Technology

Bloomberg Volkswagen AG will spend more than 34 billion euros ($40 billion) over the next five years to develop automotive technology for an era of electric robo-taxis. With the unprecedented investment through 2022, Volkswagen is accelerating its push into battery-powered vehicles, autonomous-driving features and ride-hailing systems, the Wolfsburg, Germany-based company said in a statement. Volkswagen is seeking to defend its …

Bloomberg AT&T Inc. has deployed a drone to act as a “cell tower in the sky” to help provide communication services in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, the first time the technology has been used to reconnect residents after a disaster, the company said. The Federal Aviation Administration announced its approval for the use of the vehicle, which resembles a small helicopter. …

Bloomberg Apple Inc. is working on a rear-facing 3-D sensor system for the iPhone in 2019, another step towards turning the handset into a leading augmented-reality device, according to people familiar with the plan. Apple is evaluating a different technology from the one it currently uses in the TrueDepth sensor system on the front of the iPhone X, the people …

Bloomberg The components in Apple Inc.’s new iPhone X cost $115 more than the guts of the iPhone 8 due to its pricey new screen and facial recognition scanner, according to an analysis by IHS Markit Inc. The total bill of materials for the base model iPhone X with 64 gigabytes of storage is $370.25, according to IHS’s report, excluding …

Bloomberg Zynga Inc. wants to be the go-to place for mobile card games. The San Francisco-based online gaming pioneer is acquiring the copyrights for mobile card game business of Turkish game designer Peak Games for $100 million in a deal expected to close in the fourth quarter. The Peak business is profitable and will add to earnings, Zynga Chief Executive …

Bloomberg Tencent Holdings Ltd. has developed its own autonomous driving system, according to people familiar with the matter, becoming the latest technology player to dive into a crowded field that could become a $42 billion industry. The social media giant intends to leverage its mapping and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to compete in a sector that’s attracted investment from the …

Bloomberg Navya Technologies SAS will roll its robot-driven automobiles onto the cobbled streets of Paris in the next few weeks to try and beat behemoths from General Motors Co. to Alphabet Inc. at proving autonomous cars are safe. The French startup’s 15-seater driverless shuttles have been dodging bankers and corporate executives in the capital’s business district of La Defense since …

Bloomberg Apple Inc. is fixing supply problems with the iPhone X, its most important device in years, setting the company up for a better-than-expected holiday period. Supported by resurgent iPad and Mac sales, the 10-year anniversary iPhone will help push revenue to a record high of $84 billion to $87 billion in the quarter ending in late December, Apple said …

Bloomberg Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp. and IBM—looking to stoke demand for cloud computing services—are said to be shifting incentives for their sales representatives, pushing them to ensure customers become active users over the long haul. Microsoft in July revamped the way it pays its sales staff to tie incentives to how much customers actually use cloud-based software—rather than how many …

Bloomberg Qualcomm Inc. issued a surprisingly bullish forecast for the current quarter, showing that robust demand for the company’s chips in China is making up for lost revenue from a bruising legal brawl with Apple Inc. Sales in Qualcomm’s fiscal first quarter will be $5.5 billion to $6.3 billion. Earnings per share, excluding some items, will be 85 cents to …