concept of virtual reality technology, graphic of a teenage gamer wearing VR head-mounted playing game
In today's ExchangeWire news digest: Meta purchases Lofelt to boost its VR capabilities; the FTC launches an investigation into Amazon's USD$3.9bn (£3.3bn) deal to buy 1Life; and Apple surpasses Android devices used in the US.
Meta has purchased Lofelt, a Berlin-based startup which uses technology to replicate the sensation of touch in virtual reality (VR). The terms of the acquisition, which was made public on Friday (2nd September), are yet to be determined, although a financial filing for Lofelt in June of this year described Meta as the company’s sole shareholder. The company, which uses haptic technology to replicate touch through vibrations, raised USD$10m (£8.6m) in funding prior to the deal with Meta.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an investigation into Amazon’s purchase of 1Life Healthcare, which operates One Medical primary health clinics across the US. The e-commerce giant acquired the health-clinic owner for USD$3.9bn (£3.3bn) earlier this year in an effort to enter the country’s USD$4tn (£3.4tn) healthcare market.
This investigation is the FTC’s latest into Amazon, with the agency’s numerous probes into the Washington-based company including a probe into its membership programme, which was launched in August.
Apple devices now account for over half of smartphones used in the United States, taking the iPhone maker ahead of its primary competitor Android. Apple reportedly surpassed the 50% landmark at the close of Q2 2022, taking the company to its highest market ownership since 2007, a year before Android-powered smartphones launched in the US.
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10 million – the number of orders Amazon receive per day, as of January 2022 (that's 115 orders per second).
Inspired by Mark Zuckerberg's uncomfortable appearance on the controversial Joe Rogan experience, last Friday's tech teasers were all about the metaverse. Find out how much you know about "the next chapter of the internet overall" below:
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