22 surreal photos from the inaugural Robot Games
Humanoid robots before the 400m race. Robots competed in sports such as football, track and field, and table tennis, as well as events that saw them tackle robot-specific challenges, from sorting medicines and handling materials to cleaning services. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
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Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
China serves plan for competitive tennis ecosystem
HONG KONG, Aug 21 (Reuters) - China has unveiled a detailed plan to build and implement a tennis ecosystem, from boosting the number of top professional players and creating Chinese tournament brands to expanding the availability of courts and infrastructure across the country. In a document released on Wednesday night, China's official sporting body said it would encourage cities, businesses, schools and villages to "vigorously develop tennis" and build a new training system to develop top talent. The document said China would strive to "cultivate more than 10 high-level professional players (ranked in the top 100 in the world) and more than 100 professional players and coaches active in international competitions". China has seen growing enthusiasm for tennis since Zheng Qinwen, 22, became the first Chinese player to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics last year. Chinese tennis players have also become more visible at Grand Slam tournaments and on the ATP tour, including Zhang Shuai, Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing. Chine aims to establish 10 "strong tennis provinces" and "100 strong tennis cities" with youth training centres and tens of thousands of youth tennis clubs, the document said. China will strengthen the "tennis tournament economy" to expand the flow of tennis tournaments and drive the growth of tennis consumption, as well as promoting tennis leisure and tourism routes. It called for "deepening the integration of tennis tournaments and urban development to drive local economic development", the sale of tennis themed cultural and creative products.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Microsoft scales back Chinese access to cyber early warning system
WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab said on Wednesday it has scaled back some Chinese companies' access to its early warning system for cybersecurity vulnerabilities following speculation that Beijing was involved in a hacking campaign against the company's widely used SharePoint servers. The new restrictions come in the wake of last month's sweeping hacking attempts against Microsoft SharePoint servers, at least some of which Microsoft and others have blamed on Beijing. That raised suspicions among several cybersecurity experts that there was a leak in the Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP), which Microsoft uses to help security vendors worldwide, including in China, to learn about cyber threats before the general public so they can better defend against hackers. Beijing has denied involvement in any SharePoint hacking. Microsoft notified members of the MAPP program of the SharePoint vulnerabilities on June 24, July 3 and July 7, Reuters has previously reported. Because Microsoft said it first observed exploitation attempts on July 7, the timing led some experts to allege that the likeliest scenario for the sudden explosion in hacking attempts was because a rogue member of the MAPP program misused the information. In a statement, Microsoft said several Chinese firms would no longer receive "proof of concept code," which mimics the operation of genuine malicious software. Proof of concept code can help cybersecurity professionals seeking to harden their systems in a hurry, but it can also be repurposed by hackers to get a jump start on the defenders. Microsoft said it was aware that the information it provided its partners could be exploited, "which is why we take steps – both known and confidential – to prevent misuse. We continuously review participants and suspend or remove them if we find they violated their contract with us which includes a prohibition on participating in offensive attacks." Microsoft declined to disclose the status of its investigation of the hacking or go into specifics about which companies had been restricted.
Reuters
7 hours ago
- Reuters
Breakingviews - Thoma Bravo hails tech's ‘show me the money' era
TORONTO, Aug 20 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The cycle of technology fads is brutal. Once the darlings of public markets, given wide latitude to chase unprofitable growth, cloud software developers now seem pedestrian next to the incredible promise of artificial intelligence. Private equity firm Thoma Bravo's $11.2 billion mooted deal to buy, opens new tab human resources application provider Dayforce (DAY.N), opens new tab, disclosed on Wednesday, signals the end result of this shift: accept being a bit boring and transition into a cashflow machine, or become a target. Interest-rate hikes beginning in 2022 challenged the industry's 'expand at all costs' mantra: burning cash became more expensive, forcing a retrenchment that trimmed growth and valuations. Some firms have since regained speed, steadily beating, opens new tab Wall Street's revenue expectations by growing margins since early 2024, according to Altimeter Capital. Valuations, though, are still in the dumps. It might be a matter of measuring up to the next big thing. Bessemer Venture Partners research, opens new tab shows that, on average, private cloud software firms have taken about 7 years to hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Successful AI startups are crossing that threshold in just 4 years, or as little as 18 months for particularly hot breakthroughs. Just compare the BVP Nasdaq Emerging Cloud Index, which is down 10% year-to-date, to an exchange-traded fund tracking the AI-exposed Magnificent Seven stocks, up 7%. If you can't impress with growth, the next best thing is to at least throw off cash. Here, Dayforce has fallen behind its peers. The company is expected to achieve a free cash flow margin of 13.7% in the financial year ending this December, according to Visible Alpha. Rivals Paycom Software and Paylocity should notch margins of 18% and over 20%, respectively. Little wonder that Dayforce's stock had fallen over 25% thus far in 2025 before news of a potential sale arrived. Thoma Bravo's mooted $70 per share offer would represent a respectable 32% premium, valuing the company at a little over 6 times last year's revenue. That roughly matches the average multiple paid in deals across the industry in the second quarter, according to, opens new tab Software Equity Group data. Buyout barons can benefit from software investors' short attention spans. TD Cowen analysts reckon that Thoma Bravo could plausibly increase Dayforce's cash flow margin to over 20% while maintaining low-double-digit topline growth. If it can subsequently exit after five years at a multiple of between 6 and 7 times revenue, an average of where peers Automatic Data Processing and Paychex trade, its annualized rate of return could hit 24%, Breakingviews calculates. Dayforce struggled to meet public markets' 'show me the money' challenge. Private equity is probably happy to do the job.
