Tag Archives: amzn

Google Parent Alphabet To Sell Humanoid Robot Maker Boston Dynamics

Alphabet ( GOOGL ) has put military robotics company Boston Dynamics up for sale after failing to find a path to commercializing its technology in the near term, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Alphabet’s Google X unit bought Boston Dynamics in late 2013 as part of series of acquisitions in the robotics field. Boston Dynamics is best known for its “Terminator”-style Atlas bipedal robot and quadrupedal robots like BigDog and Cheetah. Videos of the robots in action have been hits on YouTube, generating tens of millions of views. Possible acquirers of Boston Dynamics include the Toyota Research Institute, a division of Toyota Motor ( TM ), and Amazon.com ( AMZN ), which makes robots for its fulfillment centers, Bloomberg said . Alphabet’s decision to put Boston Dynamics on the block could indicate a retreat from the robotics field, which was led by Google executive and Android co-founder Andy Rubin, who left the company in October 2014. Recently Alphabet has been focused on making sure that all of the umbrella corporation’s far-flung investments start generating real revenue. They decided that Boston Dynamics was unlikely to have marketable product in the next few years and opted to put the unit up for sale, Bloomberg said. RELATED: Americans Freaking Out About Robots Taking Jobs, But Not Their Jobs Next-Gen Robots Poised To Enter Industrial, Commercial Markets iRobot Sells Military Robot Division To Focus On Home Robots .  

Apple-Alphabet Cloud Accord Could Help Google Catch Up With Amazon

Google-owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) has snared iPhone maker Apple ( AAPL ) as a customer for its Google Cloud Platform, a deal that could help Google’s service catch up with industry leader Amazon.com ( AMZN ), says an industry note from Pacific Crest Securities on Thursday. Amazon unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) is now the biggest provider of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), where customers rent computer servers and data storage systems via the Internet. Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Alphabet’s Google rank next. Apple signed a contract worth between $400 million and $600 million to use Google’s Cloud Platform, according to CRN . Apple now uses cloud services from Amazon and Microsoft, but intends to end its reliance on all its rivals in the next few years, as it builds its own data centers, according to Re/Code. While Apple has reportedly used AWS historically for iCloud, “the more surprising shift is from Apple to Google, which are odd bedfellows given the two companies’ mudslinging and competition in other areas,” wrote Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson. “Did Google throw in free cloud as a way to renegotiate the search contract? Definitely adds to the perception of Google’s momentum,” Wilson added. The deal has not been confirmed by Google or Apple, but Apple did disclose its reliance on AWS and on Microsoft’s Azure in a 2014 white paper. The alleged Apple-Google accord would help “Google Cloud Platform catch up to Amazon and Microsoft — at least in terms of perception — as a real third player in the space instead of a distant third. Google has done similar deals with Snapchat, PricewaterhouseCoopers, General Mills ( GIS ) Coca-Cola ( KO ), HTC and Best Buy ( BBY ),” said Wilson. In total, the cloud opportunity is big enough for all three Internet powerhouses, said Wilson, who estimated “a potential $25 billion windfall opportunity in cloud services for Amazon, Microsoft and Google, collectively.” While AWS has been the biggest IaaS price-cutter of the last decade, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) has been aggressive since moving into the market. Google slashed prices in March 2014, October 2014 and May-June 2015, Goldman analyst Heather Bellini said in an industry report last month. Goldman Sachs says that the top three service providers are gaining share as Verizon Communications ( VZ ),   Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( HPE ) and others exit the public IaaS market and focus on private clouds. Goldman Sachs estimates that AWS’ revenue will hit $12.5 billion in 2016, up from $7.88 billion last year. Apple stock was down a fraction in midday trading in the stock market today , near 106. Alphabet was up a fraction, near 760, while Microsoft stock was also up a fraction, near 55. IBD 50 stock Alphabet gets a best-possible Composite Rating of 99 from IBD. Microsoft has a 75 and Apple a 70. Image provided by Shutterstock .

Microsoft Stock Gets Thumbs Up From Oppenheimer

Microsoft ( MSFT ) received a vote of confidence Thursday from investment bank Oppenheimer & Co., which assumed coverage of the software giant with an outperform rating. Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan set a 12- to 18-month price target of 62 on Microsoft stock. Microsoft shares were up more than 1% to near 55 in midday trading on the stock market today . Microsoft gets a 75 Composite Rating from IBD out of a possible 99; the Composite Rating looks at earnings growth, stock price gains and a raft of other factors. Microsoft “is putting the right strategy in place to be at the forefront of the next generation of computing and to defend and grow market share,” Horan said in a report. “Instead of fighting the inevitable shift to the cloud, Microsoft is fully embracing it.” The company is offering enterprise customers a fully integrated hybrid cloud system that connects on-premise hardware and software with Internet cloud services, he said, adding that Microsoft has a competitive advantage through its large installed base of enterprise customers. “Microsoft controls over 90% of the enterprise office suite and about 75% of the enterprise operating system market,” he said. “As workloads shift to the cloud, we believe Microsoft will be successful in bundling in premium (software- and platform-as-a-service) products, enabling it to defend its market share and expand its total addressable market with new product offerings.” Oppenheimer believes that most information technology functions will shift to cloud services by 2020. Horan believes that Microsoft will be able to reach its goal of $20 billion in cloud revenue by fiscal 2018, up from a current annual run rate of $9.4 billion. Microsoft’s major cloud products include Office 365, Azure and Dynamics CRM Online. It competes in cloud computing with Amazon.com ( AMZN ), Alphabet ’s ( GOOGL ) Google, Salesforce.com ( CRM ) and others. RELATED:  Microsoft Azure Cloud Service Seen Turning Profitable This Year