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☆ Apple commits $1.5 billion to Globalstar for expanded iPhone satellite services
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-01 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Apple committed about $1.5 billion to satellite communications company Globalstar to fund the expansion of iPhone services, the companies disclosed in a securities filing on Friday. The tech giant's deal with Globalstar includes $1.1 billion in cash, of which $232 million will go toward the satellite company's current debt, and a 20% equity stake. The deal is expected to close on Tuesday. Apple has already been spending hundreds of millions for Globlastar services, which enabled the 2022 rollout of iPhone emergency satellite texting. Globalstar stock jumped as much as 36% in Friday trading from its previous close at $1.05 a share.

Persons: Apple Organizations: Globalstar, SpaceX, AST

☆ AST SpaceMobile partners with Verizon, adding to AT&T coverage deal for satellite internet to phones
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Satellite-to-phones service provider AST SpaceMobile announced a partnership with Verizon on Wednesday, adding to the company's recent deal with AT&T to provide remote coverage across the United States. AST SpaceMobile is building satellites to provide broadband service to unmodified smartphones, in the nascent "direct-to-device" communications market. The company's chairman and CEO, Abel Avellan, touted AST's agreements with Verizon and AT&T as "essentially eliminating dead zones and empowering remote areas of the country with space-based connectivity." Verizon's deal effectively includes a $100 million raise for AST, as well, in the form of $65 million in commercial service prepayments and $35 million in debt via convertible notes. The companies said that $45 million of the prepayments "are subject to certain conditions" such as needed regulatory approvals and signing of a definitive commercial agreement.

Persons: Abel Avellan, Kalapala Organizations: AST, Verizon, AT Locations: United States

☆ How satellite connectivity startup Skylo hooked backers such as Intel, BMW and Samsung to raise $37 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Silicon Valley space startup Skylo Technologies landed funding from the corporate venture arms of Intel, BMW and Samsung, as the company aims to bridge the gap between satellite and terrestrial communications. Skylo raised $37 million through an equity round, the company told CNBC, that was led by Intel Capital and Innovation Endeavors and joined by BMW i Ventures, Next47, Samsung Catalyst Fund and Seraphim Space. We just don't want extra hardware, because that adds complexity," Skylo CEO Parth Trivedi told CNBC. That way, Trivedi sees Skylo operating as a "roaming partner" to existing cellular networks, effectively rubber-stamping and linking devices made by other connectivity players. "You're going to find that this approach is very, very scalable, because the carriers don't have to change behavior, the users don't have to change behavior, the satellite operators don't have to change behavior, and regulators don't have to change behavior," Trivedi said.

Persons: Skylo, Parth Trivedi, Trivedi, Dave Johnson, They've, Johnson Organizations: Technologies, Intel, BMW, Samsung, CNBC, Intel Capital, Innovation, BMW i Ventures, Next47, Samsung Catalyst Fund, SoftBank, Qualcomm, MediaTek, Sony Locations: Mountain View , California

☆ SpaceX and T-Mobile send first texts via Starlink satellites
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

SpaceX founder Elon Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert on stage during a T-Mobile and SpaceX joint event in Boca Chica Beach, Texas, on Aug. 25, 2022. SpaceX successfully sent text messages via Starlink satellites using T-Mobile's network, it announced Wednesday, as Elon Musk's company aims to bring its direct-to-device cell service to market in the coming year. The recent test comes as major players pursue the market to connect unmodified phones directly to satellites, a nascent subsector of the space economy. SpaceX last week launched the first six Starlink satellites equipped with direct-to-device, or D2D, capabilities, after receiving authorization from the Federal Communications Commission last month to test the technology. The company said it performed the texting demonstration on Monday — in which SpaceX "sent and received our first text messages to and from unmodified cell phones on the ground to our new satellites in space" — and declared the test "validates" that "the system works."

Persons: Elon Musk, Mike Sievert, Elon Organizations: SpaceX, Mobile, Boca, Federal Communications Commission Locations: Boca Chica Beach , Texas

Nvidia and AMD could sell PC chips as soon as 2025, one of the people familiar with the matter said. Nvidia and AMD would join Qualcomm (QCOM.O), which has been making Arm-based chips for laptops since 2016. Nvidia spokesperson Ken Brown, AMD spokesperson Brandi Marina, Arm spokesperson Kristen Ray and Microsoft spokesperson Pete Wootton all declined to comment. Executives at Microsoft have observed how efficient Apple’s Arm-based chips are, including with AI processing, and desire to attain similar performance, one of the sources said. AMD's entry into the Arm-based PC market was earlier reported by chip-focused publication SemiAccurate.

Persons: Intel’s, Ken Brown, Brandi Marina, Kristen Ray, Pete Wootton, ”, Jay Goldberg, Will Moss, Stephen Nellis, Max A, Kenneth Li, Josie Kao Organizations: NVIDIA, Handout, REUTERS, Nvidia, Arm Holdings, Reuters, Windows, Apple, IDC, Devices, AMD, Qualcomm, Microsoft, Intel, D2D, Software, Thomson Locations: Santa Clara , California, San Francisco

☆ Qualcomm focuses on AI and auto as Nvidia takes over as world’s biggest fabless chip company
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Katie Tarasov | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Until last month, Qualcomm was also the world's biggest fabless chip company. But Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon is betting that one day, generative AI will be in high demand off the cloud, too. Qualcomm modems are inside all iPhone models currently being made, including the next model set to come out next week. Today, Qualcomm has more than 140,000 patents. The other lawsuit came from Apple, which sued Qualcomm for roughly $1 billion for charging royalties for technologies Apple said Qualcomm had "nothing to do with."

Persons: Cristiano Amon, Amon, Chris Patrick, Irwin Jacobs, Jacobs, Nobody, Jay Goldberg, Patrick, it's, Daniel Newman, Newman, It's, Donald Trump, Stacy Rasgon, Qualcomm's Amon, CNBC it's Organizations: Qualcomm, Nvidia, Amazon Web Services, CNBC, Apple, Quality Communications, D2D, Futurum, Federal Trade Commission, Broadcom, Bernstein Research, GM, BMW, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Intel Locations: San Diego, China, Taiwan, Asia, That's, U.S, Arizona

☆ Barclays says to buy this satellite stock, seeing 29% upside ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Barclays upgraded satellite communications company Iridium to overweight Thursday, saying there's 29% upside for the stock after its "solid" second quarter and attractive outlook. This is in line with the scenario we had in mind, and so we now consider the risk/reward attractive," Barclays analyst Mathieu Robilliard wrote in a note to clients. Barclays has a $65 price target on Iridium's stock, or 29% above Thursday's close of $50.58 a share. Iridium's stock is flat year to date. "We believe this will represent a strong source of revenues for Iridium, but will be gradual (c. $90m by 2027)," Robilliard wrote.

Persons: Mathieu Robilliard, Robilliard, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Barclays, Iridium

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