MAM
Digicel extends support to West Indies cricket
MUMBAI: Mobile telecommunications operator Digicel says that its total commitment to West Indies cricket is only partially reflected in the financial investment made to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) through the five-year home and away contract of $19.75 million. Digicel is the title sponsor of West Indies cricket.
Beyond the master contract with the WICB, Digicel says that it is focussed on effectively driving the growth of West Indies cricket by incentivising performances and supporting players, making cricket more accessible to Caribbean communities, and bringing new energy and dynamism to the promotion of the game.
Digicel marketing director Ben Atherton says, “The substantial sponsorship package represents only the starting point of our commitment to the growth of the game in the region. As a company that is solely based in the Caribbean and staffed by almost 1,000 Caribbean nationals, we believe in the Caribbean and its cricket. Our goal is to help West Indies cricket return to the top of World Test cricket where it belongs.”
Digicel has established a team incentives/player bonuses fund worth up to $ 6.65 million. Players now have the opportunity to earn more bonuses and appearance fees (outside of team rights) than ever before due to Digicel’s sponsorship, covering both home and away matches. An additional $1.04 miillion has been put in place for a Digicel awards fund which will cover Test and ODI match and series team awards, as well as all Man of the Match and Man of the Series awards for both Test and ODI matches, including Series trophies and medals for the team.
The A Team tour to Sri Lanka represented the first time that it had the benefit of a sponsor, which was made possible through Digicel’s $1 million investment in cricket development. Digicel has also offered support to the Windies coaching team through, the purchasing of monitoring equipment and the co-funding of additional staff members such as Bryce Cavanagh, the Windies’ new strength and conditioning coordinator.
Digicel expects to commit a minimum of $25 million on top of the contract fee to activate the sponsorship, meaning that the company will invest a minimum of $45 million, or $9 million per year, in Windies cricket over the next five years.
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.
