A lot has changed at HTC in the decade since a small team broke off to form its mixed reality division.
These days, the mixed reality business comprises the “vast majority” of HTC’s global business, says Dan O’Brien.
Ultimately, however, the consumer business has shrunk dramatically relative to its enterprise offerings.
In recent years, Vive has expanded from a VR focus to mixed reality, utilizing passthrough technology similar to the kind found on the Vision Pro.
We’re not there yet, but we definitely see that helping to develop the virtual reality space.
Sony is laying off around 900 employees in its PlayStation division, the company announced on Tuesday.
The cuts will impact 8% of the division’s global workforce, as Sony becomes the latest company to announce major cuts in recent weeks and months.
The layoffs come two weeks after Sony cut its sales forecast for the PlayStation 5 after warning of decreasing demand.
Sony isn’t the only company in the gaming business to announce recent job cuts.
Last month, Microsoft laid off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees and Unity laid off 25% of its workforce.
Match Group’s deal with OpenAI is just business with AI glitter on topListen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hello, and welcome to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.
This week, Mary Ann, Kirsten and Alex gathered to chat through a massive sheaf of news.
For episode transcripts and more, head to Equity’s Simplecast website.
TechCrunch also has a great show on crypto, a show that interviews founders and more!
The company’s iPhone revenue in India jumped 42% year-on-year in 2023 to $8.7 billion, Morgan Stanley wrote in a note on Friday.
India’s iPhone business is now larger than any standalone country in the European Union, Morgan Stanley added.
This compares to China iPhone shipments, which represented 20% of iPhone shipments and revenue in CY23 (down 1-2 points Y/Y, respectively),” the analysts wrote.
The average iPhone sold in India last year had around 260GB of memory, a 26% increase over 2022, Morgan Stanley said.
Morgan Stanley estimates the tech giant’s India revenue will reach $40 billion by 2032.
This week, the Financial Times reported the EC will issue its first-ever fine against the tech giant for allegedly breaking EU law over competition in the streaming music market.
It reads:We’re happy to support the success of all developers — including Spotify, which is the largest music streaming app in the world.
In the case of the EU complaint, the concern is that Apple’s App Store distorts completion in the music streaming market.
“There are other rivals to Apple Music — there are Deezer, there are Soundcloud.
A rep for the EC declined to comment on news related to Spotify’s complaint or any pending fines.
With Twilio under activist pressure, Segment could be put up for sale But recovering the 2020 purchase price could be impossibleTwilio’s foray into the customer data (CDP) business could be heading for an early conclusion.
During the last quarters of Lawson’s tenure atop the company, Twilio came under pressure from activist investors Anson Funds and Legion Capital to divest assets to bolster shareholder value.
With all that value and an eye toward expanding its market, Twilio went out and spent $3.2 billion to acquire Segment.
What is Segment worth?
According to Twilio, its Segment unit generated $75 million worth of revenue in Q4 2023, up 4% from a $73 million result in the year-ago quarter.
They continue to labor under the dual misapprehension that ideas are sacrosanct and that technical supremacy is the key to startup success.
There is no shortage of exciting business ideas out there; indeed, its multiple founders frequently experience the same lightbulb moments and go on to develop near-identical business propositions.
What makes startups more likely to succeed is the quality of the team, their ability to execute, and their sense of timing — the most inscrutable element of company building.
What makes startups more likely to succeed is the quality of the team, their ability to execute, and their sense of timing.
Like many seasoned investors, I’ve been preaching the virtues of “team, timing, and execution” for years.
Brex and the curse of having too much moneyListen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
From there we turned to fintech (generally) and Brex (more specifically).
In short, Brex is a big company today but not one that is having a lot of fun at the moment, it appears.
(generally) and Brex (more specifically).
In short, Brex is a big company today but not one that is having a lot of fun at the moment, it appears.
Allianz Direct, a digital-first German subsidiary of the insurance giant, has acquired the French home insurance business of ailing insurtech Luko for €4.3 million (around $4.65 million).
This was both expected and unexpected: The two companies were hoping to get the green light on a deal in November.
After all, Luko ambitioned to become a European insurtech unicorn on its own, and maybe it’s now paying the price for it.
But there’s also relief for some in knowing that the company won’t be sold for parts after all — and the business unit that will live on is arguably what it should have stuck to all along.
Along the way, things became more complicated and debt mounted as it expanded in other markets and made acquisitions: German startup Coya and fellow French startup Unkle, both in 2022.
Tesla’s once-leading solar business is in decline, according to the latest figures from its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings report.
It was a bad year for Tesla solar — its worst since 2020.
In Q4 2023, Tesla’s solar deployments dropped 59% year-over-year to 41 MW — down from 100 MW in Q4 2022.
Next to solar, Tesla’s energy generation and storage business is booming (surprise, surprise).
The scale of Tesla’s residential solar business isn’t what it once was.
