Software

Why the jobs market could brush off AI threat

16 May 2023

Hiring seems to be waning in the US and Europe. Yet in this Exchange podcast, recruitment boss Sander van ’t Noordende strikes a hopeful note. The Randstad CEO explains why artificial intelligence and a possible economic slump are doing nothing to dampen demand for talent.

Big Tech’s AI victims will fall fast

12 May 2023

Online education company Chegg is suffering as students lean on artificial intelligence to help with homework. Hollywood writers are paranoid. While AI is accruing value to Big Tech, smaller companies will quickly – and once again – be annihilated by well-capitalized tech firms.

AI offers leisure, if not happiness

12 May 2023

Technology has outpaced economic growth for 50 years, while workers have long traded higher productivity for more leisure. These trends will continue as artificial intelligence automates more jobs. The salient question is how to distribute the gains – and the free time.

German software buyout battle hits investor glitch

10 May 2023

Bain Capital has launched a 2.5 bln euro knockout offer for IT group Software AG. But the target seems oddly happy to stick with a lower bid from existing backer Silver Lake. Shareholders can either take an inferior price or risk a messy stalemate.

Airbnb swerves tech rout with constant change

2 May 2023

The $77 bln travel company weathered the pandemic and is now navigating a tech valuation bloodbath. Its co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk told The Exchange podcast that lessons learned during Covid-19 about disruption and never sitting still are key to its future.

Deutsche Boerse data pivot comes at a price

27 Apr 2023

Boss Theodor Weimer is buying fund software firm SimCorp for 4 bln euros. Like peer LSEG, the German exchange is hoping a shift into the faster-growing data business will mean richer valuations. It’s a logical gamble, but such deals are expensive, and take time to pay off.

“Super Mario” augurs more media-gaming tie-ups

20 Apr 2023

Nintendo and Universal’s film adaptation of the hit video game franchise could rake in $1.5 bln. That’s a big victory for an industry whose spinoffs have more often been the butt of jokes. With gaming stocks having sold off sharply, there’s logic in more media giants plugging in.

Capital Calls: Allianz’s fintech sale

19 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: The $100 bln insurer may offload its 5% stake in German digital banking startup N26, a decision that would make all kinds of sense.

Cyberattack risks rise up company agendas

18 Apr 2023

Digital breaches and data theft were up 40% in 2022. As firms expand their digital network, the weaknesses criminals exploit will also grow, DXC Technology’s security expert Mark Hughes told The Exchange podcast. Defending against attacks will inevitably cost more.

Capital Calls: Bridal bankruptcy

18 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: David’s Bridal, which dresses one in four American brides, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in five years. Trends that push women to spend more on themselves suggest the chain would have better luck with bachelorettes.

Apple’s store push marks its big Indian wedding

18 Apr 2023

Dhol drums – a high-decibel feature of marriage celebrations – played in Mumbai as Tim Cook opened the company’s first store. A retail presence is mostly a symbolic gesture given India’s lower-middle income status. Yet selling more iPhones isn’t the only thing Cook has to gain.

Capital Calls: IMF’s grim outlook, Electric cars

11 Apr 2023

Concise views on global finance: The International Monetary Fund’s medium-term forecast for the global economy is the bleakest since 1990; lower proposed mileage ratings for electric vehicles could force automakers to sell more of them to meet regulatory standards.

Israel hits tech sector cash cow while it’s down

3 Apr 2023

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed a controversial plan giving the state power to override court decisions. Foreign investors in Israel’s key tech sector, which accounts for half its exports, were already getting stingier. They’ll get even more so if the idea returns.

Capital Calls: Gas station M&A

16 Mar 2023

Concise views on global finance: Canada’s $44 bln Alimentation Couche-Tard pays 3.1 bln euros for TotalEnergies’ European gas station cast-offs.

SAP ends pointless M&A roundtrip with Qualtrics

7 Mar 2023

The $150 bln software giant may sell its stake to Silver Lake. A $12 bln valuation implies mediocre returns for SAP, which bought the survey group in 2018. The buyout firm may struggle to put much debt on the target, crimping its profit, but it looks like a more logical owner.

Fintech darling Stripe has first-world problems

2 Mar 2023

The payment startup is raising new cash at a valuation roughly half its previous worth of $95 billion. A solid business model and rapid growth allowed Stripe to stay private. But slowing revenue and the need to retain employees have forced it to acknowledge financial gravity.

Salesforce sufficiently acquiesces to angry mob

2 Mar 2023

The $170 bln software developer improved its operating margin, doubled its stock buyback plan and disbanded its M&A committee. It’s effectively everything multiple dissidents wanted. Unless pushy investor Elliott has superstar board nominees, it would be overkill to ask for more.

Alphabet’s AI response is make-or-break-it

1 Mar 2023

Microsoft’s chatbot likened a journalist to Hitler and spews falsehoods. But a bigger threat is to the Google owner. Given time and improvements, artificial intelligence could cannibalize three-quarters of the search market. Failing to catch up would pose an existential threat.

Court dunk changes game for digital collectibles

28 Feb 2023

U.S. regulators didn’t say whether non-fungible tokens are financial securities before the $40 bln market swelled. Now it’s up to the courts. A judge’s ruling against fantasy basketball card developer Dapper Labs raises big risks for NFT companies. But there’s still no referee.

Open-source software braces for trade war

27 Feb 2023

Sharing code that runs databases, phones and more benefits the world economy. But mutual walls are going up: ChatGPT is blocked in China while the White House has cut off Huawei from Android. Many Chinese and U.S. software projects are intertwined. They might also be doomed.