TC Roundup: Jeff Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin to begin test flights this year

Jeff Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin to begin test flights this year: Jeff Bezos has Amazon, drones, the Washington Post – and now he says he has a liquid hydrogen-powered rocket engine suitable for starting businesses in space.

Blue Origin, the e-commerce billionaire's commercial spaceflight venture, announced on Tuesday it had achieved "acceptance testing" for BE-3, the company's New Shepherd suborbital system, and would be "modified for upper-stage applications" that will presumably push the rocket into orbit and beyond. (The Guardian)

Uber co-founder's startup 'operator' will get you what you want: Send an instant message asking for something, and they'll do the grunt work of placing your order and getting it delivered to you. That's the idea for Uber co-founder Garret Camp's new startup Operator that's still in stealth, according to sources with direct knowledge of the app.

You might have heard of a similar startup called Magic that recently blew up. But Magic was slapped together atop SMS over a weekend as a side project of Y Combinator company Bettir. In contrast, our sources say Operator is a highly polished native app that's been in testing for over a year with much bigger plans for changing commerce. (Tech Crunch)

Singtel buying U.S. cyber-security firm Trustwave for $810 million: Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia's largest telecommunications operator by revenue, is buying U.S.-based cyber-security firm Trustwave for $810 million, marking its biggest acquisition outside the main telecoms sector.

The deal comes as Singtel is moving away from being a pure-play telecoms company and pursues expansion in areas such as "digital life," which includes mobile video and digital advertising, and cyber security through partnerships with FireEye and Akamai, among others. (Recode)

Alibaba to help Bigcommerce clients tap China supplier network: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has forged a deal to allow online shopping startup Bigcommerce's 70,000-plus clients to more easily buy from top-ranked Chinese suppliers and manufacturers on Alibaba.com.

The tie-up helps round off Bigcommerce's services, a startup which helps clients from Gibson Guitars to Ubisoft Entertainment SA create and market e-commerce websites. (Reuters)