For you speed readers there was a little word following that $100...it was MILLION.
Or perhaps it wasn't there at first and was later added. I saw it when I first read this article.
What has me curious is that if Square is doing so well that they don't even need to consider a multi-billion dollar buyout, for what exactly do they need a $100,000,000 investment?
As to the various comments about Square fizzling out - yes there will still be a place for physical swipe for a time and perhaps they can incorporate NFC in a soon to be released product - but with anything in the tech sector you have to consider not just what does the recent Apple announcement mean in terms of a shift in the landscape which may take a couple years to be fully realized and will we soon see a world where very few people bother to carry physical cards with them.
And doesn't have to be just Apple - could be any new tech from major player to new startup.
I do wonder what we will do when we get somewhere after using a device that has become out digital wallet when that device runs out of battery just as you need it to make a payment and now you are stranded. Or what if it is lost, stolen or damaged - maybe we all need to start carrying a stash of cash just in case.
Either that or maybe the NFC readers can be made with a charging port for emergency use to get enough power into your device to complete the transaction.
Or perhaps it wasn't there at first and was later added. I saw it when I first read this article.
What has me curious is that if Square is doing so well that they don't even need to consider a multi-billion dollar buyout, for what exactly do they need a $100,000,000 investment?
I think it probably won't be long before Square produces an iPhone/iPad compatible NFC reader. Unless the chip in the iPhone can be configured to read as well as transmit.
As for why they'd turn down a multi-billion dollar offer (assuming they even did)? Because they think their company is worth more than that over their lifetime?
Maybe you missed the original post - they (Square) allegedly have turned down a rumored $3 billion dollar buyout offer (from Apple).
Is that better?
It was not my intention to claim that in this particular case that either an offer was in fact made - or that offer was indeed refused - but rather speculating on what might be going on in any company to need a $100 million dollar infusion while categorically denying that discussions of selling for $3 billion even happened.
Since we are discussing an alleged rumor, I didn't think a bit of musing or speculation was entirely inappropriate.
Did you miss the article update that there was no buyout offer from Apple?
Apparently I must have - still interesting to speculate about. Now MS buying Mojang is no longer rumor - and man if I had even 1/10th of that $2.5 billion I could pay off most of my Visa cards.
That's a pretty steep income curve too. Started working as an employee at King (Candy Crush Saga) at 26, stayed for for 4.5 years using Actionscript and Java. Left before Candy Crush Saga happened to work elsewhere and then started Minecraft on his own. In 2010 at the age of 31, he was talking about selling 6400 copies:
It went onto multiple platforms and has now sold over 54m copies. The deal with Microsoft should earn him around $1.5b at the age of 35.
Going from an average day job to billionaire in the space of 4 years is pretty incredible and all because of this:
[VIDEO]
I don't understand the appeal of the game. Microsoft says they plan to break-even on the game, maybe through in-app purchases or something. These big valuations are usually about finding ways to monetize the existing userbase.
Comments
For you speed readers there was a little word following that $100...it was MILLION.
For you speed readers there was a little word following that $100...it was MILLION.
Or perhaps it wasn't there at first and was later added. I saw it when I first read this article.
What has me curious is that if Square is doing so well that they don't even need to consider a multi-billion dollar buyout, for what exactly do they need a $100,000,000 investment?
As to the various comments about Square fizzling out - yes there will still be a place for physical swipe for a time and perhaps they can incorporate NFC in a soon to be released product - but with anything in the tech sector you have to consider not just what does the recent Apple announcement mean in terms of a shift in the landscape which may take a couple years to be fully realized and will we soon see a world where very few people bother to carry physical cards with them.
And doesn't have to be just Apple - could be any new tech from major player to new startup.
I do wonder what we will do when we get somewhere after using a device that has become out digital wallet when that device runs out of battery just as you need it to make a payment and now you are stranded. Or what if it is lost, stolen or damaged - maybe we all need to start carrying a stash of cash just in case.
Either that or maybe the NFC readers can be made with a charging port for emergency use to get enough power into your device to complete the transaction.
What multi-billion buyout did they turn down?
I think it probably won't be long before Square produces an iPhone/iPad compatible NFC reader. Unless the chip in the iPhone can be configured to read as well as transmit.
As for why they'd turn down a multi-billion dollar offer (assuming they even did)? Because they think their company is worth more than that over their lifetime?
What multi-billion buyout did they turn down?
Maybe you missed the original post - they (Square) allegedly have turned down a rumored $3 billion dollar buyout offer (from Apple).
Is that better?
It was not my intention to claim that in this particular case that either an offer was in fact made - or that offer was indeed refused - but rather speculating on what might be going on in any company to need a $100 million dollar infusion while categorically denying that discussions of selling for $3 billion even happened.
Since we are discussing an alleged rumor, I didn't think a bit of musing or speculation was entirely inappropriate.
Did you miss the article update that there was no buyout offer from Apple?
Did you miss the article update that there was no buyout offer from Apple?
Apparently I must have - still interesting to speculate about. Now MS buying Mojang is no longer rumor - and man if I had even 1/10th of that $2.5 billion I could pay off most of my Visa cards.
It's a pretty high valuation, especially when the founder will leave the company and the studio's main game has already been bought in large numbers:
http://www.businessinsider.com/minecraft-creator-markus-notch-persson-is-leaving-mojang-2014-9
That's a pretty steep income curve too. Started working as an employee at King (Candy Crush Saga) at 26, stayed for for 4.5 years using Actionscript and Java. Left before Candy Crush Saga happened to work elsewhere and then started Minecraft on his own. In 2010 at the age of 31, he was talking about selling 6400 copies:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27719/Interview_Markus_Notch_Persson_Talks_Making_Minecraft.php
It then just went crazy and by 2011, it was up to 4 million copies:
http://venturebeat.com/2011/11/06/indie-game-sensation-minecraft-surpasses-4-million-copies-sold/
It went onto multiple platforms and has now sold over 54m copies. The deal with Microsoft should earn him around $1.5b at the age of 35.
Going from an average day job to billionaire in the space of 4 years is pretty incredible and all because of this:
[VIDEO]
I don't understand the appeal of the game. Microsoft says they plan to break-even on the game, maybe through in-app purchases or something. These big valuations are usually about finding ways to monetize the existing userbase.