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'Bayonetta' developer is the latest to throw itself at Tencent's feet
Chinese gaming giant Tencent has its fingers in the pie of yet another well-known developer. PlatinumGames chief Kenichi Sato has confirmed that his company took a "capital investment" from Tencent as part of a "basis for partnership." Sato didn't say how large the investment was, but he promised that this would have "no effect" on Platinum's independence or structure.
Facebook pledges $130 million for its content oversight board
Over the past year, Facebook has been working to put together a content oversight board. We've heard Mark Zuckerberg's vision, and Facebook shared a charter outlining its rules. Now, Facebook is committing $130 million to the effort.
Square enables free stock trades using Cash App
Square kept introducing new features for its Cash app over the past years until it's no longer just meant for sending and receiving money from friends. Last year, the company launched the ability to instantly buy and sell bitcoin, allowing users to take a chance on cryptocurrency if they want to. Now, Square has revealed that it's rolling out the ability to buy stocks from within the Cash app. Users don't even have to invest money they can't afford losing -- say, over $1,000 to buy a single Google share -- because it'll allow them to buy fractions of stocks for as little as $1.
Apple pours another $250 million into iPhone glass supplier Corning
Apple has announced that it's investing $250 million into display glass supplier Corning, on top of the $200 million it put in in 2017. The money will help Corning develop glass technology that's "specific to Apple," including "state-of-the-art glass processes, equipment and materials integral to the delivery of next-generation consumer devices," Apple wrote. That includes new types of glass for the iPhone, Watch and iPad. The money will come from Apple's Advanced Manufacturing Fund aimed at promoting jobs and technology development in the US.
Rivian gets $350 million from the company behind Kelley Blue Book
Rivian won't even release its first electric truck until late 2020, but that isn't stopping the company from receiving its third big funding infusion this year. Cox Automotive, the company behind Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, has made a $350 million equity investment in Rivian. The publications won't play much of a role, to be clear. Rather, this is about a chance to "explore partnership opportunities" in the other areas of Cox's business, including digital retail, logistics and service ops. Cox owns companies like Manheim, which services, transports and auctions cars worldwide.
Microsoft invests $1 billion in Elon Musk-founded OpenAI
Today, Microsoft announced that it's investing $1 billion in the Elon Musk-founded company OpenAI. The two companies will work together to bring supercomputing technologies and AI to Microsoft Azure. And OpenAI will run its services exclusively in Microsoft's cloud. Ultimately, the partners hope to build artificial general intelligence (AGI), a technology that some say will match or exceed human intellect.
Facebook snags exclusive VR games for Oculus headsets
Facebook wants to give Oculus a boost by acquiring game studios and signing exclusive deals for VR versions of well-known games. According to The Information, Facebook plans to bring Assassin's Creed and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell to Oculus Quest and Rift S. Facebook will reportedly invest less than $1 billion in this approach, but The Information claims Mark Zuckerberg is personally involved.
GM's self-driving unit is close to receiving a $2.25 billion boost
It took more than a year, but GM's self-driving company is close to receiving a giant cash infusion. Cruise Automation confirmed to Reuters that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS) had approved SoftBank's $2.25 billion investment in the driverless tech company. SoftBank will have a spot on Cruise's board as a result of the deal. However, a Reuters source claimed that SoftBank wouldn't have access to the technology itself -- a condition CFIUS reportedly set out over concerns that the Japanese firm's investments in Chinese tech would compromise American trade secrets.
With Disney in charge, Hulu plans original content push
Now that Disney is in charge of Hulu, the streaming service is going to get more original content. Hulu CEO Randy Freer told CNBC that Hulu's "investment in original programming will increase significantly." Freer credits the change to "the capacity inside of the Walt Disney Company," including its ability to invest in the best stories and creators.
Facebook unveils a 'one-strike' policy for live streaming violations
Facebook has unveiled a one-strike policy for live streaming violations in the wake of an extreme right terrorist attack in New Zealand, the company announced. It said users who violate community standards just a single time on Facebook Live could be banned from streaming for a set time, depending on the nature of the violation. "Our goal is to minimize risk of abuse on Live while enabling people to use Live in a positive way every day," wrote Integrity VP Guy Rosen.
Faraday Future's EV dreams live on with (another) bailout
Now that Faraday Future has parted ways with its last partner, Chinese real estate firm Evergrande, money seems to be flowing in again. After getting a $600 million injection from mobile gaming company The9 Limited, Faraday announced that it has scored another $225 million in bridge financing via a funding round led by Birch Lake Associates. The cash will be used to bring the company flagship FF91 EV to market and reassure jittery suppliers that the company is still on sound footing.
Samsung invests in logic chip R&D to take on Qualcomm and TSMC
Samsung's chip division is its most lucrative, but memory chip prices are falling and the company's overall operating profits are slipping. In response, Samsung just announced a $116 billion investment in non-memory chip R&D and production infrastructure. Some see that as a move to sell chips to other companies and take on competitors like Qualcomm, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC).
Ford invests $500 million in Rivian to create an 'all-new' EV
It's now patently clear why Rivian turned down GM's exclusive investment -- it wanted to remain open to other juicy deals. Ford has announced that it's investing $500 million in Rivian, and is forming a "strategic partnership" to produce an "all-new" Ford-branded electric vehicle using the startup's skateboard platform. This is on top of Ford's existing EV plans, the companies said. Details of the machine weren't mentioned.
Uber's self-driving unit gets its own CEO and a $1 billion investment
As Uber finally closes in on its IPO, its self-driving car unit is getting a big cash infusion and some independence. The company announced tonight that Toyota, Denso and Softbank are investing a total of $1 billion in its Advanced Technologies Group (Uber ATG), in a deal that values that part of the company at $7.25 billion. This adds onto Toyota's $500 million investment last year, which the two said would lead to the creation of an autonomous fleet based on Toyota's Sienna minivan. So far, many of the big car companies are teaming up to develop autonomous tech combined with ridesharing angles as it's expected to be a huge market in the next few years. According to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, "The development of automated driving technology will transform transportation as we know it, making our streets safer and our cities more livable. Today's announcement, along with our ongoing OEM and supplier relationships, will help maintain Uber's position at the forefront of that transformation." In the statement Toyota EVP Shigeki Tomoyama said "Leveraging the strengths of Uber ATG's autonomous vehicle technology and service network and the Toyota Group's vehicle control system technology, mass-production capability, and advanced safety support systems, such as Toyota Guardian™, will enable us to commercialize safer, lower cost automated ridesharing vehicles and services." The deal won't close until Q3, which should be well after Uber's initial public offering that's on track to occur in May. It's also being announced after Arizona prosecutors announced they did not find the company criminally liable for a 2018 self-driving car crash that killed a pedestrian. The deal makes Uber ATG its own corporate entity that's controlled by Uber. Reuters reports that it has ATG head Eric Meyhofer as CEO reporting to a newly-formed board of directors, with six appointed by Uber, one by Toyota and one by Softbank.
Ford is investing $850 million to build EVs in Michigan
To boost its electric vehicle (EV) production, Ford is investing $850 million in its Flat Rock, Michigan, assembly plant. It hopes to make the plant the home of its EV production. To do so, the company will also hire 900 employees incrementally through 2023. This investment is part of Ford's $11.1 billion commitment to electric vehicles, and it includes funding to build Ford's next-generation Mustang in Michigan.
BMW and Daimler invest $1 billion in their joint mobility services
German automakers BMW and Daimler AG provided a host of details on their partnerhsip that will that will invest more than $1 billion into mobility services. The companies, which agreed to pool their services last year, plan to invest in handful of programs designed to help simplify and improve transportation in urban areas. The pair have created five joint ventures focused on everything from ride sharing to parking and expect the initiatives will produce around 1,000 new jobs.
Amazon invests in electric truck-maker Rivian
Amazon is staking a claim in the EV market after it led a $700 million investment round in electric pickup truck and SUV maker Rivian. Other details about the investment aren't being disclosed, but previous shareholders are involved and Rivian is remaining an independent company. Rumors suggested this week Amazon and GM would both invest, but it's not clear if the latter took part in this round. Nor did Rivian disclose how much of the company Amazon now owns.
Amazon invests in a self-driving car startup
Amazon is clearly interested in autonomy between its delivery drone project and Scout robots, but it's taking that commitment one step further. The tech giant has participated in a $530 million investment round for Aurora Innovation, a self-driving car startup created by luminaries like ex-Googler Chris Urmson, former Tesla Autopilot leader Sterling Anderson and Uber autonomy co-founder Drew Bagnell. While Amazon hasn't said what it hopes to gain from the investment, Aurora's technology may provide some clues.
Chinese gaming giant grabs stake in 'Detroit' studio Quantic Dream
China's NetEase may be struggling to get its games whitelisted in its native country, but that isn't stopping it from making waves in the wider gaming industry. The internet giant's gaming unit has acquired a minority stake in David Cage's studio Quantic Dream, best known for its cinematic PlayStation exclusives Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, both of which incorporate interactive storytelling techniques and motion capture technology. According to NetEase, Quantic Dream will continue to operate independently under the leadership of its co-CEOs Cage and Guillaume de Fondaumière.
Marlboro owner invests $12.8 billion in e-cigarette maker Juul
Tobacco giant Altria (which owns Marlboro and Virginia Slims) has bought a 35 percent stake in Juul for $12.8 billion. The major deal pegs the e-cigarette company's valuation at $38 billion, which more than doubles its value since a previous investment in July. Altria will place Juul's products next to its cigarettes on retail shelves, and, pending antitrust approval, hold a third of Juul's board seats.
