Cook’s 2023 pay drops to $49 million, more than 40% cut
Zhitong Finance APP has learned that Apple will cut the salary of CEO Tim Cook (Tim Cook) by more than 40% to $49 million in 2023, mainly due to the guidance of the company’s shareholders and Cook himself asking for salary adjustments.
As part of the changes, the percentage of stock units awarded to Cook and tied to Apple’s performance will increase from 50% to 75% in 2023 and in future years, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Cook’s $49 million target compensation will include the same $3 million salary and $6 million bonus as in 2022, as well as $40 million worth of equity incentives. Cook’s actual total compensation in 2023 could fluctuate based on the company’s stock price performance.
Cook, 62, has pledged to donate his wealth to charity. (Source: Zhitong Finance APP)
Musk has closed a large number of Twitter overseas branches, at least 12 have been closed or are being closed
As Elon Musk continues to cut costs and find a profitable model for Twitter, he is closing down many of Twitter’s international branches.
At least a dozen Twitter international branches have closed or are closing, and several more U.S. branches may close in the next few weeks, people familiar with the matter said.
This series of measures may also cause hundreds of other Twitter employees to lose their jobs. Since Musk took over Twitter two months ago, thousands of employees have been laid off or fired, and many employees have left voluntarily. (Source: TechWeb)
It is reported that Mercedes-Benz intends to abandon the “oil to electricity” and cancel the EQ brand as early as 2024
Mercedes-Benz plans to ditch the EQ brand for electric vehicles as early as late 2024 when the next-generation compact car goes on sale, according to a source inside Mercedes-Benz.
The source said the decision was based on Mercedes CEO Ola Kaellenius’ strategy to focus on a transition to pure electric vehicles, making the “gas-to-electric” EQ brand redundant.
The German automaker now sells its range of all-electric models under the EQ brand, which was first announced in 2016 and the first model, the EQC electric SUV, launched in 2019. (Source: Global Market Report)
WM Motor intends to go public through the backdoor, and reached a sale and purchase agreement with Apollo Travel
The Hong Kong stock company Apollo Travel announced that it will acquire Weimar subsidiary for US$2.02 billion and settle by allotting 28.8 billion shares at HK$0.55 per share. Affected by this news, APOLLO travel Hong Kong stocks opened 13.73% higher.
It was previously reported that Weimar plans to go public on the Hong Kong stock market through the backdoor of Apollo Smart Travel. According to people familiar with the matter, Weimar plans to complete the listing in the second quarter of 2023.
Shen Hui, CEO of WM Motor, posted a classic segment of “Furong Town” on Weibo on the 12th. One of the lines is “Live, live like an animal”, which may allude to the current situation.
In January 2023, the 130 million property of WM Motor Shanghai Sales Company was frozen. A citizen from Wenzhou recently visited the Weimar Wenzhou factory and learned that the factory had no orders for half a year, and the factory is currently in a state of suspension. (Source: IT House)
Tencent conference or complete cancellation of free version
The 2023 Tencent conference may completely cancel the free version. It is rumored that this policy was proposed by Tang Daosheng, the head of Tencent CSIG.
Many sources also said that the total revenue of Tencent Conference in 2022 will be about 430 million. Compared with the 400 million KPI set at the beginning of last year, Tencent Conference can be regarded as a rare unexpected business in the hands of CSIG. The revenue target for 2023 is set at around 1 billion.
Explosive models and higher-than-expected revenue may be Tencent’s courage to take the lead in stopping free in the current vicious circle of free introversion in the domestic market, making an industry pioneering move, and bringing the industry back to the right business path one of the reasons.
In addition, the reason why Tencent Conference dared to cancel free of charge may also lie in its confidence in the spontaneous dissemination and use of its own products on the C-end. In the past year, the revenue of the 30 yuan/month individual membership version of the Tencent Conference has reached about 60 million, and the revenue of about 60 million has been made by relying on “tap water”, which has achieved remarkable results. (Source: Leifeng.com)
Mercedes-Benz L3 autonomous driving approved: drivers can read books, drink coffee, Mercedes-Benz is responsible for accidents
A few days ago, Mercedes-Benz announced that the company has obtained the approval of the US regulatory authority to deploy the L3 automatic driving system (Drive Pilot system) in California and Nevada. The approval also makes Mercedes-Benz the first automaker to receive regulatory approval for the technology in the United States.
Mercedes-Benz’s L3 automatic driving can be turned on with one button on the steering wheel. In addition to autonomous cruising according to the set speed, the system can also automatically drive according to the planned route, real-time road conditions and traffic signs. During the period, it can independently change lanes, evade or brake and turn, etc., and respond to unexpected traffic conditions in a timely manner. According to the US SAE classification standard, L3 self-driving cars can travel on public roads at a speed of up to 40 mph (64 km/h).
After turning on the Mercedes-Benz L3-level Drive Pilot automatic driving system, the driver does not need to look at the road, hands and feet are separated from the driving, and it is allowed to take and place objects in the car, drink coffee, and handle work.
At present, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and EQS are the first to be equipped with the Mercedes-Benz L3-class Drive Pilot automatic driving system. And Mercedes-Benz promises that as long as the driver uses the Drive Pilot function, if the vehicle has an accident, Mercedes-Benz will bear the relevant responsibilities. (Source: Fast Technology)
TSMC’s four-quarter report maintains high growth, and the plan for mass production of 2nm in 2025 remains unchanged
On January 12, TSMC rose 2.16% to $83.55 before the market. Benefiting from the expansion of the revenue share of 5nm and other advanced process chips, TSMC has maintained high growth in the fourth quarter, with net profit increasing by 78% year-on-year, exceeding market expectations; gross profit margin reached 62.2%, a record high, and exceeding market expectations of 60.1%.
TSMC’s CFO said that gross margins are under pressure in 2023, and R&D expenses are expected to increase by 20% in 2023.
TSMC held a law conference on the 12th. During the questioning session, TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia said that the company is considering building a second factory in Japan, and is considering building an automotive chip factory in Europe, preparing to mass produce 2nm chips in 2025.
In December last year, it was reported that TSMC was negotiating with suppliers on the first European factory and planned to build its first potential European factory in Dresden, Germany. (Source: Jiweiwang)
Fliggy: Spring Festival travel bookings increased by more than 60%, and outbound travel bookings hit a peak in nearly three years
According to the “2023 Spring Festival Travel Weathervane” released by Fliggy on January 11, as of now, the number of bookings for the 2023 Spring Festival travel has increased by more than 60% year-on-year. The demand for medium and long-term travel continued to recover, and the proportion of inter-provincial travel orders exceeded 80%, and the number of outbound travel bookings hit a peak in the past three years.
At the same time, during the Spring Festival, the average unit price of related tourism products increased by more than 70% year-on-year, and the per capita bookings of hotels and scenic spots increased by nearly 20% year-on-year. The bookings of high-star hotels increased by nearly 30% year-on-year, and the number of boutique country houses increased by more than 100% year-on-year. (Source: Sina Technology)
Apple is working on a touchscreen Mac, could launch in 2025, sources say
January 12 news, according to foreign media reports, informed sources, Apple is preparing to add a touch screen for the MacBook Pro.
For years, Apple resisted incorporating touchscreens into laptops. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs said at a 2010 event that touchscreen laptops were “ergonomically terrible.” If the company goes ahead with its touchscreen plans, it would be a major reversal in the company’s philosophy.
According to foreign media reports, the new MacBook Pro with an OLED display may become the first touch-screen Mac in 2025, and its screen supports touch input and gesture operations like an iPhone or iPad.
According to foreign media, the reason why Apple is making changes now is because the company is feeling pressure from other laptop manufacturers such as Samsung, Microsoft, Dell, HP and Lenovo.
Another reason Apple plans to adopt touchscreen Macs is that its macOS operating system can run iPad and iPhone applications, and its Mac platform is now more suitable for touch operation. (Source: TechWeb)
Copy anyone’s voice in 3 seconds, Microsoft’s audio version of DALL·E is terribly thoughtful
Microsoft launched the latest AI achievement – the speech synthesis model VALL E, which was born out of DALL E, but specializes in the audio field. It only takes 3 seconds of speech to copy anyone’s voice at will.
Synthesize speech based on AI’s “unheard” voice, that is, zero-sample learning. VALL·E solves the problem of poor similarity and naturalness of the generated speech caused by the zero-sample scene in the previous pre-training + fine-tuning mode. In addition, it also supports voice editing and voice content creation combined with GPT-3.
VALL·E can also imitate a variety of emotions of the speaker, including several types such as anger, sleepiness, neutrality, joy and disgust. At the same time, even the speaker’s environmental background sound can be accurately restored.
Some netizens imagined the direction it can be applied, including helping the disabled to talk to others, recording audiobooks, etc. (Source: Qubit)
Bill Gates: AI is quite revolutionary, not very optimistic about Web3 and Metaverse
According to news on January 12, in the annual AMA event on Reddit, Bill Gates was asked what important technologies are now at a similar stage to the previous Internet. Gates said: “Artificial intelligence is the most important thing. I don’t think the scale of Web3 is that big, and I don’t think the metaverse itself is revolutionary, but artificial intelligence is indeed quite revolutionary.”
In addition, some users asked Gates about his views on generative artificial intelligence and how he thinks this technology will affect the world. “I’m amazed at how fast these AIs are progressing. I think they’re going to have a huge impact,” he said.
In addition, he also spoke highly of the recently popular ChatGPT, saying that it allows him to see the future, and he is impressed by the whole method and innovation speed. (Source: TechWeb)
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