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Cryptocurrency mining has become the latest target for the Chinese government seeking to phase out industries considered a drag on the country’s economy.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planning agency in the world’s largest market for bitcoin mining, released on Monday a list of sectors it plans to promote, restrict or eliminate. Crypto mining, the process of creating Bitcoin and other digital currencies through the use of computing power, was namechecked alongside a swarm of other sectors the agency wanted to “eliminate” because they “lacked safe production conditions, seriously wasted resources, polluted the environment,” among other issues.

Bitcoin’s valuation famously slumped in 2018, falling from a record $20,000 in December 2017 to below $4,000, but this piece of news from China comes amid a period of renewed optimism. Last week, Bitcoin’s value rocketed above $5,000 for the first time since November 2018.

The official announcement, which comes in the form of a revised list awaiting public comment, does not exert regulatory power. The agency did not put a proposed deadline for when crypto mining should be banned. While such guidelines normally hint at Beijing’s attitude towards an industrial activity, some points out that the NDRC’s guiding list, which renews every few years, has had limited impact on industries it has wanted to cut.

“Items that should be eliminated by end of 2006 are still in the 2011 and 2019 versions,” noted Dovey Wan, founding partner at blockchain-focused Primitive Ventures, in a tweet.

The ban, if carried out, would deal a massive blow to a series of Chinese companies that rode the crypto wave by providing mining and production tools to the industry. In particular, Bitmain — which recently lets its application for a proposed Hong Kong IPO lapse — would be significantly impacted by a ban. Bitmain’s mining-optimized hardware is widely acknowledged as the top provider of mining hardware, and as much as 94 percent of the company’s revenues in the first half of 2018 came from “Antware”, its crypto mining device.

A spokesperson for Bitmain declined to comment on the news when contacted by TechCrunch.

The crypto sector has drawn close scrutiny from Beijing amid concerns over frauds and speculation, which led to a ban on initial coin offerings in 2017. Meanwhile, environmentalists have protested wasteful energy consumption that bitcoin mining incurs. China was reportedly planning to restrict power supply for some bitcoin miners early last year, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

This is not the first time China has mulled a clampdown on crypto mining. In January 2018, Beijing was said to ask local governments to discourage bitcoin mining enterprises, according to documents obtained by Chinese financial news publication Yicai. But local officials may be reluctant to embrace such guidance. Much of China’s crypto mining activities happen in its sparse, underdeveloped hinterlands where energy is in the surplus and the governments are eager to boost production. Whether the new order coming from the powerful NDRC will put further deterrent on the industry is up in the air.

Cryptocurrency mining has become the latest target for the Chinese government seeking to phase out industries considered a drag on the country’s economy.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the top economic planning agency in the world’s largest market for bitcoin mining, released on Monday a list of sectors it plans to promote, restrict or eliminate. Crypto mining, the process of creating Bitcoin and other digital currencies through the use of computing power, was namechecked alongside a swarm of other sectors the agency wanted to “eliminate” because they “lacked safe production conditions, seriously wasted resources, polluted the environment,” among other issues.

Bitcoin’s valuation famously slumped in 2018, falling from a record $20,000 in December 2017 to below $4,000, but this piece of news from China comes amid a period of renewed optimism. Last week, Bitcoin’s value rocketed above $5,000 for the first time since November 2018.

The official announcement, which comes in the form of a revised list awaiting public comment, does not exert regulatory power. The agency did not put a proposed deadline for when crypto mining should be banned. While such guidelines normally hint at Beijing’s attitude towards an industrial activity, some points out that the NDRC’s guiding list, which renews every few years, has had limited impact on industries it has wanted to cut.

“Items that should be eliminated by end of 2006 are still in the 2011 and 2019 versions,” noted Dovey Wan, founding partner at blockchain-focused Primitive Ventures, in a tweet.

The ban, if carried out, would deal a massive blow to a series of Chinese companies that rode the crypto wave by providing mining and production tools to the industry. In particular, Bitmain — which recently lets its application for a proposed Hong Kong IPO lapse — would be significantly impacted by a ban. Bitmain’s mining-optimized hardware is widely acknowledged as the top provider of mining hardware, and as much as 94 percent of the company’s revenues in the first half of 2018 came from “Antware”, its crypto mining device.

A spokesperson for Bitmain declined to comment on the news when contacted by TechCrunch.

The crypto sector has drawn close scrutiny from Beijing amid concerns over frauds and speculation, which led to a ban on initial coin offerings in 2017. Meanwhile, environmentalists have protested wasteful energy consumption that bitcoin mining incurs. China was reportedly planning to restrict power supply for some bitcoin miners early last year, according to sources cited by Bloomberg.

This is not the first time China has mulled a clampdown on crypto mining. In January 2018, Beijing was said to ask local governments to discourage bitcoin mining enterprises, according to documents obtained by Chinese financial news publication Yicai. But local officials may be reluctant to embrace such guidance. Much of China’s crypto mining activities happen in its sparse, underdeveloped hinterlands where energy is in the surplus and the governments are eager to boost production. Whether the new order coming from the powerful NDRC will put further deterrent on the industry is up in the air.

The European Parliament’s civil liberties committee (Libe) voted yesterday to back proposed legislation for a one-hour takedown rule for online terrorist content which critics argue will force websites to filter uploads.

MEPs on the committee also backed big penalties for service providers that systematically and persistently fail to abide by the law — agreeing they could be sanctioned with up to 4% of their global turnover, per the Commission’s original proposal.

However the committee rejected a push by the EU’s executive for the law to include a so-called ‘duty of care obligation’ under which Internet firms would have had to take proactive measures including using automated detection tools. Critics have suggested this would create a general obligation on platforms to monitor content and filter uploads.

The Libe voted against a general obligation on hosts to monitor the information they transmit or store, and against them having to actively seek facts indicating illegal activity.

“If a company has been subject to a substantial number of removal orders, the authorities may request that it implements additional specific measures (e.g. regularly reporting to the authorities, or increasing human resources). The Civil Liberties Committee voted to exclude from these measures the obligation to monitor uploaded content and the use of automated tools,” it noted in a press release following the vote — which was carried by 35 votes to 1 (with 8 abstentions).

“Moreover, any decision in this regard should take into account the size and economic capacity of the enterprise and “the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas in an open and democratic society”,” the committee added.

Nonetheless, critics argue that a one-hour rule for terrorist takedowns will bring in filters by the backdoor and/or result in smaller websites being forced to operate on larger platforms to avoid having to comply with a stringent, one-size-fits-all deadline.

The Commission set out its proposals for new rules on online terrorist content removals last fall. Though social media platforms have had an informal one-hour rule for taking down illegal content across the region for more than a year.

The draft law seeks to cast the earlier one-hour rule into formal legislation. But it would also apply to any Internet company hosting that receives a takedown notice about terrorist content from a competent national authority — regardless of size. Hence attracting criticism for the burden it could place on smaller website operators.

The Libe committee did make some changes to the proposals aimed at helping smaller websites.

Specifically it decided that the competent authority should contact companies that have never received a removal order to provide them with information on procedures and deadlines — and do so at least 12 hours before issuing the first order to remove content they are hosting.

Commenting in a statement, Daniel Dalton (ECR, UK), EP rapporteur for the proposal, said: “Any new legislation must be practical and proportionate if we are to safeguard free speech. Without a fair process we risk the over-removal of content as businesses would understandably take a safety first approach to defend themselves. It also absolutely cannot lead to a general monitoring of content by the back door.”

However tweeting after the Libe vote, one vocal critic of the draft legislation — Pirate Party member and MEP Julia Reda — argued the Libe’s 12-hour rule will do little to help website owners.

“That’s not even enough time to able to switch off your phone over the weekend,” she wrote, dubbing the proposal “a catastrophe for work-life balance of small business owners and hobbyist websites”.

There is also the question of how online terrorist content is defined.

The Commission proposal says it refers to material and information posted online that “incites, encourages or advocates terrorist offences, provides instructions on how to commit such crimes or promotes participation in activities of a terrorist group”.

“When assessing whether online content constitutes terrorist content, the authorities responsible as well as hosting service providers should take into account factors such as the nature and wording of the statements, the context in which the statements were made, including whether it is disseminated for educational, journalistic or research purposes, and the potential to lead to harmful consequences,” runs a Commission Q&A on the draft law from September.

The committee backed protections for terrorist content disseminated for educational, journalistic or research purposes, and agreed with the earlier Commission caveat that the expression of polemic or controversial views on sensitive political questions should not be considered terrorist content.

Though, again, critics aren’t convinced the legislation won’t result in chilled speech across the bloc as platforms and websites seek to shrink their compliance risk.

The European Parliament as a whole will vote on the draft law next week. After which a new parliament — determined via forthcoming elections next month — will be in charge of negotiating with Member State representatives in the Council of Ministers, a process that will determine the final form of the legislation.

The European Parliament’s civil liberties committee (Libe) voted yesterday to back proposed legislation for a one-hour takedown rule for online terrorist content which critics argue will force websites to filter uploads.

MEPs on the committee also backed big penalties for service providers that systematically and persistently fail to abide by the law — agreeing they could be sanctioned with up to 4% of their global turnover, per the Commission’s original proposal.

However the committee rejected a push by the EU’s executive for the law to include a so-called ‘duty of care obligation’ under which Internet firms would have had to take proactive measures including using automated detection tools. Critics have suggested this would create a general obligation on platforms to monitor content and filter uploads.

The Libe voted against a general obligation on hosts to monitor the information they transmit or store, and against them having to actively seek facts indicating illegal activity.

“If a company has been subject to a substantial number of removal orders, the authorities may request that it implements additional specific measures (e.g. regularly reporting to the authorities, or increasing human resources). The Civil Liberties Committee voted to exclude from these measures the obligation to monitor uploaded content and the use of automated tools,” it noted in a press release following the vote — which was carried by 35 votes to 1 (with 8 abstentions).

“Moreover, any decision in this regard should take into account the size and economic capacity of the enterprise and “the freedom to receive and impart information and ideas in an open and democratic society”,” the committee added.

Nonetheless, critics argue that a one-hour rule for terrorist takedowns will bring in filters by the backdoor and/or result in smaller websites being forced to operate on larger platforms to avoid having to comply with a stringent, one-size-fits-all deadline.

The Commission set out its proposals for new rules on online terrorist content removals last fall. Though social media platforms have had an informal one-hour rule for taking down illegal content across the region for more than a year.

The draft law seeks to cast the earlier one-hour rule into formal legislation. But it would also apply to any Internet company hosting that receives a takedown notice about terrorist content from a competent national authority — regardless of size. Hence attracting criticism for the burden it could place on smaller website operators.

The Libe committee did make some changes to the proposals aimed at helping smaller websites.

Specifically it decided that the competent authority should contact companies that have never received a removal order to provide them with information on procedures and deadlines — and do so at least 12 hours before issuing the first order to remove content they are hosting.

Commenting in a statement, Daniel Dalton (ECR, UK), EP rapporteur for the proposal, said: “Any new legislation must be practical and proportionate if we are to safeguard free speech. Without a fair process we risk the over-removal of content as businesses would understandably take a safety first approach to defend themselves. It also absolutely cannot lead to a general monitoring of content by the back door.”

However tweeting after the Libe vote, one vocal critic of the draft legislation — Pirate Party member and MEP Julia Reda — argued the Libe’s 12-hour rule will do little to help website owners.

“That’s not even enough time to able to switch off your phone over the weekend,” she wrote, dubbing the proposal “a catastrophe for work-life balance of small business owners and hobbyist websites”.

There is also the question of how online terrorist content is defined.

The Commission proposal says it refers to material and information posted online that “incites, encourages or advocates terrorist offences, provides instructions on how to commit such crimes or promotes participation in activities of a terrorist group”.

“When assessing whether online content constitutes terrorist content, the authorities responsible as well as hosting service providers should take into account factors such as the nature and wording of the statements, the context in which the statements were made, including whether it is disseminated for educational, journalistic or research purposes, and the potential to lead to harmful consequences,” runs a Commission Q&A on the draft law from September.

The committee backed protections for terrorist content disseminated for educational, journalistic or research purposes, and agreed with the earlier Commission caveat that the expression of polemic or controversial views on sensitive political questions should not be considered terrorist content.

Though, again, critics aren’t convinced the legislation won’t result in chilled speech across the bloc as platforms and websites seek to shrink their compliance risk.

The European Parliament as a whole will vote on the draft law next week. After which a new parliament — determined via forthcoming elections next month — will be in charge of negotiating with Member State representatives in the Council of Ministers, a process that will determine the final form of the legislation.

India has a new unicorn after Dream11, an online fantasy sports service, claimed its valuation has surpassed $1 billion following a new investment.

This isn’t your regular unicorn valuation deal. Instead, the company — which hosts cricket, NBA, soccer and other sports contests — crossed the milestone through a secondary sale that reportedly involves the transfer of a small amount of stock.

Dream11 said today that Steadview Capital purchased an undisclosed amount of shares from existing investors Kalaari Capital, Think Investments and Multiples Equity. India’s Economic Times reported that the deal is worth around $60 million and that it values Dream11 at $1 billion-$1.5 billion. If correct, that would represent a big jump on the $500 million valuation that the company reportedly landed last September when Chinese internet giant Tencent was said to have led a $100 million Series D.

Dream11 is somewhat secretive, having never publicly confirmed the size of its past investments. Steadview, meanwhile, is well-known as an early backer of Indian Uber rival Ola. The firm recently doubled down and invested a fresh $75 million into Ola’s new round, a deal that gave the company a valuation of $6 billion.

Founded in 2007, Dream11 taps the demand for fantasy sports in India, the world’s largest market for cricket which also has a strong soccer fanbase. Dream11 gamers pick their choice of the best players in an upcoming match. They can win cash prizes depending on how their selected team performs.

Dream11 said in a statement that it is targeting 100 million registered users by the end of the year. Right now, it claims to have “over 50 million.”

“We at Steadview believe that Dream11 is poised to become the leading sports company in India catering to everything a sports fan needs. We think very highly of the visionary founders and are excited to partner with the team in this journey. The company’s phenomenal growth track-record, dominant leadership in daily fantasy gaming and strong engagement metrics is a testament to the consumer love for the platform,” said Ravi Mehta, Steadview Capital managing director in a statement.

India has a new unicorn after Dream11, an online fantasy sports service, claimed its valuation has surpassed $1 billion following a new investment.

This isn’t your regular unicorn valuation deal. Instead, the company — which hosts cricket, NBA, soccer and other sports contests — crossed the milestone through a secondary sale that reportedly involves the transfer of a small amount of stock.

Dream11 said today that Steadview Capital purchased an undisclosed amount of shares from existing investors Kalaari Capital, Think Investments and Multiples Equity. India’s Economic Times reported that the deal is worth around $60 million and that it values Dream11 at $1 billion-$1.5 billion. If correct, that would represent a big jump on the $500 million valuation that the company reportedly landed last September when Chinese internet giant Tencent was said to have led a $100 million Series D.

Dream11 is somewhat secretive, having never publicly confirmed the size of its past investments. Steadview, meanwhile, is well-known as an early backer of Indian Uber rival Ola. The firm recently doubled down and invested a fresh $75 million into Ola’s new round, a deal that gave the company a valuation of $6 billion.

Founded in 2007, Dream11 taps the demand for fantasy sports in India, the world’s largest market for cricket which also has a strong soccer fanbase. Dream11 gamers pick their choice of the best players in an upcoming match. They can win cash prizes depending on how their selected team performs.

Dream11 said in a statement that it is targeting 100 million registered users by the end of the year. Right now, it claims to have “over 50 million.”

“We at Steadview believe that Dream11 is poised to become the leading sports company in India catering to everything a sports fan needs. We think very highly of the visionary founders and are excited to partner with the team in this journey. The company’s phenomenal growth track-record, dominant leadership in daily fantasy gaming and strong engagement metrics is a testament to the consumer love for the platform,” said Ravi Mehta, Steadview Capital managing director in a statement.

Leadfeeder, a Helsinki-based startup that helps B2B companies generate new leads from website analytics, has closed a €3.1 million in series A funding. Leading the round is Dutch growth capital firm Endeit Capital, with Finland’s Superhero Capital and Vendep Capital participating.

The Finnish company says the new capital will be used to further develop its “AI-powered” lead automation tool, and to grow the Leadfeeder team with an eye on international expansion. I’m also told the Series A investment comes after a 12 month period that has seen the startup cross the €4M ARR mark and garner around 3,000 paying customers.

“B2B companies try to generate sales leads through their website, but 98 percent of visitors never leave their contact information,” says Leadfeeder co-founder and CEO Pekka Koskinen, describing the problem the company has set out to solve.

To remedy this, Leadfeeder uses Google Analytics data to reveal the names and behaviour of companies visiting a website. That data is then fed into a company’s existing CRM and email marketing tools, pointing the sales department in the direction of potential B2N customers that have already showed an interest in its services.

Leadfeeder says it is fully GDPR compliant and does not capture any personally identifiable information.

“Leadfeeder scores the leads based on their behaviour and combines the data with insights from their CRM and email marketing tool,” explains Koskinen.

“The leads are enriched with company background and decision maker data and sent directly to the customer’s CRM. By receiving this kind of intent data into the CRM, salespeople are more informed about what’s happening on their website and can focus their sales efforts on most potential opportunities”.

Koskinen tells me Leadfeeder’s typical customers are marketing and sales departments at small and mid-sized B2B companies, both in Europe and in the U.S.

“Many customers are from [the] software or professional services industry,” he says. “In those industries the value of a sales lead is high and they are doing active outbound sales”.

To that end, the startup generates revenue by charging customers a monthly subscription fee based on their website traffic. I’m told that pricing starts from $59 per month and customers typically pay around $110 per month.

Leadfeeder, a Helsinki-based startup that helps B2B companies generate new leads from website analytics, has closed a €3.1 million in series A funding. Leading the round is Dutch growth capital firm Endeit Capital, with Finland’s Superhero Capital and Vendep Capital participating.

The Finnish company says the new capital will be used to further develop its “AI-powered” lead automation tool, and to grow the Leadfeeder team with an eye on international expansion. I’m also told the Series A investment comes after a 12 month period that has seen the startup cross the €4M ARR mark and garner around 3,000 paying customers.

“B2B companies try to generate sales leads through their website, but 98 percent of visitors never leave their contact information,” says Leadfeeder co-founder and CEO Pekka Koskinen, describing the problem the company has set out to solve.

To remedy this, Leadfeeder uses Google Analytics data to reveal the names and behaviour of companies visiting a website. That data is then fed into a company’s existing CRM and email marketing tools, pointing the sales department in the direction of potential B2N customers that have already showed an interest in its services.

Leadfeeder says it is fully GDPR compliant and does not capture any personally identifiable information.

“Leadfeeder scores the leads based on their behaviour and combines the data with insights from their CRM and email marketing tool,” explains Koskinen.

“The leads are enriched with company background and decision maker data and sent directly to the customer’s CRM. By receiving this kind of intent data into the CRM, salespeople are more informed about what’s happening on their website and can focus their sales efforts on most potential opportunities”.

Koskinen tells me Leadfeeder’s typical customers are marketing and sales departments at small and mid-sized B2B companies, both in Europe and in the U.S.

“Many customers are from [the] software or professional services industry,” he says. “In those industries the value of a sales lead is high and they are doing active outbound sales”.

To that end, the startup generates revenue by charging customers a monthly subscription fee based on their website traffic. I’m told that pricing starts from $59 per month and customers typically pay around $110 per month.

Target Global, the Berlin-headquartered VC that has backed the likes of Auto1, Delivery Hero, Omio (formerly GoEuro) and Wefox, is opening up its first U.K. office — undeterred by Brexit uncertainty.

The U.K. expansion, which adds to Target’s Berlin, Tel Aviv and Moscow offices, was overseen by General Partner Yaron Valler. Two of the firm’s partners will be based in London. They are Malin Holmberg and Gilad Engel who will be supported by Venture Partner Rytis Vitkauskas along with back office and finance staff.

By expanding its reach to London, Target Global says it will continue to back “European innovations with solutions to global problems,” with the broader aim of connecting the various and often disparate hubs within the European ecosystem. With regards to the U.K. specifically, Target Global Partner General Partner Alex Frolov cites “engineering, deep tech and fintech” as particular strengths and areas the VC plans to invest.

To that end, Target Global currently has €700 million under management across Europe, investing primarily in SaaS, marketplaces, fintech, insurtech and mobility. The firm says it takes a “multi-stage approach” to the businesses it backs, following three active investment strategies: early-stage, growth and a dedicated mobility fund — which recently backed Delivery Hero and Team Europe founder Lukasz Gadowski’s scooter startup Flash.

Below follows an email Q&A with Yaron Valler, General Partner at Target Global, where we discuss the move to the U.K., the firm’s investment thesis, other European hubs, and — of course — Brexit.

TC: What is the significance of Target Global opening a London office and why now?

YV: London and the broader U.K. is home to some of the world’s most innovative, fastest growing businesses. The country has an excellent web of innovation, particularly in engineering, AI, deep tech and FinTech, all of which are key industries for us. We already have successful ventures in the country, and we are looking to grow our presence here – there is no better time than now for this. We see a huge opportunity for us to step forward into a market that continues to consistently produce global success stories.

Our U.K. expansion is a natural step for us, in our pan-European approach. We truly believe in a pan-European ecosystem, as we are convinced that there should be no borders for innovation and growth. Target Global has identified the core strengths of each tech hub across Europe and we’re working to connect entrepreneurs with capital across those regions and beyond. Europe should build on its core asset, one of them being its diversity and the different assets of different hubs. A European ecosystem is, after all, only as good as the connections it fosters.

TC: How does Target Global view Brexit and was it a factor in your decision?

YV: Our dedication to connecting the key hubs in the European startup ecosystem means that the U.K. has always been set in our sights. Brexit or no Brexit, London will always be one of the world’s most innovative high-growth tech hubs. Of course it might have an impact on the economy over the next few years, but that does not mean opportunities will vanish. The U.K. is still producing entrepreneurs and startups that can serve the EU-wide market and they are needed now more than ever before, regardless of whether the U.K. is in the European Union.

TC: Which U.K. startups have you previously backed?

YV: We already have successful ventures in the country, e.g. our portfolio companies Sharegain (FinTech) and Parkjockey (PropTech).

TC: What should U.K. startups expect from Target Global and what stage and sectors will you be targeting in the U.K.?

YV: In the U.K. we are following our approach of investing in startups that are disrupting quintessentially European industries – retail, financial services, food, mobility, healthcare, manufacturing – by bringing technology such as SaaS, marketplace and AI to these trillion Euro industries.
We will invest out of all our existing Funds, our Early Stage Fund as well as our Growth Funds, as well as our Mobility 2.0 Fund. With our multi-fund approach, we offer the potential to move between our different funds as the company grows.

Our strong presence within Europe’s key startup hubs has proved invaluable to our entrepreneurs, providing them with access to talent, insights and exit opportunities across multiple markets. No doubt, these links to the broader European ecosystem will be beneficial to British founders, too. We are extremely committed to the success of our entrepreneurs. We can make decisions quickly and can be nimble and flexible. That’s because we understand growth metrics vs. being solely focused on financial KPIs. We also understand technology and the market drivers in the markets in which startups operate.

Our LPs and our industry-specific advisors are a tremendous force multiplier for our companies. They provide an invaluable combination of ‘insider’ industry expertise on the old/real industries being disrupted, as well as pilot, BD, and sales opportunities.

TC: Lastly, you talk about “connecting the key European ecosystems,” while playing to each of their respective strengths. Which are the key hubs from Target Global’s point of view and what are each of their strengths?

YV: With Berlin, London and Tel Aviv we have offices in the key European hubs, Berlin was an investment destination for us long before it was added to this list, and we have been backing some of the iconic companies in the ecosystem. Of course, Paris, Stockholm and the Nordics in general are also a highly relevant European hubs.

In addition to the existing key hubs we see interesting ecosystems emerging, e.g. Spain and CEE. We have made a number of investments in Spain already and we are excited by the opportunities the ecosystem has to offer. We see that Spain is on the cusp of becoming a big ecosystem, with Madrid and Barcelona as two big hubs in one country, and some smaller ones emerging. The Spanish ecosystem has seen some companies emerging as category leaders e.g. our portfolio company Travelperk, and an ecosystem is developing in context of these leading companies.

We are also very happy with our investments in CEE, e.g. in the Polish SaaS companies docplanner and Shedul, two portfolio companies in Austria. In CEE we see strong tech talent, very driven entrepreneurs, an infrastructure that is beneficial for startups and a general openness to innovation – and we see a strong pipeline from that region.

If you can’t stop dreaming about NoSQL databases, Google’s Cloud Next conference is the closest thing to heaven that you’ll find today. At 9 AM PT, 12 PM ET, 5 PM GMT, some of the brightest minds in cloud computing are going to introduce the upcoming features of Google Cloud.

Along with Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, Google is building the infrastructure of the web. Countless startups use Google Cloud as their only hosting provider. And there are now launching more and more specialized and niche services. So it’s going to be interesting to see what Google has in store to beat their competitors on the cloud front.

We’ll have a team on the ground covering all the announcements and explaining what it means.