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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 .

Twitter ‘Uptake’ Stymied By Facebook-Owned Instagram And Snapchat

Struggling social network Twitter ( TWTR ) is being derailed by newer social services including Facebook ( FB )-owned Instagram and privately held Snapchat, according to research group eMarketer, which on Thursday lowered its growth projections for Twitter’s 2016 ad revenue. The growing popularity of chat apps has also “slowed Twitter uptake among younger social network users,” eMarketer said in its report. For 2016, eMarketer expects Twitter to generate $2.61 billion in worldwide ad revenue, down 11% from eMarketer’s earlier prediction of $2.95 billion. Twitter will generate nearly 90% of its revenue – or $2.32 billion worldwide – from mobile this year. That compares with the estimate of $2.62 billion in mobile revenue that eMarketer had forecast in Q3. “Until the company can show that its efforts to restart the growth engine are working, we will stay on the conservative side when it comes to forecasting Twitter usage,” eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson told IBD via email. Twitter also has also failed to show “material monetization of logged-out users,” said eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Martín Utreras. “Events like the U.S. election and summer Olympics this year may prove pivotal to the success of this strategy.” Twitter is seen having 291.0 million users worldwide in 2016. Nearly 57 million people in the U.S. – about 30% of social network users, 21% of Internet users and 17.5% of the nation’s population—will use Twitter at least once a month in 2016, eMarketer said. Twitter’s U.S. user base is forecast to expand 8.0% this year, slightly slower growth compared with Pinterest and Tumblr. But Twitter will maintain significantly higher yearly growth rates through 2018 compared to social network leader Facebook and the broader social networking audience, the report said. Twitter is forecast to rank No. 8 by percentage of net digital advertising share held worldwide, with a 1.4% share, eMarketer said. Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google is expected to rank No. 1, with nearly a 30% share. No. 2 Facebook is expected to hold a 12% share of net digital advertising share in 2016, the report said, while No. 3 Baidu ( BIDU ) will hold a 6.1% share and No. 4 Alibaba Group ( BABA ) will hold a 5.9% share. The continued slowdown in Twitter usage came despite a series of new features it rolled out last year, including video tool Periscope and Moments. Twitter reported that user growth slowed for the fourth consecutive quarter in Q4 as it guided Q1 revenue below consensus estimates, raising concerns that usage may be peaking, prompting buyout rumors. The average monthly active user base rose 9% year over year in Q4 to 320 million. Wall Street had expected Twitter to report a 12% rise in users to 323 million. Growth has cooled from 18% in Q1, to 15% in Q2 and 11% in Q3. Twitter, which doesn’t get a high IBD Composite Rating currently, was up more than 2% in afternoon trading in the stock market today , near 17. Image provided by Shutterstock .