Acquisition Expands Medtronic's Artificial Intelligence and Data Capabilities, Becoming the First Company to Offer an Integrated Spine Solution Including AI-Driven Surgical Planning, Personalized Spinal Implants and Robotic Assisted Surgery DUBLIN, Nov. 16, 2020 /CNW/ -- Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT), the global leader in medical technology, today announced that it has completed its friendly tender offer for France-based Medicrea International (Euronext Growth Paris: FR0004178572 – ALMED Medicrea; OTCQX Best Market – MRNTF), a pioneer in the transformation of spinal surgery through artificial intelligence (AI), predictive modeling and patient specific implants. On July 15, 2020, the parties announced a friendly voluntary all-cash tender offer at the price of €7.00 per Medicrea share. As a result of completion of the tender offer, Medtronic currently owns in excess of 90% of Medicrea's share capital and voting rights and will shortly request the implementation of a squeeze-out procedure under French law, which will result in Medicrea becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Medtronic. This is Medtronic's seventh acquisition completed in 2020 and furthers Medtronic's strategic expansion into AI, machine learning and predictive analytics. Medicrea's product portfolio consists of 30 510(k) cleared or CE Marked implant technologies, utilized in spinal surgeries for adult deformity, pediatric deformity and degenerative disease.

This year, more than ever before because of the COVID-19 pandemic, huge droves of workers and consumers have been turning to the internet to communicate, get things done and entertain themselves. That has created a huge bonanza for cybercriminals, but also companies that are building tools to combat them. In the latest development, an Israel-hatched, Mountain View-based enterprise startup called SentinelOne -- which has built a machine learning-based solution that it sells under the brand Singularity that works across the entire edge of the network to monitor and secure laptops, phones, containerised applications and the many other devices and services connected to a network -- has closed $267 million in funding to continue expanding its business to meet demand, which has seen business boom this year. Its valuation is now over $3 billion. Given the large sums the company has now raised -- $430 million to date -- the funding will likely be used for acquisitions (cyber is a very crowded market and will likely see some strong consolidation in the coming years), as well as more in-house development and sales and marketing.

Microsoft and the US Department of Energy grabbed headlines by announcing a partnership to develop AI-powered applications to help first responders reacting to natural disasters. One of the first AI prototypes in development will employ computer vision to detect and predict the frontiers of active wildfires and floods. The second application uses an AI tool that should be in every risk manager's toolbox: simulation. This simulator will aid teams in running mock scenarios to better plan and prepare for the next big natural disaster. Many companies were caught flat-footed by COVID-19, perhaps the largest disruption to global trade in a hundred years.

Atlanta-based Kobiton, a mobile testing platform that allows developers and QA teams to test their apps on real devices, both on their own desks and through the company's cloud-based service, today announced that it has acquired Mobile Labs, another Atlanta-based mobile testing service. To finance the acquisition of its well-funded competitor, Kobiton raised a $14 million extension to its $5.2 million Series A from its existing investor BIP Capital and new investor Fulcrum Equity Partners. As Kobiton CEO Kevin Lee told me, we shouldn't take that as the acquisition price, but it's probably a fair guess that the real price isn't too far off. The companies declined to disclose the exact price, though. Mobile Labs, which was founded in 2011, had raised about $15 million before the acquisition, according to Crunchbase.

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After the stock market closed today, Five9 announced the acquisition of intelligent virtual agent (IVA) company Inference Solutions. The purchase price is $172 million, $148 million in cash and $24 million when certain bookings targets are met. Inference brings 550 customers, among them several joint Five9 customers -- including Chick-fil-A and Wyndham Hotels. Inference was founded in 2005, spun out from Telstra Research Labs -- think of it as the Australian version of Bell Labs. Headquartered in San Francisco, the company has additional offices in Austin, TX and Melbourne, Australia.

Intel has been doubling down on building chips and related architecture for the next generation of computing, and today it announced an acquisition that will bolster its expertise and work specifically in one area of future technology: artificial intelligence. The semiconductor giant today announced that it has acquired SigOpt, a startup out of San Francisco that has built an optimization platform that can be used to run modeling and simulations (two key applications of AI tech) in a better way. Anthony described SigOpt as a startup built to "optimize everything" when we covered its Series A, but Intel specifically will be integrating the tech into its AI business, specifically into its AI Analytics Toolkit, a spokesperson tells me. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but SigOpt already counted a number of large enterprises -- "SigOpt's customer base includes Fortune 500 companies across industries, as well as leading research institutions, universities and consortiums using its products" -- among its customers. The product was still in a closed beta, however.

Call center software provider Five9 Inc. has come up a winner yet again, comfortably beating Wall Street's targets with its third-quarter financial results and delivering strong guidance on top of that. The company reported a profit before certain costs such as stock compensation of 27 cents per share on revenue of $112 million, up 34% from a year ago. That was well ahead of Wall Street's forecast of 18 cents per share in earnings and $101 million in revenue. Five9 sells cloud-based contact center software and services for enterprises that enable them to keep track of and manage their interactions with customers. Its software covers traditional phone calls, as well as video calling services, emails and social media interactions.

Founded by Eilon Reshef and Amit Bendov, Gong is also a cloud-based business and uses AI (artificial intelligence) to transcribe and analyze …

The acquisition includes the Nand SSD business, the Nand component and wafer business, and the Dalian Nand memory manufacturing facility in China. Intel will however keep its distinct Intel Optane business. The companies hope to close the deal after receiving all of the necessary governmental approvals in late 2021. Under the agreement, SK hynix will first acquire the Nand SSD business (including NAND SSD-associated IP and employees), and the Dalian facility, with a first payment of USD 7 billion. SK hynix will acquire the remaining assets, including IP related to the manufacture and design of Nand flash wafers, R&D employees, and the Dalian fab workforce, upon final closing sometime in March 2025 with the remaining payment of USD 2 billion.