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An Apple Vision Pro mixed reality (XR) headset is seen at Apple store in New York, United States on Feb. 3, 2024.

Fatih Aktas | Anadolu | Getty Images

Online brokerage firm eToro is exploring ways to bring its retail trading app to augmented and virtual reality headsets from Apple and Meta, the company’s CEO Yoni Assia told CNBC exclusively.

EToro, which operates a trading platform on which users can buy and sell a range of assets ranging from stocks and exchange-traded funds to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, is looking at ways of launching on Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest.

If eToro succeeds in getting onto the Vision Pro and other VR devices, it would mark a rare step from a financial services firm to open up what is effectively a storefront in a virtual reality environment.

Assia said that artificial intelligence is a big focus for the firm and it is looking to integrate features that focus on giving users the ability to interact with the app via voice.

However, AR and VR are also a priority for the firm.

“We are planning to look at how we think about eToro with natural language, with voice, but actually also in the realm of AR VR, during 2024,” Assia told CNBC last week.

He didn’t provide a timeline for when eToro expects to launch an AR experience, and added that it remains an experiment the company is still exploring for the moment.

However, he suggested it will be a serious focus for the firm in 2024.

Financial firms such as JPMorgan and Citi have talked a big game about the “metaverse.” But this has been more in relation to desktop environments like Decentraland. And even then, hype surrounding digital real estate platforms like that has dropped off a cliff in the past couple years.

Limitations

It’s not yet fully fleshed out as a service.

But, on a simple level, eToro’s experience would allow users to pick stocks to buy and sell by touching digital screens within Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s Quest devices.

“You could actually now talk to the eToro app through the speaker [of your VR headset],” Assia said.

“I don’t think a lot of people are used to talking to their mobile phone asking questions, yet.” However, Assia expects this to become more mainstream.

Financial companies have refrained from taking big steps into virtual reality as the technology hasn’t proven its utility for something like banking or wealth management.

There are some technical limitations to consider.

While modern-day VR and AR headsets are getting better at tracking users’ eye movements, images can appear blurry if the display settings aren’t finetuned.

EToro said its augmented reality app would likely be a service that its more advanced traders will use, not necessarily casual retail traders or day traders.

“We’re starting to experiment with it,” Assia told CNBC in an exclusive interview. “Do I think it’s going to be hugely popular in 2024? Probably not probably, it’s still premature.”

“But I do think in the world of trading and investing, when we think of the vast amount of information, we’re trying to sort of constantly look at it to make smarter decisions,” he added.

The augmented reality experience would likely be enhanced with artificial intelligence, Assia noted, with a personal AI assistant helping users through the investing process.

“This is still in very initial discussions,” Assia noted, but added he thinks the firm could be ready to show off a prototype “in a couple of months.”

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Armis raises $435 million, valuing cybersecurity startup at $6.1 billion

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Armis raises 5 million, valuing cybersecurity startup at .1 billion

Armis CEO Yevgeny Dibrov and CTO Nadir Izrael.

Courtesy: Armis

Cybersecurity startup Armis has raised $435 million in a funding round that values the company at $6.1 billion.

“The need for what Armis is doing and what we are building, in this cyber exposure management and security platform, is just increasing,” CEO and co-founder Yevgeny Dibrov told CNBC. There’s “very unique and huge demand right now, and we are continuing to grow.”

Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ growth equity fund anchored the investment, with participation from CapitalG, a venture arm of Alphabet. The security firm brought on Evolution Equity Partners as a new investor.

Armis helps businesses secure and manage internet-connected devices and protect them against cyber threats. The company chose Goldman’s growth fund due to its strong track record helping companies accelerate growth toward initial public offerings, Dibrov said.

“This is the partner for us to go to the next stage and continue to build here a real generational business to get to the Hall of Fame of cyber and SaaS businesses,” he said.

In September, Bloomberg reported that the company was exploring as much as seven stake offers. Dibrov told CNBC the funding round was an outcome of those talks.

Founded in 2016, Armis in August said it surpassed $300 million in annual recurring revenues. The California-based company achieved that milestone less than a year after topping $200 million in ARR.

Armis raised $200 million in an October 2024 funding round with General Catalyst and Alkeon Capital. Previous backers have included Sequioa Capital and Bain Capital Ventures. Armis also raised $100 million in a secondary offering in July.

Dibrov said Armis is aiming for an IPO at the end of 2026 or early 2027, but he said he’s in no rush and is waiting on “market conditions.” The company’s primary goal is to hit $1 billion in annual recurring revenue, he said.

“Going public will be before that,” he said.

WATCH: Tech meets policy: Cybersecurity collaboration necessary in the era AI, says Google engineer

Tech meets policy: Cybersecurity collaboration necessary in the era AI, says Google engineer

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TASER maker Axon plunges 17% after earnings fall short due to tariff hit

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 TASER maker Axon plunges 17% after earnings fall short due to tariff hit

Rick Smith, CEO of Axon Enterprises.

Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Axon Enterprise‘s stock plummeted 17% after the TASER maker missed Wall Street’s third-quarter profit expectations as it grapples with tariff constraints.

Adjusted earnings totaled $1.17 per share adj., falling short of a $1.52 per share forecast from LSEG. Adjusted gross margins fell 50 basis points from a year ago to 62.7%, which Axon attributed to tariff impacts.

Axon’s connected devices business, which includes its TASER and counter drone equipment, felt the biggest pinch during the first full quarter with tariffs. The business segment accounted for over $405 million in revenues, increasing 24% year over year.

“As long as tariffs stay in place, I view that as sort of a one-time adjustment,” finance chief Brittany Bagley said during the earnings call. “Now that’s baked into the gross margins.”

Bagley expects growth in the company’s software business to eventually offset margin losses long-term. Software and services revenues jumped 41% from a year ago to $305 million.

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Total revenues grew 31% from a year ago to $711 million, topping the $704 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG. The U.S. accounted for 84% of sales.

The Arizona-based company reported a net loss of $2.2 million, a loss of 3 cents per share, versus net income of $67 million, or 86 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Axon lifted its full-year revenue outlook to $2.74 billion, from between $2.65 billion and $2.73 billion. FactSet analysts expected $2.72 billion at the midpoint.

The company expects revenues between $750 million and $755 million during the fourth quarter, which was above LSEG analyst expectations of $746 million.

Along with the results, Axon said it is acquiring Carbyne in a deal that values the emergency communications platform at $625 million. The deal is expected to close next year in the first quarter.

Axon shares have jumped more than 60% over the last year and are up 18% year to date as demand for its security tools accelerates.

“We are building an elite business that is still nowhere near its ultimate potential, and we are doing it with a team that is rapidly bought into the mission,” said Axon’s president Josh Isner on the earnings call.

We're in amazing position to take advantage of the AI era, says Axon CEO Rick Smith

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Fintech Ripple gets $40 billion valuation after $500 million funding

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Fintech Ripple gets  billion valuation after 0 million funding

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, speaks at the 2022 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., May 4, 2022. 

Mike Blake | Reuters

Digital assets and infrastructure company Ripple said Wednesday it has raised $500 million in funding, lifting its valuation to $40 billion.

The fundraise comes after a slew of acquisitions and as the company expands its product base beyond just payments.

Crypto and digital asset companies are trying to take advantage of what is seen by the industry as a more favorable environment in the U.S. after the election of President Donald Trump and the passing of a landmark stablecoin law known as the GENIUS Act.

Ripple, which is closely linked to the XRP cryptocurrency, said the funding round was led by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, affiliates of Citadel Securities, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, Brevan Howard, and Marshall Wace.

‘Record year of growth’

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