Consolidation in the video game industry isn’t over: Electronic Arts is reportedly looking for a buyer or to merge with another media firm.

Gaming’s labor problem could affect its brand opportunities: The industry is experiencing rapid consolidation, but workers are pushing back.

Cloud consolidation continues with Akamai’s $900M acquisition of Linode: Can compressing cloud behemoths become unmanageable?

Sony to buy Bungie for $3.6B in latest gaming mega-deal: Acquisition looks to be a long-term play to secure future exclusives, but consolidation could stifle future innovation.

The instant grocery delivery market is headed toward consolidation: The extremely high cost of 15-minute delivery in the US has startups built on the promise pivoting to longer delivery times and other services.

PC games are serious business: Sony is bullish on PC game sales, revealing in its latest financial forecast that it expects to earn $300 million from them in the next fiscal year, a 375% YoY jump, which could explain the aggressive acquisition and consolidation trend in the gaming segment. Sony is bringing various PlayStation exclusives to the PC in the next nine months.

Dying private practices get a lifeline: PatientPop and Kareo are merging to forman all-in-one platform to help practices grow, optimize revenues, and keep up with innovation—something that could save struggling practices and even facilitate consolidation.

Over at Google, growth is coming after consolidation. In January 2020, Google Play Music sat at No. 6, used most often by just 7% of US digital audio listeners 12 and older. The following year, after the service was shut down and replaced with YouTube Music, the two platforms together ascended to the No. 3 spot with 14%.

Market fragmentation will give way to consolidation. The number of intermediaries working to solve the identity conundrum is not sustainable. The market is fragmented, and that fragmentation will inevitably lead to a cycle of consolidation. Solutions that are compatible across platforms are the closest substitute for traditional ad IDs.

In fact, last year, Aledade’s CEO Farzad Mostashari, MD told Insider Intelligence that physician practice “consolidation does not improve coordination, it does not improve patient experience, and it certainly doesn't increase patient choice.

Despite the economic downturn, a consolidation trend continues in various technology segments: Microsoft’s $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard is its largest acquisition to date. Broadcom’s $61 billion acquisition of VMware points to expansion into emerging cloud and IoT segments.

Bargain hunter: Nubank CEO and founder David Vélez told the FT that he thought there would “probably be some consolidation” of fintechs in the region which would provide opportunities for acquisitive growth. Vélez said that some of the acquisitions Nubank considered one year ago are “coming back at a 70% discount” and that the bank was “looking to do more M&A.”.

But bank consolidation and branch closures make it hard for rural customers to maintain in-person banking relationships. Rural communities tend to depend on community banks and credit unions. But institutions with less than $1 billion in assets fell from 17,514 to 4,116 during that same period, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Since consolidation allows health systems to gain a larger share of the consumer market, health systems can then demand higher payments from insurers. Those costs can then be passed down to patients in the form of higher premiums or out-of-pocket costs. Studies have shown that the price of healthcare services increases for consumers after health system/hospital M&As.

Consequently, there will be market consolidation for stablecoins and the players that issue them. Broader crypto protections will be enacted. Short-term regulation will spark a broader crypto market reckoning and has the potential to mitigate its remaining pain points:.

Consolidation of power: Zuckerberg has repeatedly been summoned to appear before Congress since 2018 to discuss misinformation and other issues, thrusting the formerly introverted, antisocial CEO into the spotlight instead of Sandberg.

Discovery’s strategy succeeds, it could inspire other media entities to make acquisitions and increase industry consolidation. There’s evidence this is taking place already, with TelevisaUnivision resulting from such a merger and combining its streaming services.

The result has been a consolidation in the number of rapid grocery players, as smaller startups like Fridge No More and Buyk shut down due to lack of funding. Even established startups are rethinking their approach to the industry: Insider reported that Gorillas, the Berlin-based rapid grocery service valued at around $3 billion, has discussed a merger with competitor Jokr as it seeks more funding.

Consolidation of the market for specific demographics should allow TelevisaUnivision to charge more for ads. Hispanic DEI: At last week’s IAB NewFronts, presentations focused on content for diverse audiences. Canela.TV’s upcoming content includes a docuseries on a perilous immigrant trip to the US to a reality dating show in which the "abuela" (grandmother) chooses her grandchild's mate.

In the longer term, Biden's executive order regarding consolidation could be a signal that the executive branch may eventually take a look at credit union acquisitions of banks.

But gridlock in the Senate could prevent the bill from passing, dealing another blow to the government’s ability to block consolidation. Despite increased scrutiny of large mergers and Big Tech in the last year, the US government has been slow to take concrete action.

Consolidation among solution providers is expected to continue. First-party data has become more important than ever, and companies with access to customer data will focus on activities such as audience segmentation, targeting, measurement, and attribution.