In the long run, we expect AI technologies to become very broadly embedded into enterprise software applications and software, much as business intelligence ("BI"), reporting and analytics features have increasingly been directly incorporated into enterprise applications in the last decade. Company related disclosures: Issuer Company Ticker Applicable Disclosures Constellation Software Inc. CSU-T 7, 9 Shopify Inc. SHOP-N 7, 9 OpenText Inc. OTEX-Q 7, 9 Kinaxis Inc. KXS-T 7, 9 Descartes Systems Group Inc. DSGX-Q 7, 9 Absolute Software Inc. ABT-T 7, 9 BSM Technologies Inc. GPS-T 7, 9 Symbility Solutions Inc. SY-V 7, 9 ProntoForms Corp. PFM-V 1, 3, 7, 9 Redline Communications Inc. RDL-T 7, 9 See legend of Disclosures on next page. Definitions "Research Analyst" means any partner, director, officer, employee or agent of iA Securities who is held out to the public as a research analyst or whose responsibilities to iA Securities include the preparation of any written report for distribution to clients or prospective clients of iA Securities which includes a recommendation with respect to a security. Technology Sector Blair Abernethy, CFA August 17, 2017 Page 27 Analyst's Certification Each iA Securities research analyst whose name appears on the front page of this research report hereby certifies that (i) the recommendations and opinions expressed in the research report accurately reflect the research analyst's personal views about the issuer and securities that are the subject of this report and all other companies and securities mentioned in this report that are covered by such research analyst and (ii) no part of the research analyst's compensation was, is, or will be directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed by such research analyst in this report.

The Watson win was a major win for IBM IBM, -0.31% at the time, underscoring its transition to a new-age technology company with artificially-intelligent computers. On Friday, shares of IBM fell 3% to $154.45 after billionaire investor Warren Buffett announced that his company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.A, -1.07% It has unloaded 30 million shares so far in 2017, from the 81 million shares it held at the end of 2016. Buffett bought more than $10 billion in IBM shares the year Watson won "Jeopardy," and increased his stake a few more times in the years proceeding. IBM reported profit and revenue declines, even as its newer software-as-a-service business saw revenue gains of 60%.

Salesforce has spent over 4 billion on acquisitions in the past year alone, and it's making some investors grow concerned about the company's spending strategy. According to a note by Macquarie Research on Tuesday, Salesforce may have some explaining to do during its earnings call on Wednesday to ease the investors worried about the company's record-high buying spree over the past year. That includes the 2.8 billion Demandware acquisition, which was the largest deal Salesforce has made to date, and the 750 million deal for the 40-person startup Quip. Still, Piper Jaffray noted that most of the acquisitions make sense because they've been in the artificial intelligence and machine learning space, in which Salesforce is launching its new product Einstein.

New Zealand fixed-line telecommunications provider Chorus has announced its full-year financial results for 2015-16, reporting earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of NZ 594 million, down by NZ 8 million due to the regulator's copper pricing decision in December. In December, the New Zealand Commerce Commission released its final pricing determination for broadband services being delivered over Chorus' legacy copper network. A breakdown of revenue saw basic copper services contribute NZ 489 million, NZ 2 million less than last year; enhanced copper contribute NZ 242 million, down from NZ 268 million; and fibre contribute NZ 133 million, up by 35.7 percent year on year from NZ 98 million. Value Added Network Services, Field Services, and Infrastructure were all down by NZ 1 million to contribute NZ 35 million, NZ 83 million, and NZ 20 million, respectively.

This week, Intel announced the acquisition of machine learning startups Nervana Systems for a rumored 400M. This move is intended to improve Intel's artificial intelligence(AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities in its next generation architecture. The acquisition follows the news of Apple's acquisition of Seattle-based AI startup Turi for about 200M. These series of M&A events are signaling that we are entering a time of consolidation in the AI and ML markets.