TECHNOLOGY
DoorDash buys Chowbotics
Restaurant meal delivery service DoorDash Inc on Monday said it bought the start-up behind a robotic vending machine capable of whipping up salads, parfaits, poke bowls and other dishes on demand. The company said it would use Chowbotics to help merchants expand their menu offerings as they get into new markets “without investing in an entirely new store.” Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Chowbotics is the creator of a boxy machine it calls “Sally” that can make and dispense fresh meals.
VIDEO GAMES
EA buys mobile game firm
US video game powerhouse Electronic Arts Inc (EA) on Monday announced a US$2.1 billion deal to by smartphone-focused game studio Glu Mobile. The acquisition came with Glu’s library of titles including MLB Tap Sports Baseball and was described as part of a move by EA to significantly beef up its offerings on smartphones or tablet computers. EA expected Glu to enable it to build on popular video game franchises with mobile offerings. Glu’s line-up of games includes Design Home and Covet Fashion. The acquisition was expected to close by the end of June, pending approval of regulators and Glu shareholders.
UNITED KINGDOM
Retailers hit by lockdown
England’s third lockdown hit non-essential retailers harder than the previous one in November last year, with a new variant of COVID-19 hampering spending and confidence last month, the British Retail Consortium said yesterday. Clothing and footwear stores fared particularly badly as retailers on the whole saw the value of sales decline from a year earlier, the business lobby said. A similar picture emerged in a separate Barclaycard survey, which showed consumer spending falling sharply and Britons more worried about their jobs.
MESSAGING
Kakao Corp profit soars
The operator of South Korea’s biggest mobile messenger, KakaoTalk, posted coronavirus-boosted record quarterly profits yesterday, a day after its billionaire founder pledged to give away more than half his wealth. Operating profit for Kakao Corp surged 88.3 percent year-on-year to 150 billion won (US$134 million) in the final three months of last year, the highest for any quarter, the company said. Sales were up 45.7 percent year-on-year at 1.24 trillion won. On Monday, Kakao founder Kim Beom-su sent a message to employees telling them: “I have pledged to donate more than half of my assets throughout my life to solve social issues.” Kim’s wealth amounts to about US$9.5 billion, according to Forbes.
UNITED STATES
GDP forecast raised
Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc on Monday bumped their GDP forecast for the second quarter up to 11 percent from 10 percent and said that additional fiscal measures are likely to be valued at US$1.5 trillion, up from their previous US$1.1 trillion estimate. On an annual basis, they raised their forecasts for this year and next year growth by 0.2 percentage points each, to 6.8 percent and 4.5 percent respectively. The economists also said they had brought forward their forecast for the first rate hike by the Federal Reserve from the second half of 2024 to the first half in light of the upgrade to the growth forecast, the larger-than-expected decline in the unemployment rate last month, and signs of a “firmer” inflation outlook.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
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