Latest news with #Softbank
CNBC
17 hours ago
- Business
- CNBC
Uber adds Palo Alto CEO Nikesh Arora to its board after executive shakeup
Nikesh Arora, the CEO of Palo Alto Networks, is joining Uber's board of directors, the company announced in a regulatory filing Wednesday. It comes amid a broader executive shakeup this week at the ride-hailing company, which saw head of delivery Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty depart after 13 years. Andrew Macdonald, head of mobility, was promoted to president and chief operating officer, Uber's first since 2019. "I'm honored to join Uber's Board at such an exciting time, as the company plays a central role in commercializing autonomous mobility around the world," Arora said in a statement. "Uber has already fundamentally transformed how people and goods move through cities, and I look forward to contributing to the company's continued success." Arora has been chairman and CEO of Palo Alto since 2018. Prior to that, he was president and chief operating officer of Softbank and also held positions at Google and T-Mobile. Arora has previously served the boards of Softbank, Sprint, Colgate-Palmolive and others, and currently sits on the board of a Swiss luxury-goods holding company. "Nikesh is one of the technology industry's great executives: a strategic and disciplined operator, and a fierce competitor," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. "We're thrilled to welcome him to the board and look forward to his contributions as we continue to advance our long-term strategy." The shakeup comes as Uber faces increased competition, particularly in the robotaxi space. Tesla is planning its long-awaited robotaxi launch in Austin on June 12. Alphabet-owned Waymo, which partners with Uber in Austin and Atlanta, recently hit 10 million paid driverless rides, with weekly rides jumping 150% in less than a year. Food delivery competitor DoorDash has been aggressively expanding its reach, acquiring delivery firm Deliveroo and booking platform SevenRooms in the past month. The management changes, including the elevation of Macdonald, who will oversee delivery, mobility and autonomy, could allow Khosrowshahi to take on a more strategic role. Khosrowshahi joined Uber in 2017, bringing it public in 2019 and to its first operating profit in 2021. Since then he has expanded the Eats and delivery business, smoothed over regulatory issues, and sold Uber's in-house AV unit in favor of partnerships with companies like Waymo and the UK's Wayve. "I recognize the change might prompt some questions about my future, so I'll be clear: I have no plans to go anywhere anytime soon -- other than fly around the globe trying to keep up with our ever-growing footprint," Khosrowshahi told employees in an internal memo announcing the COO changes. For his board service, Arora will receive a $60,000 annual cash retainer and $300,000 of restricted stock units a year, according to the filing.
Russia Today
18 hours ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Top French robotics firm goes into liquidation
Aldebaran, a French company that blazed the trail in the field of 'empathetic' humanoid robots in the late 2000s, has been put into liquidation, local media has reported. The tech pioneer was placed into bankruptcy proceedings in January, and then in receivership the following month. On Monday, the receiver, along with the auctioneer, announced the 'immediate cessation of activity' and termination of their contracts to the company's remaining 106 employees, according to Othman Meslouh, deputy secretary of Aldebaran's social and economic committee (CSE). The Paris Commercial Court passed the verdict earlier in the day. The receiver is now expected to start selling off the company's profitable assets, including its patents, to settle Aldebaran's outstanding debts that have exceeded €60 million ($68 million). In recent months, two takeover contenders, Franco-Swiss businessman Jean-Marie Van Appelghem and Canadian investor Malik Bachouchi, had made bids for the company. However, the former's overture was not backed by the receiver and Aldebaran's management, while the latter was rejected by the court, as Bachouchi earlier told Le Monde. From 2012 to 2022 – considered the company's heyday – it was owned by Japan's Softbank Robotics Group. Some time after it was acquired by the German company United Robotics Group (URG), a subsidiary of the RAG-Stiftung, the situation began to deteriorate, according to Meslouh. He told AFP that the new owner 'no longer wanted to invest in the company.' This claim was echoed by another anonymous employee cited by Le Monde, who said URG 'asked us to be profitable within two years' even though development 'cycles take five to seven years.' The unnamed engineer also lamented that the owner had underinvested in Aldebaran's research and development. In the late 2000s, the company rolled out Nao, its first humanoid robot, touted as a 'versatile educational companion, widely used in classrooms and research labs for its ability to teach programming, foster social learning, and support research projects.' The model was followed by Plato, designed to support healthcare and hospitality environments, and Pepper, capable of recognizing and responding to human emotions and specifically tailored for customer-facing roles. According to the company's website, its robots have found application in more than 70 countries over the years. However, the total number of units sold was a mere 30,000, L'Express estimated.
Bloomberg
20-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Inside Stargate: OpenAI's $500 Billion AI Factory
Emily Chang goes inside Stargate, an historic $500 billion bet on the future of AI. She speaks with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman & Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son about their hopes for the project. (Source: Bloomberg)
Times
16-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Nigel Toon: Graphcore will link up with Softbank's AI infrastructure
Asking a middle-aged British engineer to open up about his emotions is not the easiest task and Nigel Toon, 61, is no exception. Mind you, lunch was not meant to be therapy. It was more of a 'how are you feeling?' opening question for the tech entrepreneur who sold Graphcore, his artificial intelligence chip business, to Softbank almost a year ago. Toon is precise and thoughtful, not prone to mindlessly gush. He wants to explain everything from the very beginning. We meet in Rovi in Fitz-Rovi-a (geddit?), a slice of London north of the frenetic Oxford Street, miraculously uninhabited by tourists. It is a light, bright Yotam Ottolenghi restaurant, the pale oak tables and flooring brightened by splashes of the Israeli-born British chef's signature red.
Wall Street Journal
13-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
TNB Tech Minute: Softbank Posts First Annual Profit in Four Years - Tech News Briefing
Full Transcript This transcript was prepared by a transcription service. This version may not be in its final form and may be updated. Victoria Craig: Here's your TNB Tech minute for Tuesday, May 13th. I'm Victoria Craig for the Wall Street Journal. Softbank today reported its first annual profit in four years. After expenses, the Japanese tech investment company booked a profit of $7.7 billion, helped in part by gains from its stake in T-Mobile US. The company has been pivoting to a strategy focused on bigger investments, especially as earnings improve and tech stocks march higher on advancements in AI. Elsewhere, at Microsoft announced it will cut thousands of jobs as it streamlines its management ranks. The company said less than 3% of its workforce or fewer than 7,000 jobs will be affected. Last month, Microsoft's CFO told investors the company's headcount was 2% higher than a year ago. She said the focus is on building high-performing teams and increasing agility by reducing layers with fewer managers. Microsoft's latest earnings beat analysts' expectations and showed revenue growth across its business segments. And finally, ESPN took the wraps off its highly anticipated streaming service called ESPN. It's priced at $29.99 a month. Set to launch this fall, the company says the new platform will give users access to all content on ESPN's TV channels, that includes professional and college football and basketball. Disney, which owns ESPN, will include the new sports streaming service in its bundle with Disney+ and Hulu for a cost of $35.99 a month. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Wednesday's Tech News Briefing podcast.
