THE NEWS WRAP: Uber offers its data to help build better cities

Ride-sharing service Uber today announced it will share its data with the City of Boston in order to help improve traffic ingestion.

 

“The data will provide new insights to help manage urban growth, relieve traffic congestion, expand public transportation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the company’s statement reads.

 

Uber says it will anonymise the data it gives policymakers and city planners. This is the first time the company opened up its transportation database to government officials.

 

Uber is in talks with New York City and is open to sharing its data with other cities across the US, according to The Wall Street Journal.

 

The announcement follows a string of bad PR for the company, including a number of incidents where drivers have allegedly assaulted their passengers as well as politicians calling the service illegal.

 

Cricket Australia catches deal with Apple TV

 

Cricket Australia has become the first content provider in Australia to strike a deal with Apple’s fast-growing TV platform.

 

The Australian Financial Review reports the deal, to be formally announced today, will see a dedicated cricket channel on the Apple TV network.

 

The channel will feature match highlights, news stories, player interviews and historic matches. Its content will be produced by both Cricket Australia as well as Nine Entertainment.

 

Nearly one million Australians are estimated to own an Apple TV digital media player, allowing them to stream movies, video and music to their home televisions.

 

App Annie raises $55 million in Series D funding

 

App Annie, a platform that measures app downloads, revenue and rankings, has raised $55 million in Series D funding.

 

TechCrunch reports the latest funding round was led by Institutional Venture Partners as well as existing investors Sequoia Capital, Greycroft Partners and IDG Capital Partners.

 

App Annie has also announced a new product called Usage Intelligence, which aims to give app publishers, markers and investors to gain deeper insights into user retention.

 

Overnight

 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 36.47 points, falling 0.21% to 17,604.37. The Australian dollar is currently trading at US82 cents.

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