Tech

In this articleARMPNVDANvidia CEO Jensen Huang wearing his usual leather jacket.GettyNvidia has asked Chinese regulators to approve its $40 billion takeover of U.K. chip designer Arm, according to a report from The Financial Times on Tuesday that cites sources familiar with the matter.Santa Clara-headquartered Nvidia reportedly submitted an application to Chinese regulators in recent weeks. Arm did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Nvidia said the regulatory process was confidential, but it remains confident that it will receive approval and “close in early 2022.”When the deal was announced last September, Nvidia and Arm said it would take approximately 18 months to go through. But Chinese regulators could take up to 18 months from now to reach a conclusion, according to the Chinese antitrust lawyers cited by the FT. Regulators in the U.K., Europe and the U.S. are also probing the deal.Arm has as a joint venture called “Arm China” with Chinese private equity firm Hopu Investments. Arm China is headquartered in Shanghai, meaning China’s Ministry of Commerce and China’s State Administration for Market Regulation will have the right to review the proposed Nvidia deal.Read the full story on The Financial Times here.

A banner with the logo of bitcoin is seen during the crypto-currency conference Bitcoin 2021 Convention at the Mana Convention Center in Miami, Florida, on June 4, 2021.Marco Bello | AFP | Getty ImagesBitcoin’s price slipped again Tuesday. The reason for the move was unclear, however it may be related to concerns over security of the cryptocurrency after U.S. officials managed to recover most of the ransom paid to hackers that targeted Colonial Pipeline.Court documents said investigators were able to access the password for one of the hackers’ bitcoin wallets. The money was recovered by a recently launched task force in Washington created as part of the government’s response to a rise in cyberattacks.The world’s largest cryptocurrency slid over 7% at 5 a.m. ET to a price of $32,952, according to Coin Metrics data. Smaller digital coins also slumped, with ether falling 7% to $2,524 and XRP losing around 6%.In April, 2021 was looking to be a banner year for digital assets, with bitcoin having topped $60,000 for the first time ever. But a recent plunge in crypto prices has shaken confidence in the market. Bitcoin sank to nearly $30,000 last month, and is currently down almost 50% from its

The worst may soon be over when it comes to disruptions stemming from the global chip shortage, according to Goldman Sachs.Andrew Tilton, chief Asia economist at the bank, said the situation could improve in the second half of 2021.He said there have been “noticeable tightening” of supply chains and shipment delays in North Asian economies such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, which are involved in the semiconductor supply chain.”That will have an impact on downstream sectors. Auto production is one of those,” he told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Monday.”Our analysts believe we’re probably in the worst period of that right now. That is, we’re seeing the biggest disruption downstream (in) industries like auto right now and that will gradually ease over the back half of the year,” Tilton said.The world has been grappling with a chip shortage that has hit the production of household electronics, including everything from toasters to washing machines.It is also expected to cost the global auto industry $110 billion in revenue in 2021, according to consulting firm AlixPartners.The firm expects the largest impact to car production to hit in the second quarter, before progressively getting better during the second half of the year and

In this articleAAPLApple CEO Tim Cook delivers the keynote address during the 2020 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) at Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California.Brooks Kraft/Apple Inc/Handout via ReutersGUANGZHOU, China — Apple’s new feature designed to give users more privacy when browsing the web will not be available in China, one of the iPhone maker’s most important markets.Apple revealed a new service called iCloud+ at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday. One of the features included in that is “Private Relay.”When users browse the internet using Safari, their data will be sent through two separate servers in order to mask the user’s identity and what sites they are visiting. As a result, even Apple or the user’s network provider cannot see that data.It’s a little like a virtual private network (VPN) where users can route their internet traffic through a server located somewhere else in the world to mask their browsing activity.China so-called Great Firewall effectively allows authorities to block websites from being accessed within China including Google and Facebook. VPNs are often used to get around China’s strict internet controls.An Apple spokesperson told CNBC that Private Relay will not work in China and some other countries including Saudi

MIAMI – Crypto lingo and booze flowed freely as thousands of bitcoin enthusiasts descended on South Florida this weekend.At Bitcoin 2021, billed as the biggest bitcoin event in history, legions of faithful fans braved 90-degree days to talk all things crypto. Many of the conference attendees were bitcoin maximalists, a phrase used to describe people who believe that bitcoin, and not necessarily other cryptocurrencies, is the future of finance. Most plan to BTD (buy the dip) and HODL (hold on for dear life).The energy was electric. A maskless, sold-out crowd of 12,000 attendees spent two days glad-handing, hugging, sending crypto from wallet to wallet, and closing business deals in between panels and speeches. The novelty of taking part in a largely indoor event, free of Covid restrictions, contributed to the atmosphere.A standard pass to the event cost $1,499. Some guests paid for a highly coveted orange bracelet, known as the “Whale Pass,” which takes its name from a term used to describe individuals who hold large sums of bitcoin. The pass granted access to an extra day of speakers, exclusive parties, and a private area in the convention hall, replete with a free bar. On the first day of the

Clear principals Ken Cornick and Caryn Seidman-Becker.ClearCLEAR, the company best known for helping travelers zip through airport security lines, filed its IPO prospectus on Monday, and indicated that business is picking up as vaccinations increase.Revenue at the New York-based company rose 20% last year to $230.8 million. Net loss narrowed to $9.3 million from $54.2 million. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol “YOU.”Launched in 2010, CLEAR’s biometric security service is popular among frequent fliers, who purchase subscriptions for $179 a year. Along with gaining the ability to speed through airport lines, subscribers can also use the service at sports stadiums and entertainment venues.In the first quarter of 2021, revenue dropped 17% from the same period a year earlier, which included two months of normal business before the pandemic. Volumes among U.S. domestic airline passengers plunged 60% in 2020 and total bookings dropped 11%, the company said.”We expect that Covid-19 will continue to adversely impact our airport enrollments and business in 2021 and possibly beyond,” CLEAR said in its prospectus.Still, as more people get vaccinated and concerts, sporting events, and conferences return, CLEAR’s business is poised to rebound. And for some activities, patrons will

In this articleAAPLTim CookSource: AppleApple unveiled new versions of its operating systems on Monday which showed that the company’s focus on privacy has taken a new turn. It’s not just a corporate ideal or a marketing point anymore. It’s now a major initiative across Apple distinguishing its products from Android and Windows competition.Apple has positioned itself as the most privacy-sensitive big technology company since Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote an open letter on the topic in 2014. Since then, Apple has introduced new iPhone features that restrict app access to personal data and advertised privacy heavily in television ads.But Monday’s announcements showed that Apple’s privacy strategy is now part of its products: Privacy was mentioned as part of nearly every new feature, and got stage time of its own.Privacy-focused features and apps announced by Apple on Monday for forthcoming operating systems iOS 15 or MacOS Monterey included:No tracking pixels. The Mail app will now run images through proxy servers to defeat tracking pixels that tell email marketers when and where messages were opened.Private Relay. Subscribers to Apple’s iCloud storage service will get a feature called iCloud+ which includes Private Relay, a service that hides user IP addresses, which are often

In this articleTSLAUS electric car maker Tesla Vice President Jerome Guillen poses at the Paris Auto Show on the last press day on October 3, 2014. The Paris Auto show opens to the public on Saturday. Eric Piermont | AFP | Getty ImagesTesla executive Jerome Guillen has left the company after only three months as the president of its Heavy Trucking unit, according to an SEC filing released Monday.”We thank him for his many contributions and wish him well in his future career,” the company said in the filing. His last day was June 3.Before his appointment to that role in March, Guillen had led the company’s entire vehicles business since 2018. During his time as president of Automotive, Tesla opened its first plant overseas, in Shanghai, and expanded its battery cell supply partnerships. Guillen has worked at the company in roles reporting directly to CEO Elon Musk since November 2010.In its fourth-quarter 2020 shareholder deck, Tesla said the Semi program was still “in development” but promised Tesla Semi deliveries would begin in 2021. In its annual financial filing with the SEC for 2020, Tesla did not reiterate that Semi delivery deadline.Guillen is the second high-level exec to leave in recent months,

In this articleCMCSAWalter Cronkite broadcasting for CBS at the GOP Convention in Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida, 1968.Ben Martin | Archive Photos | Getty ImagesThere has been an enormous amount of focus in the media world over the last 18 months about how TV and movie entertainment are moving to streaming services. While Netflix has become a staple of television service in some 70 million American households, the addition of Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, Apple TV+, Paramount+, and Amazon Prime has created a veritable buffet of entertainment choice for consumers. The recent merger announcement of Discovery with Time Warner, bringing together Discovery+ with HBO Max, has further underscored that the future of TV lies in streaming entertainment services.Sports programming has gotten into the game. ESPN, which has been slow out of the gates into streaming, has recently signed renewal deals for substantial amounts of professional sports programming that give it flexibility to air those offerings on the ESPN+ streaming service. In addition, Amazon recently agreed to pay the NFL $10 billion just to air Thursday Night Football on its streaming service over the next ten years.As entertainment and sports programming migrate to the streaming world, the

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon 2 spacecraft carrying supplies to the International Space Station lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. This is the 22nd resupply mission for NASA by SpaceX.Paul Hennessy | LightRocket | Getty ImagesSalesforce CEO Marc Benioff said on Monday that he’s bullish on space, noting that he’s an investor in Elon Musk’s SpaceX along with start-ups Astra, Swarm Technologies, and Planet Labs.But don’t expect Benioff to join Jeff Bezos on a space trip anytime soon. Bezos, who is stepping aside as Amazon CEO in July, said on Monday that he’ll fly on the first passenger flight of his space company Blue Origin, which is expected to launch on July 20.In an interview that aired on CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” Benioff commended Bezos on the announcement.”I think it’s very exciting that he’s willing to basically say, ‘If you want to use my product, I will use it first,'” Benioff said. “And I think that that’s 100% the right move.” But he’s not sure he’s personally interested in taking a similar trip.”I think I might have to take a couple of Ativans before I climb in there,” Benioff said. (Ativan is an anti-anxiety