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• Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2017 (Revised August 2018)

  HTC and Virtual Reality

  David B. Yoffie, Andy Wu and Allison M. Ciechanover

  In fall 2017, HTC CEO and Chairperson Cher Wang was driving the company to focus on virtual reality (VR). HTC's first VR product, VIVE, released in spring 2016, was applauded for its superior immersive room-scale capabilities. However, early adoption of VR beyond gamers and technology enthusiasts was off to a slower start in general due to high cost, lack of quality content, and some user discomfort while using the technology. Wang endeavors to be the leading VR company, though competition from Sony, Facebook, and other technology leaders is mounting, and several, like HTC, are already pursuing second generation tetherless VR technology. As Wang seeks to develop the ecosystem by partnering with developers, creating a content platform, investing in VR startups, and launching VR arcades, she must decide the appropriate balance of fostering innovation in hardware, software and services, or both.

  Keywords: Virtual reality; strategy; competition; technology; Strategy; Competition; Innovation and Management; Technology Industry;

  Citation:

  Yoffie, David B., Andy Wu, and Allison M. Ciechanover. "HTC and Virtual Reality." Harvard Business School Case 718-421, October 2017. (Revised August 2018.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2017 (Revised July 2018)

  CyberArk: Protecting the Keys to the IT Kingdom

  Raffaella Sadun, David Yoffie and Margot Eiran

  CyberArk was the recognized leader in the Privileged Account Management (PAM) space, a cybersecurity subsegment it had essentially created to secure organizations’ IT systems and sensitive data. Over 17 years, the Israeli company had grown to a market capitalization of over $1.6 billion, with sales exceeding $217 million and 900 global employees with a strong corporate culture. In May 2017, Udi Mokady, founder, chairman, and CEO, debated how best to drive growth. He mulled over whether he should stay the course and remain focused on providing best-of-breed PAM for enterprises, both on-premise and in the cloud, or expand into new markets. Cyber threats were on the rise, which afforded numerous growth opportunities such as entering the broader identity management space, creating new products to protect critical infrastructure, and securing the burgeoning world of the Internet of Things (IoT). This case explores the company's competitive position, the challenges of sustaining its advantages in a highly competitive and consolidating industry, and whether it should pursue organic or inorganic growth, while maintaining company culture.

  Keywords: Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Israel; United States;

  Citation:

  Sadun, Raffaella, David Yoffie, and Margot Eiran. "CyberArk: Protecting the Keys to the IT Kingdom." Harvard Business School Case 718-418, September 2017. (Revised July 2018.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2016 (Revised July 2018)

  Numenta: Inventing and (or) Commercializing AI

  David B. Yoffie, Liz Kind and David Ben Shimol

  In March 2016, Donna Dubinsky (co-founder and CEO) and Jeff Hawkins (co-founder) were struggling with a key question: Could Numenta be successful in both creating fundamental technology and building a commercial business? Located in Redwood City, CA, Numenta was founded in 2005 to expand Hawkins' research on the human brain, with the goal of "reverse engineering the neocortex" and then creating machines based on biological principals. Ultimately, Hawkins believed that Numenta could be a catalyst in creating intelligent machines that would lay the foundation for the next generation of computing with potentially broad ranging commercial opportunities.

  Keywords: artificial intelligence; machine intelligence; Machine learning; strategy; technological innovation; Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Information; Technological Innovation; Research; Research and Development; Technology; Software; Technology Adoption; Technology Platform; Commercialization;

  Citation:

  Yoffie, David B., Liz Kind, and David Ben Shimol. "Numenta: Inventing and (or) Commercializing AI." Harvard Business School Case 716-469, June 2016. (Revised July 2018.)  View Details

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