Verizon’s latest push in connected cars will include more than just Wifi.
“The connected vehicle ecosystem is so much more than that,” Andrés Irlando, CEO of Verizon Connect, told Cheddar. “What we do is essentially help customers to optimize their connection to their vehicles and their mobile resources more generally.”
The telecom giant invested $5 billion to launch “Verizon Connect” for consumers and companies on Tuesday. It’s a merger of three fleet management and mobile software brands, Telematics, Fleetmatics, and Telogis, which together will provide logistics and data analytics.
Irlando said the technology has already helped clients boost safety and productivity. He pointed to one customer in particular, online grocer FreshDirect.
“To improve driver behavior, they’re able to track speeding, harsh braking, harsh turns, seatbelt usage,” he said. “We provide solutions that are focused on safety and security, so think about solutions like automatic crash notifications.”
The state of Arkansas sued TikTok and Facebook parent Meta on Tuesday, claiming the social media companies were misleading consumers about the safety of children on their platforms and protections of users' private data.
Stocks are rising again as a bit more fear evaporates from Wall Street. The S&P 500 was up 0.7% early Thursday. The benchmark index is on pace for its fifth gain in the last six days.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is set to pay almost $23 billion to stabilize the banking sector. That money comes from an insurance fund that is refilled through fees paid by banks. Now the agency is considering a special assessment on the entire industry to help make up the costs, according to a Bloomberg report.
About 61% of Americans say the economy is impacting their mental health, according to a PayPal survey. Shanthi Sarkar, vice president of financial services at PayPal, joined Cheddar News to break down some key takeaways from the survey and offer tips on saving and managing money.
Monthly VC funding fell below $20 billion in February, marking a two-year low. Jager McConnell, CEO of Crunchbase, joined Cheddar News to discuss the current funding climate and what lies ahead.
