Mid Term Take Home Case Analysis

1

Spring 2026 STR3000 – Instructions for the Mid-Term Take-Home Case Analysis The mid-term exam is a take-home case analysis that is worth 20% of your course grade. You will read the case, analyze the case materials, and submit a 5-page written analysis and recommendations. This work is to be done with your STR3000 teammates. Do not discuss the midterm with anyone else. You should download from Canvas (under Midterm Exam) the midterm exam case and the supplemental Excel file. You may not use any other outside resources such as articles, reports, videos, podcast, or interviews about Google or its competitors. Logistics

1.Start: Download from Canvas the case AI Wars in 2025 and the Excel file AI Wars in 2025-unit economics analysis (726851-XLS-ENG).

2.Submission:

Step 1: Create a single Word file containing the write-up and all exhibits.

Step 2: Submit the Word file via Canvas (one submission per team.)

Step 3: Print one hardcopy of the Word document and submit it in class on the due date (one submission per team.) To conserve paper, you may print on both sides of the paper and print two-pages per side.

3.Due Date: March 12 2026. The Word file must be submitted via Canvas before class time onthe due date, and the hardcopy must be submitted in class on the due date.

4.Late: A delay of every 30 minutes will result in your midterm grade being lowered by 25%and a late submission of 90 or more minutes will not be accepted.

Written Analysis

Assume that you have been hired by the board of directors of the case company to help them decide what they should do about the strategic issues facing the company. Your task is to identify the problem to be solved, perform the needed analysis, and provide recommendations.

Your deliverable is a 5-page report communicating your analysis and insights and persuading your client that your recommendations are worth adopting. The first page should be an executive summary to your client that states the strategic issues and the problem to be solved, and highlight your key insights and recommendations. The remaining four pages describe the necessary analyses, and present recommendations and implications.

You should apply the relevant concepts covered in STR3000 to analyze the issue. You are required to use only the materials provided with this exam, and materials from the STR3000 course (textbook and class slides.) You are explicitly prohibited from doing any search for any

2

data or materials on the case, the company, its industry or any of its current or potential competitors. This prohibition explicitly applies any materials obtained from any websites. You should state clearly your assumptions, and what types of data you need in order to verify your assumptions.

Formatting

Include a cover page that contains your STR3000 section number, your team number, and the names of every team member. The cover page does not count towards the page limit.

The first page executive summary is 1.5-spaced. The remaining 4 pages should be double-spaced. Use 12-point Times New Roman font; 1 margins all around.

Exhibits do not count toward the page limit. You may include them in appendices as needed. However, you should be prudent. Only include exhibits that are helpful in conserving space for your writing, non-repetitive, and informative. Extraneous exhibits detract from quality. The most effective exhibits integrate, compare and evaluate diverse pieces of data and link them to the discussion.