Cybersecurity concerns loom over the increasingly targeted healthcare sector and other connected industries. Attacks can cost health networks millions of dollars and compromise patient care. Beyond healthcare, downtime of manufacturing lines, utilities, and other connected infrastructure can be devastating. As a result, law makers, industry participants, and standards organizations and consortia are rapidly shaping IoT’s security future. Learn more

Arm (NASDAQ: ARM) launched its IPO on Thursday (September 14th) with an initial price of $51, opened trading at $56.10, and ended the day at $63.59. This translated into a fully diluted valuation of roughly $67.9B while raising nearly $5B for SoftBank, still 90% owner of the company. Arm is the largest company to enter the public markets this year, which has seen a dearth of IPO interest amid economic uncertainty. Learn more

Parcel shipping leaders FedEx and UPS have had to temper volume expectations for 2023 after a drop in Q2 revenues. FedEx, which reported a 10% revenue dip year over year, noted that the trend was felt across the industry, and that it would focus on consolidation and operating cost reduction to mitigate the drop. UPS, down 10.9% in Q2, is focused on winning back business and securing new opportunities. USPS reported a decline of 2.4% in year-on-year revenues, while Amazon logistics reported 5.5% growth. Learn more

On July 18th, the White House announced the rollout of a new program targeting IoT device security. Under this new initiative proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and expected to go into effect in 2024, IoT device manufacturers will be able to voluntarily enroll in and apply for the “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark”. The program will enable manufacturers to place this stamp of approval on their devices, advertising to consumers the sound security features found within. In order to achieve this certification, manufacturers will need to address basic security concerns that have plagued the IoT. Learn more

Earnings season is in full flow and the VDC team has been tracking results from several leading market players across AIDC, enterprise mobility, and machine vision. Q2 2023 was a rough quarter all around, with market leaders expecting continued weakness through the end of the year. As a whole, large projects have temporarily dried up and the run rate business has taken a hit for vendors and distribution partners alike. Learn more

Hospital at Home has presented a solution to capacity and patient experience challenges that have plagued the healthcare industry in recent years. Hospital at Home, a remote alternative to in-hospital care for recovering patients, can enable a more comfortable recovery environment for patients and a lower-cost, lower-resource option for healthcare providers. Learn more

On July 4th, the US announced its plans to restrict Chinese companies from accessing cloud computing services like Amazon and Microsoft. This comes directly after China announced a ban on exports of gallium and geranium – two metals essential for semiconductor production. These bans are the most recent in an ongoing trade battle between the two economic giants and have further stoked competition in the global drone and semiconductor markets.
Learn more

As enterprises look to enhance operational efficiencies and tap into emerging technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence, the role of connectivity becomes increasingly vital. The development of private wireless networks and advancements of Wi-Fi technology is a clear sign of this need. Another innovation in physical network infrastructure resulting from the demand is Light Fidelity, or “Li-Fi”. Learn more

As connectivity improves throughout the regions of Africa, there is immense potential for enterprise growth. The African continent, whose population of over 1.2 billion has the world’s lowest internet penetration rate (39%), is on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR): improved connectivity will enable technology startups and large-scale industrial operations to take shape, where former limited connectivity inhibited enterprise growth. Learn more

Apple finally entered the extended reality space this week with the debut of the Vision Pro. Investment in the XR category is risky as consumers remain skeptical and have yet to adopt these solutions consistently. Amid the flurry of first impressions two questions dominated the discourse: At this price, who is this product for? And, will Apple’s venture into the XR space succeed? Learn more