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Mapping the Growth and Future of the Global E-Commerce Industry

April 6, 2021 Indira Srinivasan

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Digital Monetization Update – April 15, 2021

1. Verizon Media’s Next-Gen Solutions Is The New Alternative To Google FLOC (AdWeek) Verizon Media introduces alternative ways to target people when no user ID, third-party cookie or device identifier is present. Verizon is positioning its new offering, dubbed ‘Next-Gen Solutions’ as an alternative to Google’s FLoC. This would not store data, no user profiles are created and the solution works across browsers – not just on Chrome. 2. Republican Senator’s Antitrust Bill To Block Big-Tech Mergers (TechCrunch) Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) rolled out a new bill this week that would take some severe measures to halt Big Tech’s power, blocking mergers and acquisitions outright. The “Trust-Busting for the Twenty-First Century Act” would ban any acquisitions by companies with a market cap of more than $100 billion, including vertical mergers. 3. Substack Launched $1M Initiative To Foster Local News Ecosystem (VOX) Substack announced Substack Local, a US $1,000,000 initiative to foster and develop the local news ecosystem by helping independent writers build local news publications based on the subscription model. A panel of independent judges will work to select up to 30 local news writers to participate in the program. 4. New York Post Personalizing Commerce Content Recommendations (DigiDay) The New York Post is one of many publishers that has recently discovered that their audience values their shopping advice. It is attempting to maximize the value of that faith by personalizing which advice it displays to its readers. After its partner commerce sales increased by 94% YoY in 2020, it is exploring a customized shopping widget. 5. TikTok To Fund Publisher’s Content Production (TechCrunch) TikTok has announced today that it will financially back the production of media publisher’s content. This new series, “VIRAL”, will feature interviews with public health experts and a live Q&A session focused on answering questions about the pandemic. This is TikTok’s first-ever funding of an episodic series from a publisher. 6. Instagram Testing New Setting To Hide Likes, Facebook To Follow (BGR) Instagram will begin a new test around hiding Like counts on users’ posts by giving a new option where users can either choose to see the Like counts on others’ posts or not. Users will also be able to turn off Like counts on their own posts. Facebook additionally confirmed it will begin to test a similar experience on its own social network. 7. Digital Media Veteran’s Paid Subscription Media Company On Business (Axios) Three digital media veterans, Joe Purzycki, co-founder of Luminary, Jon Kelly, a former New York Times editor and Max Tcheyan, the founder of Vanity Fair’s “The Hive”, are launching a new paid subscription media company with a multi-million dollar series funding round led by 40 North Media and TPG Growth. It focuses on the analysis of premium business news and culture.
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Digital Monetization Update – April 14, 2021

1. TikTok To Build Ecommerce Options In Its Platform (BusinessInsider) TikTok is building ad formats to facilitate e-commerce activities through its app, as it is testing shopping and ad products. Encouraged by 500% growth in its US advertising business past year, TikTok is testing new ad formats — which are expected to be rolled out in the first half of 2021. 2. With $250 Reference Share Coinbase Is Valued At $65.3B (CNBC) Nasdaq gave Coinbase a reference price of $250 a share on Wednesday ahead of its planned direct listing, which would value the cryptocurrency exchange at about $65.3 billion. Coinbase will be the first major crypto business to go public in the U.S., and on reaching a $100 billion market cap, it will instantly become one of the country’s 85 most valuable companies. 3. DoubleVerify To Raise $232.9M Through IPO Valued At $4.2B (MarketWatch) A month after filing an S-1, DoubleVerify is all set to go to IPO. The New York-based ad verification company could bring a $4.2 billion valuation and the IPO is expected to price between $24 and $27 a share. The company is offering 8.63 million shares to raise $232.9 million, while selling shareholders are offering an additional 4.71 million shares. 4. GumGum Reaps $75M Investment From Goldman Sachs (WSJ) GumGum, a global contextual advertising technology company, announced a $75 million investment by Goldman Sachs Growth to accelerate the growth of its sophisticated contextual intelligence advertising product suite. It participates in over 100 billion ad auctions and performs contextual analysis on over 50 million unique pages and videos per day. 5. Televisa To pay $4.8B To Univision For Content Assets (HollywoodReporter) Two of the biggest Spanish-language media companies in the world, Mexico’s Televisa and Univision are planning to merge media, production and content into a new company to be called Televisa-Univision, the two announced on Tuesday. Univision will pay about $4.8 billion for Televisa’s content assets. 6. Disney, Viacom, And 10 Ad Tech Firms Agree To Privacy Changes (WorldNewsEra) Disney, Viacom, and ten ad tech companies have decided to delete specific advertising software from children’s applications in response to allegations that they breached the privacy of millions of children. The lawsuits are against some of the leading ad-tech firms, including “Subway Surfers”, which has been downloaded over 1.5 billion times. 7. Healthcare Booking App Docosan Gets $1M Funding Led By AppWorks (TechCrunch) Docosan announced that it has raised more than $1 million in seed investment, claiming that it is the biggest seed round ever for a Vietnamese healthtech startup. AppWorks spearheaded the investment. Founded in 2020, the service has been used by over 50,000 patients for bookings and currently has over 300 individual healthcare providers.
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Digital Monetization Update – April 13, 2021

1. Google To Bring Its Lens Feature To The Web (AndroidPolice) Google Lens web feature has landed on Google Photos for the web. The option should be available along the top of the screen when you click on a picture. The option will be called “Copy text from image”. From there, the text should be copied to your clipboard. This makes the process of moving text from your phone to a computer much quicker. 2. Google Play Movies And TV App To Shut Down In June (Engadget) On select devices, Google will pull the plug on the Play Movies & TV app specifically on Roku as well as smart TV platforms from LG, Samsung, and Vizio. The app will shut down on June 15, 2021, with Google pushing users to YouTube (and YouTube TV) to access their purchases and buy more movies. 3. Buzzfeed Reports Revenue Down For International Editions (PressGazette) Buzzfeed UK Ltd, which comprises Buzzfeed’s activities in the UK, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and India, posted a turnover of £18.9 million for 2020, down from £22.4 million the previous year, and a pre-tax loss of £3.6 million. Over the course of the year, the company was able to cut its net costs by 60%, to £2.9 million. 4. Grover Raises $71M Growing Consumer Electronics Subscription Business (TechCrunch) Grover, a Berlin-based company that uses a subscription model to rent out consumer devices such as laptops, smartphones, gaming consoles, and scooters for fixed fees, has raised €60 million ($71 million). The €45 million in equity and €15 million in investment loans will be used to finance the project. 5. Apple Working On Smart-Home Ecosystem Efforts To Gain Market Share (Bloomberg) Apple Inc is working to combine an Apple TV set-top box with a HomePod speaker and a video conferencing camera through a connected TV and other smart-home functions. Other features would include standard Apple TV box functions, including video watching, gaming, and smart speakers like playing music and using Apple’s Siri digital assistant. 6. Vice Launches Affiliate Space, Drawing Firm Line Between Edit And Commerce (DigiDay) Vice’s investment in commerce comes as publishers saw sales becoming a much greater opportunity in 2020, with shoppers investing more hours online than in-store. At the beginning of 2021, 66 percent of 181 publishers polled by Digiday said they were making some money from associate commerce. 7. Cloudflare Pages Now Available For Everyone (GLobalSecurityMag) Cloudflare declares the Cloudflare Pages is now open to the public and ready to meet everyone’s production needs. Site analytics, built-in redirects, secure previews, live previews, and customized images are among the latest functionality they have been working on during the beta period.
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Digital Monetization Update – April 12, 2021

1. Florida Privacy Law Going To Be Tougher Than California (AdAge) Florida data privacy law, poised to get passed soon is going to be tougher than California’s as it is going to include rules that would let marketers to retain consumer data only for a year and let people sue over even relatively small infractions, according to the Association of National Advertisers. 2. Apple To Testify Before US Senate On App Store Antitrust Issues (Wion) A senior Apple Inc executive has decided to testify before the US Senate on mobile app store competitiveness questions, just days after subcommittee representatives criticized the firm for failing to attend. In a statement, the company said that Chief Compliance Officer Kyle Andeer would be willing to testify at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on April 21. 3. Microsoft To Buy Nuance Communications (Bloomberg) Microsoft Corp. is in advanced talks to buy AI and speech technology company Nuance Communications Inc., for $56 a share, giving Nuance an equity value of about $16 billion. The price would be a 23% premium to Friday’s close. 4. Vox Media Is Acquiring Cafe Studios Inc. (WSJ) Vox Media is acquiring Cafe Studios Inc., publisher of a popular podcast hosted by former Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara, for an undisclosed amount to expand its growing audio business. Cafe Studios publishes a handful of podcasts, including “Stay Tuned With Preet”, Mr. Bharara’s current events and pop culture talk show; “Third Degree”. 5. Substack Strikes Deal With Trans Writers (NYT) Substack strikes agreements with trans authors, despite concerns that it funds potentially anti-trans writers and serves as a lucrative off-ramp for “cancel culture” victims. Since it embodies larger powers and inconsistencies, a company that makes it easy to charge for newsletters has captivated an anxious trade. 6. Twitch Experienced 2B Hours Of Viewing In March (GeekWire) Amazon’s live streaming platform Twitch witnessed a record-breaking viewership in March. With more than 2 billion hours watched on the platform, which is slightly edging out the previous record set in January. This is a 105% YoY increase for Twitch. 7. Tiger Global To Put India’s Startups On Global Map (TechCrunch) Tiger Global has written — or is in the process of writing — more than 25 checks ranging from a few million dollars to more than $100 million in India, the world’s second-largest internet market, this year alone. So far, about ten of its acquisitions have been revealed, with the remainder still in the works for the coming weeks and months.
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Digital Monetization Update – April 9, 2021

1. Forbes NFT Cover Sells For $333,333 (TheBlock) Business magazine Forbes has sold an NFT Cover for $333,333 to a bidder who goes by the name “mondoir”. The magazine’s first-ever NFT, titled “Merchants of the Metaverse”, features Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. Forbes will donate it to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). 2. Twitter Integrates Nielsen Media Impact And Nielsen Ad Intel Tools (AdExchanger) Twitter is strengthening its partnership with Nielsen in order to improve its capacity to prepare and implement video campaigns. Nielsen Marketing Impact (NMI) and Nielsen Ad Intel, solutions that assist marketers in measuring and planning strategies through a range of media platforms, will be integrated into the Twitter Amplify video ad platform. 3. Pluto TV’s US Ad Revenue Will Surpass 1B in 2022 (eMarketer) Pluto TV, a free streaming service of ViacomCBS is expected to receive $786.7 million in net US ad revenues in 2021, a 77.7% increase over the previous year. In 2022, Pluto TV’s net US ad revenues will surpass $1 billion annually for the first time. 4. Global Crypto Cap Reached Over $2 Trillion Ending Q1 (Decrypt) 9.5 million Customers have traded crypto in Brokerage app Robinhood in Q1 of 2021. This is up from 1.7 million in Q4 of last year, and there is a 458% spike. The global market cap of all cryptocurrencies has doubled in the past three months to over $2 trillion. 5. Instagram And Facebook Experienced An Outage Due To ‘Configuration Change’ (USAToday) Facebook and Instagram were down for thousands of users on Thursday due to a configuration change. Reports by users showed more than 112,000 issues on Facebook’s website, while 101,000 Instagram users reported problems as of 6 pm ET. About 20 minutes later, the platforms started working again for many users. 6. Facebook Ran Ads For Fake Clubhouse For PC App Planted With Malware (TechCrunch) In order to infect unwitting victims with ransomware, cybercriminals have created a series of Facebook advertisements that seem to be a Clubhouse app for PC users. It is common for cybercriminals to adapt their ransomware campaigns to capitalize on the popularity of widely used applications. Despite an invite-only launch, Clubhouse has recently surpassed more than 8 million global downloads to date. 7. Facebook To Add Labels To Posts To Reduce Confusion About Their Origin (TheVerge) Facebook is adding additional labels to posts from Pages that appear in users’ News Feeds in a bid to reduce confusion about their origin. These labels will include ‘public official’, ‘fan page’, and ‘satire page’. The company said it has already started testing the deployment of these labels in the US, and will gradually add them to more posts.
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Digital Monetization Update – April 8, 2021

1. Twitter Unveiled New Business And Ecommerce Features (AdAge) Twitter unveiled its ad product updates, making it more amenable to e-commerce and direct marketers. It also announced several interface changes for professional users to unlock more performance marketing dollars. Businesses can create an “about” section, featuring information like opening hours, location on a map, and one-click contact buttons. 2. YouTube Usage Grew From 73% In 2019 To 81% In 2021 (CNBC) According to the Pew Research Center, YouTube experienced the most dramatic increase of any social media app by American users during the pandemic. The Google-owned video service’s use increased from 73% of US adults in 2019 to 81% in 2021. This was closely observed by Reddit that increased usage from 11% of US adults in 2019 to 18% in 2021. 3. YouTube Dominates Social Media And TikTok Rivals Twitter, Snapchat (MediaPost) According to Pew’s study of Americans’ social media platform usage TikTok is just behind Snapchat and Twitter, and well ahead of many established social media destinations in the US YouTube is the most prevalent social media platform with 81% of adults citing their usage of it vs 73% last comparable study in 2019. 4. ShareChat Valuation Jumps To $2.1B With $502M Fundraise (TechCrunch) Indian social media platform ShareChat has raised $502 million funding led by Tiger Global and participation from Lightspeed, Snap, and Twitter. This has come at a valuation of $2.1 billion. The social media platform, which has close to 160 million monthly active users, is available in 15 local languages. 5. US Fires Back At Facebook’s Move To Kill Monopoly Lawsuit (Bloomberg) The Federal Trade Commission urged the judge handling the agency’s antitrust lawsuit against Facebook Inc. to reject the social-media company’s request to dismiss it. The suit initiated last year under the Trump administration makes a valid claim that Facebook holds monopoly power over personal social networking in the US and maintains it by “acquiring competitive threats and deterring or hindering the emergence of rivals”. 6. Apple Details Ad Measurements Technologies To Use Without User Tracking (MacRumors) As part of a privacy measure known as App Tracking Transparency, Apple would require users to obtain a user’s consent to monitor their operation for targeted advertising purposes beginning with iOS 14.5, iPad 14.5, and tvOS 14.5. Apple released a revised edition of “A Day in the Life of Your Data” document to assist marketers in adjusting to this shift. 7. Twitch To Ban Harassers Even If The Harassment Is Off Twitch (TheVerge) Twitch will start taking disciplinary actions against people for misconduct that takes place offline or entirely on other platforms. It may ban people for off-service misconduct under its expanded harassment and hateful conduct policy. Twitch has brought in a third-party investigations law firm to help it respond to reports of off-platform misconduct.
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Digital Monetization Update – April 7, 2021

1. Amazon’s US Digital Ad Share Surpassed 10% in 2020 (WSJ) Amazon’s share of the US digital ad market grew to 10.3% last year from 7.8% in 2019, its US ad revenue last year grew to $15.73 billion, up 52.5% from 2019. The company’s US digital ad share is still relatively smaller than Google and Facebook’s, yet, it strengthened its position as the No. 3 ad publisher in the US. 2. YouTube Reveals A New Content Moderation Statistic (TheVerge) YouTube plans a new data point to include in its community guideline enforcement reports. Basically, for every 10,000 views on its social network about 16 to 18 of those views are of videos that violate YouTube’s rules, which currently forbid everything from hate speech to medical misinformation about Covid-19 to spam. 3. Apple Launches New ‘Find My Certification’ App For Third-Party Companies (TechCrunch) Apple has debuted a new “Find My Certification Asst.” app today that is designed to let third-party companies test how their accessories will work with the Find My application. This comes after Apple announced at WWDC 2020 that it would open up the Find My network to third-party products for the first time. 4. TikTok To Add New Option Automatic Captions (The Verge) TikTok creators will soon be able to add automatically generated captions to their videos as the app attempts to make them more accessible. The option to add auto-captions will appear on the editing page after a video has been uploaded or recorded. 5. New UK Regulator To Limit Big Tech’s Influence On News Publishers (Reuters) The UK’s new regulator for tech giants Facebook and Google will be unveiled on Wednesday, with the initial mission of determining whether a code of ethics will strengthen the balance of power between the networks and news publishers. Big tech’s dominance and scope have expanded quicker than policymakers’ capacity to rein them in. 6. Coinbase Minted $800M Revenue In Q1 (Decrypt) Crypto giant Coinbase made huge revenue between $730 million and $800 million in the first Q1 of 2021, taking the total approximately to $1.8 billion. The results come eight days before the company goes public on April 14. 7. Roku Plans New Promotional Product-Roku Recommends (Digiday) Roku is planning to launch a new promotional product called Roku Recommends. The format will roll out in the second or third quarter, where advertisers can place sponsored videos. Roku Recommends can accommodate one sponsor, though it’s unclear how often Roku will rotate in new sponsors.
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Digital Monetization Update – April 6, 2021

1. Facebook Analytics To End By June 30th (AdExchanger) Facebook Analytics, a free tool that provides access to reports, insights, export charts and tables will cease to exist by 30th June. Advertisers can use alternative tools like Facebook Business Suite, Ads Manager and Events Manager to track their growth, engagement, and monetization activities on Facebook and Instagram once FB Analytics ends. 2. ViacomCBS Networks Int. Buys Chilevision From WarnerMedia (Deadline) ViacomCBS Networks International has acquired the Chilevisión TV network and library from WarnerMedia as parent AT&T continues to sell off non-core assets to pay off debt. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but ViacomCBS said it will fund the acquisition from existing cash balances. 3. Agencies Are Keen On Facebook’s $750M Global Media (AdAge) While Facebook puts its global media for review, ad agencies and companies for sure may end in the conflict in the quest for the $750 million accounts. The sheer size of the business, accounting for 3/4th of a billion and the media that brings in $85 billion a year in ad revenue are few valid reasons for the competition. 4. Medium’s Blogroll Makes A Difference To Writers And Readers (Medium) Medium, an American online publishing platform introduced a new feature – Blogrolls, aiming to connect readers and writers in more visible and meaningful ways. It will keep writers visible to readers in a completely new way: helps writers gain new readers and connect with their community. Readers can allow authors to navigate more easily related to content in a fluid and organic way. 5. Streaming Services, Including Netflix, Are Running Out Of Shows (Bloomberg) The number of originals produced by Netflix this year has dropped by 12% relative to last year. This can seem small, but considering how often Netflix raises its production each year, it is important. The number of approved titles has decreased significantly, owing to other studios taking their programming back for their own offerings. 6. Clubhouse Partners With Stripe For Creators To Make Money (TechCrunch) Clubhouse has started rolling out its first monetization feature for creators. The social audio chat app has teamed up with Stripe to introduce Clubhouse Payments, which gives all users a way to send money directly to speakers on the platform. 7. Yahoo! Answers To Shut Down On May 4th (TheVerge) After over 15 years on the internet, the website Yahoo! Answers is shutting down next month. Users will no longer be able to post new content on Yahoo! Answers starting on April 20th. Then on May 4th, the site will officially go offline.
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Digital Monetization Update – April 5, 2021

1. Microsoft Cloud Outage Takes Azure, Teams, And Office 365 Offline (WindowsCentral) Microsoft Corp. was hit by a massive cloud outage on Friday that took most of its internet services offline. Microsoft’s Azure cloud services, as well as Teams, Office 365, OneDrive, Skype, Xbox Live and Bing, were all inaccessible due to the outage. Even the Azure Status page was reportedly taken offline. 2. App Store Rejecting Updates For Apps Using Device Fingerprinting (Forbes) Apple is refusing app updates that breach its latest privacy policy in iOS 14, suggesting that it is taking privacy compliance seriously. iOS 14.5 is approaching completion, since it is the version of iOS 14 in which Apple would ask applications that wish to follow users to view the Data Monitoring Disclosure prompt to request user consent. 3. SCOTUS Sides With Facebook; Experts Say Major Win For Telemarketers (BusinessInsider) In a decision, the Supreme Court stated that Facebook’s text messages about irregular login attempts do not count as robocalls, which are unconstitutional under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Experts said it is a big victory for telemarketers, as billions of robocalls and robotexts now reach American cell phones per month. 4. Meesho Raises $300M As Valuation Races Past $2B (TechCrunch) Facebook-backed Indian Social Commerce Meesho has raised $300 million in a new round of funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, catapulting the social commerce startup valuation to $2.1 billion. The company’s latest capital raising exercise has almost trebled its valuation compared to when it raised $125 million in 2019. 5. Rival Group Make Fully Financed $680M Bid For Tribune Publishing (WSJ) Maryland hotel executive Stewart Bainum and Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss have made a fully financed $680 million bid for Tribune Publishing. The $18.50-per-share bid for the Chicago-based newspaper chain was received and verified by the Tribune Publishing board, beginning a due diligence process that could lead to a firm deal within weeks. 6. Supreme Court Allows FCC To Move Forward With Changes To Media Ownership Rules (Bloomberg) The FCC’s ownership rules limit the number of radio stations, TV stations, and newspapers that one entity can own in any single market. It is obligated to review these rules every four years and repeal or modify any that is no longer “necessary in the public interest as the result of competition.” 7. 6AM City Plans To Grow Subscribers From 400K To 750K (AdWeek) 6AM City, a five-year-old media company, recently announced its expansion into Richmond, Va., its ninth location. It intends to grow from 9 to more than 14 markets, from 400K free users to 750K and from $3 million in estimated annual sales to more than $5 million. The 40-person organization expects to turn a profit this year.
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Digital Monetization Update – April 1, 2021

1. Google Starts Trialing Its FLoC Cookie Alternative In Chrome (TechCrunch) Google has announced that it is now implementing Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), that is an essential part of its Privacy Sandbox project for Chrome. FLoC will act as an alternative to cookies, which is used by Google to remember your preferred language, among other things. 2. Vice Media In Advanced Talks To Merge With 7GC (TheInformation) Vice Media is in advanced talks to merge with 7GC & Co Holdings, a special purpose acquisition company led by tech investor Jack Leeney. The Group Nine-backed SPAC was keen in some of Vice’s assets, such as its news division and websites, including Refinery29, a complementary to Group Nine’s existing businesses. 3. US Ad Spend To Hit $240B In 2021: Digital Captures 67% (AdExchanger) Magna’s forecast on US ad spend anticipated a quick economic recovery, expecting revenue to increase by 6.4% YoY to $240 billion. Digital will capture two thirds (67%) of total advertising sales with 8.6% growth rate in ad spend. Industries like travel, automotive, drinks and movies likely to see the biggest increases following heavy cuts in 2020. 4. Endeavor Files For IPO And Elon Musk Joins Board (Variety) Endeavor Group Holdings Inc, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), revived its plans to go public after a botched attempt in 2019 and named Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to its board. 5. Facebook To Allow Users, Pages To Turn Off Comment (TheGuardian) Facebook announced that it will allow users more control over what they share to News Feed by managing who can comment on their public posts. The social media giant said in a blog post that the new feature is aimed at limiting potentially unwanted interactions by giving users the option to adjust the commenting audience. 6. NBCUniversal Is Considering Pulling Its Movies From HBO Max And Netflix (Bloomberg) Comcast’s NBCUniversal is reportedly weighing pulling its own movies from non-Peacock streaming services and bringing them home to its own platform. Such a move would likely also bring with it a guarantee that future film releases from the company would be on Peacock either exclusively or for an initial window of exclusivity. 7. Microsoft Bagged $21.88B US Army Contract Of AR Headset (CNBC) Microsoft will deliver more than 120,000 augmented reality headsets to the US Army worth $21.88 billion over 10 years, following a contract it received to build prototype headsets for the Army. This attained significance a year and a half after Microsoft won a $10 billion cloud contract from the Pentagon.
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Tag: e-commerce

Mapping the Growth and Future of the Global E-Commerce Industry