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Tiger Woods, Nike Split Up; AI Chips, Apple Vision Star at CES 2024
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Another era comes to an end as Tiger Woods and Nike are divorced. New artificial intelligence (AI) chips took center stage as CES 2024 opened Monday in Las Vegas.
Tiger Woods closes the door on an era
When Tiger Woods turned pro in 1996, he signed a 5-year endorsement deal with Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) for $40 million. It was the largest such deal ever in professional golf. Woods’ father was right, though–he called the amount “chump change.”
Over the next 27 years, Nike generated an estimated $660 million in income for Woods, including a $200 million, 10-year deal signed in 2013. That’s the last one.
In a statement Monday, Woods acknowledged that he was “fortunate to start a partnership with one of the most iconic brands in the world.” But Nike isn’t a charitable organization, and the company reaped millions from having Woods wear its swoosh and use its equipment over the years.
Nike stopped making golf equipment in 2016 but remains committed to golf apparel. Woods could tie up with another equipment maker (TaylorMade has been suggested) or another apparel maker (On Holding AG (NYSE: ONON) has denied that it is talking to Woods). (These iconic fashion brands no longer exist.)
AI chips galore
Chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) and Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) both introduced new AI-related chips at CES 2024 on Monday.
AMD is counting on a boost from its challenger to Nvidia’s domination of demand for AI training models. The Instinct MI300X and MI300A processors, introduced in December, are only part of the story. The other part is the Ryzen 8040 Series of AI-enabled processors for desktop machines. Those were launched on Monday.
Nvidia also announced upgraded performance for its desktop AI chips at CES 2024. Nvidia’s top-of-the-line GeForce RTX 4080 Super goes on sale in late January for $999. AMD’s fastest chip, the Ryzen 7 8700G, sells for $329. Intel’s Core Ultra family, introduced in the fall, is already shipping in some laptops.
Nvidia also got in line behind AI on the desktop with the release of its GeForce 4070 and 4080 SUPER product lines. The company said “AI-ready” cards with these products are already available in laptops from Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Razer, and Samsung. A Core Ultra 9 equipped with a GeForce RTX4070 sells for around $2,300 at Best Buy.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) announced that its $3,500 Apple Vision Pro headset will be available for pre-ordering on Friday, January 19. The new headsets will be available in U.S. Apple Stores, including the online U.S. Apple Store, beginning February 2.
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