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☆ Japan and South Korea Are Fighting Over an App at a Tense Time
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( River Akira Davis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A joint venture set up in 2019 by two top Japanese and South Korean companies was hailed as a beacon of cooperation amid strained diplomatic relations. Executives from South Korea’s Naver and Japan’s SoftBank Group said they would jointly own the operator of Line, a South Korean-developed messaging app popularized in Japan. Five years later, Japan and South Korea have made significant strides in easing longstanding historical tensions. Japan and South Korea, both key United States allies in Asia, have a sensitive history. Japan colonized Korea from 1910 until Japan’s surrender in World War II in 1945, and Japan and South Korea have often scuffled over territory and geopolitical differences.

Persons: Japan’s Locations: South Korea’s, Korean, Japan, South Korea, States, Asia, Korea

NEW YORK (AP) — Adam Neumann, the ousted co-founder of WeWork, is exploring a deal to buy back the office sharing company after expressing dismay over its bankruptcy process. According to Monday's letter, Neumann and his affiliates have been attempting to obtain information from WeWork necessary for a purchase offer since December but have been met with a “lack of engagement” from the company. Neumann founded WeWork with Miguel McKelvey back in 2010. That debacle led to the ousting of Neumann, whose erratic behavior and exorbitant spending spooked early investors. Japan’s SoftBank stepped in to keep WeWork afloat, acquiring majority control over the company.

Persons: — Adam Neumann, Dan Loeb’s, WeWork, Neumann, “, Miguel McKelvey, Japan’s SoftBank Organizations: The Associated Press, Flow Global Holdings, Associated Press, WeWork, Street Journal Locations: —, New York

☆ Sam Altman joins Microsoft as OpenAI taps Shear for interim CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Diksha Madhok | David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New Delhi/New York CNN —Microsoft has hired Sam Altman to power up its artificial intelligence research efforts just days after the co-founder of OpenAI was ousted as CEO in a chaotic boardroom coup. Meanwhile, Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Amazon’s streaming service Twitch, will join OpenAI as interim CEO. “We look forward to getting to know Emmett Shear,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. In a post on X early Monday, Shear described the chance to join OpenAI as “a once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. More recently, Altman announced that OpenAI would make its tools widely available so anyone could create their own version of ChatGPT.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Greg Brockman, Brockmann, Altman, Emmett Shear, Satya Nadella, ” Nadella, Shear, “, Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, Kara Swisher, Jony, Bing, Swisher, ’, OpenAI “, ”, “ I’m Organizations: New York CNN, Microsoft, OpenAI Locations: New Delhi, New York, Altman’s

NEW YORK (AP) — Trading in shares of WeWork were halted Monday as rumors swirl that the office sharing company, once valued as high as $47 billion, will seek bankruptcy protection. A WeWork spokesperson said last week that the company does not comment on speculation and did not immediately return messages after trading in the company's stock was halted Monday. Shares of WeWork, which cost more than $400 two years ago, could be had Monday for less than $1. In August, the New York company sounded the alarm over its ability to remain in business. And last week, WeWork disclosed a forbearance agreement with bondholders that extended negotiations by one week prior to triggering a default.

Persons: WeWork, Adam Neumann, Japan’s SoftBank, David Tolley Organizations: Street, New Locations: WeWork, New York

☆ Huawei wants to go all in on AI in first strategy update in a decade, says Meng Wanzhou
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s rotating chairwoman and chief financial officer, made the announcement in Shanghai during a company event. Huawei’s decision follows a similar move by fellow Chinese tech giant Alibaba (BABA), announced earlier this month, to prioritize AI. Hacking allegationsNews of Huawei’s strategic update came the same day the company was mentioned in allegations lodged by China against the United States. In 2019, Huawei was added to the US “entity list,” which restricts exports to select organizations without a US government license. In recent weeks, Huawei has added to US-China tensions again after launching a new smartphone that represents an apparent technological breakthrough.

Persons: Meng Wanzhou, Meng, “, China —, Ren Zhengfei, Mengchen Zhang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Huawei, Intelligence, Iran, US Department of Justice, China’s Ministry of State Security, United, US National Security Agency, NSA Locations: China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Canada, United States

☆ Arm IPO: China is huge for the SoftBank-owned company. That's a risk for its new investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Arm China is “an entity that operates independently of us and is our single largest customer,” the company said in its prospectus. A complex relationshipIn its filing, Arm said it held just a “4.8% indirect ownership interest in Arm China,” through a 10% non-voting stake in a SoftBank-controlled entity that owns less than half of the Chinese company. Arm has had trouble with Arm China before. Arm China has also been subject to a legal battle with its former CEO, Allen Wu. As of August, the cases had been resolved in favor of Arm China, it said, but the outcome could still be appealed.

Persons: SoftBank, Arm, ” Kirk Boodry, Japan’s SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, David Paul Morris, ”, Kyle Stanford, ” Stanford, Jay Clayton, Ivana Delevska, Spear, …, Allen Wu, Wu, hasn’t, Delevska Organizations: Hong Kong CNN —, Vision Fund, CNN, Nvidia, Bloomberg, Getty, US Securities and Exchange, Spear Invest, “, Arm, Companies, Apple, Google, AMD, Samsung Locations: Hong Kong, British, China, Washington, Beijing, Arm China, Cambridge, United States, United Kingdom, San Jose , California, America, decouple

☆ Arm IPO: British chip designer targets valuation of $52 billion. Apple, Google and Nvidia show interest
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

That could rise to $5.2 billion if the banks underwriting the IPO exercise an option to buy additional shares from SoftBank. In 2020, SoftBank tried to offload Arm to Nvidia for $40 billion, in what would have been the biggest chip deal of all time. The company’s return to the public market is being closely watched as it promises to be the biggest US IPO since 2021. Arm made nearly $2.7 billion in revenue in the fiscal year ended March, according to its prospectus. SoftBank will continue to own approximately 90% of Arm’s shares following the listing, according to the filing.

Persons: SoftBank, Japan’s SoftBank, It’s Organizations: London CNN, Big Tech, Nasdaq, Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple, Google, Nvidia, AMD, Samsung, Intel, Vision, Porsche Locations: British, SoftBank, Cambridge, Frankfurt

☆ Softbank's Arm: Mega IPO could be just around the corner, a year after the biggest chip deal in history fell apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Arm is a British tech company that architects power-sipping microchips for phones and tablets and licenses them to CPU makers, including Apple and Samsung. Softbank tried to offload Arm to Nvidia for $40 billion, in what would have been the biggest chip deal of all time. But global antitrust regulators put a stop to it, and the deal fell apart in February 2022. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has touted Arm as an AI company that could have “exponential growth.” He promised ChatGPT-like services would eventually be offered on Arm-designed machines. But Arm said it does not make AI chips and is not a direct competitor to Nvidia and others that make chips that are purpose-built for AI.

Persons: New York CNN —, Japan’s Softbank, Softbank, Masayoshi Son, ”, Arm, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apple, Samsung, Nvidia, Reuters, Saudi Vision Fund, Financial Times Locations: New York, British

☆ Arm IPO depends on more than Big Tech support
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationLONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Arm is phoning Big Tech friends for help with its initial public offering. Backing from some of the world’s largest technology companies would also provide a useful marketing boost. Investments from big tech companies risk scrutiny from antitrust regulators, who previously blocked chip specialist Nvidia from buying Arm. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsArm and its owner, Japan’s SoftBank Group (9984.T), will therefore need to win over big institutional investors. That’s well below the $60 billion to $70 billion that Bloomberg recently reported Arm is aiming for.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Rene Haas, Taiwan’s TSMC, Japan’s, Bernstein, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Big Tech, Nvidia, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Investments, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Reuters Graphics, Cadence Design Systems, Bloomberg, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Intel, Samsung Electronics, Japan’s SoftBank, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: U.S, ASML, Cambridge

☆ Walmart focuses India’s retail valuation debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, July 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Walmart (WMT.N) is bumping up its stake in Flipkart, India’s e-commerce giant, at a handsome valuation. The U.S. retailer is buying shares from Tiger Global for $1.4 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s a good deal for the seller as investors assess India’s hottest retail businesses. Reliance Industries’ (RELI.NS) retail unit might come sooner; analysts peg its valuation anywhere between $57 billion and $131 billion. How the market finally values India’s consumer will be closely watched.

Persons: India’s, Japan’s SoftBank, Robyn Mak, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, Walmart, Tiger Global, Wall Street, Reliance Industries, Twitter, BT boss’s, of Japan, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Flipkart, U.S, Una

☆ London fears for its future as companies defect to Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

London CNN —London is used to punching well above its weight in global financial markets. And 70% of global secondary bond market trading happens in the city, according to the London Stock Exchange. Beyond the jobs they create and the tax they generate, financial markets also channel capital into companies to fund future growth. In other words, to safeguard its future, London needs to reinvigorate its stock markets. Those “unicorns” should be listing in London “at an earlier stage,” Haynes argues, “rather than growing through private equity and being sold off to Nasdaq.”Hoggett of the London Stock Exchange puts it this way: “London needs to be young, scrappy and hungry.”

☆ SoftBank, Tencent Lead Way as Asia’s Tech Investors Become Stock Sellers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Dave Sebastian | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SoftBank and other large investors in Asian tech companies are pulling out of the sector. Some of the world’s most influential institutions are selling shares of Asia’s technology giants after owning them for years, a troubling sign for investors after what has already been a painful market selloff. In recent months, Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. has pared its stakes in the Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and the Indian mobile-payments company Paytm, in both cases following declines in their share prices. Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Warren Buffett’s company, has been gradually reducing its stake in BYD Co., a Chinese electric-vehicle maker that it has owned shares in since 2008.

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