Connect with us

Published

on

Microsoft’s rivals won a reprieve on Monday, when the software giant said it would split up its Teams and Office bundles following scrutiny from European regulators.

Zoom, whose video chat app took off during the Covid pandemic, has struggled of late to compete with Microsoft’s suite of communications products. Slack, now owned by Salesforce, has long pined for this type of split, submitting an antitrust complaint to the European Commission in 2020 over what it viewed as illegal tying of Teams into Office.

With Microsoft’s latest announcement, some customers will have to pay more money to get the same features. For example, new clients of Office 365 E3 will pay $3 more per person per month with the split than they would for the combined offering, according to a blog post and previous price lists.

Analysts at Mizuho Securities wrote in a note on Monday that “while customers believe Zoom is a superior platform vs. Teams” and other vendors, “the bundling of MS Teams to Office 365 has always been enticing for customers to consider Teams.”

Zoom’s revenue growth, which peaked at over 350% in 2020 and 2021, slowed to 2.6% in the latest quarter and has been in single digits for seven straight periods.

“In our view, the unbundling of MS Teams should help alleviate some enterprise churn headwinds,” wrote the Mizuho analysts, who recommend buying Zoom shares.

Organizations that already pay for the Microsoft bundle can keep using Teams and Office as is or, “if they wish to switch to the new lineup, they can do so on their contract anniversary or renewal,” the blog post said.

Last year, Microsoft generated almost $53 billion in revenue from Office, including Teams, up about 14% from 2022. CEO Satya Nadella told analysts on the company’s earnings call in October that Teams had over 320 million monthly active users.

Salesforce, which competes with Microsoft in a number of areas including communications and collaborations tools, acquired Slack in 2021 for $27 billion, its most expensive purchase since the company’s founding 25 years ago.

In July 2020, months before Salesforce announced the agreement, Slack filed a complaint about Microsoft in Europe.

“Microsoft is reverting to past behavior,” David Schellhase, Slack’s general counsel at the time, was quoted as saying in a press release, referring to the “browser wars” of the 1990s. “They created a weak, copycat product and tied it to their dominant Office product, force installing it and blocking its removal.”

The year prior, Slack wasn’t expressing much concerns about Teams. Slack founder and former CEO Stewart Butterfield said on an earnings call in December 2019 that while most of the company’s top customers used parts of Microsoft’s Office 365 suite, they were choosing slack for messaging instead of the Teams app.

Zoom’s stock slipped about 1% on Monday and Salesforce shares rose 0.4% A Zoom representative didn’t respond to a request for comment, while Salesforce declined to comment.

The Financial Times reported last year, citing unnamed individuals, that Microsoft would eventually let companies choose to buy productivity software subscriptions with or without Teams to head off a competition investigation from the European Union. Months later, the European Commission disclosed a probe into Microsoft’s Teams and Office bundling.

In response, Microsoft started selling distinct subscriptions for Teams and for other productivity software in 31 European countries.

“To ensure clarity for our customers, we are extending the steps we took last year to unbundle Teams from M365 and O365 in the European Economic Area and Switzerland to customers globally,” a Microsoft spokesperson told CNBC in an email. “Doing so also addresses feedback from the European Commission by providing multinational companies more flexibility when they want to standardize their purchasing across geographies.”

WATCH: How Microsoft has been dodging regulatory trouble amid broader big tech headwinds

Continue Reading

Technology

Amazon adds pet prescriptions to its online pharmacy

Published

on

By

Amazon adds pet prescriptions to its online pharmacy

Close-up of a hand holding a cellphone displaying the Amazon Pharmacy system, Lafayette, California, September 15, 2021. 

Smith Collection | Gado | Getty Images

Amazon is expanding its online pharmacy to fill prescription pet medications, the company announced Thursday.

The company said it has added “hundreds of commonly prescribed pet medications” to its U.S. site, ranging from flea and tick solutions to treatments for chronic conditions.

Prescriptions are purchased via Amazon’s storefront and must be approved by a veterinarian. Online pet pharmacy Vetsource will oversee the dispensing and delivery of medications, said Amazon, adding that items are typically delivered within two to six days.

Amazon launched its digital drugstore in 2020 with the added perk of discounts and free delivery for Prime members. The company has been working to speed up prescription shipments over the past year, bringing same-day delivery to a handful of U.S. cities. Last October, Amazon set a goal to make speedy medicine delivery available in nearly half of the U.S. in 2025.

The new pet medication offerings puts Amazon into more direct competition with online pet pharmacy Chewy, as well as Walmart, which offers pet prescription delivery.

Amazon Pharmacy is part of the company’s growing stable of healthcare offerings, which also includes One Medical, the primary care provider it acquired for roughly $3.9 billion in July 2022. Amazon’s online pharmacy was born out of the company’s 2018 acquisition of online pharmacy PillPack.

WATCH: Amazon’s new Vulcan robot can ‘feel’ what it touches

Here's a first look at Vulcan, Amazon's new stowing robot that can feel what it touches

Continue Reading

Technology

Coinbase acquires crypto derivatives exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion

Published

on

By

Coinbase acquires crypto derivatives exchange Deribit for .9 billion

The Coinbase logo is displayed on a smartphone with stock market percentages on the background.

Omar Marques | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Coinbase agreed to acquire Dubai-based Deribit, a major crypto derivatives exchange, for $2.9 billion, the largest deal in the crypto industry to date.

The company said Thursday that the cost comprises $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase class A common stock. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.

Shares of Coinbase rose nearly 6%.

The acquisition positions Coinbase as an international leader in crypto derivatives by open interest and options volume, Greg Tusar, vice president of institutional product, said in a blog post – which could allow it take on big players like Binance. Coinbase operates the largest marketplace for buying and selling cryptocurrencies within the U.S., but has a smaller share of the global crypto market, where activity largely takes place on Binance.

Deribit facilitated more than $1 trillion in trading volume last year and has about $30 billion of current open interest on the platform.

“We’re excited to join forces with Coinbase to power a new era in global crypto derivatives,” Deribit CEO Luuk Strijers said in a statement. “As the leading crypto options platform, we’ve built a strong, profitable business, and this acquisition will accelerate the foundation we laid while providing traders with even more opportunities across spot, futures, perpetuals, and options – all under one trusted brand. Together with Coinbase, we’re set to shape the future of the global crypto derivatives market.”

Tusar also noted that Deribit has a “consistent track record” of generating positive adjusted EBITDA the company believes will grow as a combined entity.  

“One of the things we liked most about this deal is that it’s not just a game changer for our international expansion plans — it immediately diversifies our revenue and enhances profitability,” Tusar told CNBC.

The deal comes at a time when the crypto industry is riding regulatory tailwinds from the first ever pro-crypto White House. Support of the industry has fueled crypto M&A activity in recent weeks. In March, crypto exchange Kraken agreed to acquire NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, and last month Ripple agreed to buy prime broker Hidden Road.

Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC Pro:

Continue Reading

Technology

Whoop launches two new wearables with 14-day battery life

Published

on

By

Whoop launches two new wearables with 14-day battery life

Whoop member wears the new device.

Courtesy of Whoop

Whoop on Thursday announced two new wearable devices, Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG, which feature sleeker hardware, a longer battery life and additional in-app health insights. 

Both of the company’s new devices are designed for 24/7 wear.

The Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG support 14 days of battery life, which is around triple the four-to-five-day range offered by Whoop 4.0. The new hardware is also 7% smaller than the previous device, with a processor that’s 60% faster, the company said. 

“We’ve taken everything we’ve learned over the past decade and built a platform to help our members perform and live at their peak for longer,” Whoop founder and CEO Will Ahmed said in a release. 

The launch marks Whoop’s first major hardware update since 2021, when the company released Whoop 4.0. Whoop said its new devices will help users understand how their daily decisions impact their performance and health outcomes over time, according to a release.

Cost and tiers

There are three annual membership tiers: Whoop One, which costs $199 and includes the Whoop 5.0; Whoop Peak, which costs $239 and includes the Whoop 5.0; and Whoop Life, which costs $359 and includes the Whoop MG. Accessories like additional bands will come at an extra cost.

Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG memberships and accessories are available for purchase online starting on Thursday.

Whoop’s new membership options.

Whoop

Whoop One members will be able to use their Whoop 5.0 to measure sleep, strain and recovery, as well as the cardiovascular and muscular impact of various workouts. Users can also track their menstrual cycles and pregnancies. 

Whoop Peak builds on those core metrics. Members have access to a Health Monitor feature, which provides a quick look at vitals like respiratory rate, heart rate, blood oxygen, and skin temperature. Whoop Peak also supports a real-time stress monitor, where users can see their stress level and complete guided breathing sessions if they’d like to increase relaxation or alertness. 

The company also unveiled a feature called Healthspan, which uses nine metrics to calculate adult users’ Whoop Age and Pace of Aging. A user’s Whoop Age compares their physiological age to their actual age, and Pace of Aging assesses how fast or slow someone is aging based on their behavior. 

The Healthspan feature is updated every week, and users will get tips about how they can improve their Whoop Age and Pace of Aging in their app. Whoop developed this feature in partnership with the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, the company said. 

The most comprehensive membership is Whoop Life, which will give users access to additional medical-grade health features with Whoop MG.  

Whoop Life members can record an electrocardiogram, or an ECG, to detect irregular heart rhythms like AFib, high heart rate or low heart rate. Once the reading is complete, they can share a PDF of the recording with their doctor. 

The ECG feature has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It’s not intended for users under 22 years old, or for users with a cardiac pacemaker or other implanted devices. It will be available in the U.S., the UAE and Qatar at launch, with additional countries coming soon. 

Whoop Life members can also get daily insights about their blood pressure, including estimated systolic and diastolic ranges. Users will have to log a traditional cuff-reading to act as a baseline to unlock this feature, and it’s not intended for treatment, diagnosis or medical use.  

Whoop said Blood Pressure Insights has been in development for several years, and the feature is currently in beta.  

Quick takeaways

Ashley Capoot wearing Whoop MG

Ashley Capoot

I got a sneak peek at the Whoop MG, and I’ve been wearing it for the past few days. I can’t speak to what it’s like to wear the device over an extended period, but my initial experience has been largely positive. 

From a hardware standpoint, the Whoop MG looks and feels sleeker than the Whoop 4.0, which I tested out in April. The actual sensor is roughly an inch wide, and the band is slightly thinner than that. I’ve found that both the Whoop MG and the Whoop 4.0 are a little hard to take off — you really have to tug on the latch. 

The Whoop MG’s setup is very straightforward, and I was up and running on the app in a matter of minutes. With all the new features, there’s a lot of additional data to make sense of, so the app seemed pretty busy to me at first. I felt like I had a better handle on it after a few hours, though, and I haven’t felt pressure to constantly monitor it.  

Of the new features, I thought Healthspan was particularly interesting. As a relatively healthy 24-year-old, I noticed I still felt relieved to be “younger” than my age. I’d be curious to see how that feature would change based on my behaviors from week to week. 

I also liked the Whoop MG’s detailed sleep tracking and the real-time stress monitor, as stress is something I’ve personally been trying to be more mindful of. I’ve learned that my stress levels really skyrocket while I’m taking public transport, for instance, and adjust accordingly.

After about a dozen tries, I wasn’t able to log a successful ECG reading. I kept getting errors, even after switching wrists and the positioning of my arms. That’s been disappointing, as I’m interested to see my results. The Blood Pressure Insights are neat, and assuming other users can successfully record ECG readings, it’s easy to see the potential benefit. That said, I don’t think I need those features in my daily life yet, so the Whoop Life membership probably wouldn’t be the right pick for me. 

I’m not totally sold on the Whoop MG’s aesthetics. I have small hands and wrists, so I always feel like smart devices tend to look clunky on me. 

I definitely felt like the Whoop 4.0 was too big for me, but the Whoop MG doesn’t bother me quite as much. That’s just my personal taste, and there are lots of Whoop accessories you can buy to spiff up the device for different occasions. 

After just a few days, there’s a lot I can still learn from the Whoop MG, but I feel like I’d personally reach for the Whoop 5.0. The range of membership options helps ensure that users don’t have to break the bank, so I’d feel comfortable recommending Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG to my friends and family. And for existing Whoop customers who are thinking about an upgrade, the extended battery life alone is worth considering. 

WATCH: CEO of fitness tracker company Whoop on $3.6 billion valuation, outlook

CEO of fitness tracker company Whoop on $3.6 billion valuation, outlook

Continue Reading

Trending