Tech
Activision Blizzard says NetEase dismisses proposal to extend ties
Activision Blizzard says NetEase dismisses proposal to extend ties
Activision Blizzard Inc (ATVI.O), the U.S. video game developer behind hit franchise Warcraft, said on Tuesday its Chinese publisher NetEase Inc (9999. HK) had turned down a proposal to extend their long-time partnership for six months as it looks for a new partner.
In a statement on the microblogging site Weibo, the U.S. firm s subsidiary Blizzard China said it contacted NetEase last week with a proposal to extend their partnership and that the Hangzhou-based company had declined.
“It is a pity that NetEase is not willing to extend services of our game for another six months on the basis of existing terms as we look for a new partner,” Blizzard China said.
Blizzard China said its game services will end on Jan. 23.
NetEase declined to comment.
The development comes after Activision Blizzard in November said it would end its 14-year partnership with NetEase, the second-largest gaming company in China. The announcement sent shockwaves across the industry as the partnership was widely seen as one of the most lucrative in video games.
NetEase, in a November earnings briefing, said it had made the utmost effort to negotiate but found the proposed terms requested by the U.S. Company unacceptable.
NetEase then said it would have to discontinue Activision Blizzard s game service in China, the world s biggest gaming market, on Jan. 23.
With the demise of their partnership, Activision Blizzard was left without a Chinese publisher and said in December it was in talks with potential partners.
Unlike other countries, foreign gaming companies typically need a Chinese publisher before being able to release games in China.
NetEase rose to become a gaming giant partly by publishing Activision Blizzard s games in China. The company has since accelerated its own game development capability, with in-house games now accounting for more than 60% of revenue.
Tech
OpenAI, SoftBank each commit 19bn dollars to Stargate AI data center
OpenAI and Japanese conglomerate SoftBank (9984.T) will each commit $19 billion to fund Stargate, a joint venture to develop data centers for artificial intelligence in the U.S., the Information reported on Wednesday.
The ChatGPT maker will hold a 40% interest in Stargate, and would act as an extension of OpenAI, the report said, citing OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaking to colleagues. His comments imply SoftBank would also have a 40% interest, the report added.
OpenAI and SoftBank did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that OpenAI, SoftBank Group and Oracle (ORCL.N) will unveil Stargate and invest $500 billion over the next four years to help the United States stay ahead of China and other rivals in the global AI race.
Stargate will initially deploy $100 billion and the rest of the funding is expected over the next four years. The project is being led by SoftBank and OpenAI.
Tech
Taiwan’s HTC to sell part of XR unit to Google for 250mn dollars
Taiwan’s HTC (2498.TW) said on Thursday it will sell part of its unit for extended reality (XR) headsets and glasses to Google (GOOGL.O) for $250 million and transfer some of its employees to the U.S. company.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of this year, HTC said.
The two companies will also explore further collaboration opportunities, HTC added.
Google said in a separate statement that the deal will accelerate the development of the Android XR platform and strengthen the ecosystem for headsets and glasses.
Lu Chia-te, HTC vice president and general counsel, told reporters the company had granted its intellectual property rights to Google as a non-exclusive license.
“Therefore, this is not a buyout nor an exclusive licence. In the future, HTC will still retain the ability to use, utilise, and even further develop it without any restrictions,” he said.
Tech
Microsoft’s LinkedIn sued for disclosing customer information to train AI models
Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) LinkedIn has been sued by Premium customers who said the business-focused social media platform disclosed their private messages to third parties without permission to train generative artificial intelligence models.
According to a proposed class action filed on Tuesday night on behalf of millions of LinkedIn Premium customers, LinkedIn quietly introduced a privacy setting last August that let users enable or disable the sharing of their personal data.
Customers said LinkedIn then discreetly updated its privacy policy on Sept. 18 to say data could be used to train AI models, and in a “frequently asked questions” hyperlink said opting out “does not affect training that has already taken place.”
This attempt to “cover its tracks” suggests LinkedIn was fully aware it violated customers’ privacy and its promise to use personal data only to support and improve its platform, in order to minimize public scrutiny and legal fallout, the complaint said.
The lawsuit was filed in the San Jose, California, federal court on behalf of LinkedIn Premium customers who sent or received InMail messages, and whose private information was disclosed to third parties for AI training before Sept. 18.
It seeks unspecified damages for breach of contract and violations of California’s unfair competition law, and $1,000 per person for violations of the federal Stored Communications Act.
A lawyer for Prince Harry on Wednesday said the Duke of Sussex had reached a settlement with Rupert Murdoch’s news conglomerate.
LinkedIn said in a statement: “These are false claims with no merit.”
A lawyer for the plaintiffs had no immediate additional comment.
The lawsuit was filed several hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a joint venture among Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Oracle (ORCL.N) and SoftBank (9984.T), with a potential $500 billion of investment, to build AI infrastructure in the United States.
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