DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Faraday Future interim CFO resigns, firm to restate certain financial reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 11 (Reuters) - Faraday Future Intelligent Electric (FFIE.O) said on Tuesday its interim finance chief has resigned and the company will restate its financial statements for 2022 and the quarter ended March 2023 after it uncovered some errors, highlighting continued turmoil at the electric vehicle firm. The company, which had raised going-concern doubts last year, appointed outsider Jonathan Maroko as its new interim chief financial officer, effective July 24. Faraday Future also said its annual report for 2022, quarters ending September 2022 and March 2023 "should no longer be relied upon" due to certain errors. The company will file restated financial statements and the move will not affect its vehicle delivery timeline, it added. Last month the company secured $90 million funding commitment from existing investors and had in May announced plans to raise $100 million in debt.

Persons: Jonathan Maroko, Yun Han, Faraday, Tesla, Yuvraj Malik, Shailesh Organizations: FF, Lordstown Motors, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Microsoft-backed AI4Bharat set to raise $12 million funding from Peak XV, Lightspeed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Yuvraj Malik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 7 (Reuters) - AI4Bharat, a start-up backed by Microsoft (MSFT.O), is raising $12 million from venture capital firms Peak XV and Lightspeed Venture to develop artificial intelligence-powered chatbots for Indian languages, according to three people familiar with the matter. Most seed rounds are usually up to $1 million to $2 million. AI4Bharat, Peak XV and Lightspeed did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The investment is among the first from Peak XV Partners after rebranding from Sequoia Capital India and SEA following a split with its U.S.-based parent fund last month. Indian AI start-ups have raised $583 million this year, as of June, according to data from Venture Intelligence.

Persons: OpenAI's ChatGPT, Nandan Nilekani, Rudder, Yuvraj Malik Organizations: Microsoft, Lightspeed Venture, Indian Institute of Technology, Infosys, National Payments Corp, XV Partners, Sequoia Capital, SEA, Venture Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Madras, India, Sequoia Capital India, Bengaluru

☆ Fisker misses second-quarter production target due to parts shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 7 (Reuters) - Fisker (FSR.N) missed its production target for the second quarter due to shortage of components, the electric vehicle startup disclosed on Friday, sending its shares down 2% in premarket trading. The California-based company produced 1,022 units of its Ocean SUV in the quarter ended June, lower than 1,400-1,700 vehicles it had projected. Fisker, which will report its second-quarter earnings on August 4, produced 55 vehicles in the March quarter. The production figures come as some EV firms face dwindling cash reserves, pressured by high costs related to production ramp-ups and inflation. Last month, Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy protection, while Electric Last Mile Solutions filed the same last year.

Persons: ramping, Fisker, Tesla, Yuvraj Malik, Savio D'Souza, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Lordstown Motors, Solutions, Rivian, Thomson Locations: California, United States, Bengaluru

☆ Meta's Threads swiftly signs up 30 million users, in clear threat to Musk-owned Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Mastodon, another Twitter-like app, has 1.7 million monthly active users, according to its website, while Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey-backed Bluesky has about 265,000 users. Twitter had 229 million monthly active users in May 2022, according to a statement made before Musk's buyout. THREADS HAS CERTAIN LIMITATIONSMeta's Threads app logo is seen in this illustration taken July 4, 2023. Threads does not have hashtags and keyword search functions, which means users cannot follow real-time events like on Twitter. Currently there are no ads on the Threads app and Zuckerberg said the company would only think about monetization once there was a clear path to 1 billion users.

Persons: Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter's, Jasmine Enberg, Twitter, Meta, Niklas Myhr, Jack Dorsey, Bluesky, Dado Ruvic, hasn't, Marques Brownlee, Linda Yaccarino, Musk, Pinar Yildirim, Aditya Soni, Yuvraj Malik, Bansari Mayur, Akash Sriram, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Meta, Twitter, Intelligence, Chapman University, REUTERS, Facebook, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas, Bengaluru

☆ Meta's Threads is a serious threat to Musk-owned Twitter, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While Threads is a standalone app, users can log in using their Instagram credentials, which makes it an easy addition for Instagram's more than 2 billion monthly active users. Twitter, by comparison, had 229 million monthly active users in May 2022, according to a statement made before Musk's buyout of the social media platform. Mastodon, another Twitter-like app, has 1.7 million monthly active users, according to its website, while Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey-backed Bluesky has about 265,000 users. Threads does not have hashtags and keyword search functions, which means users cannot follow real-time events like on Twitter. Overall, analysts said Threads was a strong competitor to Twitter, which has been rocked by abrupt decisions by Musk.

Persons: Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Gordon Ramsay, Niklas Myhr, Mark Zuckerberg, Pinar Yildirim, Jack Dorsey, Bluesky, Zuckerberg, Musk, Jasmine Enberg, Marques Brownlee, hasn't, Aditya Soni, Yuvraj Malik, Bansari, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Twitter, Chapman University, Facebook, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton, Intelligence, Bloomberg News, Union, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas, Bengaluru

☆ Dish's Charlie Ergen looks to merge Dish and EchoStar, Semafor reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen attends the Google's annual developers conference in San Francisco, California May 20, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/File PhotoJuly 6 (Reuters) - Dish Network (DISH.O) Chairman Charlie Ergen is considering merging the two halves of his telecom empire, Dish and EchoStar (SATS.O), news publication Semafor reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Dish and EchoStar did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments. Dish's shares were 5% lower in afternoon trade while EchoStar's stock was down 3.4% amid weaker broader market. In 2008, EchoStar Communications, which was founded by Ergen as a satellite television equipment distributor in 1980, changed its name to Dish Network and spun off its technology arm as a new company named EchoStar Corp.

Persons: Charlie Ergen, Robert Galbraith, Yuvraj Malik, Sriraj Organizations: Dish, REUTERS, EchoStar Communications, Ergen, Dish Network, EchoStar Corp, Thomson Locations: San Francisco , California, Bengaluru

☆ What does Twitter 'rate limit exceeded' mean for users?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Verified accounts can now read 6,000 posts per day, unverified accounts 600 posts and new un-verified accounts 300 posts. After that, users will get a message that says, "rate limit exceeded". Musk has said that limit will "soon" increase to 10,000 for verified, 1,000 for unverified and 500 for new unverified. Musk made Twitter verified - special badges that were earlier given to notable profiles - a paid subscription and introduced tiers like gray, blue and golden badges. Several Twitter users complained, with "#TwitterDown" and "RIP Twitter" trending on the social network website over the past couple of days.

Persons: Elon, Musk, Jack Dorsey, Eugen Rochko, Yuvraj Malik, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Elon Musk's Twitter, Twitter, National Weather Service, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Explainer: What does Twitter 'rate limit exceeded' mean for users?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Persons: Elon, Musk, Jack Dorsey, Eugen Rochko, Yuvraj Malik, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Elon Musk's Twitter, Twitter, National Weather Service, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Faraday Future investors commit $90 million in funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 27 (Reuters) - Faraday Future Intelligent Electric (FFIE.O) has received $90 million in funding commitment from its existing investors, the electric-vehicle startup said on Tuesday, sending its shares up about 5%. The company, which had last year raised going-concern doubts, said its investors will also speed up the $15 million funding commitment made earlier. The production of FF 91 began in March in its California factory although there are concerns over potential delays in delivery. The funding support comes as peer EV start-up Lordstown Motors (RIDE.O) filed for bankruptcy protection and sued investor-partner Foxconn for failing to keep certain contractual promises. The company, which had last month announced plans to raise $100 million in debt, said in an exchange filing that it will continue to look for additional funding sources.

Persons: Foxconn, Faraday, Yuvraj Malik, Anil D'Silva Organizations: ATW Partners, Senyun International, FF, EV, Lordstown Motors, Thomson Locations: California, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon cloud unit to invest nearly $8 billion in Ohio
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 26 (Reuters) - Amazon.com's (AMZN.O) cloud computing division would invest $7.8 billion through 2030 in Ohio to expand its data center operations, it said on Monday. Amazon said the new investment will create hundreds of jobs and support thousands at local businesses through construction, operations and maintenance on-site at Amazon Web Service facilities. The company had in January said it plans to invest another $35 billion by 2040 to expand data centers in Virginia. It also aims to invest 1.06 trillion rupees ($13 billion) in India by the end of this decade. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik and Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yuvraj Malik, Tiyashi Datta, Vinay Dwivedi Organizations: Amazon Web Service, Thomson Locations: Ohio, Virginia, India, Bengaluru

☆ IBM to buy software co Apptio for $4.6 bln to bolster cloud offering
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 26 (Reuters) - IBM (IBM.N) said on Monday it will acquire cloud software company Apptio from Vista Equity Partners for $4.6 billion in cash, in the latest deal to bolster its capabilities in cloud and automation. IBM said it will finance the transaction with cash on hand and expects the deal to close in the latter half of 2023. IBM cut about 3,900 jobs early this year and reported under 1% year-over-year increase in revenue in the March quarter. Founded in 2007, Seattle-based Apptio helps companies manage and understand their spending on cloud services and offers functionalities such as IT budgeting, forecasting and financial analyses. Private equity firm Vista Equity Partners agreed to pay about $2 billion for Apptio in 2018, which was over double its market cap at the time.

Persons: Apptio, Yuvraj Malik, Krishna Chandra Organizations: IBM, Vista Equity Partners, Hat, Kyndryl Holdings, Apptio, Thomson Locations: Amazon.com's, Seattle, Bengaluru

☆ Bankrupt Vice Media plans sale to Fortress Investment-led group
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Yuvraj Malik | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 22 (Reuters) - A group of buyers including Fortress Investment Group may take over Vice Media after the consortium's $225-million offer for the bankrupt company emerged as the only "qualified" bid on the table, according to a legal filing. Popular with millennial audience through its websites Vice and Motherboard, Vice Media filed for bankruptcy protection last month in a move that capped years of financial difficulties and top-executive departures. GoDigital Media told Reuters in an emailed statement that it made a higher bid for Vice but the offer was turned down by the sellers. "We think Fortress's decision is the wrong choice, and the company, employees, partners and consumers will suffer," GoDigital said. Fortress and Vice did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the potential deal, which must be approved by the bankruptcy judge.

Persons: GoDigital, Privately, James Murdoch's, Yuvraj Malik, Jonathan Stempel, Dietrich Knauth, Shailesh Kuber, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Fortress Investment, Media, U.S, Fortress, GoDigital Media, Reuters, Systems, TPG, Technology, Ventures, Antenna Group, Big Tech, Facebook, Google, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Meta's Oversight Board asks Facebook owner to evaluate election integrity efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The board said on Thursday that Meta's original decision to leave up the Facebook video, which featured a Brazilian general calling people to "hit the streets," raised concerns about the effectiveness of the company's election integrity efforts. "In this case, the speaker's intent, the content of the speech and its reach, as well as the likelihood of imminent harm ... all justified removing the post," said the Oversight Board, whose recommendations are not binding on Meta. The company's election preparedness efforts are in focus as the United States prepares for the presidential elections next year. The company was also among the social media platforms that suspended Trump in 2021 after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot, determining he had incited violence. Meta, in a response to the board, said that it does not currently have metrics for measuring the success of its election integrity efforts generally.

Persons: Meta, Republican Donald Trump, Yuvraj Malik, Varun Organizations: Facebook, Meta, United States, Republican, Trump, Thomson Locations: United, Bengaluru

☆ Uber to lay off 200 employees in recruitment division
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 21 (Reuters) - Uber Technologies (UBER.N) said on Wednesday it was cutting 200 jobs in its recruitment division amid plans to keep the staff count flat through the year and streamline costs. The reductions affect less than 1% of Uber's 32,700-strong global workforce and follow the ride-share company laying off 150 employees in its freight services division earlier this year. Uber trimmed its staff count by 17% at the start of the pandemic in mid-2020 and has implemented smaller cuts than chief rival Lyft (LYFT.O) in recent months. Uber said in May it was on track to post operating income profitability this year and that it was keeping its workforce flat after headcount fell sequentially in the March quarter. Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Lyft, David Risher, Uber, Yuvraj Malik, Devika Organizations: Technologies, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ OpenAI plans app store for AI software, The Information reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 20 (Reuters) - OpenAI, creator of the widely popular chatbot ChatGPT, plans to launch a marketplace that will allow developers to sell their AI models built on top of its own AI technology, news site the Information reported on Tuesday, citing people with knowledge of discussions at the company. According to the news report, makers of such models could offer them to other businesses through OpenAI's proposed marketplace. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman disclosed the potential plans during a meeting with developers in London last month, the report said. Such a marketplace could compete with app stores run by some of the company's customers and technology partners - including Salesforce (CRM.N) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) - and help OpenAI's technology reach a broader customer base. Companies are also racing to offer their customers new tools and capabilities based on the AI software's advanced large language models (LLMs).

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Yuvraj Malik, Pooja Desai Organizations: Enterprise, Microsoft, Khan Academy, Thomson Locations: London, Bengaluru

☆ Microsoft to offer OpenAI's GPT models to government cloud customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Microsoft sign is shown on top of the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 19,2018. REUTERS/Mike BlakeJune 7 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) is bringing the powerful language-producing models from OpenAI to U.S. federal agencies using its Azure cloud service, it said in a blog post on Wednesday. The Redmond, Washington-based company has added support for large language models (LLMs) powering GPT-4 the latest and the most sophisticated of the LLMs from OpenAI, and GPT-3, to Azure Government. Microsoft generally offers it to Azure commercial cloud users through Azure OpenAI Services, which had 4,500 customers as of May. Microsoft said government customers can adapt the language models for specific tasks including content generation, language-to-code translation and summarization.

Persons: Mike Blake, Yuvraj Malik, Samrhitha, Maju Samuel Organizations: Microsoft, Microsoft Theatre, REUTERS, Microsoft Corp, Government, OpenAI, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, Redmond, Washington, OpenAI, Bengaluru

☆ Amazon plans ad tier for Prime Video streaming service - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 7 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O) is planning to launch an advertising-supported tier of its Prime Video streaming service, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The WSJ report also said Amazon was holding discussions with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD.O) and Paramount Global (PARA.O) about adding the ad-based tiers of their streaming services through Prime Video Channels. "In recent years, Prime Video has gotten more aggressive about running promos prior to its shows and including ad-filled sports broadcasts," said Ross Benes, Insider Intelligence principal analyst. Sports coverage on Prime Video already comes with ads. "Officially putting ads into Prime Video allows Amazon to centralize its audience and be more consistent with branding," Benes added.

Persons: Walt Disney, Ross Benes, Benes, Yuvraj Malik, Samrhitha, Devika Organizations: Wall Street, Netflix, Amazon, Warner Bros Discovery, Paramount Global, Paramount, Intelligence, Sports, Prime, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Factbox: Apple spruces up products with AI but avoids the buzz word
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 6 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) did not once mention the word AI at its developers conference on Monday, but the iPhone-maker quietly added the technology that has taken Wall Street by storm to many of the features and updates it unveiled. The omission was in contrast to how other tech giants such as Alphabet-owned (GOOGL.O) Google and Microsoft (MSFT.O) have approached the hype recently, including talking about AI during earnings calls and at events on how they are embracing the technology. Instead, Apple used words such as "transformer language model", "machine learning" and "ML", when talking about the company's AI efforts. The company unveiled a costly augmented-reality headset called the Vision Pro, which uses AI, while also adding AI for smaller, incremental upgrades to some of its products and apps. Here are some of the products that received AI upgrades:Reporting by Yuvraj Malik, Chavi Mehta and Jaspreet Singh in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Apple, Yuvraj Malik, Chavi Mehta, Jaspreet Singh Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Apple to sell Vision Pro AR headset for triple Meta's top-line price
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Stephen Nellis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/4] People use cameras as Apple's Vision Pro headsets are on display at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference at the company's headquarters in Cupertino, California, U.S. June 5, 2023. Apple's headset will be available early next year in the U.S. with more countries coming later in 2024. The Vision Pro has two hours of use with an external battery, which Apple said would reduce the weight on the user's head. Investors and tech fans alike are focused on how much Apple's view of the virtual reality market overlaps with Meta's. In addition to Meta, Sony Group Corp (6758.T) and ByteDance-owned Pico both recently released virtual reality devices.

Persons: Loren Elliott CUPERTINO, Apple, Alan Dye, Tim Cook, Walt Disney's, Mark Zuckerberg, there's, John Ternus, Apple's, Craig Federighi, Stephen Nellis, Yuvraj Malik, Dawn Chmielewski, Katie Paul, Peter Henderson, Aditya Soni, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Developers, REUTERS, Apple Inc, Pro, Apple, Vision, Reuters, Adobe, Microsoft, Unity, Meta, Sony Group Corp, Pico, Research, IDC, Mac Pro, Mac, Intel, Thomson Locations: Cupertino , California, U.S, Loren Elliott CUPERTINO , California, Bengaluru, Dawn, Los Angeles, New York

☆ Here's what Apple unveiled at WWDC: Vision Pro, 15-inch MacBook Air, OS updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Vision Pro sports 12 cameras and a digital crown similar to the Apple Watch to toggle between the AR and VR environments. M2 ULTRA CHIPApple unveiled M2 Ultra, its most-powerful processor so far, that comes to its desktop computers Mac Pro and Mac Studio. LARGER MACBOOK AIR, POWERFUL DESKTOPSApple launched a 15-inch MacBook Air featuring the M2 chip and an 18-hour battery life. The company beefed up its desktop computers, introducing a new version of its flagship Mac Pro with the M2 Ultra chip, starting at $6,999. WIDGETS FOR APPLE WATCH, OS UPGRADES, JOURNALING APPApple announced fresh versions of operating systems across its products.

Persons: Apple, Yuvraj Malik, Maju Samuel Organizations: Apple Inc, Meta, PlayStation VR, Sony Group, Apple Watch, Disney, Microsoft, Adobe Inc, Vision, Apple, Mac, Mac Pro, Max, APP Apple, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ US telecom companies say not in talks with Amazon for wireless services
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

June 2 (Reuters) - Major U.S. wireless carriers on Friday said they not in talks with Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) to offer low-cost wireless services to its Prime members. "AT&T is not in discussions with Amazon to resell wireless services," a company spokesperson said. Verizon spokesperson the company "is not in negotiations with Amazon regarding the resale of (Verizon's) wireless network. Brandon Nispel of KeyBanc Capital Markets said Dish Network, a relatively new entrant in wireless, could be the most likely partner for Amazon. They also rallied in May after a Wall Street Journal report that Dish was in talks to sell its wireless plans through Amazon.

Persons: Christopher Ali, Brandon Nispel, Michael Ashley Schulman, Yuvraj Malik, Aditya Soni, Tanya Jain, Akash Sriram, David Shepardson, Sheila Dang, Nivedita Bhattacharjee Organizations: Major U.S, Amazon.com Inc, Wireless, Bloomberg News, Amazon, Dish Network, Verizon, Mobile, Penn State University, AT, KeyBanc, Journal, U.S, Running, Capital Advisors, Thomson Locations: Major, Bengaluru, Washington, Dallas

☆ Amazon in talks to offer low-cost mobile services - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 2 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is in talks with several telecom providers to offer low-cost or possibly free mobile phone service to U.S. Prime subscribers, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Talks between Amazon and Dish were reported last week. The reported talks come as Amazon faces a slowdown in new sign-ups for the Prime service, its key loyalty program that offers subscribers faster shipping and video streaming. For telecom companies, a resell partnership with Amazon could serve as a means to attract new users and boost revenue. The details of the potential deals between Amazon and the telecom firms were not immediately known.

Persons: Tanya Jain, Akash Sriram, Yuvraj Malik, Nivedita Bhattacharjee Organizations: Amazon.com Inc, Bloomberg, Verizon Communications, Mobile US Inc, Dish Network Corp, Amazon, T Inc, Verizon, Mobile, Dish Network, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ US telecom stocks fall on report Amazon in talks for wireless services
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Bloomberg News reported that Amazon was negotiating to get the lowest possible wholesale prices and could offer wireless plans for $10 a month or lower to Prime members through these partnerships. AT&T declined to comment, while T-Mobile said it was not in discussions with Amazon for inclusion of its wireless in Prime service. The details of the potential deals between Amazon and the wireless carriers were not immediately known. Dish's shares were an outlier in telecom stocks with a gain of 22%. The company's shares had also soared in May after a Wall Street Journal report that it was in talks to sell its wireless plans through Amazon.

Persons: Christopher Ali, Brandon Nispel, Yuvraj Malik, Tanya Jain, Akash Sriram, Aditya Soni, Sheila Dang, Nivedita Bhattacharjee Organizations: Verizon Communications Inc, Mobile US Inc, Inc, U.S, Bloomberg News, Amazon, Penn State University, Verizon, Mobile, KeyBanc, Markets, Dish Network Corp, Journal, Thomson Locations: Amazon, Bengaluru, Dallas

☆ Amazon in talks with Verizon, others for low-cost mobile services -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 2 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is in talks with wireless carriers Verizon Communications (VZ.N), T-Mobile US Inc (TMUS.O) and Dish Network Corp (DISH.O) to offer low cost mobile services in the U.S., Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Bloomberg News also said Amazon has been negotiating to get the lowest possible wholesale prices that would let it offer Prime members wireless plans for $10 a month or possibly for free. Shares of Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T were down about 6% in premarket trading on Friday. Shares of Dish Network, whose talks with Amazon were earlier reported in the media, were up 9%. Reporting by Tanya Jain, Akash Sriram and Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita BhattacharjeeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tanya Jain, Akash Sriram, Yuvraj Malik, Nivedita Organizations: Amazon.com Inc, Verizon Communications, Mobile US Inc, Dish Network Corp, Bloomberg, T Inc, Verizon, Mobile, Dish Network, Amazon, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Meta unveils Quest 3 mixed reality headset ahead of Apple's VR debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, June 1 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday revealed the company's next generation mixed reality headset, the Quest 3, as it braces for Apple to potentially reshape the nascent market that Meta has dominated so far. Priced starting at $499, the device will be 40% thinner than the company's previous headset and feature color mixed reality, which combines augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) elements, Zuckerberg said in an Instagram post. Zuckerberg's announcement came less than a week before tech rival Apple (AAPL.O) was expected to unveil its first mixed reality device. Meta's devices comprised nearly 80% of the 8.8 million virtual reality headsets sold in 2022, according to an estimate by market research firm IDC. Its high-end Meta Quest Pro now retails for about $1,000, down from a launch price of $1,500, and the Quest 2's 256 GB version now starts at about $430, down from $500.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Pico, Meta, Katie Paul, Yuvraj Malik, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: YORK, Apple, Meta, Qualcomm, IDC, TikTok, Thomson

Search resuls for: "Yuvraj"

25 mentions found