US News
Walmart Reports Q4 Earnings for FY24: Walmart announced its Q4 earnings for the fiscal year 2024, with revenues up 5.7% to $173.4 billion as of January 31, 2024. The annual consolidated income reached $648.1 billion, marking a 6.0% increase. The report highlights a 2.3% decrease in net profits to $5.7 billion, while operating profits surged by 12.9% to $6.1 billion. E-commerce sales broke the $100 billion barrier, and the global advertising business saw approximately a 33% increase. Following the earnings report, Walmart disclosed its acquisition of connected TV platform manufacturer Vizio for $2.3 billion, gaining control over more than 20% of the U.S. TV market and access to nearly 18 million active users and extensive advertising data.
Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos Sells $2.4 Billion in Stocks: Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos, recently sold Amazon stocks worth approximately $2.4 billion, totaling over 14 million shares, based on a pre-arranged trading plan set in November 2023. This plan allows for the sale of up to 50 million Amazon shares before January 31, 2025. The stock sale, which began last weekend and continued until Tuesday, is part of Bezos’s pre-arranged trading plan. Despite the sale, Bezos remains Amazon’s largest shareholder and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, with an estimated fortune exceeding $190 billion.
High-Demand Toys on Amazon: Amazon’s toy category continues to thrive, with high ratings and sales for products like OSLINE Kids Scratch Art, Rubik’s Cube, Dan&Darci Crystal Growing Kit, Coodoo Magnetic Blocks, and ALASOU Pop Suckers Spinners. These items, ranging from creative arts to educational and novelty toys, demonstrate the diverse interests and demands of Amazon’s customer base, highlighting opportunities for sellers in these emerging categories.
Global News
Increasing Risks in Global Supply Chains Due to Red Sea Tensions: Recent attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea have escalated global supply chain risks, prompting actions like the EU’s escort operations launched on February 19, following the U.S. The diversion of shipping routes from the Red Sea has extended transit times between Asia and the EU by 10 to 15 days, with shipping costs soaring by approximately 400%. The IMF reported a 40% decrease in ships passing through the Suez Canal since January, with a corresponding increase in vessels detouring around Africa. The Suez Canal Authority noted a 36% drop in canal traffic and a 46% decrease in revenue in January compared to last year.
eBay Announces Fee Increase for Jewelry Category: Starting March 7, 2024, eBay UK will implement a fee hike for the final value fees in the jewelry category. Previously, transactions up to £450 were subject to a 12.9% final value fee; this will rise to 14.9% for transactions under £1000. For items selling over £1000, the new fee structure imposes a 4% final value fee, up from the previous 2%, maintaining the fixed 30-pence charge. This adjustment is exclusive to the jewelry segment, with no increases for watches, parts, and accessories subcategories. eBay has directed sellers to its standard fees page for further details on how final value fees are calculated.
Temu’s Exponential Growth in South Korea: Mobile market research firm WiseApp revealed that as of January 2024, Temu has garnered 5.7 million registered users in South Korea, marking a tenfold increase since August last year. Having entered the Korean market in July last year, Temu quickly became one of the favored shopping platforms, despite controversies over its aggressive marketing strategies. These strategies include discounts of up to 90%, a 90-day free return policy post-purchase, and substantial rewards that necessitate existing users to invite friends. The latest figures indicate that, combined, AliExpress and Temu have surpassed 10 million users in South Korea, making one in every five Koreans a user of these Chinese cross-border e-commerce apps.
Indian VR Startup AutoVRse Secures $2 Million Funding: AutoVRse, an Indian VR startup, announced a $2 million funding round led by Lumikai, aimed at expanding its VR platform “VRseBuilder” and accelerating the mass production of VR devices. The funds will support the digital transformation of heavy industry and manufacturing workflows in training, design, and sales. VRseBuilder offers a comprehensive modular tech stack and SAAS platform, featuring a ready-made VR content library, a VR-native learning management system, a deployment platform, a knowledge base, and a Unity SDK with a no-code editor. AutoVRse’s collaboration with Fortune 500 companies, including Shell, Godrej, Bosch, Tata Motors, Ultratech Cement, and Aditya Birla Group, highlights its impact. The startup also plans to use the funding for expansion into the U.S. market, hiring local talent, and establishing a sales team.
AI News
Nvidia’s Revenue Soars Amid AI Surge: Nvidia, the leading provider of advanced AI chips, has reported a staggering 265% increase in its fourth-quarter revenue compared to the previous year, underscoring the unrelenting AI boom. “Accelerated computing and generative AI have reached a critical juncture, with surging demand across various sectors and regions,” stated Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang. The company’s quarterly revenue hit $22.1 billion, contributing to an annual total of $60.9 billion, a 126% year-over-year increase. Net income for the quarter skyrocketed by 769% to $12.3 billion, with annual net income up 581% at $29.8 billion. Nvidia’s performance exceeded analysts’ forecasts, pushing its shares up by 8.4% in after-hours trading. Following this earnings announcement, Nvidia’s market valuation could surpass other tech giants, solidifying its position as one of the most valuable companies in the U.S.
Google Challenges Open Source Rivals with Gemma: Google has introduced Gemma, a new family of open source language models, challenging competitors like Meta’s Llama 2 and Mistral. Based on its potent multimodal model Gemini, Gemma, however, focuses solely on text and code. Google unveiled two versions of Gemma: a 2-billion parameter model designed for CPUs and a more powerful 7-billion parameter model for GPUs and TPUs. Google touts Gemma’s superior performance in dialogue, reasoning, math, and coding tasks compared to its rivals. Gemma models are accessible via Google Cloud’s Vertex AI and Kubernetes Engine, promoting “responsible” commercial use and offering substantial support for researchers, including $300 in Google Cloud credits for new users.
Cohere’s Aya Model: Bridging Language Gaps in AI: Cohere has launched Aya, an innovative AI model supporting 101 languages, aiming to enhance global communication for businesses. Aya, available under the Apache 2.0 license, excels in customer support, content translation, and localization, outperforming existing models in language understanding and translation. Emphasizing the need for diverse language representation in AI, Cohere highlights Aya’s potential to serve a wider, more inclusive audience. The model, accessible via Hugging Face and Cohere Playground, is backed by a massive multilingual dataset, ensuring natural and accurate responses across various dialects and languages.
