With Russia and China both embracing the idea of sovereign cryptocurrencies, it’s time to ask a simple question: Why is a technology threatening to decentralize money so attractive to highly centralized, authoritarian regimes? Last weekend, Argumenti i Fakti, a pro-government newspaper, quoted Russian communication minister Nikolai Nikiforov as saying president Vladimir Putin had ordered the swift launching of a “crypto-ruble.” …

Bloomberg Foxconn Technology Group and venture firm IDG Capital are seeking to raise a 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) fund to seed startups in automotive technologies from self-driving AI to battery development, according to a presentation for investors. Foxconn and IDG initiated talks with government-backed funds, financial institutions and financiers several months back, according to a document presented to potential …

Bloomberg Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous vehicle technology will be a big part of its Toronto project to make urban life more Googley. Sidewalk Labs LLC, a unit of Google parent Alphabet, and Waterfront Toronto unveiled plans to build a digital district in Canada’s largest city. Sidewalk’s official plans filed with the city and released include visions of all sorts of robotic …