Sega Nears Purchase of “Angry Birds” Maker; Musk to Launch AI Start-Up

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: Sega Sammy Holdings is closing in on purchasing the studio behind "Angry Birds"; Elon Musk ventures into AI by developing an OpenAI rival; and e-commerce heavy hitters Alibaba and JD.com reshape their retail businesses against China's sluggish economy.

Sega advances towards USD$1bn (~£805.4bn) deal for Rovio

Japanese entertainment conglomerate Sega Sammy Holdings is reportedly closing in on a deal to acquire game developer Rovio in a USD$1bn (~£805.4bn) deal. Sega Sammy's purchase of the “Angry Birds” maker, which could be finalised as early as next week, comes after talks of a potential USD$800m (~£644m) acquisition by Israel’s Playtika Holding Corp. ended in March.

Elon Musk to launch AI start-up

Twitter-owner Elon Musk is developing an artificial intelligence start-up to rival ChatGPT-creator OpenAI. The billionaire is reportedly gathering a team of AI engineers and researchers, in addition to hosting talks with SpaceX and Tesla investors to secure funds. The move comes just weeks after Musk joined AI researchers and executives in calling for a pause in AI development, citing potential societal risks.

Alibaba & JD.com renovate retail businesses

Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com are revamping their retail businesses following major restructures. Both e-commerce giants have adjusted their operations to contend with China’s stagnant economic recovery, with Alibaba introducing three industry development departments based on consumer trends. JD.com, meanwhile, is reshaping its retail business’ management structure.

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Fact of the Day

USD$4.35bn (~£3.5bn) - Sega Sammy Holdings' market cap.

Source: Companies Market Cap

Last week's tech teasers

Inspired by our senior editor Mat Broughton’s analysis, last week’s tech teasers were all about the tech titans battling it out to dominate the sports streaming landscape. See how you did below!

• Amazon – the tech giant developing a standalone sports streaming app ?
• USD$14bn (~£11.2bn) – the amount Alphabet paid to stream NFL games on YouTube ▶️
• 7.8 million – the number of views of season 5 of Netflix’s Drive to Survive gained within its first 10 days on the platform ?️
• Peacock – the streaming service taking sports events to Meta’s VR headsets ?
• The Indian Premier League – the event Viacom18 paid USD$2.6bn to stream ?

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