Silicon Valley Tech News Roundup – October 31st
Facebook changes its corporate name to Meta – 10/29
On Friday, Facebook changed its corporate name to Meta. The name change applies to the parent company only and does not apply to the social media platforms the company owns, like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The same day, the company unveiled the new logo at the headquarters in Menlo Park. A blue infinity logo replaced the thumbs-up one.
Facebook maintains the name change is due to a rebrand since it plans to expand into other areas like virtual reality. However, the name change comes at the time the company is facing intense scrutiny. A whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents related to the Facebook policies. It resulted in numerous negative stories in the media.
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg announced the name change saying: “Over time, I hope that we are seen as a metaverse company and I want to anchor our work and our identity on what we’re building towards… We’re now looking at and reporting on our business as two different segments, one for our family of apps, and one for our work on future platforms… And as part of this, it is time for us to adopt a new company brand to encompass everything that we do, to reflect who we are and what we hope to build.”
Microsoft replaces Apple as the world’s most valuable company – 10/29
On Friday, Microsoft pushed Apple out of the top spot and became the most valuable public company globally.
At the close of the market on Friday, Microsoft’s market cap was at $2.49 trillion, while Apple was at $2.46 trillion. The change follows after Apple posted its earnings report on Thursday, which fell short of the analyst expectations. While Apple achieved strong results, it also posted losses of $6 billion due to supply chain constraints. Tim Cook predicted even worse supply chain issues in the December quarter. Sales of iPhone are up 47% yearly. However, the results of the fourth quarter only include several days of iPhone 13 sales.
Meanwhile, Microsoft posted strong earnings based on the sales of Windows, Office, and cloud products.
Apple ruled the market for several years. In 2018, it became the first US company to hit a $1 trillion market cap. In 2020, it hit a $2 trillion market cap. However, Microsoft took Apple’s spot previously by beating its market cap in 2018 and in July of 2020.
GlobalFoundries debuts at Nasdaq – 10/30
GlobalFoundries, a semiconductor chip company, made its debut at Nasdaq this week. It is a third-party silicon wafer foundry valued at $25 billion. The type of semiconductor chips the company produces is called “legacy nodes,” unlike the more advanced chips made by the latest manufacturing methods. These older semiconductor chips are currently in short supply, with a worldwide shortage because they are essential components for numerous products.
In an interview with CNBC News, Tom Caulfield, GlobalFoundries CEO, said: “I think for the better part of the next five to 10 years, we’re going to be chasing supply not demand… I would say, since August of 2020, we can’t make enough. Every day, we try to squeeze out as much as we can. I would say we’re over 100%”. Caulfield also said GlobalFoundries sold out its wafer capacity until the end of 2023.
Utilization determines the profitability of a foundry company. It is the rate the company is running around the clock. In 2020, GlobalFoundries had a utilization rate of 84%, which Caulfield linked to the slowdown at the beginning of the pandemic.
Squid Game cryptocurrency gains 131,800% since its launch – 10/30
Earlier this week, the cryptocurrency market saw the launch of the Squid Game squid token. Inspired by the globally popular Netflix show, the token soared 131,800% in value since its launch.
CoinMarketCap, a price-tracking website for crypto assets, posted a warning on its listing for the Squid Game token. It states: “We have received multiple reports that users are not able to sell this token in Pancakeswap… Please do your own due diligence and exercise caution while trading! This project, while clearly inspired by the Netflix show of the same name, is unlikely to be affiliated with the official IP.” Netflix is not affiliated, nor does it endorse the cryptocurrency.
Experts also question the project’s legitimacy due to the error-riddled website filled with broken links and grammatical errors. Likewise, the white paper for the token makes unverified claims about it selling out in the pre-sale in just one second. Based on the website, the cryptocurrency should follow the game format like in the show. However, there is no information available on when the game will begin.
