Netflix’s huge $82 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studios group almost went a different way. The streamer was previously eyeing a takeover of gaming giant Electronic Arts, a move that would have shaken the industry.
Square Enix’s third-largest shareholder, 3D Investment Partners, has published a damning 100-page critique of the company. The report blames poor sales, high costs, and failed strategy, calling for a “fundamental reassessment” of management.
The UK government has rejected a £1.8 billion ($2.3B) cost forecast for its national digital identity scheme. Officials have delayed a crucial consultation to 2024 and are considering IDs for 13-year-olds.
A new £14m package of joint initiatives aims to strengthen UK-German quantum technology collaboration. The funding includes a £6m R&D call and £8m for Glasgow’s Fraunhofer Centre. This builds on recent bilateral efforts in space and supercomputing.
NVIDIA and SoftBank are reportedly in talks to invest over $1 billion into Skild AI, a robotics foundation model startup. The deal, which could close before Christmas, would value the 2023-founded company at nearly $14 billion.
Microsoft Flight Simulator’s boss says he pitched a PlayStation port over two years ago and was told no. Sony’s interest later reversed that decision, which he believes kicked off the wider strategy of bringing Xbox games to rival consoles like PS5 and Switch.
According to investor Tiger Global, Waymo has surpassed 450,000 weekly paid robotaxi rides. This milestone, revealed in a letter viewed by CNBC, is nearly double the figure the Alphabet-owned unit reported in April.
The future of AI isn’t just about replacing jobs. According to experts, its most transformative role in the physical world will come from working alongside human experts, who provide the crucial questions and guidance the technology needs.
According to CNBC, IBM is in advanced talks to acquire data-infrastructure firm Confluent for a whopping $11 billion, sending Confluent’s shares up 27%. Meanwhile, Carvana and CRH are set to join the S&P 500 on December 22, boosting their stocks significantly in premarket trading.
OnePlus has temporarily pulled its AI Writer tool from recent phones following user claims of political censorship. The company says it’s a “technical issue” and is working on a fix after reports surfaced on Reddit and Twitter.
