We may earn a commission from links on this page.It looks like Strava is making moves to become more than just a social fitness tracker. The popular fitness app—arguably the best one of its kind—announced Thursday that it has acquired The Breakaway, an AI-powered cycling training app, marking its second major acquisition in just over a month.This follows Strava's purchase of Runna back in April. So, what do these acquisitions mean for users of The Breakaway and Strava alike? Will those apps' specific training plans become available a part of the Strava subscription? Will I have to pay for that whether I like it or not? Here's what you need to know.What The Breakaway brings to StravaThe Breakaway uses AI to create customized training plans for cyclists pursuing specific performance goals. The app analyzes individual fitness data and objectives to generate workouts tailored to each user's needs and schedule. Similarly, Runna offers AI-generated training plans, but focuses on runners rather than cyclists. As people are speculating on Reddit, these apps could represent Strava's strategic push into more personalized training and coaching features.Zooming out, Strava has built its reputation on social fitness tracking. As a loyal Strava user myself, I believe no other running app can beat Strava's social and mapping features. This ability to tap into a community of fellow runners and cyclists has always differentiated Strava from pure tracking apps.Strava's core offering has remained relatively (and refreshingly) basic compared to specialized training apps. That said, these acquisitions sure do suggest the company wants to capture more and more of the fitness ecosystem by offering the kind of structured, goal-oriented training that serious athletes need.What this means for pricingCurrent subscribers don't need to worry about immediate price hikes. The Breakaway costs $9.99/month, or $69.99/year. (I guess runners are willing to shell out more, since Runna costs $19.99/month, or $119.99/year.) Strava's free tier lets you post your runs, interact with other users, and track some basic statistics about your performance. The premium tier, at $11.99/month or $79.99/year, gives you extra performance tracking and mapping tools.And according to statements from Strava, there are no plans to alter pricing structures or eliminate free access to the acquired apps' basic features. Whether this pricing structure will hold long-term remains to be seen, especially as Strava integrates these services into its broader platform.The bottom lineRather than users needing separate apps for social tracking and structured training, Strava appears to be building an all-in-one fitness ecosystem. Even for the most casual users, this could mean access to more training tools without leaving the Strava ecosystem. But as some disgruntled fans are voicing, it can be frustrating to see Strava scoop up AI-powered training features, rather than fix some of its most basic issues. (Seriously: I should be able to accurately search for for past runs.)And we can only hope that pricing doesn't get too crazy. We'll see whether users are willing to pay more for what has traditionally been a social-first fitness app. Finally, as Strava continues to expand its feature set, it's worth remembering that the app defaults to public sharing. Regularly review your privacy settings to ensure you're not inadvertently sharing location data or personal information more broadly than intended.

This list includes a selection of the latest research on cybersecurity & data privacy posted to SSRN in 2025. Understanding the Cyber Risks of Artificial Intelligence: An Ongoing, Comprehensive, Multi-Faceted Approach for CIOs, CTOs and CSOs by Nelson Novaes Neto (MIT Sloan School of Management) & Keri Pearlson (MIT Sloan School of Management) How to Save the Internet by Tejas N. Narechania (University of California, Berkeley) & Scott Shenker (University of California, Berkeley) Addressing Privacy Risk Management in Mergers and Acquisitions: Developing a Compliance Strategy for Handling Third-Party Vendor Data by Esther Arokun (Seattle University) State Constitutional Rights to Privacy by Tiffany C. Li (University of San Francisco) Beyond Algorithmic Disgorgement: Remedying Algorithmic Harms by Christina Lee (George Washington University) The Brussels Effect(s) and the Rise of a Privacy Profession by Michael Birnhack (Tel Aviv University) & Guy Mundlak (Tel Aviv University) Data Scanning and the Fourth Amendment by Orin S. Kerr (Stanford Law School) The Quest for Lawful AI Training under Data Protection Frameworks: Global Controversies and Practical Implications by Wenlong Li (Aston University), Yueming Zhang (Ghent University), Qingqing Zheng (Shandong University), & Aolan Li (Queen Mary University of London) The National Security Internet by Anupam Chander (Georgetown University Law Center) The $1.4 Billion Bybit Hack: Cybersecurity Failures and the Risks of Cryptocurrency Deregulation by David Krause (Marquette University) Brokering Safety by Chinmayi Sharma (Fordham University School of Law), Thomas Kadri (University of Georgia School of Law), & Sam Adler (Fordham University School of Law) Rethinking Youth Privacy by Danielle Keats Citron (University of Virginia School of Law) & Ari Ezra Waldman (University of California, Irvine) To read more research on Cybersecurity & Data Privacy, subscribe to SSRN’s Cybersecurity & Data Privacy Law & Policy eJournal or view other papers here.

CADENAS GmbH, a software company based in Augsburg, Germany, has joined the KEYENCE Group. The acquisition is intended to advance the development of 3Dfindit, CADENAS’ engineering platform, and enhance its digital catalog capabilities for global users. Founded in 1992, CADENAS operates a platform that connects around 10 million engineers and designers with suppliers of 3D CAD components. The company has steadily expanded over three decades, providing catalog-based solutions that support digital part integration across multiple manufacturing sectors. This strategic shift comes after more than 30 years of independent growth. KEYENCE, a Japanese corporation specializing in automation and inspection equipment, has reported consistent annual growth of 10% for the past 25 years. As of March 2024, it ranked among the five largest companies in Japan by market capitalization. With operations in 46 countries and a customer base of 350,000 businesses, the group’s acquisition of CADENAS is positioned to extend its reach in digital engineering infrastructure. According to the Augsburg-based firm, existing customer relationships will remain unchanged. It stated that its team will stay intact, with ongoing independent development of its software. “We will remain a neutral, reliable partner for manufacturers and companies of all kinds, regardless of industry,” reads the company statement. It also clarified that customer data will continue to be handled internally. The new arrangement is expected to contribute to KEYENCE’s long-term objective of expanding its technology offering and support systems. While the engineering platform will continue operating under its current structure, it will now complement the broader industrial automation ecosystem of its new parent company. Take the 3DPI Reader Survey — shape the future of AM reporting in under 5 minutes. CADENAS becomes part of the KEYENCE Group. Image via CADENAS GmbH. Strategic acquisitions reshape digital manufacturing landscape In March, United Performance Metals (UPM) acquired Fabrisonic, an Ohio-based manufacturer known for its ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM) technology. Following the acquisition, Fabrisonic was integrated into UPM’s processing network, which includes sites in Connecticut, Ohio, and California. The supplier of specialty metals stated that Fabrisonic’s technology and expertise would enhance its ability to develop advanced materials and expand its manufacturing capabilities. Fabrisonic General Manager Jason Riley credited the company’s engineers as key to its progress and said the acquisition would support the next phase of growth. A month later, Nano Dimension completed its $116 million acquisition of Markforged Holding Corporation, a U.S.-based manufacturer of FDM 3D printers. The transaction followed a period of internal restructuring at Nano Dimension, including leadership changes and the resolution of legal disputes related to other merger agreements. Markforged, which reported annual revenues exceeding $85 million, brings an installed base of 15,000 systems, along with capabilities in metal and composite manufacturing and AI-driven production software. As part of the agreement, Markforged’s CFO, Assaf Zipori, was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Nano Dimension. Ready to discover who won the 20243D Printing Industry Awards? Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to stay updated with the latest news and insights. Featured image shows CADENAS becomes part of the KEYENCE Group. Image via CADENAS GmbH. Anyer Tenorio Lara Anyer Tenorio Lara is an emerging tech journalist passionate about uncovering the latest advances in technology and innovation. With a sharp eye for detail and a talent for storytelling, Anyer has quickly made a name for himself in the tech community. Anyer's articles aim to make complex subjects accessible and engaging for a broad audience. In addition to his writing, Anyer enjoys participating in industry events and discussions, eager to learn and share knowledge in the dynamic world of technology.

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More Salesforce is making a big bid to become a much larger player in the enterprise space, announcing today an $8B acquisition of Informatica. The move will bring together two large, established enterprise software providers with decades of real-world experience. Informatica was founded in 1993 as an enterprise data-focused vendor and an early pioneer in the ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) market. As technology cycles have changed over the last 25 years, so too has Informatica, moving to cloud and SaaS and more recently embracing generative AI. Just last week, at the company’s Informatica World, it announced a series of new agentic AI offerings designed to help improve enterprise data management and operations. By acquiring Informatica, Salesforce aims to enhance its trusted data foundation for deploying agentic AI. The combination will create a unified architecture enabling AI agents to operate safely, responsibly and at scale across enterprises by integrating: Informatica’s rich data catalog, integration, governance, quality, privacy and Master Data Management (MDM) capabilities. Salesforce’s platform includes Data Cloud, Agentforce, Tableau, MuleSoft and Customer 360. “I’m excited to begin this new journey with Salesforce where the combination of Informatica’s rich data catalog, data integration, governance, quality and privacy, metadata management and Master Data Management (MDM) services with the Salesforce platform upon close of the transaction will establish a unified architecture for agentic AI – enabling AI agents to operate safely, responsibly and at scale, across the modern enterprise,” Amit Walia, CEO of Informatica wrote in LinkedIn post. What another big deal means for Salesforce and its enterprise customers Salesforce has been no stranger to large acquisitions.  In 2021, Salesforce acquired Slack Technologies for a staggering $28 billion. In 2019, Salesforce acquired data analytics platform Tableau for $16 billion. A year earlier, in 2018, Salesforce acquired MuleSoft, bolstering its enterprise software integration capabilities. All of those acquisitions have worked out well for Salesforce, with Tableau, Slack and Mulesoft growing and expanding. According to Forrester Analyst Noel Yuhanna, Salesforce’s acquisition of Informatica fills a gap in its data management capabilities. “The acquisition markedly elevates Salesforce’s position across all critical dimensions of modern data management, including data integration, ingestion, pipelines, master data management (MDM), metadata management, transformation, preparation, quality and governance in the cloud,” Yuhanna told VentureBeat. “These capabilities are no longer optional—they are foundational for building an AI-ready enterprise, especially as the industry accelerates toward agentic AI.” To fully realize AI’s promise, Yuhanna said that vendor solutions must tightly integrate data and AI as two sides of the same coin. In his view, this acquisition strengthens Salesforce’s ability to do just that, laying the groundwork for next-generation data that can power intelligent, autonomous and personalized experiences at scale to support AI use cases. “Crucially, this positions Salesforce to deliver a unified customer data fabric, enabling a truly end-to-end platform for data, AI and analytics, tailored to customer-centric use cases,” Yuhanna said. “Real-time data integration across diverse sources is becoming critical for advanced customer engagement, and this move brings Salesforce much closer to that vision.” While data has long been the foundation of Informatica’s technology, its intersection with agentic AI makes it attractive to Salesforce. Hyoun Park, CEO and Chief Analyst at Amalgam Insights, told VentureBeat that the Informatica acquisition has been rumored for over a year, with a credible expectation last year of an $11 billion bid. “From a practical perspective, the rush towards agentic AI requires any credible player in the space to manage data, workflows, integration and models as well as the agents and to be a strong IT partner,” Park said. “The Informatica acquisition goes hand-in-hand with Salesforce’s efforts towards improving IT management capabilities and going head to head against ServiceNow and IT specialists such as Boomi in the agent space.” Park noted that there is some overlap with the MuleSoft capabilities Salesforce already has in its portfolio. That said, he emphasized that Informatica’s capabilities in data management, including master data management, data catalog and data security, are both more updated and more comprehensive. The data components that make enterprise agentic AI real Data isn’t just about storing bits of content. When it comes to agentic AI it’s a whole lot more complex. “A successful agent strategy depends on the integration of three domains: models, applications and data,” Kevin Petrie, vice president of research at BARC told VentureBeat. “Salesforce gains significant strength in the data realm, especially metadata and cataloging, through this acquisition.” Petrie noted that Salesforce is already invested in the application realm through its CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and Mulesoft offerings. Those capabilities are already being integrated into Salesforce’s agentic AI workflows, focusing on customer-related data. “However, Informatica provides extensive value in the data management realm outside agentic workflows and customer related data,” Petrie said. “To realize the full value of this acquisition, I believe Salesforce will need to give the Informatica unit sufficient autonomy to continue to provide and extend its broad data management capabilities to its existing customers.” What it all means for enterprise users So, what does the acquisition mean for both Salesforce and Informatica enterprise customers? Forrester’s Yuhanna sees the acquisition as a major advancement for Salesforce customers. He noted that Salesforce customers will be able to seamlessly access and leverage all types of customer data, whether housed within Salesforce or external systems, all in real time. It represents a unified customer data fabric that can deliver actionable insights across every channel and touchpoint.  “Critically, it accelerates Salesforce’s ability to deploy agentic AI, enabling low-code, low-maintenance AI solutions that reduce complexity and dramatically shorten time to value,” Yuhanna said. “With a fully integrated data management foundation, Salesforce customers can expect faster, more innovative, and more personalized customer experiences at scale.” The opportunity is equally appealing for Informatica customers. In Yuhanna’s view, this acquisition unlocks a faster path to agentic AI workloads, backed by the reach and power of the Salesforce ecosystem. As data management evolves, intelligent agents will automate core functions, turning traditionally time-consuming processes like data ingestion, integration, and pipeline orchestration into self-operating data workflows. Tasks that once took days or weeks will be executed with zero to little human intervention.  “With a unified data, AI, and analytics platform, Informatica customers will benefit from accelerated innovation, greater operational agility, and significantly enhanced returns on their data investments,” he said. Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI. Read our Privacy Policy Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here. An error occured.

Venture capitalists have always focused on investing in companies that leverage technology to either disrupt established industries or create entirely new business categories. But some VCs are starting to flip the script on their investing styles. Rather than funding startups, they are acquiring mature businesses –such as call centers, accounting firms, and other professional service firms—and optimizing them with artificial intelligence to serve more customers through automation. This strategy, often likened to private equity roll-ups, is being employed by firms such as General Catalyst, Thrive Capital, and solo VC Elad Gil. General Catalyst, touting this as a new asset class, has already backed seven such companies, including Long Lake, a startup that scoops up homeowners’ associations in an effort to make the management of communities more streamlined. Since its founding less than two years ago, Long Lake has secured $670 million in funding, according to PitchBook data. While the strategy is still new, a few other venture outfits have told TechCrunch that they are also considering trying out the investment model. Among them is Khosla Ventures, a firm known for making early bets on risky, unproven technologies with long development timelines. “I think we’ll look at a few of these types of opportunities,” Samir Kaul, general partner at Khosla Ventures, told TechCrunch. Interestingly, this PE-flavored approach could be a surprising benefit to the multitudes of AI startups VCs are backing. If a VC marries old businesses with new technology, AI startups wanting to serve these industries would essentially gain instant access to large, established clients. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW According to Kaul, such access would be helpful when new startups have difficulties securing customers on their own. With the rapid rate of change in AI, the number of startups pouring into the market, and the historically long sales cycles involved in selling to enterprises, such difficulties apply to many AI startups.  But Khosla Ventures wants to proceed with caution. “The companies we’re looking at are very unlikely to lose money,” Kaul said, but he doesn’t want the strategy to ruin the firm’s strong return track record. “My biggest stress in life is I’m managing other people’s money, and I want to make sure that I continue to be a good steward of it.” While Khosla Ventures is starting to “dabble” in AI roll-up investments, Kaul explained that the firm wants to do a few deals to assess if such investments deliver strong returns for the firm before possibly raising money for some kind of vehicle specifically aimed at this investment strategy. If early bets pan out, Khosla would likely partner with a PE-style firm to help it with acquisitions rather than hire a team. “We wouldn’t do it alone, we don’t have that expertise,” he said.

Venture capitalists have always focused on investing in companies that leverage technology to either disrupt established industries or create entirely new business categories. But some VCs are starting to flip the script on their investing styles. Rather than funding startups, they are acquiring mature businesses –such as call centers, accounting firms, and other professional service firms—and optimizing them with artificial intelligence to serve more customers through automation. This strategy, often likened to private equity roll-ups, is being employed by firms such as General Catalyst, Thrive Capital, and solo VC Elad Gil. General Catalyst, touting this as a new asset class, has already backed seven such companies, including Long Lake, a startup that scoops up homeowners’ associations in an effort to make the management of communities more streamlined. Since its founding less than two years ago, Long Lake has secured $670 million in funding, according to PitchBook data. While the strategy is still new, a few other venture outfits have told TechCrunch that they are also considering trying out the investment model. Among them is Khosla Ventures, a firm known for making early bets on risky, unproven technologies with long development timelines. “I think we’ll look at a few of these types of opportunities,” Samir Kaul, general partner at Khosla Ventures, told TechCrunch. Interestingly, this PE-flavored approach could be a surprising benefit to the multitudes of AI startups VCs are backing. If a VC marries old businesses with new technology, AI startups wanting to serve these industries would essentially gain instant access to large, established clients. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you’ve built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | June 5 REGISTER NOW According to Kaul, such access would be helpful when new startups have difficulties securing customers on their own. With the rapid rate of change in AI, the number of startups pouring into the market, and the historically long sales cycles involved in selling to enterprises, such difficulties apply to many AI startups.  But Khosla Ventures wants to proceed with caution. “The companies we’re looking at are very unlikely to lose money,” Kaul said, but he doesn’t want the strategy to ruin the firm’s strong return track record. “My biggest stress in life is I’m managing other people’s money, and I want to make sure that I continue to be a good steward of it.” While Khosla Ventures is starting to “dabble” in AI roll-up investments, Kaul explained that the firm wants to do a few deals to assess if such investments deliver strong returns for the firm before possibly raising money for some kind of vehicle specifically aimed at this investment strategy. If early bets pan out, Khosla would likely partner with a PE-style firm to help it with acquisitions rather than hire a team. “We wouldn’t do it alone, we don’t have that expertise,” he said.

How deep is Sony's commitment to live-service? | Opinion Sony's live service ambitions have steadily scaled back, but questions remain about Bungie – and how much the overall PlayStation strategy hinges on live service Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment Feature by Rob Fahey Contributing Editor Published on May 23, 2025 In many regards, things are going very well for Sony right now. The PlayStation 5 has sold strongly, generally slightly outpacing the performance of the PS4 at equivalent points in its lifecycle despite cost pressures that have kept its retail prices high. Its biggest direct competitor, Microsoft, started the generation with a great hardware line-up but has ultimately pivoted away from console exclusive software and become one of the biggest third-party publishers on PlayStation. Sony has an enviable line-up of studios and premium first-party game franchises, has started to find success with movie and TV adaptations of some of its game IP, and is gradually building up a solid sideline business in PC versions of its blockbuster titles – not to mention that next year GTA 6 will turn up and presumably sell absolute truckloads of PS5s in the process. It's not all quite so rosy, of course. With a view to the longer term, for example, it's not unreasonable to point out that while the console business has stubbornly defied all the predictions of collapse over the past decade or two, it has certainly found itself smacking off a glass ceiling somewhere around the installed base mark achieved by the PS2, and additional growth seems elusive despite rising costs across the board. Still, within the confines of that market reality, Sony has been performing extremely well – with the arguable exception of one specific part of the company, over which hovers a question mark so big that it casts a shadow over a lot of this success. This strategic enigma is Bungie – or to be more specific, it's the entire content strategy that was meant to be anchored around the $3.6 billion dollar acquisition of Bungie back in 2022. While this is chickenfeed compared to the money Microsoft was splashing around on gaming acquisitions during the same era, it was an enormous purchase for Sony, and it was meant to kick-start a major change in how the company would make games. Image credit: Bungie Sony got live services religion, and it got it bad; the company, or at least some influential people within the company, believed that the way to achieve the kind of break-out growth that its success in hardware and premium games was failing to deliver had to come through finding the next Fortnite. Bungie, with its experience of running the Destiny franchise and supposedly with multiple unannounced live service titles being incubated at that point, would be the lynchpin of that strategy, not only building its own live service games but also providing expertise and guidance to Sony's other studios as they worked on live service titles based on their own core IPs. In the years that have followed, that strategy has foundered somewhat – not least because rather than being the jewel in the crown of the live service effort, Sony's acquisition of Bungie appears to have resulted in constantly having to put out new fires at the company. I wonder how different Sony's strategic positioning might sound now if the release dates of Concord and Helldivers 2 had been swapped around While insight into the internal workings of the relationship is very unreliable given that most people leaking information undoubtedly have an axe to grind, one does speculate that there's a weird, destructive tug-of-war going on between Bungie's leadership and their new owners at Sony. What we can say with certainty is that revenues from Destiny 2 fluctuated wildly (as did the quality of the game and players' sentiments towards it), drawing into question just how much Sony's other studios might want to take direction on live service strategy from Bungie. Major layoffs were conducted, raising some even bigger questions about what Sony had paid all that money for, if not for acquiring a wellspring of talent and experience in the form of Bungie's now-fired employees. Despite this, however, Sony's determination that its future lies with live service releases doesn't seem to have faltered – well, at least not much. The ambitious initial plans for a dozen live service games to launch by early 2026 were scaled back to six a couple of years ago. Depending on how you're counting (bear in mind that titles like MLB The Show are considered live service, even if they may not be what jumps to mind when you think of this category), it seems pretty likely that this halved forecast will be missed by a fair bit, especially given the ignominious failure and rapid shutdown of one of the few live service games to actually launch, Concord. Image credit: PlayStation / Arrowhead Game Studios There was also a widespread suspicion that the retirement of former Sony Interactive Entertainment boss Jim Ryan a year ago might see the company quietly water down its commitment to live service. Despite this, however, Sony's messaging continues to suggest a strong focus on this sector. SIE co-CEO Hermen Hulst announced a new live-service oriented studio in the PlayStation Studios group, teamLFG, just this week. Back in 2022, the Bungie acquisition seemed to make a sort of sense. The climate around live service was extremely positive; this was long before we'd seen gigantic, costly failures like Warner's catastrophic Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, or indeed Sony's own Concord. Sony lacked expertise in this sector, and the Bungie deal could plug that gap. It was nonetheless risky – not least because it flew in the face of Sony's de facto policy of only buying out large studios with which they had built extremely close working relationships on successful titles over several years, despite that policy being central to building up PlayStation Studios in the first place. Today, the climate is very different around live service games, not least because of the aforementioned failures, but also because of what seems to be a fairly strong turn in consumer sentiment around these kinds of services. Sony, however, still has a multi-billion dollar studio that really only does live services attached to it, and one does have to wonder about the extent to which that creates path dependency. The new live service studio, teamLFG, is a good example in that it appears to be a direct spin-off from Bungie, so that acquisition is still very much driving Sony's engagement with this whole market sector. It's worth noting, though, that Sony did also have some beginner's luck in live services, with its first real dip into this water being the excellent and well-received Helldivers 2. In any high-risk gambling, beginner's luck is a curse, because you'll end up throwing far more of your money at the casino than the person who had a run of bad luck on their first visit and never caught the bug or tried to chase the winning feeling. I wonder how different Sony's strategic positioning might sound now if the release dates of Concord and Helldivers 2 had been swapped around. Even were it not for the need to do something with Bungie, and the sense that Helldivers 2 shows that this market sector can work for Sony, there's another logic that might underpin a continuing commitment to live service games – even despite what is now much more widely understood to be a near-suicidal risk profile for launching them. It's the logic of venture capital, which can often look quite crazy from the perspective of an ordinary investor with a regular risk appetite, but which is all about high risks and high rewards. Venture capitalists are generally not too interested in solid businesses with sober risk profiles and a decent profit margin. They're interested in crazy, fast-growing businesses that, while being incredibly likely to flare out and die, will return a hundred-fold, a thousand-fold, or an even higher upside ratio in the unlikely event that they do succeed. The logic of a venture portfolio is that losing a big chunk of money on each of 99 bankrupt companies you back is worthwhile if the 100th company in the pack strikes the jackpot for you and returns your investment a thousand-fold. Since games don't really do that – they're risky, but almost never have upside rewards on that scale – the venture capital model doesn't work terribly well for them, and that kind of VC activity has been very limited in this space over the years. Live service games, however, turn this on its head. It's extremely, vanishingly unlikely that your game will be the next Fortnite, but if it is, it will deliver exactly the kind of immense return that venture capital funds are interested in. This, I think, is a sort of thinking that's taken root in some quarters within Sony. Who cares if they back dozens of failures, if one of them becomes a new title whose recurring revenue is big enough on its own to be a whole new pillar of the business? We'll see in the coming years whether that's really the approach Sony intends to take – if it's happy to absorb more and more Concord-style failures (or, perhaps more likely, a bunch of commercially mediocre performers that stick around for a year or two before being shut down, which seems to be the general life cycle of live service games at the moment) in pursuit of that one, elusive, incredible hit. If so, it's a strategy which carries an especially extraordinary degree of risk for Sony, because while a venture capital fund can back dozens of losers without anyone really noticing or caring – that's just part of the business – it's definitely going to be noticed by Sony's consumers if PlayStation starts releasing dozens of dud live services games under its banner. Money is only one of the currencies that needs to be considered in this equation, and it's arguably the easiest one to gamble with. The prestige and reputation of the platform and the brand is a much more valuable currency, and one that would be a lot harder to earn back once lost.

Savvy Games Group has made a lot of news as it has built the newest financial empire in games with acquisitions of companies.Read More

Savvy Games Group has made a lot of news as it has built the newest financial empire in games with acquisitions of companies.Read More