Who won first place at the startup pitching competition 'Disrupt NY 2017'?
TechCrunch reported that it held the startup pitching competition Disrupt NY 2017 over three days. The five finalists were Collider, a media company covering interviews and episodes for film and TV; Domuso, a fintech firm; Nucypher, a cloud computing and platform security company; Sunrise Health, which manages patient health through AI group chat; and RecordGram, a mobile recording studio that allows artists to find beats, create songs, and sign them for immediate social media transmission. RecordGram took first place. RecordGram is a company co-founded by Grammy Award-winning music producer Winston DJ Blackout Thomas.

Ah , Amazon announces 55,000-won budget tablet
Amazon has announced a low-cost tablet. Equipped with Amazon’s AI Alexa, it is priced at $49.99 (approximately 55,000 KRW). Scheduled for release on June 7, the tablet comes in four models: the Fire 7 ($49.99), Fire HD 8 ($79.99), Fire 7 for Kids ($99.99), and Fire HD for Kids ($129.99). Alexa is not supported on the Kids models. They feature a 7-inch display and storage options ranging from 8GB to a maximum of 256GB. Francisco Jeronimo, Head of Mobile Device Research for Europe at IDC, stated, "While price is key in the low-cost market, the sales power of Amazon’s brand will be a significant advantage over Chinese competitors." The Guardians reported that this series could be an entertainment option for adults alongside Alexa, and an impulse purchase for parents who found it burdensome to pay $400 for a children's tablet.

Drone avoiding collisions while filming autonomously
The use of drones to create vivid scenes during filming is on the rise. The Verge reported that the MIT Engineering Laboratory (CSAIL) has developed a drone capable of avoiding collisions during filming. First, control signals are generated for the drone. The drone recognizes the actor's face and entire body in a 180-degree view, and then avoids collisions while staying within the frame as the actor moves. The drone can also automatically focus on the actor's back. The CSAIL laboratory has previously developed autonomous filming technology using drones.

Bitcoin Surpasses $2,000 Per Coin
TechCrunch reported on the 21st (local time) that the value of Bitcoin has surpassed $2,000 per coin. The report stated that while a more than tenfold increase in value in a month could be a bubble, it is impossible to assess the value appropriately because no one knows how much Bitcoin should be valued as an electronic currency. On the other hand, some experts believe that if this scaling problem is solved, there is a possibility that Bitcoin could reach $10,000.

Microsoft Opens Africa Cloud Center in 2018
Microsoft announced that it will build data centers in Johannesburg and Cape Town starting in 2018. According to Computerweekly, Africa has emerged as the top investment region for cloud companies and partners over the past 18 months. This is due to increased demand for online services following changes in data protection laws within the continent. Microsoft stated, "Currently, more than 500,000 small and medium-sized enterprises in Africa are using cloud services," and announced plans to expand its operations within the continent. Microsoft plans to expand its cloud services in Africa by offering Azure and Office 365.