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AWS to Revamp Key AI Cloud Service to Close Gap with Google

By Kevin McLaughlin · Jun 12, 2025 6:00am PDT
In March, when Amazon Web Services launched a new division focused on developing artificial intelligence that handles complex tasks, known as agents, CEO Matt Garman said in a memo that the technology could be the cloud provider’s next multibillion-dollar business. But some customers say rival cloud providers such as Google have made it easier... In March, when Amazon Web Services launched a new division focused on developing artificial...
Mark Zuckerberg (left) and Alexandr Wang. Photos via Getty; AP
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Why Meta is Betting Nearly $15 Billion on Alexandr Wang

By Kalley Huang and Cory Weinberg · Jun 11, 2025 6:01pm PDT · 1 comment
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tried to fix a seemingly existential problem in recent months. His company’s large language model, Llama, was falling behind competitors and struggling to perform as well as models from OpenAI, particularly on complex tasks. Increasingly, Zuckerberg turned to an unlikely person for advice: Alexandr Wang,... Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tried to fix a seemingly existential problem in recent...
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OpenAI Has Discussed Raising Money From Saudi Arabia, Indian Investors

By Sri Muppidi · Jun 11, 2025 4:53pm PDT · 1 comment
OpenAI has talked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries and existing shareholder United Arab Emirates’ MGX about investing in the next installment of its $40 billion financing led by SoftBank, according to two people familiar with the fundraise. The investors could put in at least hundreds of millions... OpenAI has talked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Indian conglomerate Reliance...
Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, and Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in May. Screenshot via YouTube.
Saudi Arabia, Looking Homeward in AI Buildout, Taps Cisco and AMD for Cloud Project
By Miles Kruppa · Jun 11, 2025 1:21pm PDT
Tareq Amin, CEO of Humain, and Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in May. Screenshot via YouTube.
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Saudi Arabia, Looking Homeward in AI Buildout, Taps Cisco and AMD for Cloud Project

By Miles Kruppa · Jun 11, 2025 1:21pm PDT
Saudi Arabia is lining up new investors to fund its push to become a major player in artificial intelligence, snagging cash from Cisco Systems and AMD for a cloud project that is central to its efforts to refocus spending on domestic technology. “I’m working really hard to make sure we have a considerable sum of this capital come from external... Saudi Arabia is lining up new investors to fund its push to become a major player in artificial...
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang via Getty
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Nvidia Muscles Into GPU Cloud Market, Rankling New Rivals

By Anissa Gardizy · Jun 11, 2025 6:00am PDT
Nvidia recently debuted a cloud service enabling artificial intelligence developers to rent server chips directly from the chip designer, part of its push into the cloud market dominated by Amazon and Microsoft. In doing so, Nvidia is encroaching on the turf of CoreWeave and dozens of other up-and-coming firms that sell the same type of service.... Nvidia recently debuted a cloud service enabling artificial intelligence developers to rent...
image via Getty
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Salesforce Blocks AI Rivals From Using Slack Data

By Kevin McLaughlin and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jun 10, 2025 6:40pm PDT · 16 comments
Slack, an instant-messaging service popular with businesses, recently blocked other software firms from searching or storing Slack messages even if their customers permit them to do so, according to a public disclosure from Slack’s owner, Salesforce. The move, which hasn’t previously been reported, could hamper fast-growing artificial... Slack, an instant-messaging service popular with businesses, recently blocked other software...
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet. Photo via Getty.
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Google Offers Buyouts to Employees in Search and Ads, Other Units

By Miles Kruppa and Catherine Perloff · Jun 10, 2025 12:14pm PDT · 2 comments
Google is offering voluntary buyouts to employees across several businesses and units, including the knowledge and information organization, which houses the company’s core search and much of the ads organization, a senior executive told staff on Tuesday. The move comes as Google’s search business faces unprecedented threats from ChatGPT and... Google is offering voluntary buyouts to employees across several businesses and units, including...
Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang
Meta to Pay Nearly $15 Billion for Scale AI Stake and Startup’s 28-Year-Old CEO
By Cory Weinberg · Jun 10, 2025 8:08am PDT · 10 comments
Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang
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Meta to Pay Nearly $15 Billion for Scale AI Stake and Startup’s 28-Year-Old CEO

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 10, 2025 8:08am PDT · 10 comments
Meta has agreed to take a 49% stake in data labeling firm Scale AI for $14.8 billion, two people familiar with the matter said. The unusual deal will be structured so Meta will send the cash to Scale’s existing shareholders and place the startup’s CEO, Alexandr Wang, in a top position inside Meta, the people said. The deal, which hasn’t yet been... Meta has agreed to take a 49% stake in data labeling firm Scale AI for $14.8 billion, two people...
President Donald Trump (left), Elon Musk and SEC Chair Paul Atkins. Photos via Getty
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SEC Employees Brace For DOGE Restructuring, AI Push

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan · Jun 10, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
Elon Musk may have parted ways with Washington and President Donald Trump, but employees from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency are moving forward with a plan to restructure the Securities and Exchange Commission and bring artificial intelligence technology into the agency. The reorganization will begin to take shape over the next... Elon Musk may have parted ways with Washington and President Donald Trump, but employees from...
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Chime’s IPO Will Have Big, Big Winners and Serious Losers

By Cory Weinberg and Natasha Mascarenhas · Jun 9, 2025 7:30am PDT
When Chime CEO Chris Britt pitched his company to venture capitalists a decade ago, he got a lot of handshakes and little money. Venture capitalists, he has said, were too rich to understand why low- or no-fee bank accounts would appeal to people living paycheck to paycheck. He said investors would question him: “What’s the problem? I don’t get... When Chime CEO Chris Britt pitched his company to venture capitalists a decade ago, he got a lot...
Frank Sands Jr., founder and CEO of Sands Capital.
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How a Silicon Valley Newcomer Avoided the Meltdown in Startup Valuations

By Sri Muppidi · Jun 8, 2025 11:32am PDT · 5 comments
Dozens of investment funds that bet on mature startups before the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates in early 2022 got creamed. Not Sands Capital, which began investing in public stocks 33 years ago but decided to get into startup investing in 2014. The reason: The firm’s biggest late-stage private tech fund paused making investments in... Dozens of investment funds that bet on mature startups before the Federal Reserve hiked interest...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Nvidia’s Biggest Chinese Rival Huawei Struggles to Win at Home
By Qianer Liu · Jun 5, 2025 6:00am PDT
Art by Mike Sullivan
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Nvidia’s Biggest Chinese Rival Huawei Struggles to Win at Home

By Qianer Liu · Jun 5, 2025 6:00am PDT
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has in the past months repeatedly warned, in both public speeches and closed-door meetings, of intensifying competition from China’s Huawei Technologies in the market for AI chips. In reality, Huawei is having a hard time convincing some of the biggest tech companies in China to use its chips. Chinese tech heavyweights... Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has in the past months repeatedly warned, in both public speeches and...
art via Mike Sullivan
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Amazon Prepares to Test Humanoid Robots for Delivering Packages

By Rocket Drew · Jun 4, 2025 5:40pm PDT
Amazon is developing software for humanoid robots that could eventually take the jobs of delivery workers, according to a person who has been involved in the effort. In doing so, Amazon is paving the way to automate a major part of its operation, the delivery of parcels around the world. Amazon is developing software for humanoid robots that could eventually take the jobs of delivery...
You.com founder and CEO Richard Socher.
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AI Search Startup You.com in Talks to Raise Funds at $1.4 Billion Valuation

By Anissa Gardizy and Miles Kruppa · Jun 4, 2025 12:39pm PDT
You.com, an artificial-intelligence search startup making a push into business software, is in talks with media conglomerate Cox Enterprises to raise funds valuing the company at $1.4 billion, said people familiar with the discussions. The funding would support You.com’s push into selling AI search tools to businesses, after the company’s... You.com, an artificial-intelligence search startup making a push into business software, is in...
Photo via AppLovin
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How AppLovin Scared Google

By Catherine Perloff · Jun 3, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment
In 2023, Google ad executives noticed something alarming about one aspect of their business. Once-red hot revenue growth from selling ads promoting mobile apps, a business worth double-digit billions of dollars for Google, had slowed, a former employee said. When staffers discussed what was going on, they agreed a small ad tech firm called... In 2023, Google ad executives noticed something alarming about one aspect of their business....
From left: Eddie Wu, Jack Ma and Zhou Jingren. Photos by Getty
How Alibaba Helped China Take the Lead From the U.S. in Open-Source AI
By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Jun 2, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
From left: Eddie Wu, Jack Ma and Zhou Jingren. Photos by Getty
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How Alibaba Helped China Take the Lead From the U.S. in Open-Source AI

By Juro Osawa and Qianer Liu · Jun 2, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments
When Alibaba Group’s cloud business unit announced the first generation of artificial intelligence models developed by its own team in 2023, the Chinese tech giant said in a statement that it would integrate the models, known as Qwen, into its various businesses “in the near future.” The reality wasn’t so simple. Each of the company’s six... When Alibaba Group’s cloud business unit announced the first generation of artificial...
Christopher Young, former executive vice president of business development at Microsoft. Photo via Getty.
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Microsoft’s Former Deals Chief to Join AI Roll-Ups Rush

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Aaron Holmes · Jun 1, 2025 10:00am PDT · 3 comments
It’s become one of the most popular private investing strategies of the last year: Firms including General Catalyst, Thrive Capital and 8VC have been investing in startups that buy services businesses such as call center operators, merge them with similar companies, and use artificial intelligence to boost sales and keep costs low. In... It’s become one of the most popular private investing strategies of the last year: Firms...
Art by Mike Sullivan
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VC Funds Are for Sale—at a Discount

By Sri Muppidi · May 29, 2025 6:00am PDT · 3 comments
The year 2025 was supposed to bring a cash windfall to venture capital backers, as companies that had delayed going public finally made the leap. That hasn’t happened. With a roller-coaster stock market delaying many long-anticipated initial public offerings, the limited partners in VC funds have been finding new ways to cash out of their stakes... The year 2025 was supposed to bring a cash windfall to venture capital backers, as companies that...
Art by Clark Miller; Musk and Cook images via Getty.
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Apple’s Satellite Ambitions Threatened by Elon Musk, Internal Resistance

By Aaron Tilley and Wayne Ma · May 27, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment
Three years ago, Elon Musk approached Apple with an eleventh-hour offer. Musk had heard that Apple was about to announce a feature for the upcoming iPhone 14 in partnership with satellite firm Globalstar that would allow iPhones to send text messages to emergency services in areas without cellular reception. He wanted Apple to instead use... Three years ago, Elon Musk approached Apple with an eleventh-hour offer. Musk had heard that ...
Art by Clark Miller.
Deel Bolsters Governance as It Fights Spying Claims
By Michael Roddan · May 25, 2025 7:00am PDT
Art by Clark Miller.
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Deel Bolsters Governance as It Fights Spying Claims

By Michael Roddan · May 25, 2025 7:00am PDT
Global payroll startup Deel is bolstering its governance and ending some of its unusual practices as it fights accusations in a lawsuit that its CEO and board chair recruited and paid a corporate spy at its archrival, Rippling. Deel is moving its official corporate headquarters from its current location: a two-bedroom apartment in a San... Global payroll startup Deel is bolstering its governance and ending some of its unusual practices...