat it in the country’s second legislative chamber. Read more »
Amazon forbids third-party merchants that use its marketplace from offering the same goods cheaper elsewhere, and the German Federal Cartel Office is gearing up to do something about it. Read more »
Days after a documentary alleged the harassment and intimidation of foreign temporary workers at Amazon’s German distribution centers, the U.S. firm has cut ties with security company HESS. Read more »
While Google may see its payments to French publishers as a smart move for its own short-term purposes, the deal is still being seen by many as a payment for links, and that could set a dangerous precedent. Read more »
The tool, which synchronizes contacts, calendar entries and tasks across most platforms, is now explicitly targeting business users with the new Fruux Team version. Read more »
Germany’s music rights group GEMA asked YouTube to block videos containing some of its music – and is now upset about the way YouTube is handling those restrictions. Read more at paidContent »
Germany’s top court has decided that internet access is so essential to modern day life that when someone gets cut off they deserve additional compensation. What happens if U.S. courts make such a decree? Read more »
The crowdsourced mapping project has now chalked up more than a million contributors, although fewer than 20,000 are active on a monthly basis. Read more »
SAP’s customers, used to running its enterprise software on the likes of Oracle, now have an in-house in-memory alternative. It’s a bid for relevance on SAP’s part and, according to chairman Hasso Plattner, mobile is the big driver. Read more »
A string of offensive hashtag memes in France has spurred the government to announce a consultation on hate speech with Twitter. It could mark a watershed for the country’s approach to social media — but it’s not just Paris that has a problem. We all do. Read more »
Given his recent remarks suggesting frustration at the strictures of working in a large telco, it is not surprising to see Obermann go. His successor has wide knowledge of the German giant, though, and is apparently keen to emulate Obermann’s entrepreneurial streak. Read more »
NSN is selling its business support systems (BSS) unit to Redknee for $52 million. NSN has coughed up its wireline, software and support equipment businesses over the last year in its effort to reshape itself as an LTE infrastructure specialist. Read more »
Google exists because, by and large, it is allowed to excerpt web pages without being held liable as a publisher. Now moves in Germany and Australia threaten both of those core facts. Read more at paidContent »
Not even going online-only is enough. Reporting at the heart of Europe’s economic strife, FT Deutschland says its losses are now so big, it must shut down, leaving WSJ Deutschland to benefit. Read more at paidContent »
Details of the transaction are unclear for now, but the academic social network ResearchGate has just announced the acquisition of a fellow German operation. It remains to be seen how this will firm up its offering against key rival Mendeley. Read more »
The two thermostat systems won’t be clashing head-on anytime soon, as Nest only works in North America and Tado in Europe. But the newer system, from Germany, also offers an interestingly different approach to smart energy control. Read more »
The new Android flagship took minutes to sell out in the UK and Germany, but the Google Play Store makes it look as though it never even went on sale. The company needs to work on its retail mechanisms. Read more »
The explosive growth of crowdfunding projects is turning lots of assumptions about business and creativity upside down. But nowhere is that change more apparent than in Germany, where Indiegogo founder Danae Ringelmann says the huge popularity of crowdfunding is even challenging the country’s conception of itself. Read more »
German publisher Axel Springer is buying heavily in to European classified sites to court digital and international growth. Snapping up Belgian property service Immoweb, it says the move will make up for a weakening print ad sector. Read more at paidContent »
What happens in Belgium doesn’t necessarily stay in Belgium. Now Google News is facing a Brazilian boycott and France is threatening to copy a German-style tax on excerpting its newspapers. What’s an aggregator to do? Read more at paidContent »
Magazine publisher Burda wants to take complete ownership of LinkedIn rival Xing, while rival Axel Springer is selling a games site to focus on its growing online content and classifieds business. Read more at paidContent »
Most mobile wallets are about replacing bank cards, or tickets and coupons. A new mobile wallet from Giesecke & Devrient aims to replace not only these, but also ID cards, building and vehicle keys, and public transport tickets. Read more »
In the online local listings and reviews segment, US big boy Yelp is giving a five-star review to Hamburg-based peer Qype – and buying it to expand the breadth of its business overseas. Read more at paidContent »
One of the many digital content services going global is music video outfit Vevo. Certain new countries mean a mobile-first approach – but that puts services at the mercy of a mobile ad ecosystem they say is still playing catch-up to desktop. Read more at paidContent »
It can finally be confirmed that Levin is in charge of Poolworks, formerly VZ Networks, the company behind German Facebook clone StudiVZ. But why was the new owner’s identity such a secret? Read more »
Taxi-hailing apps are already starting to crowd the U.S. market, but the German myTaxi may just have an edge. It already has 2.3 million users, for one thing, but it also has a clever plan in mind. Read more »
Looking to broaden itself from skateboarding dogs by increasing its volume of original professional video, YouTube is extending its original-channel deal with established producers, with 60 new channels in Europe and the States. Read more at paidContent »
Germany’s state-owned rail company has threatened a developer with legal action for publishing its timetables and station coordinates – data it’s handed over to Google in an exclusive deal. The developer says he’s just trying to keep the public informed. Read more »
The industry is still figuring out how to exploit the fact that many TV viewers use mobile devices whilst watching. Even two pay-TV services part of the same mothership don’t fully agree on the opportunity. Read more at paidContent »
Publishers increasingly want to know exactly what readers are looking for. Now investment is being given to a start-up that purports not just to tell them – but also to write the content for them. Read more at paidContent »
Bosses of fast-growing online sports broadcaster Perform Group earned millions last week when they cashed out some shares. But their company remains focused on building up by bolting on global sports sites. Read more at paidContent »
DT is to allow its venture arm to purchase majority stakes for the first time, and Telefonica is setting up an international VC network. Meanwhile software giant SAP is also showing a vote of confidence in the startup scene. Read more »
Carrier bundling will help grow music subscription income by 46 percent a year, one analyst forecasts. Spotify continues on that road by allying with Deutsche Telekom in Germany. Read more at paidContent »
Berlin is making great strides towards becoming a serious home for startups and entrepreneurs in Europe. But while it’s getting support from businesses and even government, the biggest fly in the ointment could be the delayed, embarrassing shambles that is Brandenburg airport. Read more »
Despite the threat of new copyright laws targeting headlines and story snippets, LinkedIn rival Xing is reportedly testing out a news aggregation email service. If done right, that could help with user retention and growth. Read more »
Sony is bringing its new Google TV set-top box to Germany, where it could soon compete with the Roku box. The question is: With Netflix and Hulu both absent from the German online video market, which services are Germans going to watch with these devices? Read more »
After longstanding grumbling from the German capital’s tech community over its lack of recognition, the Berlin senate has launched a campaign to push the city as a startup center of note. Read more »
