Strategy in TECH...
Multiple sources are reporting that last week, Resideo Technologies’ company ADI unexpectedly executed layoffs of what they believe to be large numbers of employees, potentially in the hundreds. Many, if not most, of these layoffs are said to be centered on ADI’s Control4 unit legacy employees.
Sony Group recently announced it is forming a co-development partnership with chip manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to create what it calls the next generation of AI image sensors. In announcing the partnership, the company revealed that, with these next-level AI sensors, it is targeting the advanced robotics and automotive segments.
Word came out this week that Samsung Electronics and its union members have reached a deal that staves off a threatened strike that could have had a global impact. Samsung is the world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips, and as the chip manufacturing employees’ contract was up for renewal, negotiations were challenging. However, with 90 minutes left before the strike deadline, the parties reached an agreement that includes a bonus that will average $340,000 per employee in the chip manufacturing division.
Emerald Holding, Inc. (NYSE: EEX), a major consolidator of trade shows and business conferences in multiple industries, including owner of the CEDIA Expo and CEPro/Commercial Integrator/Security Sales & Integration, has agreed to be acquired by Apollo Global Management, one of the largest private equity companies in the world that specializes in “alternative assets.” In the same announcement, we learned that Apollo is also acquiring another event consolidation company known as Questex, as part of the same transaction, and which Apollo intends to merge with Emerald.
The deal, in which Apollo will pay $5.03 per share, is said to be valued at approximately $1.5 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the back half of 2026 and will create one of the largest trade show and conference event consolidators in the U.S.
On Monday this week, Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) confirmed what had been widely rumored: CEO Tim Cook would retire from the company. Cook, who is 65 years old, will leave his role as CEO in September and move into a new position as Executive Chairman of the Apple Board of Directors.
The impact of this development is significant and is likely to echo throughout the entire technology industry. Let’s contemplate that a little…shall we?
Netgear announced that it has received conditional approval on its routers from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This approval from regulators, the company says, means that dealers and consumers can rest assured that it is safe to buy, sell, and use Netgear routers which are now exempt from the recently announced ban on foreign-made routers by the U.S. government.
Who else has received FCC conditional approval?
In a huge deal between two power tech players – Japan’s Sony Corporation and China’s TCL Electronics Holding Limited – TCL is set to become the majority owner of Bravia, Inc., a new holding company that will consist of Sony’s TV and audio business units. It is a deal that may ripple through the industry, as other brands may seek to mimic Sony’s move to jettison its hardware properties in order to transform themselves into a more profitable software, content, and services company.
Kaleidescape, the industry’s leading provider of high-fidelity movies and high-performance movie streaming devices, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. Since 2001, the company has excelled in providing movie lovers with the best-looking and sounding movies. It’s a remarkable milestone when you consider that over that time, the company flirted with its survivability as the industry initially strongly resisted the idea of allowing homes across America to copy digital copies of movies to home servers.
But the company eventually found a legally safe path forward, overcoming the controversies and becoming the leading provider of high-fidelity movies at home.
Dr. Steve Weber was building a home in Colorado, and he needed an integrator to design and install the home’s automation system. Although he didn’t know it at the time, the result of that experience would alter the course of his career.
This week, I ran across yet another in a long line of critical articles about the unreliability of Smart Home technology. This one, from the New York Times, stings a little more, as it updates the well-worn path of complaints about home automation technologies, with a still-uncomplimentary perspective on new A.I.-enabled versions. The blunt conclusion: the Smart Home “Still Doesn’t Work.”
