Blockchain Foundry Inc. (CSE: BCFN)
Develops and commercializes blockchain-based business solutions and provides consulting services to corporate clients seeking to leverage blockchain technology in their businesses.
Nokia (NYSE:NOK) has been selected by Proximus Luxembourg in a seven-year deal to supply 5G coverage nationwide.
The project will support Proximus Luxembourg’s efforts to deliver on the Luxembourg government’s strategy of digitizing the country and driving innovation underpinned by 5G networks.
Nokia will supply its AirScale S-RAN portfolio for both indoor and outdoor coverage, including 5G RAN, AirScale base stations and Nokia AirScale radio access products.
The deal consolidates NOK’s existing partnership with Proximus Luxembourg and the Proximus Group, following Nokia’s recent appointment by Proximus Belgium for 5G.
Zoom Video (NASDAQ:ZM) will open a new Research and Development Center in Singapore and double its data center capacity in the country.
Zoom will immediately hire hundreds of engineers to staff the new center.
The video conferencing company launched the Singapore data center in August and it was Zoom’s first in Southeast Asia.
Zoom already has R&D hubs in the U.S., India, and China.
“Singapore is pro-business, ranks as one of the friendliest countries to set up a company, and continues to be a favorite for regional headquarters as it boasts exceptional talent, strong infrastructure, and is a perfect gateway for engaging the wider APAC region,” says Velchamy Sankarlingam, President of Product and Engineering for Zoom. “We plan to immediately hire employees, leveraging Singapore’s highly-educated engineering talent pool. Our new R&D center and data center will play a critical role in Zoom’s continued international growth.”
Zoom shares are up 0.1% pre-market to $399.87. Yesterday, rival RingCentral launched a new free video and chat app.
Ceridian HCM Holding (NYSE:CDAY) partners with RedZone Group Purchasing to drive quantifiable value for sports and entertainment industry.
RedZone offers owners and managers of professional sports franchises, arenas, stadiums, convention centers, and performing arts centers access to a nationwide group purchase program including Ceridian.
As its exclusive HCM partner, Ceridian will provide RedZone’s members with access to its Dayforce platform to deliver value to their organizations and workforces.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he’s leading a coalition of states suing Google (GOOG -0.3%, GOOGL -0.3%) over antitrust, alleging manipulation of digital advertising markets.
That marks a second front in the states’ pursuit of antitrust claims against the tech giant. The Justice Dept. and 11 states filed a landmark antitrust suit against Google in October over search and search advertising.
Paxton had filed a civil subpoena in the matter last year.
“This Internet Goliath used its power to manipulate the market, destroy competition, and harm YOU, the consumer. Stay tuned …” Paxton’s office says in a tweet accompanied by a video.
He’s taking on an ad-tech business where Google owns the leading tool at every link the chain between publishers and advertisers – tools that Google has been charged with tying together in an anticompetitive fashion.
As with scrutiny into Facebook’s (NASDAQ:FB) acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, Paxton’s initial subpoena to Google looked for the company’s rationale in many of its ad-tech acquisitions, including DoubleClick, AdMob and Admeld.
Facebook (FB -0.1%) – already taking a number of opportunities to swing at Apple (AAPL +0.1%) over privacy and paid apps – says it will help Fortnite maker Epic Games with its legal fight against Apple and its App Store practices.
The social-media giant will offer supporting materials and documents to Epic as part of a promise to assist challenges to what it calls anticompetitive behavior by Apple – though it won’t join the lawsuit, just help with discovery.
The feud is one of many in the industry focused on privacy changes at Apple, where the iOS 14 operating system will give users the option to stop sharing information that developers rely upon for personalizing advertising.
And Facebook is wandering further into a dispute over Apple’s App Store commission practices, which Epic is taking on after trying to skirt Apple’s 30% cut with an unauthorized payment system in Fortnite. Epic sued Google (GOOG -0.5%, GOOGL -0.5%) as well over its Play Store commission.
Epic Games is 40% owned by Tencent (TCEHY +1.3%).
In mid-November, Apple announced that, effective January 1st, App Store fees will be halved for developers whose apps make less than $1M in revenue. That announcement was viewed by some as an attempt to reduce developers’ support for Epic in its fight against Apple, cloaked as altruistic help for small businesses during the pandemic. Morgan Stanley estimated that the fee cut for smaller developers will have negligible impact on Apple’s revenue or earnings.
