BERLIN: China’s Alibaba Group Holding has acquired German data analysis firm Data Artisans, the Berlin-based startup said, in a deal reported to be worth around 90 million euros ($103 million).
The transaction marks the first full takeover by a Chinese company on Berlin’s growing startup scene. In the last significant deal, Alibaba’s rival Tencent Holdings participated in a $160 million funding round for online bank N26 in March 2018.
Data Artisans CEO Kostas Tzoumas said Alibaba would also invest an undisclosed sum in the company to develop Apache Flink, its open-source software that can process large data volumes, and to expand into new business areas.
The price of the deal was reported to be 90 million euros in the media, including German newspaper Handelsblatt. Data Artisans declined to comment on the purchase price.
Alibaba, which competes with e-commerce group Amazon.com , has been a customer of Data Artisans since 2016. The German company, which was founded in 2014, also serves clients including Netflix and Uber.
“Typical use cases include live fraud detection, direct interaction with Internet users and real-time financial transactions,” said Tzoumas.
Alibaba said this week it was deepening its partnership with Data Artisans and collaborating to develop software that can process large amounts of data. ($1 = 0.8728 euros)
Alibaba buys German data analysis start-up
Alibaba buys German data analysis start-up
Israel says ban on Gaza media access should stay: court document
- Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons
JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities have told the Supreme Court that a ban on international media access to Gaza should remain in place, arguing it is necessary for security reasons, according to a government submission filed by the public prosecutor.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have barred foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Instead, Israel has allowed only a limited number of reporters to enter Gaza on a case-by-case basis, embedded with its military forces inside the blockaded territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists working in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition with the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking immediate and unrestricted access for international media to the Gaza Strip.
Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with a plan, but at a hearing last month it set January 4 as a final deadline.
Late on Sunday, the Israeli authorities filed their response with the court, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.
In the submission, the government said the ban on media access to Gaza should continue, citing security risks in the territory.
“Even at this time, entry of journalists into the Gaza Strip without escort, as requested in the petition, should not be permitted,” said the government submission.
“This is for security reasons, based on the position of the defense establishment, which maintains that a security risk associated with such entry still exists.”
The Israeli authorities said the ceasefire in Gaza, which came into effect on October 10, continues to face regular threats.
At least 420 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza by Israeli forces since the ceasefire took effect, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The Israeli military said three of its soldiers have also been killed by militants during the same period.
The Israeli authorities said in their submission that the search for the remains of the last hostage held in Gaza is ongoing, suggesting that allowing journalists into the territory at this stage could hinder the operation.
The remains of Ran Gvili, whose body was taken to Gaza after he was killed during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, have still not been recovered despite the ceasefire.
All other 250 hostages seized on that day — both the living and the deceased — have been returned to Israel.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the matter, though it is unclear when a decision will be handed down.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.
