In Brief: Booking.com creates fund for sustainable travel; Google leaks user photos

Booking.com launches accelerator programme for sustainable travel startups

Amsterdam based e-travel platform Booking.com has launched a startup accelerator programme called 2020 Booking Booster with a $3.4 million fund. It will invest in companies across the globe that offer solutions in sustainable travel, it announced late last month.

Zomato’s cloud kitchen partners not exclusive anymore

Online restaurant aggregator Zomato has withdrawn exclusivity rights for restaurants operating out of its cloud kitchen facility, as per an Economic Times report on Wednesday citing communication with six brands using the facility. The decision comes at a time when delivery volumes from Zomato’s infrastructure business have been hit after it reduced discounts, hurting its real estate utilisation and unit economics, the brands told the newspaper.

Google leaked user photos to strangers in November

Google said it sent some private videos of users stored on Google Photos to strangers in November, and blamed a technical glitch for the incident, according to multiple media reports. The news was first reported by 9to5Google. The search engine giant alerted affected users via an email but did not disclose the amount of individual videos that were distributed incorrectly per account.

Datacultr selected for second cohort of Startupbootcamp Fintech

Gurugram-based Datacultr, a machine learning-powered platform that helps financial institutions with collection effectiveness, has been selected for the second cohort of Startupbootcamp Fintech in Dubai. The programme, backed by the UAE’s fintech participants such as Dubai International Financial Centre, HSBC, Visa and Mashreq Bank, features startups from UAE, Singapore, USA, India, Finland, Egypt, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Kazakhstan and Lebanon. 

Quikr opens brick-and-mortar display store in Mumbai

Online classifieds Quikr has launched a ‘QuikrBazaar Experience Zone’ in Mumbai, which houses ‘Quikr Assured’ products such as furniture, electronics and appliances to offer a touch-and-feel experience to its offline consumers. The first few stores are already operational in in Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. QuikrBazaar plans to have over 100 stores across the country by 2020.

Fleet management SaaS MoveInSync launches ride-hailing service

Employee transportation management solution and an integrated fleet operations SaaS (software as a service) company MoveInSync has announced the operational launch of its new ride-hailing service called GetToWork in some parts of Bengaluru. It aims to transform daily office commute into a simple, reliable and hassle-free affair by removing the daily anxieties of ride scheduling, surge-pricing and cancellations, the company said.