Transcript

Welcome to Totemo Tech on April 15th. Our first story is about Intel and Arm collaborating to allow Arm’s customers to manufacture chips using Intel’s 18A process technology. This multi-generation agreement was announced by Intel Foundry Services (IFS) and Arm. This partnership will enable Arm’s clients to use Intel’s foundry to manufacture SoCs, which is a significant development in the semiconductor industry.

Next up, Nintendo has announced that it will open an official store called “Nintendo KYOTO” in Kyoto on October 17th. This will be Nintendo’s third direct sales store in Japan, following Tokyo and Osaka. The store will open in the specialty zone of the Takashimaya S.C. shopping mall.

Moving on to financial news, Money Forward has released its Q1 earnings report, which shows that the company’s SaaS ARR increased by 42% from the same period last year, reaching 182.8 billion yen. The company’s consolidated revenue was 6.79 billion yen, and its EBITDA was a loss of 700 million yen, which is better than the initial forecast of a loss of 1.2 to 1.7 billion yen. Money Forward’s president, Tsuyoshi Tsuji, says that the company has had a good start to the year.

Benesse Holdings has developed an AI chatbot called “Benesse GPT” for internal use. The company will use Microsoft’s cloud-based Azure OpenAI Service to deploy the chatbot to its approximately 15,000 employees. This chatbot will provide support for various tasks, such as HR-related inquiries and IT support.

In fashion news, luxury brand Loewe has released a new apparel collection called “Pixel,” which features clothing that looks like pixel art. This collection includes an expensive hoodie priced at 297,000 yen, as well as pants and other items.

Sony’s “STAR SPHERE” project has hit a snag as its artificial satellite, “EYE,” has experienced a malfunction. The satellite was designed to take photos from space, but the company is now reconsidering this service. Despite the setback, Sony does not consider it a failure.

On April 20th, a partial solar eclipse will be visible in some parts of the Pacific region. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan will live-stream the event from the Ishigaki Island Observatory on its official YouTube channel.

Finally, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s invitation-only social network, “Bluesky,” held its first user meetup in Tokyo. The event was exclusive and the first of its kind, and it showcased the potential of the platform to bring people together.

Keywords - japan, tech, news