The Oddball Golf Putter Company That Private Equity Just Bought for $200 Million
And now private equity has scooped up L.A.B.
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The Verge
a minute ago
- The Verge
Amazon eyes ads and upcharges for Alexa Plus
In the week's least surprising news, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed that the company is exploring ways to bring ads to Alexa Plus, its new generative-AI-powered voice assistant. During a conference call following the company's second-quarter earnings report, Jassy said that 'there will be opportunities, as people are engaging in more multiturn conversations [with Alexa Plus], to have advertising play a role to help people find discovery, and also as a lever to drive revenue.' Basically, people will talk more to Alexa, so there will be more ways to push ads at them. He also hinted that Alexa Plus, which is currently free for Prime members but will cost $19.99 a month without Prime, could one day cost more. 'As we keep adding functionality [there] could be some sort of subscription element beyond what there is today,' he said. Considering Amazon's Devices & Services division, which includes Alexa and Echo, has reportedly struggled to make money, Jassy is looking for ways to make its hot new thing, Alexa Plus, more profitable. Charging non-Prime members $20 a month may sound like one way. But who's going to pay $20 when you can spend $15 for Prime and get Alexa Plus, plus all the Prime benefits? Advertising is the obvious path, as ads already exist on Amazon Echo devices with regular Alexa on board. These include full-screen ones on Echo Show smart displays that appear randomly and can't be opted out of. Another way Alexa pushes ads is with its 'By the way' feature, which tacks on suggestions to a response after you've asked something. These often involve encouraging you to buy something from Amazon. When Amazon announced Alexa Plus back in February, I asked head of Devices & Services Panos Panay if 'By the way' and full-screen ads would stick around. 'I don't think a lot of that changes,' he said, adding that advertising models on devices like Echos are designed to keep the costs down for customers. I've been testing Alexa Plus for a few weeks now and haven't seen any ads or received any 'By the ways.' But the assistant is still in an Early Access beta phase, and it sounds like the plan is that this new Alexa will come with new ways to push ads. But I really wish it wasn't. In terms of what that might look like, back in 2022, Amazon said it had developed a Customers Ask Alexa feature that would allow brands to submit their own answers to questions people asked Alexa, such as 'How can I remove pet hair from my carpet?' Alexa Plus, with its chattier, more helpful persona, would be an ideal platform to deliver this type of sponsored result. But that won't cut it if Amazon is going to succeed in making Alexa Plus the 'World's best personal assistant,' which is Jassy's stated goal. Why would anyone choose to use an assistant that is getting paid to push specific products? One of those higher tiers for Alexa Plus Jassy hinted at could be an ad-free version, as TechCrunch first speculated. Amazon did exactly this with Prime Video, creating a higher price, ad-free tier and booting everyone else to ads. But either way, Alexa will really have to prove its worth if we're going to pay for its new capabilities. Based on my initial testing of Alexa Plus, it's not at a point where I can delegate my daily tasks and chores to it, as I would do if I could ever afford to hire a real personal assistant. But the potential is there. There's no doubt that generative AI is going to transform how we use digital voice assistants, and Amazon has a head start. It has actually launched its revamped assistant with more conversational natural language abilities, something neither Apple nor Google seems close to doing. Alexa Plus is also one of the few generative AI-powered services that can take actions in real life. Whether people will be willing to pay for AI features is still being tested. OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and others currently charge for different tiers of access to their more advanced AI-chatbot tools. As an Alexa user for many years, I'd consider paying for a really good Alexa that does what I ask without fail, has all the features Amazon has promised are coming, and never shows me an ad. However, what I know for sure that I don't want, is a chattier AI pushing products at me in my home. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. 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Associated Press
a minute ago
- Associated Press
Carlos Correa is back with the Astros -- this time at third base
BOSTON (AP) — Carlos Correa wasn't going to waive his no-trade clause for any other team. But when the Twins told him that they would be rebuilding for the rest of the season – and probably beyond – Correa OK'd a deal back to Houston, where he still owned the house from his first go-'round with the Astros. 'My wife hates the cold,' the 2017 World Series champion said before making his Astros return in Friday night's game against the Boston Red Sox. 'We kept the house in Houston just to come back to, and our family and friends are there. So we live there, so it works perfectly. 'You never want to burn bridges in this game. You never know how things are going to end up panning out,' Correa said. 'My relationship in Minnesota (is) fantastic, same here in Houston when I left. And now you see that I'm back.' The top pick in the 2012 amateur draft and 2015 AL Rookie of the Year, Correa was beloved in Houston as part of the homegrown core that helped the franchise go from laughingstock to perennial contenders. A two-time All-Star in his seven years with the Astros, he helped the franchise to six playoff appearances, three AL pennants and its first World Series title. He signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 2022 and made another All-Star team but just one playoff appearance, in 2023. On Thursday, with the Twins languishing in fourth in the AL Central and ninth in the race for three wild-card berths, they sold off anything of value to look toward the future. 'After talking to the front office in Minnesota, I understood that the direction where the organization was going was not the one that I was there for,' Correa said. 'So that's when we agreed that it was best for both parties to just make this trade happen.' Houston sent minor-league pitcher Matt Mikulski to Minnesota in return for Correa and agreed to pay $33 million of the more than $100 million remaining on his contract. 'That was never a thought until I saw the rumors, and I texted him and he said it was real,' said second baseman Jose Altuve, one of the holdovers from Correa's first stint in Houston. 'That's when we started as a team getting excited about it.' The Astros, who at the time of the trade deadline led the AL West by five games over the Seattle Mariners, also picked up outfielder Jesús Sánchez and minor leaguers Chase Jaworsky and Esmil Valencia. Sanchez was in left field batting third against the Red Sox on Friday night. Correa was at third and batting cleanup. He had played 1,186 games at shortstop in his major league career, and none at third base; he did play some third base for Puerto Rico during the World Baseball Classic. 'I'm going to be putting a lot of work at third base and getting to know the position,' Correa said before taking grounders during batting practice. 'I grew accustomed to shortstop and it's going to a fun challenge.' Astros manager Joe Espada said he was at the movies with his children on Thursday afternoon when the news came in about Correa. 'A lot of stuff happened on my off day, but it was a really good off day,' Espada said. 'I didn't finish the movie. The phone kept ringing, but I didn't mind. It happened really quickly. We added all those players in a matter of minutes. And I was very excited. Very, very happy with the outcome.' ___ AP MLB:
Bloomberg
a minute ago
- Bloomberg
Stock Movers: Figma, Carvana, Microsoft
On this edition of Stock Movers: - Carvana (CVNA) shares notched an all-time high this week — rising more than 10,000% from a low in late 2022 — and delivering a blow to investors betting against the online used-car dealer. The jump to record caps a roller-coaster ride for the stock that quickly became an investor darling after a public debut in 2017, but has also been plagued by criticisms ranging from claims that the company was overvalued and allegations of lax business practices. The latest gains came after the company's blockbuster second-quarter results on Wednesday fueled expectations that a turnaround is taking hold at the embattled company. - Microsoft (MSFT) has become the second company in the world to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization after reporting quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations, sending the stock soaring Thursday. Shares of the technology behemoth jumped, pushing its market value to $4.1 trillion. Nvidia Corp. became the first company to hit the milestone earlier this month. The company's latest results confirmed that it's a leader in the artificial intelligence boom that's lifted megacap tech stocks, and the broader market, for the last few years. Microsoft reported better-than-expected growth in its cloud business, and its closely-watched Azure cloud-computing unit posted a 39% rise in sales, handily beating the 34% analysts expected. - Figma (FIG) shares jumped 250% in their public debut after the design software maker and some of its shareholders raised $1.2 billion in an IPO, with the trading valuing the company far above the $20 billion mark it would have reached in a now-scrapped merger with Adobe. The company sold 12.47 million shares in the IPO, which priced Tuesday, while investors including Index Ventures, Greylock Partners and Kleiner Perkins sold 24.46 million shares. The trading gives Figma a market value of nearly $55 billion, based on the outstanding shares listed in its filings. Accounting for employee stock options and restricted stock units, and restricted stock units for Chief Executive Officer Dylan Field, which are subject to vesting conditions, the fully diluted value is well above $65 billion.
