Tag Archives: Stocks & Offerings

The Morning After: The AirPods Pro’s new hearing aid features are a big deal

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Folded between all the new hardware announcements, Apple surprised us last week with news of FDA-approved hearing aid features for the AirPods Pro. No new hardware needed — it’s all in software updates. In the last decade, we’ve seen several companies tackle hearing-aid technology, aided by the boom in wireless tech. Now, arguably the most influential company in consumer tech is trying it. John Falcone outlines why this is a big deal. Or, at least, a very good deal.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

The iPhone 16 event is over, and now we’ve got plenty of thoughts to share after playing with all of Apple’s new hardware. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn chat about the entire iPhone 16 and Pro lineup, and Billy Steele joins to chat about his experience with the AirPods 4 and Apple Watch Series 10. It turns out the Apple Watch stole the show.

Listen here

TMA
Annapurna

The entire Annapurna Interactive team has left the company after its executives walked out, according to a Bloomberg report. Apparently, the video game publisher had been negotiating with Annapurna Pictures to spin off Annapurna Interactive into its own entity. Those talks broke down, so “all 25 members of the Annapurna Interactive team collectively resigned,” the team said in a joint statement.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-the-airpods-pros-new-hearing-aid-features-are-a-big-deal-111529376.html?src=rss

Reddit is now a publicly traded company

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Nineteen years after its debut, Reddit is now a publicly traded company. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange as RDDT for the first time on Thursday, with mascot Snoo on hand to ring the opening bell.

The company aimed to sell 15.3 million shares at $34 a pop to raise around $519.4 million. Stockholders collectively planned to sell 6.7 million shares in the IPO for a total of $228.6 million (Reddit itself wouldn't see any of that money though). The IPO price values Reddit at just under $6.5 billion.

The sale’s underwriters also have the option to buy 3.3 million shares at the IPO price over the next 30 days. So if the stock soars over the next few weeks, the underwriters can pick up shares relatively cheaply. If all those sell, Reddit will pull in another $112.2 million or so. One other interesting aspect of Reddit going public is that it invited long-term users in good standing the chance to snap up shares at the IPO pricing over the last few weeks.

It’s been a long road for Reddit to go public, and it’s doing so long after many of its peers (the last major social media IPO was Pinterest back in 2019). Conde Nast bought Reddit in 2006, just over a year after the platform went live, and spun it back out as an independent subsidiary in 2011. Reddit first filed for an IPO in 2021.

The company has had plenty of controversies to address during its run. Last year, users protested against the company's decision to start charging for API access, effectively killing some third-party apps that hooked into the platform. Thousands of subreddits went private and/or stopped letting users post for a while. Indeed, in its S-1 filing, Reddit notes the importance of its users, stating that if "engagement declines, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects will be harmed."

Most recently, Reddit signed a deal with Google said to be worth $60 million a year to train the latter’s AI models on user-generated content. Reddit later said the Federal Trade Commission was looking into the arrangement.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/reddit-is-now-a-publicly-traded-company-144455403.html?src=rss

Reddit is now a publicly traded company

Posted on by

Nineteen years after its debut, Reddit is now a publicly traded company. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange as RDDT for the first time on Thursday, with mascot Snoo on hand to ring the opening bell.

The company aimed to sell 15.3 million shares at $34 a pop to raise around $519.4 million. Stockholders collectively planned to sell 6.7 million shares in the IPO for a total of $228.6 million (Reddit itself wouldn't see any of that money though). The IPO price values Reddit at just under $6.5 billion.

The sale’s underwriters also have the option to buy 3.3 million shares at the IPO price over the next 30 days. So if the stock soars over the next few weeks, the underwriters can pick up shares relatively cheaply. If all those sell, Reddit will pull in another $112.2 million or so. One other interesting aspect of Reddit going public is that it invited long-term users in good standing the chance to snap up shares at the IPO pricing over the last few weeks.

It’s been a long road for Reddit to go public, and it’s doing so long after many of its peers (the last major social media IPO was Pinterest back in 2019). Conde Nast bought Reddit in 2006, just over a year after the platform went live, and spun it back out as an independent subsidiary in 2011. Reddit first filed for an IPO in 2021.

The company has had plenty of controversies to address during its run. Last year, users protested against the company's decision to start charging for API access, effectively killing some third-party apps that hooked into the platform. Thousands of subreddits went private and/or stopped letting users post for a while. Indeed, in its S-1 filing, Reddit notes the importance of its users, stating that if "engagement declines, our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects will be harmed."

Most recently, Reddit signed a deal with Google said to be worth $60 million a year to train the latter’s AI models on user-generated content. Reddit later said the Federal Trade Commission was looking into the arrangement.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/reddit-is-now-a-publicly-traded-company-144455403.html?src=rss

Even Signal is hopping on the Stories bandwagon

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Like Instagram, Facebook and so many others, Signal is hopping aboard the Stories bandwagon. The privacy-focused messaging app started beta testing an ephemeral Stories feature this week. Users can share videos, images and text-based messages with their friends. Stories will vanish after 24 hours.

As with the rest of the platform, Signal’s Stories have end-to-end encryption. Users can choose who to share them with. Along with groups and custom friends lists, you may opt to share a story with all of your connections (your contacts and anyone else you’ve spoken with one-on-one). If you opt to post a story to a group, others can react, reply to and share it.

For now, the only people who will see Stories are other beta testers. If you don't want to see Stories in Signal, you can switch them off in the settings. This will prevent you from posting Stories of your own, though.

It remains to be seen whether Stories can help Signal to get people spending more time in the app or even to bring in new users. Instagram famously aped one of Snapchat's most-used features with its take on Stories. They're now a core part of the Instagram experience. Not every platform that has tried Stories has stuck with it, though. In 2021, Twitter and LinkedIn both ditched their Stories features after less than a year.

Even Signal is hopping on the Stories bandwagon

Posted on by

Like Instagram, Facebook and so many others, Signal is hopping aboard the Stories bandwagon. The privacy-focused messaging app started beta testing an ephemeral Stories feature this week. Users can share videos, images and text-based messages with their friends. Stories will vanish after 24 hours.

As with the rest of the platform, Signal’s Stories have end-to-end encryption. Users can choose who to share them with. Along with groups and custom friends lists, you may opt to share a story with all of your connections (your contacts and anyone else you’ve spoken with one-on-one). If you opt to post a story to a group, others can react, reply to and share it.

For now, the only people who will see Stories are other beta testers. If you don't want to see Stories in Signal, you can switch them off in the settings. This will prevent you from posting Stories of your own, though.

It remains to be seen whether Stories can help Signal to get people spending more time in the app or even to bring in new users. Instagram famously aped one of Snapchat's most-used features with its take on Stories. They're now a core part of the Instagram experience. Not every platform that has tried Stories has stuck with it, though. In 2021, Twitter and LinkedIn both ditched their Stories features after less than a year.

Intel-owned autonomous driving tech company Mobileye files for an IPO

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Mobileye, the self-driving tech firm that Intel had purchased for $15.3 billion back in 2017, has filed for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission. When Intel first announced its plans to take Mobileye public late last year, the autonomous driving firm was expected to have a valuation of over $50 billion. Now according to Bloomberg, Intel expects Mobileye to be valued at around $30 billion, due to soaring inflation rates and poor market conditions. Regardless, it's still bound to become one of the biggest offerings in the US for 2022 if the listing takes place this year. 

Intel intends to retain a majority stake in Mobileye, but Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger previously said that taking it public would give it the ability to grow more easily. He also said that the company plans to use some of the funds raised from the IPO to build more chip factories. Intel revealed its big and bold foundry ambitions in 2021 when it announced that the company is investing $20 billion in two Arizona fabrication plants. Back then, Gelsinger even proclaimed that he was pursuing Apple's business. Earlier this year, the CEO revealed earmarking another $20 billion to build two fabrication plants in Columbus, Ohio. The company expects that facility to eventually become "the largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet."

Mobileye didn't specify how much a share would cost in its filing with the SEC. It did say, however, that it will use portion of the proceeds it will get from the IPO to pay debts. The firm also talked about its history in the filing and how its revenue grew from $879 million in 2019 to $1.4 billion in 2021, representing a growth of 43 percent year-over-year. 

Intel-owned autonomous driving tech company Mobileye files for an IPO

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Mobileye, the self-driving tech firm that Intel had purchased for $15.3 billion back in 2017, has filed for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission. When Intel first announced its plans to take Mobileye public late last year, the autonomous driving firm was expected to have a valuation of over $50 billion. Now according to Bloomberg, Intel expects Mobileye to be valued at around $30 billion, due to soaring inflation rates and poor market conditions. Regardless, it's still bound to become one of the biggest offerings in the US for 2022 if the listing takes place this year. 

Intel intends to retain a majority stake in Mobileye, but Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger previously said that taking it public would give it the ability to grow more easily. He also said that the company plans to use some of the funds raised from the IPO to build more chip factories. Intel revealed its big and bold foundry ambitions in 2021 when it announced that the company is investing $20 billion in two Arizona fabrication plants. Back then, Gelsinger even proclaimed that he was pursuing Apple's business. Earlier this year, the CEO revealed earmarking another $20 billion to build two fabrication plants in Columbus, Ohio. The company expects that facility to eventually become "the largest silicon manufacturing location on the planet."

Mobileye didn't specify how much a share would cost in its filing with the SEC. It did say, however, that it will use portion of the proceeds it will get from the IPO to pay debts. The firm also talked about its history in the filing and how its revenue grew from $879 million in 2019 to $1.4 billion in 2021, representing a growth of 43 percent year-over-year. 

Snap reportedly gives up on its selfie drone just four months after its debut

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It's been less than four months since Snap unveiled a selfie drone called Pixy, but it seems the company is already giving up on the device. CEO Evan Spiegel told employees that Snap is halting further work on Pixy amid a reprioritization of resources, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The $250 drone can take off from and land in your hand. It has four preset flight paths and can capture photos and videos that you can transfer to and share on Snapchat. For now, at least, Pixy is still available to buy from Snap's website. The Journal suggests Snap will keep selling Pixy for the time being. Snap declined to comment.

Like many other companies, Snap has been feeling the brunt of a broader economic slowdown. In July, it posted its weakest quarterly sales growth to date, which sunk its share price by around 40 percent. Snap's stock has fallen by around 80 percent over the last year. The company also said last month that it would significantly slow down hiring.

Several major tech companies have been shifting priorities in recent months. Meta, for instance, reportedly shelved plans for a smartwatch with two cameras and it's said to be refocusing Portal devices as enterprise products. Others have slowed downhiring plans and laidoffemployees.

Snap reportedly gives up on its selfie drone just four months after its debut

Posted on by

It's been less than four months since Snap unveiled a selfie drone called Pixy, but it seems the company is already giving up on the device. CEO Evan Spiegel told employees that Snap is halting further work on Pixy amid a reprioritization of resources, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The $250 drone can take off from and land in your hand. It has four preset flight paths and can capture photos and videos that you can transfer to and share on Snapchat. For now, at least, Pixy is still available to buy from Snap's website. The Journal suggests Snap will keep selling Pixy for the time being. Engadget has asked Snap for comment.

Like many other companies, Snap has been feeling the brunt of a broader economic slowdown. In July, it posted its weakest quarterly sales growth to date, which sunk its share price by around 40 percent. Snap's stock has fallen by around 80 percent over the last year. The company also said last month that it would significantly slow down hiring.

Several major tech companies have been shifting priorities in recent months. Meta, for instance, reportedly shelved plans for a smartwatch with two cameras and it's said to be refocusing Portal devices as enterprise products. Others have slowed downhiring plans and laidoffemployees.

Pete Davidson reportedly finalizing a deal to join an upcoming Blue Origin flight

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SNL comic Pete Davidson, who once played an astronaut on a sketch with Elon Musk, may be a passenger on an upcoming Blue Origin flight, reportedPage Six. The Jeff Bezos-owned commercial space travel company has successfully launched three crewed spaceflights over the past year. A source close to Davidson said that while he had yet to sign an official contract, details are currently being finalized. It’s unlikely the 28-year old’s desire to be launched into space at the cost of $2.5 million per minute just appeared out of nowhere. In fact, Davidson and his girlfriend Kim Kardashian dined with Jeff Bezos and his partner Lauren Sanchez earlier this year. According to Page Six’s source, Davidson “got on really well” with Bezos.

How much is Davidson’s journey into the edge of space going to cost? Blue Origin has been notoriously tight-lipped about the price of seats on its future flights. The winning bid in a public auction for a seat on the very first Blue Origin flight was $28 million. The winner, Justin Sun, CEO of blockchain platform Tron, later had to give up his seat because of “scheduling conflicts” (luckily he was able to reschedule the once-in-a-lifetime experience for another date). But the actual price of a seat is most likely far less. The cost of upcoming suborbital flights through Richard Branson’s commercial flight company, Virgin Galactic, is a far more frugal $400,000. Bezos has said in earlier interviews that a seat on Blue Origin’s New Shepard would likely be in the same ballpark. Given that Davidson’s net worth is estimated to be around $8 million, it’s likely this will be more appropriate for his budget range. Not all Blue Origin passengers have had to pay, so it's possible Davidson may have secured a better deal. 

New Glenn’s next flight is scheduled for takeoff at some point in the fourth quarter of 2022. Thanks to the surge of celebrity interest in Bezo's commercial space venture, Davidson will actually be the third SNL alum to join a Blue Origin flight. Former Blue Origin passengers William Shatner and Bezos have both hosted SNL.