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Apple Loses German Antitrust Case

Apple lost its appeal against its designation as a substantial market power, which allows antitrust authorities greater latitude and flexibility to examine the company’s business operations, before Germany’s top civil court on Tuesday.

TakeAway Points:

  • Apple lost its challenge at Germany’s top civil court against its classification as a significant market power, a label that gives antitrust regulators more scope and flexibility to scrutinize its business practices.
  • Oracle said on Wednesday it would give Singapore’s defense technology agency with “isolated” cloud computing and AI services, in the company’s first such arrangement in Southeast Asia.

Apple faces more scrutiny

Judges at the Federal Court of Justice backed the German cartel office’s 2023 designation of Apple as a “company of paramount cross-market significance for competition.

With that, Apple joins Google parent Alphabet and Facebook owner Meta on Germany’s growing list of techgiants, subject to possible measures curbing their dominance.

Regulators worldwide have in recent years cracked down on Big Tech in an effort to open up markets to rival start-ups and give consumers more choice. The European Commission’s Digital Markets Act(DMA), which became law in2023, is seen as the benchmark.

Apple said it faced tough competition in Germany and that it disagreed with the court’s decision.

“It neglects the value of a business model that places the privacy and security of users at its centre,” a spokesperson for the company said in an emailed statement.

While the court ruling is a win for the German antitrust watchdog, the crackdown by powerful EU regulators is more of a threat to Big Tech, said Assimakis Komninos, a partner at White & Case.

“The Court is saying that German legislation can stand. But the Digital Markets Act’s scope is not affected and in real life it basically remains the primary standard for Big Tech,” he said.

A judge had indicated in January that the German court would side with the regulator.

The court also declined to consult with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on the case, as requested by Apple’s legal team.

Apple’s App Store has faced particular scrutiny in Europe, where regulators have flagged concerns over the wealth of data it gathers on user behaviour.

Cartel office president Andreas Mundt welcomed the court ruling in a statement.

“This means that the highest court has confirmed that Apple is subject to stricter abuse control,” Mundt said.

“Our ongoing review of Apple’s tracking regulation for third-party apps is therefore on a solid footing, and we are working flat out on this case and other cases against the major internet companies,” he added.

Oracle to provide cloud computing and AI services to Singapore military

Oracle said on Wednesday it would provide Singapore’s defense technology arm with “isolated” cloud computing and AI services, in the company’s first such deal in Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asian governments are frequent targets of cyber espionage campaigns and are facing escalating supply chain attacks, according to security researchers.

Under the deal, the U.S firm will provide Singapore’s armed forces and defense ministry with an “air-gapped” isolated cloud computing infrastructure – meaning that it will be cut off from the internet and connected instead to classified networks via encrypted devices.

“We’re bringing our generative AI tools across the air gaps and into those isolated environments ,” said Oracle Global Defense Chief Technology Officer Rand Waldron.

He highlighted the technology includes AI data and imagery capabilities, including the ability for the AI to analyze video streams for faces, licenses, or details of cars.

Oracle has ramped up activities in Southeast Asia. It announced it planned to invest more than $6.5 billion to set up a cloud region in Malaysia in October.







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Wiz-backers Might Reap 200 Times Returns Of Investment 

The venture capital firms that invested in cybersecurity firm Wiz, which agreed to a $32 billion buyout by Google’s parent Alphabet, stand to reap returns as high as 200 times for seed investors, among them Sequoia Capital, Cyberstarts and Index Ventures.

TakeAway Points:

  • Early investors can receive returns of up to 200 times.
  • Cyberstarts turns $6.4 million into $1.3 billion.
  • Index Ventures is the largest shareholder with 12%.
  • China is delaying the approval for BYD to build a plant in Mexico over concerns that the technology developed by the electric vehicle maker could leak to the U.S.

Venture capital firms gains

Venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Cyberstarts, and Index Ventures, among others, stand to gain up to 200 times their initial investment in cybersecurity company Wiz, which consented to a $32 billion takeover by Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

The $32 billion all-cash Wiz deal on Tuesday marked a major win for about 25 firms on Wiz’s cap table, according to PitchBook, a rarity in the past few years as high interest rates and tight antitrust scrutiny reduced exit events.

Among the investors, the biggest beneficiaries are those that put money into Wiz early and continued to invest over the years. Their success demonstrated the power law in venture capital when a small number of investments generate the majority of returns.

Israel-based early-stage firm Cyberstarts co-led a $21 million seed round in Wiz in February 2020 that valued the company at around $67 million post-money.

While it also invested in follow-on rounds, Cyberstarts’ biggest win is $6.4 million invested in its first seed fund, worth about $1.3 billion when the deal goes through. That represents a return of more than 200 times within five years, according to a source familiar with the performance, a home run in an industry built on them.

Silicon Valley heavyweight Sequoia enjoyed similar success by investing early, with an initial $10 million in the seed round. After committing more in later rounds, it now owns about a 10% stake in Wiz and could reap $3 billion from the sale, sources said.

Index Ventures position in Wiz

Index Ventures, now the largest shareholder in Wiz, has about a 12% stake, which could translate to over $3.8 billion in cash when the transaction is completed, sources added.

The firm’s partners Gili Raanan, Doug Leone and Shardul Shah sit on Wiz’s board. They got to know Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport, a former captain in the Israel Defense Forces, and his founding team in his first company, which was acquired by Microsoft.

When the team founded Wiz in 2020, Cyberstarts, Index Ventures and Sequoia were quick to invest.

For some investors, the success is both personal and professional. “We have known each other for years, talk weekly and attend each other’s birthday parties,” Cyberstarts founder Raanan said in an interview.

Cyberstarts Opportunity Fund, which invested in Wiz in 2024, is turning its $40 million investment into $128 million. Thrive Capital, a firm known for its concentrated late-stage bets, is securing a quick win with a $1 billion stake after leading Wiz’s most recent two funding rounds, one at a $12 billion valuation and one at $16 billion in an employee tender offer late last year, the source added.

China delays approval of BYD’s Mexico plant

China is delaying the approval for BYD to build a plant in Mexico over concerns that the technology developed by the electric vehicle maker could leak to the U.S., the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter.







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Apple And Google Hit With EU Antitrust Actions Due To Trump’s Tariff Threats

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning to impose tariffs on the European Union for allegedly “overseas extortion” of America’s tech giants, European Union regulators are acting to restrain Google and Apple on antitrust grounds.

TakeAway Points:

  • The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, charged Google with antitrust on Wednesday and directed Apple to take action to abide by the Digital Markets Act of the EU.
  • In reaction to the emergence of industry titans like Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta, the DMA is a historic law that attempts to remove obstacles to competition in the technology sector.
  • Apple said the actions “wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe” in reaction to the EU’s steps on Wednesday.

Tariff threats on EU

The European Commission, which is the executive body of the EU, said Wednesday that it found Google parent company Alphabet in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) — a landmark law aimed at tackling tech competition issues — with its Search and Google Play products.

The bloc accused Google Search of treating Alphabet’s own services more favorably compared to rival ones — a practice known as “self-preferencing,” which is not permitted under the DMA.

The EU also said Google Play, Alphabet’s mobile app store, prevents app developers from freely steering consumers to alternatives.

Google, in response to the EU’s actions Wednesday, said they threaten to hurt consumers and businesses. The firm gave the example of a change it made to search results to comply with the DMA that diverts traffic to intermediary platforms, which it said has resulted in higher costs for consumers.

“The Commission’s findings require us to make even more changes to how we show certain types of Search results, which would make it harder for people to find what they are looking for and reduce traffic to European businesses. This is, quite simply, misguided,” Oliver Bethell, Google’s EMEA director for competition, said in a blog post.

Apple guidance

Separately, the Commission also sent guidance to Apple under the DMA calling for the iPhone maker to take concrete steps to comply with its interoperability obligation under EU competition rules.

Interoperability refers to the practice of enabling different platforms to communicate with one another more easily — in other words, you should be able to more smoothly port data from one system to another.

The bloc said that Apple should enable interoperability in its iOS mobile operating system in a way that allows third parties to “develop innovative products and services on Apple’s gatekeeper platforms.”

In response to the EU’s measures Wednesday, Apple said that the moves “wrap us in red tape, slowing down Apple’s ability to innovate for users in Europe and forcing us to give away our new features for free to companies who don’t have to play by the same rules.”

“We will continue to work with the European Commission to help them understand our concerns on behalf of our users,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.

Trump tariff threat

The Digital Markets Act is a landmark law that aims to bring down barriers to competition in the technology sector, in response to the rise of giants like Google, Apple, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft.

The moves Wednesday come as the Trump administration has been warning the EU against excessive regulation of American technology giants.

Last month, Trump issued a directive threatening to impose tariffs on Europe to combat what he called “overseas extortion” of American tech companies through digital services taxes, fines, practices and policies.

In response, the EU reportedly threatened to use a new “anti-coercion” instrument enabling the bloc to take action in cases of economic coercion against EU member states.







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