Bengaluru-based Juno, which works with US payroll services to offer checking accounts that give users their paychecks in digital tokens, raised an $18M Series A (Manish Singh/TechCrunch)

The Economic Times:
Large floods in Bengaluru have ignited a debate over the city’s future as India’s tech hub, amid a lack of infrastructure, poor urban planning, and traffic woes  —  Bengaluru’s residents have long complained about gridlocked traffic, water shortages, lack of infrastructure and poor urban planning …

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
New York- and Bengaluru-based Amagi, a streaming video and ads infrastructure startup, raised a $100M+ Series F led by General Atlantic at a $1.4B valuation  —  Amagi, which offers cloud broadcast and targeted advertising software to scores of media and entertainment giants …

Catherine Shu / TechCrunch:
Singapore-based Pillow, which helps users in emerging markets save, spend, and invest in cryptocurrency, raised an $18M Series A led by Accel and Quona Capital  —  Pillow aspires to be an all-in-one platform that helps even newbie users save, spend and invest in crypto currency.

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Amazon will shut down its food delivery business in India on December 29, after launching it in May 2020 in Bengaluru, as part of a broader restructuring  —  Amazon will shut down its food delivery business in India by the end of the year, the retailer said Friday, retreating from a vertical it entered less than three years ago.

Bloomberg:
Documents: Japan may let crypto exchanges list tokens without a lengthy screening process, unless the tokens are new; the rule could take effect by December  —  Japan plans to further loosen cryptocurrency rules by making it easier to list virtual coins, potentially burnishing the country’s allure …

Manish Singh / TechCrunch:
Google acquired Alter, an AI avatar startup that helps creators and brands express their virtual identity; source: the deal closed two months ago for ~$100M  —  Google has acquired Alter, an artificial intelligence (AI) avatar startup that helps creators and brands express their virtual identity …