Uncover Tech Insights - September 11-15
Uncover Tech Insights - September 11-15
Weekly market stock moves
Most impactful news of the week
Largest IPO of 2023: Arm’s IPO Lures Retail Traders Seeking Exposure to AI
The much-anticipated trading debut of Arm Holdings Plc attracted significant interest from retail traders. This chip designer received the highest number of buy orders on Fidelity's trading platform on Thursday, with over 20,000 purchase orders, as reported on the brokerage's website. This level of demand easily surpassed that of popular retail favorites like Tesla Inc. and Nvidia Corp. Arm priced its IPO at $51 a share before opening at $56.10 just after noon in New York. The stock saw a remarkable surge throughout the day, ultimately closing the session with a 25% increase from its IPO price.
Databricks Clinches $43 Billion Valuation, Plans More AI Tools
Databricks Inc. has successfully secured $500 million in fresh funding, marking a significant deal that elevates the software company's valuation to $43 billion. This development highlights the company's strong emphasis on artificial intelligence tools. The funding round was concluded following discussions that took place last month, as initially reported by Bloomberg. T. Rowe Price played a leading role in the financing, and strategic investors such as Nvidia Corp. and Capital One Financial Corp. also participated in the round.
Apple iPhone 15 event: the seven biggest announcements
The Apple iPhone 15 event has concluded, and as anticipated, the unveiling of the iPhone 15 was not the sole major announcement. Apple showcased a range of significant updates and innovations, including an upgraded smartwatch lineup and a transition toward USB-C charging. Here's a summary of all the noteworthy announcements made at the Wonderlust event. The iPhone 15 lineup adds USB-C, Dynamic Island. iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max replace the mute switch with an Action Button. Apple Watch Series 9 gets a performance boost. Apple Watch Ultra 2 comes with a small spec bump. Apple is adding USB-C to the AirPods Pro, too. Release dates for iOS 17, watchOS 10, macOS Sonoma, and more. A new Roadside Assistance feature via satellite.
U.S. v. Google: What to Know About the Biggest Antitrust Trial in 20 Years
Google, the leading search engine in the country, is encountering its most significant legal challenge to date as it heads to a civil trial in Washington. The trial centers on allegations of Google violating U.S. antitrust laws. The Justice Department’s case is aimed at Google search, and whether the company has used illegal agreements to sideline its rivals and harmed consumers and advertisers in the process. Google pays billions of dollars to Apple, for example, to be the default search engine on the Safari browser.
Supply Chain by Amazon sounds like Amazon Prime for manufacturers
Amazon is extending its advanced logistics capabilities beyond its own marketplace sellers. The e-commerce giant has introduced a new service called "Supply Chain by Amazon," which enables businesses to ship products directly from factories, regardless of whether they are destined for Amazon's platform.As part of the program, Amazon will pick up, ship, and deliver products to customers from manufacturing facilities across the globe. It will also manage customs clearance, ground transportation, bulk storage, and inventory replenishment. This offering aims to relieve sellers of the supply chain complexities, allowing them to concentrate solely on marketing their products and managing sales.
Meta Is Developing a New, More Powerful AI System as Technology Race Escalates
Meta is actively developing a new artificial intelligence system with the goal of matching the capabilities of the most advanced model developed by OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed startup responsible for creating ChatGPT. According to individuals familiar with the matter, Meta is aiming to launch this new AI model next year, and it intends for it to be several times more potent than its recent release, known as Llama 2, which was introduced just two months ago.
Microsoft, Oracle Deepen Cloud Integration
Rival technology giants Microsoft and Oracle have revealed an expansion of their cloud partnership, which has been ongoing for four years. This development reflects the evolving landscape of technology and customer demands, leading to increased collaboration even in the highly competitive software industry. Oracle will physically locate its Exadata hardware in Microsoft’s data centers, speeding up applications that customers use, the companies said. As a result, customers will have direct access to Oracle database services running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and deployed in Microsoft Azure data centers. Customers will be able to operate those Oracle services within Microsoft’s Azure Cloud dashboard, instead of having to run a separate Oracle dashboard.
Nvidia Muscles Into Cloud Services, Rankling AWS
In an unusual move last year, Nvidia approached Amazon Web Services (AWS) and other prominent cloud providers, which have traditionally been significant purchasers of Nvidia's specialized artificial intelligence server chips. Nvidia's proposal involved leasing Nvidia-powered servers within these cloud providers' data centers, with the intention of subsequently renting these servers to AI software developers. Among these developers were some of the world's largest cloud customers. According to an individual with direct knowledge of the situation, Microsoft, Google, and Oracle agreed to Nvidia's proposal and participated in this arrangement. However, AWS did not choose to participate in the same agreement, indicating a divergence in their approach to this proposal.
Qualcomm Inks Deal With Apple to Supply iPhone Chips Through 2026
Qualcomm has secured a three-year agreement with Apple to provide the iPhone maker with 5G communication chips. This development is indicative of Apple's ongoing challenge in producing its own in-house modems, as it suggests that the company's efforts to develop its own modems have not yet yielded significant results.
While Apple acquired Intel's smartphone-modem business for $1 billion in 2019, adding 2,200 staff members and a portfolio of patents, it seems that integrating these resources into its flagship phones, specifically in terms of 5G modems, is not happening in the immediate future. It's worth noting that Intel had faced difficulties in developing 5G modems and was incurring substantial annual losses of around $1 billion in this venture.
China says it hasn’t banned iPhones or foreign devices for government staff
China has not instituted any laws or regulations prohibiting government employees from using or buying foreign phones, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, addressing media reports that said government staffers had been banned from using Apple iPhones. “China has not issued any laws, regulations or policy documents prohibiting the purchase and use of mobile phones from foreign brands such as Apple,” a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said at a regularly scheduled briefing Wednesday in Beijing.
The TikTok Shop rolls out in the US
Commencing this week, TikTok users in the United States can make direct purchases within the TikTok app as the company introduces TikTok Shop, its online marketplace that has already been active in the United Kingdom. This development allows both brands and content creators to directly sell products to users through their videos, and in some instances, TikTok may take care of the order fulfillment process. This expansion into e-commerce signifies TikTok's growing role in the intersection of social media and online shopping.
Amazon rolls out generative AI tool to help sellers write product listings
Amazon on Wednesday debuted an artificial intelligence tool for sellers that helps them generate copy for their product pages. This tool guides sellers by requesting a few keywords or sentences describing their product, and in response, it generates a variety of content elements that can be used to construct their product listings. These elements include product titles, bullet points, and descriptions. Sellers have the flexibility to utilize this tool for creating new listings or improving existing ones. The announcement of this feature was made during Amazon Accelerate, an annual conference held in Seattle for the company's third-party sellers.
Unity Technologies Destroys Its Goodwill With Developers
Unity has introduced a new policy known as the Unity Runtime Fee, which will impose charges on companies for each installation of their game once specific thresholds have been met. However, the initial announcement of this policy was somewhat unclear and raised several unanswered questions. For instance, it left uncertainties regarding how this policy would apply to games offered through subscription services like Xbox Game Pass. Unity has made efforts to offer clarifications about its policy, indicating that it will affect fewer than 10% of users and will not be applicable to charity bundles or reinstalls. However, a significant question remains unanswered: How will Unity effectively monitor and track game installations? Unity's response to this question is that their tracking method is proprietary, meaning users will need to place trust in the company's assurance regarding this matter.
Hidden gems
Meta’s next smart glasses may have just shown up in FCC filings
Meta's upcoming new smart glasses, developed in collaboration with Luxottica, the owner of Ray-Ban, could be nearing release. An FCC listing for a pair of smart glasses from Luxottica Group has been discovered, suggesting that their launch may be imminent. These new smart glasses are expected to offer features like live streaming video to Facebook and Instagram, allowing users to receive comments from their audience while streaming. This development indicates Meta's continued efforts to expand its smart glasses offerings and integrate them with its social media platforms.
Nvidia and the Corporate VC Boom Ahead
Nvidia's corporate development team has been extremely busy, with approximately 20 deals completed this year, according to data from financial firm PitchBook and reporting by The Information. To put this in perspective, even the once-prolific venture capital investor Tiger Global Management has executed around 30 startup deals in the same timeframe. Nvidia's remarkable financial performance is a significant driver behind these activities, with the company's revenue reaching $13.5 billion in the second quarter, doubling that of the same period the previous year. It has projected a remarkable 170% surge in third-quarter revenue. In essence, Nvidia is in a position where it has substantial financial resources and is actively seeking to invest in a wide range of customers, partners, and acquisition targets, particularly in the field of AI. The company is making these moves to secure its position and explore opportunities before its rapid growth inevitably levels off.
Meta sets GPT-4 as the bar for its next AI model, says a new report
Meta has been actively acquiring AI training chips and expanding its data center infrastructure to develop a more advanced chatbot, aiming for a level of sophistication comparable to OpenAI's GPT-4, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. The company reportedly plans to begin training the new large language model early in 2024, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg evidently pushing for it to once again be free for companies to create AI tools with.
Google Nears Release of Gemini AI to Challenge OpenAI
Google has provided a select group of companies with early access to its much-anticipated conversational artificial intelligence software, known as Gemini, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. This move indicates that Google is nearing the integration of Gemini into its consumer services and preparing to offer it to businesses through its cloud unit. Gemini is intended to compete with OpenAI’s GPT-4 model, which has begun to generate meaningful revenue for the startup as financial institutions and other businesses pay to access the model and the ChatGPT chatbot it powers.
Expert interviews
Former Director at Paypal (worked there for 6 years until the end of 2022) gave his insights about fintech development in Part 1 and Part 2 interview
The expert shared that the internal indications & research say that Paypal share of checkout with branded is around 15-20%. But the market is really fragmented, so no one “owns the market,” not even Apple with Apple Pay.
Thinks when it comes to take rate estimates of Branded checkout take rate 2.2%, Braintree take rate of 1.5%-1.7%, and PPCP of 2% is pretty accurate. While also the FX component, if it is cross-border, increases the take rate.
Brazil’s Central Bank payment system payment system is disrupting everyone, from all payment providers to Visa and MasterCard. Pix system is already number 1 in a year and a half’s time frame. This can be dangerous if other countries follow suit.
Paypal lost some market share over the years on branded because the company decided not to be very aggressive on pricing. They wanted to keep a “premium” product.
The expert thinks Paypal is continuing to lose market share but not only because of Apple Pay but because the market is so fragmented. He also mentions Zelle as a strong contender now.
source: Rihard X
Spending on Meta is accelerating for them. In Q2, their Meta spend grew 10% YoY. In Q3, he expects 17%, but September may turn out to be 20%-21%. Q4, he expects +20%.
Their TikTok spending has stalled, with growth just above zero; last year, it was +200%. They also expected more competitive offerings from Netflix and Disney on the ad front, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Advertisers that are using Meta Click-to-Messenger ads are currently seeing “best ROI of anything they are doing in digital advertising.” Sees click-to-message ads and chatbot interactions as a big market that will be a big driver of growth for companies like Meta but also others who will probably follow with similar offerings ( Google, Snap, etc.)
source: Rihard X
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Source: the expert interviews are found on Alphasense, a platform specialized for expert interviews and other investment data.
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