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Automation Platform Jaunt XR Acquired by Verizon

2Oct By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Automation Platform Jaunt XR Acquired by Verizon

Jaunt XR announced the acquisition of its software, technology, and certain other assets by Verizon Communications Inc for an undisclosed amount. Jaunt has raised over $100 million in venture funding from Disney, Google's venture arm GV, Evolution Media Partners, CMC, Highland Capital Partners, and RedPoint Ventures. Jaunt XR is a leader in the immersive industry with a focus on the scalable creation and distribution of volumetric video of humans. “We are thrilled with Verizon’s acquisition of Jaunt’s technology,” said Mitzi Reaugh, President & CEO of Jaunt XR. “The Jaunt team has built leading-edge software and we are excited for its next chapter with Verizon.” Jaunt will be assisting Verizon with the transition of select portions of the software and technology for a brie...

25Sep By AdityaNo Comments

BUSINESS

New York Magazine Merge With Vox Media

25th Sept, 2019- Vox Media acquires New York Media, home of the prestigious "New York" magazine and a series of other titles. A joint statement presented the move as a merger, although Jim Bankoff, the head of Vox will "lead all aspects" of the new company and the New York Times reported that New York Media would be "effectively taking a minority stake" in Vox. Launched in 1968 New York magazine has become a prominent voice in culture and lifestyle writing in its home city and beyond, winning dozens of National Magazine Awards and a Pulitzer in 2018 for criticism. The 1977 classic film "Saturday Night Fever" was inspired by an article that appeared in the magazine, as was 2007's "American Gangster" starring Denzel Washington. New York Media also owns a stable of websites ...

Trent to acquire stake in Booker India for $3 Million

24Sep By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Trent to acquire stake in Booker India for $3 Million

Tata group's retail chain Trent Ltd will acquire 51 per cent stake in Booker India Pvt Ltd (BIPL) in a cash deal of around Rs 22 crore, a regulatory filing said. Trent in the filing to BSE on Tuesday said the acquisition would help in business expansion by adding six additional stores. "It is informed that the Company has agreed to acquire 51 per cent of the share capital of BIPL, for a consideration of Rs 22 Crores approximately. BIPL operations involve 6 stores," Trent said. BIPL operates five stores while its wholly-owned subsidiary Booker Satnam Wholesale operates one store. The company expects to complete the transaction by the end of October this year. BIPL had a turnover of Rs 238 crore for the financial year ended on March 31, 2019 and Rs 43 crore of Booker Sat...

Facebook Acquires Startup Working on to control Computers Using Brain

24Sep By PriyankaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Facebook Acquires Startup Working on to control Computers Using Brain

Facebook acquires a startup working on ways to command computers or other devices using brain thought instead of taps, swipes, or keystrokes. CTRL-labs will become part of Facebook Reality Labs with an aim at perfecting the technology and getting it into consumer products, according to Andrew Bosworth, vice president of augmented and virtual reality at the California-based social network. "We know there are more natural, intuitive ways to interact with devices and technology," Bosworth said in a post at Facebook announcing the acquisition. "And we want to build them. The vision for this work is a wristband that lets people control their devices as a natural extension of movement." Bosworth explained that the wristband will decode electrical impulses such as those sent to h...

Akamai Acquires Encrypted Communication firm KryptCo

24Sep By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Akamai Acquires Encrypted Communication firm KryptCo

Akamai, the cloud based digital platform acquired KryptCo, creator of multi-factor authentication technology. KryptCo technology establishes an authenticated and encrypted communication channel, resistant to phishing while still offering a simplified user experience that does not require entering pin codes. This enables enterprises to implement multi-factor authentication, an increasingly critical enhancement to identity and access which are core tenets of zero trust, with the confidence the additional authentication factors are end-to-end verified and with minimal risk of phishing attacks. "Prevailing technologies in the industry that offer multi-factor authentication are still vulnerable to phishing and other attack vectors, making them easy to compromise and break...

Shopify to Acquire Warehouse Firm 6 River Systems For $450 Million

17Sep By PriyankaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Shopify to Acquire Warehouse Firm 6 River Systems For $450 Million

OTTAWA, Canada & WALTHAM, MA 17th September 2019- Shopify the leading multi-channel ecommerce platform looking to acquire warehouse firm 6 River Systems. Shopify will acquire all of 6 River Systems’ outstanding securities in a transaction valued at approximately USD$450 million, consisting of approximately 60% in cash and 40% in Shopify Class A Subordinate Voting Shares. Included in this amount are Shopify Class A shares and options valued at approximately $69 million that will be issued to 6 River Systems’ founders and employees that will vest subject to certain conditions and will be treated as stock-based compensation. In June, Shopify introduced the Shopify Fulfillment Network, a powerful and trusted fulfillment network that will ensure timely deliveries, lower shipping c...

McDonald’s to Acquire Apprente to Automate its Drive thrus Outlets

16Sep By NitishNo Comments

ACQUISITION

McDonald’s to Acquire Apprente to Automate its Drive thrus Outlets

CHICAGO, IL, September 16, 2019– McDonald to acquire Apprente, an early stage leader in voice-based, conversational technology. The deal advancing McDonald’s technology capabilities between employee and their customers. The announcement comes after extensive exploration with several parties, including evaluating Apprente’s solutions in McDonald’s test restaurants. Apprente was founded in 2017 in Mountain View, California, to create voice-based platforms for complex, multilingual, multi-accent and multi-item conversational ordering. In McDonald’s restaurants, this technology is expected to allow for faster, simpler and more accurate order taking at the Drive Thru with future potential to incorporate into mobile ordering and kiosks. “Building our technology infrastructure and dig...

Yahoo Japan to acquire Online Fashion Retailer Zozo

12Sep By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Yahoo Japan to acquire Online Fashion Retailer Zozo

Yahoo Japan will acquire a majority stake in the online fashion retailer Zozo founded by billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, known for buying pricey art and his space travel plans. The Japanese IT giant, a subsidiary of telecoms giant and investor SoftBank Group, aims to buy up to 152.95 million shares or a 50.1 percent stake in Zozo. The cost of the acquisition will be as high as 400.7 billion yen ($3.7 billion), with Yahoo Japan offering a 21 percent premium over Zozo's Wednesday closing price. The deal includes an agreement to acquire 92.7 million shares from Maezawa, equivalent to the 30.37 percent he owns in Zozo. Maezawa, known for his extravagant lifestyle and eccentric comments, will step down as Zozo chief executive from Thursday. "I will leave Zozo's future in the hands of...

Oyo Acquires Las Vegas Hooters Casino Hotel

25Aug By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Oyo Acquires Las Vegas Hooters Casino Hotel

Las Vegas, August 23, 2019 — OYO, the world’s third-largest and fastest-growing online hotel booking platform acquires Hooters Casino Hotel. OYO has partnered with Highgate to create its first key flagship property in Las Vegas and name it as OYO Hotel & Casino Las Vegas. Located near the corner of the famed Las Vegas Strip on Tropicana, OYO Hotel & Casino provides 657 rooms across nineteen floors and a 35,000 square-foot casino. Additional amenities include two signature restaurants, four bars, a fitness center, and an outdoor pool. The property will undergo an exciting transformation to be completed this year, which will bring the dynamic OYO brand to life in the most recognizable tourist destination in the world. Highgate will assume management of the hotel, and Par...

CoWrks acquires on-demand Workspace Startup The UnCube

15Aug By PriyankaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

CoWrks acquires on-demand Workspace Startup The UnCube

Leading co-working startup CoWrks announced the acquisition of The UnCube, which provides on-demand workspace solution. The development signals consolidation in the fast-growing co-working segment, which is accounting for 15-20 percent of the total office space leasing across major cities. Recently, Oyo acquired Innov8 to enter into this business. After the acquisition, Bengaluru-based CoWrks will now rename the entity to CoWrks Go. Currently, CoWrks has 25 operational centres and 25,000 members spread across 2 million sq ft area with presence in major cities. Founded by Sakshi Khanna in 2017, The UnCube provides co-working space for professionals on transit by partnering with restaurants and cafes. It currently has 2,500 members working across 200 locations in seven cities su...

13Aug By PriyankaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Ola Acqui-hires AI Startup Pikup.ai

Cab aggregator Ola acqui-hiring' Pikup.ai, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup based out of Bengaluru. Acqui-hiring is a term for acquisition plus hiring. As part of the deal, the team at pikup.ai will join Ola, the company said in a statement. Ola announced earlier this year its intent to set up an advanced technology centre in the San Francisco Bay area in the US, to focus on developing next-generation technologies in mobility like Electric, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles. "By bringing deep domain expertise to Ola, this acquihire will also deliver innovations that continue to improve safety and transform customer experience," Ola said. Pikup.ai was co-founded by Inder Singh and Ritwik Saikia, which uses autonomous technologies like AI, computer vision and sensor fusio...

13Aug By AdityaNo Comments

ACQUISITION

Tumblr Got Acquired by WordPress Owner

Blogging website Tumblr is going to acquire by Automattic Inc., the owner of popular online-publishing tool WordPress.com. Currently, Tumblr is owned by Verizon Communications Inc. the parent company of Yahoo. Verizon acquired Tumblr in 2013 for $1 billion. As per the sources, the current acquisition price is just a $20 million, a big loss for Verizon. Tumble was popular as a porn blog app between users. Once the hottest game in town now in the dust because a recent decision to ban porn from the platform has had a marked negative impact on Tumblr's traffic. According to the data, first-time users for Tumblr’s mobile app declined 33% year-over-year last quarter. “Today’s announcement is the culmination of a thoughtful, thorough and strategic process,” said Verizon Media C...