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Investors including Saudi 's PIF are reportedly in "advanced talks" for a $50bn leveraged buyout of EA
Game Reviews

Investors including Saudi ‘s PIF are reportedly in “advanced talks” for a $50bn leveraged buyout of EA

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A group of financial investors are in “advanced talks” with EA to go private with a valuation worth around $50 billion (£37.5 billion).

According to the Wall Street Journal (£), the investors – thought to include equity firm Silver Lake, Affinity Partners, and Saudi Arabia’s controversial Public Investment Fund (PIF) – could announce a deal as soon as next week. If true, this would make it the biggest leveraged buyout ever.

News of the potential deal sent EA’s share prices rocketing, closing 15 percent higher on Friday.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF increased its stake in FIFA publisher EA back in 2023. The PIF initiative was designed to diversify the country’s revenues via investment in foreign companies, with a large arm focused on the video games industry. It’s chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the controversial ruler blamed by the CIA for the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who has upheld the country’s notoriously poor human rights record.

Despite this, the PIF holds a notable stake in a swathe of gaming companies, including Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive, Nintendo, Embracer, Nexon, Capcom, and Ubisoft, after boss Yves Guillemot secured PIF funding, leading to new DLC for 2023’s Assassin’s Creed Mirage set in 9th century AlUla, an ancient Arabian city.

Affinity Partners was founded by President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

EA has declined to comment.



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Roborock Saros Z70
Game Reviews

The Most Advanced Robovac with a Mechanical Arm Is $1,000 Off, Roborock Selling Off All Inventory

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Roborock is turning 11, and to celebrate the occasion, they’ve done the impossible: offering a massive price cut on their most powerful and advanced robot vacuum ever. The iconic Saros Z70 vacuum normally costs a whopping $2,599 but is now available just for $1,599 on Roborock’s website during the Labor Day holiday weekend.

See at Roborock.com

If you’re a tech hobbyist who’s been dreaming of owning a unique robot vacuum, it’s your time. Not only is this a massive $1,000 off, but it’s also a rare opportunity to purchase it since the device was recently released a few months ago and generated a huge buzz at CES this year. Getting your hands on this vacuum for that kind of money is a major win.

Best Robot Vacuum?

The most unique aspects of the Roborock Saros Z70 is its OmniGrip mechanical arm: It’s no standard cleaning arm, and Roborock designed it to perform on different types of floors and move into those tricky corners and edges where dust settles. It cleans with precision and leaves no spot behind. Coupled with its very thin profile—less than 8 centimeters thick—the vacuum smoothly moves under sofas, beds, and other low-clearance furniture. That low profile also means you won’t need to move heavy furniture just to clean your space, which is a huge plus for anyone who hates extra work.

The StarSight Autonomous System navigation system on the vacuum works with a combination of cameras and sensors to map your space with great accuracy. This tells the Saros Z70 exactly where it’s already been and where it still needs to vacuum, and avoids obstacles like furniture legs and walls. It even has a double anti-tangle system that keeps it from getting caught on cables or rugs, something far too common in other robot vacuums.

Perhaps the strongest spec is the suction power: At 22,000 Pa HyperForce, the vacuum draws in dirt, dust, and debris with virtually unbeatable power. Most vacs for consumers, for instance, hover between 5,000 to 12,000 Pa, so this is a whole different story. It performs beautifully on carpets and picks up pet hair and crumbs, and it’s gentle enough not to damage wooden or tile floors. The Saros Z70 further features the AdaptiLift chassis complemented by FlexiArm riser technology: These enable it to adjust its height and grip to offer a clean one even on an uneven surface without hurting sensitive flooring.

Roborock also packed in the Multi-functional Dock 4.0 to ensure that maintenance is easy: The smart dock charges the device not just that, but also vacuums the dustbin and refills the water tank for mopping, and removes from you the time consumed by maintenance. It’s the optimal combination of convenience and efficiency that has your vacuum at your command whenever you are ready to get to work. It means roughly seven weeks of handsfree cleaning.

The Roborock Saros Z70 is a real game-changer for home cleaning, and with the price cut (from $2,599 to $1,599), it’s a deal that’s tough to beat.

See at Roborock.com



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Jensen Huang, wearing a leather jacket, in front of a screen.
Gaming Gear

Nvidia CEO Says More Advanced AI Models Will Keep Chip, Data Center Growth Going

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AI bubble? What AI bubble? If you ask Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, we’re in a “new industrial revolution.” 

Huang’s company, of course, makes chips and computer hardware, the “picks and shovels” of the AI gold rush, and it’s become the world’s largest business by capitalizing on AI’s growth, bubble or not. Speaking on Wednesday during an earnings call as his company reported revenue of $46.7 billion in the past quarter, he indicated no sign that the incredible growth of the generative artificial intelligence industry will slow.

“I think the next several years, surely through the decade, we see really significant growth opportunities ahead,” Huang said.

Compare that with recent comments from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who said he believes investors right now are “overexcited about AI.” (Altman also acknowledged that he still believes AI is “the most important thing to happen in a very long time.”)

Huang said his company has “very, very significant forecasts” of demand for more of the chips and computers that run AI, indicating the rush for more data centers is not stopping soon. He speculated that AI infrastructure spending could hit $3 trillion to $4 trillion by the end of the decade. (The gross domestic product of the US is around $30 trillion.)

That means a lot of data centers, which take up a lot of land and use a great deal of water and energy. These AI factories have gotten bigger and bigger in recent years, with significant impacts on the communities around them and a greater strain on the US electric grid. And the growth of different generative AI tools that require even more energy could make that demand even greater.

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More powerful and demanding models

One prompt on a chatbot doesn’t always mean one prompt anymore. A source of increased demand for computational power is that newer AI models that employ “reasoning” techniques are using a lot more power for one question. “It’s called long thinking, and the longer it thinks, oftentimes it produces better answers,” Huang said.

This technique allows an AI model to research on different websites, try a question multiple times to get better answers and put disparate information together into one response. 

Some AI companies offer reasoning as a separate model or as a choice labeled something like “deep thinking.” OpenAI worked it right into its GPT-5 release, with a routing program deciding whether it was handled by a lighter, straightforward model or a more intensive reasoning model.

But a reasoning model can require 100 times the computing power or more than what a traditional large language model response would take, Huang said. These models, along with agentic systems that can perform tasks and robotics models that can handle visualization and operate in the physical world, are keeping demand for chips, energy and data center land on the rise. 

“With each generation, demand only grows,” Huang said.



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Micron
Gaming Gear

Next-generation 3D DRAM approaches reality as scientists achieve 120-layer stack using advanced deposition techniques

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Imagine trying to build a tower out of hundreds of very thin, slightly different sheets of material, where each sheet wants to bend or warp on its own. That’s essentially what researchers at imec and Ghent University accomplished when they grew 120 alternating layers of silicon (Si) and silicon-germanium (SiGe) on a 300 mm wafer—a key step toward three-dimensional DRAM. At first glance, it sounds like stacking sheets of paper, but in reality, it’s more like balancing a house of cards with materials that naturally want to pull apart.

The challenge starts with lattice mismatch. Silicon and silicon-germanium crystals have slightly different atomic spacings, so when stacked, the layers naturally want to stretch or compress. Think of it like trying to stack a deck of cards where every second card is slightly larger than the first—without careful alignment, the stack warps and topples. In semiconductor terms, these “topples” appear as misfit dislocations, tiny defects that can ruin a memory chip’s performance.


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(Image credit: B. N. Khan, J. F. M. Van Hove, M. Meuris, Journal of Applied Physics, AIP Publishing, 2025.)

The process itself, using advanced epitaxial deposition techniques, is like painting with gases. Silane and germane—gases containing silicon and germanium—are broken down on the wafer surface, leaving behind precise, nanometer-thin layers. Controlling the thickness, composition, and uniformity of each layer is crucial; even a tiny deviation can propagate through the stack, magnifying defects.

Now, why go through all this effort? In conventional DRAM, memory cells are laid out flat, limiting density. Stacking layers vertically—in 3D—allows for far more memory cells in the same footprint, improving storage capacity without making chips larger. Successfully creating 120 bilayers demonstrates that vertical scaling is achievable, bringing us closer to next-generation, high-density memory devices.

Think of each bilayer as a story in a skyscraper, if one floor is misaligned then the entire building becomes unstable. By controlling strain and keeping layers uniform, the researchers effectively built a nanoscale skyscraper of silicon and SiGe that could host thousands of memory cells per unit area.

(Image credit: Future)

The implications stretch beyond memory chips. Techniques for growing precise multi-layer structures can advance 3D transistors, stacked logic devices, and even quantum computing architectures, where controlling layer properties at the atomic level is critical. Samsung has already put 3D DRAM on its roadmap and even has a dedicated R&D facility for it.

Furthermore, the research aligns with ongoing efforts to develop Gate-All-Around Field-Effect Transistor (GAAFET) and Complementary FET (CFET) technologies. These advanced transistor architectures benefit from the precise control over material properties afforded by epitaxial growth techniques, enabling the fabrication of smaller, more powerful transistors that are crucial for the continued miniaturization of electronic devices.

In summary, this is not just stacking silicon as you might know; it’s engineering order from atomic tension, creating structures that nature itself would struggle to produce. For memory technology, like we say with every new breakthrough, it’s a milestone that could reshape how chips are designed, making them denser, faster, and more reliable than ever before.

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Dynatrace 1
Product Reviews

I tried Dynatrace, a comprehensive and advanced observability platform for enterprises

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Why you can trust TechRadar


We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Dynatrace positions itself as a leader in the competitive network monitoring space, offering a complete observability platform that extends far beyond basic network metrics. While on the hunt for the best network monitoring tools of 2025, we found it to be particularly strong for enterprise environments with complex and distributed infrastructures.

TechRadar reviewers spend several weeks researching each major IT platform in the market, analyzing everything from core functionality to pricing and customer support quality. When we looked at Dynatrace, we were especially impressed by its AI-powered Davis engine, which automatically detects anomalies and performs root cause analysis across your entire stack.

While our top pick LogicMonitor remains the best overall network monitoring tool of 2025, Dynatrace offers unique strengths for organizations needing comprehensive observability beyond traditional network monitoring. Dynatrace has also been recognized as a leader in G2’s Network Monitoring for 2025 and Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Observability Platforms.

Dynatrace: Features

Dynatrace is an exceptionally feature-rich platform that goes well beyond traditional network monitoring to provide observability across applications, infrastructure, and user experience. It’s primarily geared toward enterprise organizations with complex environments distributed across multiple cloud and on-premises systems.

Features are generally well-executed, with particular strengths in automated discovery, dependency mapping, and intelligent alerting, though some users note that pure network monitoring capabilities aren’t as robust as specialized tools like SolarWinds NPM. While the premium pricing makes it inaccessible for small teams, the feature set justifies the cost for organizations looking for unified observability over point solutions.

Full-stack monitoring

Dynatrace’s flagship capability provides end-to-end visibility from user experience down to infrastructure components, automatically discovering and mapping all dependencies across your technology stack. The OneAgent technology deploys with minimal configuration and begins collecting metrics, traces, and logs immediately, supporting automatic instrumentation for hundreds of technologies without manual intervention. This eliminates the blind spots common in traditional monitoring approaches by correlating performance issues across all tiers of your environment.

AI-powered analytics

The Davis AI engine serves as Dynatrace’s differentiating factor, continuously analyzing billions of dependencies and metrics to automatically detect anomalies and determine root causes. Rather than simply alerting on threshold breaches, Davis provides context-aware insights that help IT teams understand not just what happened, but why it happened and what should be done about it. It reduces alert noise significantly while ensuring critical issues receive immediate attention with actionable remediation guidance.

Network performance monitoring

While network monitoring isn’t Dynatrace’s primary strength, the platform provides process-level network visibility that goes beyond traditional host-based monitoring. You can track network performance metrics between specific processes and services, identify connection issues proactively, and understand network topology in dynamic cloud environments. The platform automatically monitors new network interfaces and provides integrated health metrics alongside other key resource indicators.

Real user monitoring

Dynatrace captures actual user interactions across web, mobile, and API channels to provide insights into real-world performance and user experience. It tracks click patterns, page load times, and user journeys while identifying frustration points and performance bottlenecks that impact customer satisfaction. This extends beyond synthetic testing to understand how actual users experience your applications under real-world conditions.

(Image credit: Dynatrace)

Dynatrace: Ease of Use

Dynatrace comes with a modern interface that uses its Smartscape data visualization to help users understand complex environment relationships at a glance. Its automatic discovery capabilities significantly reduce initial setup complexity, with deployment typically completing in minutes without extensive configuration.

However, the sheer breadth of features and data available can create a steep learning curve for new users, particularly those transitioning from simpler monitoring tools. That said, the platform includes helpful features like in-product live chat assistance available directly within the interface, allowing users to get immediate help without leaving their monitoring environment.

Dynatrace has invested heavily in user experience improvements, with recent updates focusing on streamlining workflows and reducing the number of clicks required for common tasks. While the learning curve exists, IT teams find the investment in training worthwhile given the platform’s capabilities and the reduction in time-to-resolution it provides for complex issues.

Dynatrace: Pricing

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Plan

Starting price (paid annually)

What’s included

Infrastructure Monitoring

$0.04 per hour per host

Host monitoring for any server size, with basic dashboards and alerting

Kubernetes Platform Monitoring

$0.002 per hour

Complete observability across all Kubernetes clusters, workloads, pods and more

Synthetic Monitoring

$0.001 per request

High throughput monitoring for browser clickpaths, single pages, and APIs

Full-Stack Monitoring

$0.08 per hour per host

Complete APM and observability, AI-powered insights, OneAgent deployment, OpenTelemetry support

Dynatrace employs a usage-based pricing model that scales with your environment size and monitoring requirements. There’s no hidden fees, but you’ll be making potentially complex cost calculations for larger deployments.

It works well for organizations with predictable infrastructure sizes, plus volume discounts make it more attractive for enterprise deployments. Compared to competitors, Dynatrace sits at the premium end of the market, which reflects its comprehensive feature set but may price out smaller organizations that need simpler network monitoring solutions.

Dynatrace: Customer Support

Dynatrace offers two tiers of support: Standard Support included with all subscriptions and Enterprise Support for customers requiring enhanced service levels.

Standard Support includes in-product live chat assistance available directly within the Dynatrace interface, allowing users to connect with product experts for configuration questions and basic troubleshooting during business hours. The support team has access to product development experts for complex issues, ensuring customers can reach the right level of expertise when needed.

Enterprise Support provides enhanced response times, dedicated support resources, and expanded coverage hours for mission-critical environments. All customers also have access to comprehensive self-help resources including detailed documentation, the Dynatrace Community forum, and Dynatrace University for training and certification.

While support quality generally receives positive feedback from enterprise customers, some smaller organizations report challenges getting rapid responses during peak periods with Standard Support.

Dynatrace: Alternatives

Dynatrace occupies a unique position in the observability market, serving as both a comprehensive monitoring platform and a specialized network monitoring tool, though its strength lies more in the former. It’s best suited for enterprises with distributed environments where the AI-driven insights and visibility justify the premium pricing and complexity.

If you’re looking for pure network monitoring tools, you might find better value in specialized tools like SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor or PRTG. But for organizations looking for network monitoring and observability, Dynatrace’s main competitors include New Relic and Datadog.

Dynatrace: Final Verdict

Dynatrace delivers exceptional value for enterprise organizations requiring comprehensive observability beyond traditional network monitoring, with its AI-powered Davis engine and full-stack visibility providing capabilities that few competitors can match. It excels in complex, distributed environments where automatic discovery, dependency mapping, and intelligent root cause analysis justify the premium pricing and learning curve investment.

While pure network monitoring isn’t Dynatrace’s strongest suit compared to specialized tools, its ability to correlate network issues with application and infrastructure performance makes it valuable for organizations seeking unified observability. However, smaller organizations or those with simpler network monitoring needs may find Dynatrace overkill in both complexity and cost, making alternatives like LogicMonitor or PRTG more practical choices.

Dynatrace: FAQs

Is Dynatrace primarily a network monitoring tool?

No, Dynatrace is primarily an observability platform that includes network monitoring as one component of its full-stack approach. While it provides process-level network visibility and can monitor network performance between services, its core strength lies in application performance monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, and AI-driven analytics across the entire technology stack. Those looking for dedicated network monitoring tools might find better value in specialized solutions like LogicMonitor or SolarWinds NPM.

How does Dynatrace pricing work for growing organizations?

Dynatrace uses a usage-based pricing model where costs scale with your monitored infrastructure, measured in host-hours or GiB-hours depending on the plan. The platform offers volume discounts for larger commitments and allows organizations to exceed their minimum annual commitment on an on-demand basis without penalties. While this flexibility helps growing organizations, costs can increase significantly as infrastructure scales, making budget planning important for expansion.

What level of expertise is required to implement Dynatrace?

Dynatrace is designed for enterprise IT teams and requires moderate to advanced expertise to fully leverage its capabilities, though initial deployment is relatively straightforward thanks to OneAgent’s automatic discovery.

While the platform can begin collecting data within minutes of deployment, maximizing its AI-driven insights, custom dashboards, and advanced alerting typically requires several weeks of learning and configuration.

Dynatrace provides comprehensive training resources through Dynatrace University and offers in-product support to help teams get up to speed.

Can Dynatrace replace multiple monitoring tools?

Yes, Dynatrace is specifically designed to consolidate multiple monitoring functions into a single platform, covering application performance, infrastructure monitoring, network monitoring, real user monitoring, and synthetic testing.

This eliminates data silos and provides correlated insights across the entire technology stack, which is particularly valuable for complex enterprise environments. However, organizations with specialized needs might still require dedicated tools for specific use cases like detailed network flow analysis or specialized database monitoring.

How does Dynatrace compare to other observability platforms?

Dynatrace differentiates itself primarily through its Davis AI engine, which provides automated root cause analysis and intelligent alerting beyond what competitors like New Relic or Datadog typically offer.

It also excels in automatic discovery and dependency mapping, requiring less manual configuration than many alternatives. However, it comes with premium pricing that may exceed competitors, and some users find its comprehensive feature set more complex than needed for simpler monitoring requirements.

Check out the best IT asset management software.



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