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☆ Elon Musk launches AI firm xAI as he looks to take on OpenAI
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In a Twitter Spaces event Wednesday evening, Musk explained his plan for building a safer AI. Rather than explicitly programming morality into its AI, xAI will seek to create a "maximally curious" AI, he said. Musk in March registered a firm named X.AI Corp, incorporated in Nevada, according to a state filing. The firm lists Musk as the sole director and Jared Birchall, the managing director of Musk's family office, as a secretary. Dan Hendrycks, who will advise the xAI team, is currently director of the Center for AI Safety and his work revolves around the risks of AI.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, xAI, that's, Igor Babuschkin, DeepMind, Tony Wu, Szegedy, Greg Yang, Jared Birchall, Google's Bard, Microsoft's, Bing, Bard, Dan Hendrycks, Tesla, Akash Sriram, Chavi Mehta, Yuvraj Malik, Aditya Soni, Anna Tong, Shailesh Kuber, Leslie Adler Organizations: SpaceX, Twitter, Microsoft, Google, X.AI Corp, Center, AI Safety, X Corp, Thomson Locations: OpenAI, Nevada, San Francisco Bay, Bengaluru, Anna, San Francisco

☆ UK announces in-depth probe of Adobe's $20 billion Figma deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 13 (Reuters) - Britain's antitrust regulator on Thursday announced an in-depth probe of Adobe's (ADBE.O) $20 billion bid for cloud-based designer platform Figma, after the Photoshop owner said it would not offer any remedies to ease the regulator's concerns. But on July 7, the U.S. company told the CMA it would not offer any remedies, the CMA said on Thursday. Figma and Adobe both directed Reuters to the companies' response in June, when the regulator had flagged these concerns. An in-depth, or phase two, probe by the CMA is conducted by an inquiry group selected from independent experts. It has said it expects to close the deal by end of this year, as U.S. and EU regulators also probe the deal.

Persons: Yadarisa, Chavi Mehta, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Mark Potter Organizations: Markets Authority, U.S ., CMA, Adobe, Reuters, Zoom Video Communications, Figma, Thomson Locations: U.S, EU, Bengaluru

☆ Nvidia deepens bets on AI in drug discovery with Recursion investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 12 (Reuters) - Chip designer Nvidia (NVDA.O) will invest $50 million to speed up training of Recursion's (RXRX.O) artificial intelligence models for drug discovery, the companies said on Wednesday, sending the biotech firm's shares surging about 62%. Recursion, whose advisers include AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, will use its biological and chemical datasets exceeding 23,000 terabytes to train AI models on Nvidia's cloud platform. Nvidia, seen as a big winner of the boom in artificial intelligence, could then license those models to biotech firms through BioNeMo, a generative AI cloud service for drug discovery that it rolled out earlier this year. The investment comes as Recursion strengthened its AI focus in May by snapping up two companies in the AI-driven drug discovery space for $87.5 million. The Salt Lake City, Utah-based company's current partners include Bayer (BAYGn.DE) and Roche (ROG.S).

Persons: Nvidia, Roche, Mubadala, Baillie Gifford, Chavi Mehta, Stephen Nellis, Mariam Sunny, Shilpi Majumdar, Sriraj Organizations: Nvidia, Bayer, Baillie Gifford & Co, Thomson Locations: BioNeMo, Salt Lake City , Utah, Abu, Bengaluru, San Francisco

☆ Shopify to launch AI assistant for merchants
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 12 (Reuters) - Canadian ecommerce firm Shopify said on Wednesday it would soon launch an artificial intelligence assistant for merchants on its platform, the latest technology company to roll out such a feature. The assistant called "Sidekick" would be embedded as a button on Shopify and answer merchant queries, including details about sales trends, CEO Tobi Lutke illustrated in a video posted on Twitter. Companies such as Alibaba Group Holding , Zoom Video Communications (ZM.O) and Databricks have all launched AI assistants in the last few months following the massive jump in the use of OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT. The assistant can also help entrepreneurs update their stores on Shopify. The feature is "coming soon", the video showed, without specifying the date when it would be rolled out.

Persons: Shopify, Tobi Lutke, Chavi Mehta, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Twitter, Companies, Alibaba, Video Communications, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ GlobalFoundries scraps plan to appoint former top Amazon executive as CFO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 11 (Reuters) - Chipmaker GlobalFoundries (GFS.O) has shelved its plan to appoint former Amazon executive Tim Stone as chief financial officer, it said on Tuesday, two months after choosing him. It said current CFO David Reeder will remain in the role through the end of the year as it looks for a new candidate. GlobalFoundries had in May named Stone, who was at Amazon (AMZN.O) for more than 20 years and served as CFO for AWS and Devices businesses. The chipmaker counts companies including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O), STMicroelectronics (STMPA.PA), Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) among its customers. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tim Stone, David Reeder, GlobalFoundries, Stone, Lockheed Martin, Chavi Mehta, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Amazon, AWS, Ford Motor, Devices, Qualcomm, Lockheed, Global, IDC, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

Tesla, which had previously stopped the referral program as it was too expensive, up to now has focused on real-time adjustments to prices posted on its websites. It revived the referral program recently to boost sales, analysts said. The EV sales market globally has become more competitive, forcing automakers to cut prices or boost incentives in several markets. The automaker has used its industry-leading profit margins as a weapon in the EV price war, putting pressure on both legacy automakers as well as cash-strapped EV startups. A number of Tesla owners in China posted their referral codes online and invited others to use them.

Persons: Tesla, Elon Musk, Garrett Nelson, Nelson, Needham, Chris Pierce, Ford, Chavi Mehta, Hyunjoo Jin, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Tesla, Thomson Locations: cashback, U.S, United States, China, Germany, France, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bengaluru, San Francisco

☆ Google delays release of fully custom phone chip until 2025, The Information reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 6 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google has delayed the release of a fully custom chip for its Pixel smartphones until 2025, The Information reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Google originally planned to release the chip, internally called Redondo, next year to replace the semicustom chips it currently designs with Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), the report said. The tech giant will also switch from Samsung to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (2330.TW) for making the chips, called Tensors, according to The Information. Google will stick with Samsung for another year and wait until 2025 to introduce a fully custom design chip, internally code-named Laguna, according to The Information. The Laguna chip will be based on TSMC's 3-nanometer manufacturing process, currently the world's most advanced chipmaking process, the report added.

Persons: Chavi Mehta, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Google, Samsung Electronics, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Apple, Nvidia, Thomson Locations: Redondo, Laguna, Bengaluru

☆ Meta takes aim at Twitter with Threads app, millions join
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Welcome to Threads," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in his first post on the app, along with a fire emoji. Others saw the launch of Threads as an opportunity to create a less toxic version of Twitter. Much like Twitter, the app features short text posts that users can like, re-post and reply to, although it does not include any direct message capabilities. Instagram users who sign up for Threads automatically have a badge affixed to their Instagram profile, but can opt to hide it. Zuckerberg, responding to a user who predicted Twitter's demise about an hour after the Threads launch, cautioned patience.

Persons: Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Representative Alexandria Ocasio, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Cortez, Zuckerberg, Musk, hasn't, Instagram, Ryan Detert, Jack Dorsey, Dorsey, Katie Paul, Sheila Dang, Jamie Freed, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Chavi Mehta, Bansari, David Gregorio, Christopher Cushing, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: YORK, Wednesday, Democratic U.S, Representative, Twitter, Spiderman, Meta, TWITTER, Brands, Billboard, HBO, NPR, Netflix, Thomson Locations: Cortez, Las Vegas, Instagram

☆ Zuckerberg-Musk fight's first round: Meta launches 'Twitter Killer' Threads app
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Meta's Threads app and Twitter logos are seen in this illustration taken July 4, 2023. Welcome to Threads," Zuckerberg wrote in his first post on the app, along with a fire emoji. Instagram users who sign up for Threads automatically have a badge affixed to their Instagram profile, but can opt to hide it. "The reality is that Meta doesn't need to convert Twitter power users into Threads users" to succeed, she said. Zuckerberg, responding to a user who predicted Twitter's demise about an hour after the Threads launch, cautioned patience.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, ramping, Zuckerberg, Meta, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Musk, hasn't, Instagram, Shakira, Sheryl Sandberg, Ryan Detert, Jack Dorsey, Dorsey, Jasmine Enberg, Katie Paul, Sheila Dang, Chavi Mehta, Bansari, David Gregorio, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Twitter, Brands, Billboard, HBO, NPR, Netflix, Meta, Insider Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas, Instagram

☆ Zuckerberg-Musk fight is on: Meta launches 'Twitter Killer' Threads app
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Meta's Threads app and Twitter logos are seen in this illustration taken July 4, 2023. Welcome to Threads," Zuckerberg posted on the app, along with a fire emoji. "I find it hard to imagine that the most avid loyal Twitter users who go to Twitter for that type of culture will defect and go immediately to Threads." Still, she said, Meta only needs to convince a quarter of Instagram's users to join Threads in order to rival Twitter's size. "The reality is that Meta doesn't need to convert Twitter power users into Threads users."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, Meta, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Musk, Matt Navarra, Shakira, Sheryl Sandberg, Ryan Detert, Jack Dorsey, Dorsey, Jasmine Enberg, Katie Paul, Sheila Dang, Chavi Mehta, Bansari, David Gregorio, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Twitter, Meta, Google, Brands, Billboard, HBO, Variety, Insider Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas, Instagram

July 3 (Reuters) - Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) beat market estimates for second-quarter deliveries on higher production and stable demand for its electric vehicles, sending the company's shares up more than 14% on Monday. Rivian, which makes R1T pickup trucks and R1S SUVs, delivered 12,640 vehicles in the second quarter, compared with Visible Alpha estimates of 11,000 vehicles. The company made 13,992 vehicles at its facility in Normal, Illinois, which was 4,597 more than in the first quarter. Rivian's production and delivery numbers come just a day after Tesla beat estimates with record deliveries in the second quarter. Rivian posted a smaller loss in the first quarter in May and its finance chief said last month the company expects demand to remain stable through 2023.

Persons: Tesla, Rivian, Needham, Chris Pierce, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, Chavi Mehta, Vinay Dwivedi, Shounak Organizations: Rivian, EV, Thomson Locations: Normal , Illinois, Bengaluru

☆ Chinese EV maker Xpeng's shares jump after pricing SUV below Tesla Model Y, lifts peers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 30 (Reuters) - Electric-car maker Xpeng Inc priced its latest G6 sport utility vehicle about 20% lower than Tesla's (TSLA.O) Model Y in China, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 7.6% in premarket trading on Friday. U.S.-listed shares of its peers Li Auto and Nio also rose 0.3% and 2.2%, respectively, in trading before the bell. Xpeng is pinning hopes on the new SUV to help turnaround its sales, after the company reported lackluster deliveries in May. The price of Xpeng G6 starts at 209,900 yuan ($28,882.01), compared with Tesla Model Y's starting price of 263,900 yuan in China. Beijing's 520 billion yuan tax break for new energy vehicle purchases is also expected to boost demand.

Persons: Li Auto, Warren Buffett, Tesla, BEV, Chavi Mehta, Brenda Goh, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Xpeng Inc, HK, Tesla's, Tesla, Citigroup, Refinitiv, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ UK regulator may refer Adobe's $20 bln Figma deal to deeper probe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 30 (Reuters) - Britain's competition regulator on Friday said Photoshop owner Adobe Inc's (ADBE.O) $20 billion buyout of cloud-based designer platform Figma may be referred to a deeper investigation as it could "reduce innovation". The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said unless the parties offer acceptable undertakings to address competition concerns, the deal would be referred to a Phase 2 investigation. CMA had said in May it was looking into the deal, announced in September last year. "Adobe has no meaningful plans to compete in the product design space," Adobe said in a statement. "We remain confident in the merits of the case as Figma's product design is an adjacency to Adobe’s core creative products."

Persons: We're, Sorcha O'Carroll, Adobe, Eva Mathews, Radhika Anilkumar, Chavi Mehta, Janane Venkatraman, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Adobe, Markets Authority, CMA, Regulators, Big Tech, Activision, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ U.S. antitrust regulator plans to target Amazon's online marketplace, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. antitrust regulator is planning to file a suit targeting Amazon.com's (AMZN.O) core online marketplace in the coming weeks, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing documents and people familiar with the matter. The agency's antitrust case targeting Amazon's online marketplace has been in the works for a long time, according to the report. Amazon got the FTC notice for initial investigation in June 2019, Bloomberg reported, citing documents. Those documents included questions about how using Amazon's warehousing and delivery services impacted third-party sellers’ product placements in its online marketplace, including boxes on the website that give products additional prominence. The two companies had entered into a deal to sell Apple iPhones, iPads and other devices on Amazon's marketplace in 2018.

Persons: Lina Khan's, Joe Biden's, Chavi Mehta, Anil D'Silva, Pooja Desai Organizations: Bloomberg, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Big Tech, FTC, Apple Inc, Apple, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Snapchat+ hits 4 million paid subscribers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 29 (Reuters) - Social media company Snap Inc (SNAP.N) said on Thursday its subscription service, Snapchat+, hit 4 million members since its launch last year in June. Snapchat+ gives subscribers access to exclusive and pre-release features, and costs $3.99 a month. The company said paid users got a first look at new offerings such as Snapchat for Web and its AI powered chatbot, My AI. My AI, built using startup OpenAI's ChatGPT technology, can help users with everything from writing poems to searching for information. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Snapchat, Chavi Mehta, Shinjini Organizations: Social, Inc, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Nvidia sees no material impact from reported AI chip restrictions on China - CNBC
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

June 28 (Reuters) - Nvidia (NVDA.O) expects no immediate material impact from the reported new restrictions on exports of artificial intelligence chips to China, CNBC reported on Wednesday citing CFO Colette Kress. Shares of the company pared losses and were flat in afternoon trading. The U.S. Commerce Department will stop the shipments of chips made by Nvidia and other chip companies to customers in China as early as July, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Colette Kress, Chavi Mehta, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Nvidia, CNBC, U.S . Commerce Department, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: China, Bengaluru

[1/2] A Lordstown Motors sign is seen outside the Lordstown Assembly Plant in Lordstown, Ohio, U.S., June 21, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File PhotoNEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. electric truck manufacturer Lordstown Motors (RIDE.O) filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday and put itself up for sale after failing to resolve a dispute over a promised investment from Taiwan's Foxconn (2354.TW). Lordstown contends Foxconn is balking at purchasing additional shares of its stock as promised and misled the EV maker about collaborating on vehicle development plans. Lordstown accused Foxconn in that regulatory filing of engaging in a "pattern of bad faith" that caused "material and irreparable harm" to the company. GM agreed to sell the plant to a newly-formed entity called Lordstown Motors founded by the former top executive at an electric truck maker called Workhorse Group.

Persons: Rebecca Cook, Taiwan's Foxconn, Thomas Hayes, Tesla, Lordstown, Foxconn, Edward Hightower, Donald Trump, Mary Barra, Nikola, Stephen Burns, Burns, Elon Musk's Tesla, Mike Spector, Joseph White, Dietrich Knauth, Ben Blanchard, Sarah Wu, Chavi Mehta, Nick Zieminski, Dhanya Ann Thoppil, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Lordstown Motors, Foxconn, Hai Precision Industry, General, Reuters, Endurance, EV, Biden, Detroit, GM, Lordstown, U.S . Justice Department, Ford Motor, Stellantis, Thomson Locations: Lordstown, Lordstown , Ohio, U.S, Ohio, Delaware, Foxconn, United States, Northeast Ohio, New York, Detroit, Taipei, Bengaluru

☆ Accenture's revenue forecast disappoints as IT spending weakness persists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 22 (Reuters) - IT consulting firm Accenture forecast fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Thursday on worries that rising economic uncertainty will keep IT budgets tight and prevent businesses from signing fresh contracts. Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH.O) last month said it faced pressure in signing smaller contracts due to softer discretionary spending. Accenture forecast current-quarter revenue in the range of $15.75 billion to $16.35 billion. Accenture's new bookings, or deals in the pipeline, grew 2% to $17.2 billion in the third quarter. Revenue for the quarter ended May 31 was $16.56 billion, in line with estimates.

Persons: Jerome, Julie Sweet, Chavi Mehta, Pooja Desai Organizations: Accenture, Wall, U.S, Federal, Technology Solutions, Tata Consultancy Services, Revenue, Thomson Locations: United States, Bengaluru

June 21 (Reuters) - Generative AI-related job postings in the United States jumped about 20% last month as companies look to harness a technology that has been widely touted as the next big growth driver, according to data from job portal Indeed. The May figure, at 204 per million job postings, was also more than double the 2021 level and underscored the buzz around AI, sparked by the runaway success of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Data scientist roles made up 5% of the AI job postings on Indeed's U.S. platform, while roles such as software engineer, machine learning engineer and data engineer were also in demand. Indeed's data showed that searches for generative AI jobs jumped to 147 per million total jobs searched in May from virtually zero a year earlier. Its U.S. website showed generative AI job listings from companies such as Meta Platforms (META.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Tiktok, Pinterest (PINS.N) and Amazon.com (AMZN.O).

Persons: OpenAI's, Nick Bunker, Chavi Mehta, Anil D'Silva Organizations: U.S, Amazon.com Inc, Apple, Reuters, Thomson Locations: United States, Bengaluru

☆ Chipmaker Intel restructures manufacturing business
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 21 (Reuters) - Intel Corp (INTC.O) said on Wednesday its manufacturing business will work like a separate unit and will begin to generate a margin, but gave no clear timeline on when it will start scaling up, sending the chipmaker's shares down about 5%. The company also did not name a new external customer for the business as part of its foundry services, a key element of Intel's turnaround plans wherein it will offer its manufacturing services to other companies including its competitors. Intel's internal business units will now have a customer-supplier relationship with the manufacturing business, Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said on an investor call. Based on that model, Intel will be the second largest foundry next year with manufacturing revenue of more than $20 billion, he said. "The presentation essentially tells investors that its current manufacturing is sub-scale and could remain sub-scale for a while," Chan added.

Persons: David Zinsner, Kinngai Chan, Chan, Chavi Mehta, Maju Samuel Organizations: Intel Corp, Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Intel to sell 20% stake in Austrian chip company
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 21 (Reuters) - Intel (INTC.O) said on Wednesday it would sell one-fifth of its stake in IMS Nanofabrication to private equity firm Bain Capital in a deal valuing the Austrian producer of chipmaking tools at about $4.3 billion. Intel's stake sale of 20% was valued at $860 million, according to Reuters calculations. IMS, which was acquired by Intel in 2015, makes equipment that are critical for companies that make chips. It has delivered a significant return on investment to Intel while growing its workforce and production capacity by four times, Intel said. Bain Capital's investment in IMS will put it in a position to capture significant market share for its tools that are being widely adopted by chipmakers, Intel said.

Persons: Bain, Akash Sriram, Chavi Mehta, Sriraj Kalluvila Organizations: Intel, IMS, Bain Capital, chipmakers, Thomson Locations: Austrian, Bengaluru

☆ Cisco launches new AI networking chips to compete with Broadcom, Marvell
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 20 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) on Tuesday launched networking chips for AI supercomputers that would compete with offerings from Broadcom (AVGO.O) and Marvell Technology (MRVL.O). The chips are being tested by five of the six major cloud providers, Cisco said, without naming the firms. Cisco is a major supplier of networking equipment including ethernet switches, which connect devices such as computers, laptops, routers, servers and printers to a local area network. "G200 & G202 are going to be the most powerful networking chips in the market fueling AI/ML workloads enabling the most power-efficient network," Cisco fellow and formerly principal engineer Rakesh Chopra said. Cisco said the chips could help in carrying out AI and machine learning tasks with 40% fewer switches and a lesser lag, while being more power efficient.

Persons: Rakesh Chopra, Chavi Mehta, Stephen Nellis, Anil D'Silva Organizations: Cisco Systems, Broadcom, Marvell Technology, Cisco, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, Bofa Global Research, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Spotify plans a more expensive subscription tier - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 20 (Reuters) - Music streaming platform Spotify Technology (SPOT.N) is planning a more expensive subscription option that is expected to include high-fidelity audio, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. The new tier, called "Supremium" internally, will be the company's most expensive plan as it aims to drive more revenue and placate investors who have been urging the Swedish company to raise prices, the report said. The company announced the HiFi feature, which upgrades sound quality of the songs to "lossless" CD-quality music, in 2021. To augment its current premium tier, Spotify will give subscribers expanded access to audiobooks, either through a specific number of hours free per month or a specific number of titles, the report said. The new tier will launch this year in non-US markets first, the report added.

Persons: Chavi Mehta, Shailesh Organizations: Spotify, Bloomberg, Thomson Locations: Swedish, United States, Bengaluru

☆ Virgin Galactic plans first commercial space service for June; shares take off
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 15 (Reuters) - Virgin Galactic Holdings (SPCE.N), the space tourism firm founded by Richard Branson, said on Thursday its long-awaited commercial spaceflight service would launch later this month, sending its shares up over 55% in trading after the bell. The first spaceflight, called "Galactic 01", is planned between June 27 and June 30, the company said. Shares of Virgin Galactic had lost over two-thirds of their value last year due to delays in the company's launch of commercial service. But in February, it said it had completed a lengthy upgrade period for its centerpiece tourist spacecraft, clearing the path for its first commercial spaceflight. The first commercial mission will carry three crew members from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy to conduct microgravity research, Virgin Galactic said.

Persons: Richard Branson, Chavi Mehta, Pooja Desai, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Virgin Galactic Holdings, Virgin Galactic, VSS Unity, Italian Air Force, National Research Council, Thomson Locations: Italy, Bengaluru

☆ Micron warns of bigger revenue hit from China ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company said it now expects an impact on about half of its revenue from China-headquartered firms, which equates to a low-double-digit percentage of its total revenue. It had neither provided details on what risks it had found nor what Micron products would be affected. It also added that several customers, including mobile manufacturers, were being contacted by Chinese government representatives about the future use of Micron products. Micron's revenue from companies headquartered in mainland China and Hong Kong, including direct sales as well as indirect sales through distributors, accounts for about a quarter of its total revenue. ($1 = 7.1218 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Sanjay Mehrotra, Chavi Mehta, Shailesh Organizations: Micron Technology, Micron, Cybersecurity Administration, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, Beijing, Washington, Hong Kong, Xian, Bengaluru

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