MAM
adidas, Argentine Football Association extend partnership until 2022
MUMBAI: adidas and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) have announced the extension of their sponsorship agreement, extending their current relationship until December 2022.
The extension agreement comes as a result of the close relationship between both parties that started over 37 years ago. At the 1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany, Argentina already wore Adidas jerseys.
adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer said, “We are very proud and excited to announce the extension of our successful partnership with the Argentine Football Association. adidas is the global leader in football and Argentina is without any doubt one of the strongest teams in the world. Therefore, we are very much looking forward to continuing our successful partnership and to supporting AFA in their preparations for the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil and beyond.”
In addition to this adidas and AFA will continue working together to promote football at all levels of the game and in all age groups, both in Argentina and globally.
AFA president Julio Grondona said, “We appreciate the continuity and the confidence of adidas. It contributes to building an unbreakable bond with AFA. This agreement fully satisfies AFA and brings important values to continue to develop football in Argentina. AFA is committed and will continue wearing the shirt with pride all around the world.”
Digital
Anthropic eyes $900bn valuation in new funding round ahead of IPO: Reports
Claude maker may surpass OpenAI as investor interest heats up sharply
SAN FRANCISCO: Anthropic is exploring a fresh funding round that could value the company at more than $900 billion, potentially making it the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence startup, according to Bloomberg reports.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg News reported that the Claude maker is in early-stage discussions with investors and is entertaining offers at more than double its current valuation. No deal has been finalised yet.
The interest marks a sharp jump from February this year, when Anthropic raised $30 billion at a valuation of $380 billion. Since then, investor appetite appears to have intensified, with multiple pre-emptive offers on the table.
According to TechCrunch, the company has received proposals to raise around $50 billion at valuations ranging between $850 billion and $900 billion. A decision is expected to be taken at a board meeting in May.
If the deal goes through at the upper end of that range, Anthropic would overtake OpenAI, which was valued at $852 billion in March, to become the most valuable AI startup globally.
The potential fundraise also comes against the backdrop of a possible initial public offering, which could be launched as early as October, the Bloomberg report noted.
The company counts tech heavyweights such as Amazon and Google, part of Alphabet, among its key backers. Both firms have continued to deepen their ties with Anthropic through multi-billion-dollar, performance-linked investments.
Interestingly, earlier reports had suggested that Anthropic was cautious about raising funds at valuations of $800 billion or more. The latest developments, however, indicate that market enthusiasm for advanced AI models and infrastructure may be shifting those thresholds quickly.
As the race for AI dominance accelerates, Anthropic’s next move could set a new benchmark for startup valuations, and signal just how high investors are willing to bet on the future of artificial intelligence.
