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☆ Amazon Reports $143.3 Billion in Revenue for First Quarter of 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Amazon reported its highest first-quarter profit on Tuesday as it continued to wring efficiencies out of its retail business and recharge growth in its cloud computing operations. The company was also for the first time on track to have $100 billion in annual cloud computing sales. The company had $143.3 billion in revenue in the first three months of the year, up 13 percent from a year earlier. Profit more than tripled, to $10.4 billion. “It was a good start to the year across the business, and you can see that in both our customer experience improvements and financial results,” Andy Jassy, Amazon’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Persons: ” Andy Jassy Organizations: Amazon

Since mid-March, the financial pressure on several signature artificial intelligence start-ups has taken a toll. Inflection AI, which raised $1.5 billion but made almost no money, has folded its original business. Stability AI has laid off employees and parted ways with its chief executive. And Anthropic has raced to close the roughly $1.8 billion gap between its modest sales and enormous expenses. “You can already see the writing on the wall,” said Ali Ghodsi, chief executive of Databricks, a data warehouse and analysis company that works with A.I.

Persons: Anthropic, ”, Ali Ghodsi Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Meta, A.I Locations: Silicon Valley

☆ In Race to Build A.I., Tech Plans a Big Plumbing Upgrade
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If 2023 was the tech industry’s year of the A.I. It may not sound as exciting, but tens of billions of dollars are quickly being spent on behind-the-scenes technology for the industry’s A.I. Companies from Amazon to Meta are revamping their data centers to support artificial intelligence. They are investing in huge new facilities, while even places like Saudi Arabia are racing to build supercomputers to handle A.I. has become a story about building a massive technology infrastructure, Meta said on Wednesday that it needed to spend billions more on the chips and data centers for A.I.

Persons: Meta Organizations: Amazon, Microsoft, Meta Locations: chatbot, Saudi Arabia

☆ Microsoft Reports Rising Revenues as A.I. Investments Bear Fruit
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Karen Weise | More About Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Profit hit $21.9 billion, up from $18.3 billion. A year after Microsoft began its push to put A.I. into everything it does, the company said sales of its flagship cloud computing product, Azure, had grown 31 percent. push has helped it gain market share from Amazon, the leading cloud services provider. In January, the company said 53,000 customers were using its cloud A.I.

Persons: Microsoft’s Organizations: Microsoft, Revenue, Amazon

☆ Microsoft Makes a New Push Into Smaller A.I. Systems
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Karen Weise | Cade Metz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

systems, the tech industry’s mantra has been bigger is better, no matter the price tag. Now tech companies are starting to embrace smaller A.I. On Tuesday, Microsoft introduced three smaller A.I. The smallest Phi-3 model can fit on a smartphone, so it can be used even if it’s not connected to the internet. And it can run on the kinds of chips that power regular computers, rather than more expensive processors made by Nvidia.

Organizations: Microsoft, Phi, Nvidia

Microsoft filed a motion in federal court on Monday that seeks to dismiss parts of a lawsuit brought by The New York Times Company. The Times sued Microsoft and its partner OpenAI on Dec. 27, accusing the two companies of infringing on its copyrights by using its articles to train A.I. In its motion, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Microsoft argued that large language models, or L.L.M.s — the technologies that drive chatbots — did not supplant the market for news articles and other materials they were trained on. The tech giant compared L.L.M.s to videocassette recorders, arguing that both are allowed under the law. than it was to the VCR (or the player piano, copy machine, personal computer, internet or search engine),” the motion read.

Persons: OpenAI Organizations: Microsoft, The New York Times Company, The Times, Southern, of Locations: U.S, of New York

☆ Why Elon Musk’s OpenAI Lawsuit Leans on A.I. Research From Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Karen Weise | Cade Metz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When Elon Musk sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, for breach of contract on Thursday, he turned claims by the start-up’s closest partner, Microsoft, into a weapon. He repeatedly cited a contentious but highly influential paper written by researchers and top executives at Microsoft about the power of GPT-4, the breakthrough artificial intelligence system OpenAI released last March. In the “Sparks of A.G.I.” paper, Microsoft’s research lab said that — though it didn’t understand how — GPT-4 had shown “sparks” of “artificial general intelligence,” or A.G.I., a machine that can do everything the human brain can do. It was a bold claim, and came as the biggest tech companies in the world were racing to introduce A.I. into their own products.

Persons: Elon Musk, OpenAI, Sam Altman Organizations: Microsoft Locations: A.G.I

☆ Hackers for China, Russia and Others Used OpenAI Systems, Report Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Hackers working for nation-states have used OpenAI’s systems in the creation of their cyberattacks, according to research released Wednesday by OpenAI and Microsoft. The companies believe their research, published on their websites, documents for the first time how hackers with ties to foreign governments are using generative artificial intelligence in their attacks. But instead of using A.I. to generate exotic attacks, as some in the tech industry feared, the hackers have used it in mundane ways, like drafting emails, translating documents and debugging computer code, the companies said. “They’re just using it like everyone else is, to try to be more productive in what they’re doing,” said Tom Burt, who oversees Microsoft’s efforts to track and disrupt major cyberattacks.

Persons: “, ”, Tom Burt Organizations: OpenAI, Microsoft

☆ Two Big Texas Oil Producers Announce $26 Billion Merger
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two large Texas oil producers are joining forces in a deal valued at $26 billion, the latest in a wave of consolidation in the U.S. energy industry. Diamondback Energy and Endeavor Energy Resources, both major players in the booming Permian Basin oil field that straddles New Mexico and Texas, announced on Monday that they would merge in a cash-and-stock deal, with Diamondback’s shareholders owning about 60 percent of the combined company. The Permian Basin was once seen as a worn-out patch. The basin has been transformed into the most productive oil and gas field in the United States. “With this combination, Diamondback not only gets bigger, it gets better,” Travis Stice, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Persons: ” Travis Stice, Diamondback’s Organizations: Diamondback Energy, Endeavor Energy Resources Locations: Texas, U.S, New Mexico, United States

☆ Microsoft Reports 33% Rise in Profit
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Karen Weise | More About Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two weeks ago, Microsoft topped Apple as the most valuable public company. Microsoft has told investors that A.I. On Tuesday, Microsoft gave signs that it is finding a path, as it posted revenue and profits that beat Wall Street expectations. Revenue was $62 billion in the three months that ended in December, up 18 percent from a year earlier. Profit hit $21.9 billion, up 33 percent.

Persons: Satya Nadella Organizations: Microsoft, Apple Locations: OpenAI

Soon after, an Amazon executive sent a private message to an executive at another company. He said Anthropic had won the deal because it agreed to build its A.I. Amazon, he wrote, wanted to create a viable competitor to the chipmaker Nvidia, a key partner and kingmaker in the all-important field of artificial intelligence. over the last year exposed just how dependent big tech companies had become on Nvidia. They have spent billions of dollars on Nvidia’s systems, and the chipmaker has not kept up with the demand.

Persons: Amazon, Anthropic Organizations: Amazon, Nvidia Locations: Anthropic, San Francisco

☆ Microsoft Tops Apple to Become Most Valuable Public Company
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-12 | by ( Tripp Mickle | Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For more than a decade, Apple was the stock market’s undisputed king. It first overtook Exxon Mobil as the world’s most valuable public company in 2011 and held the title almost without interruption. On Friday, Microsoft surpassed Apple, claiming the crown after its market value surged by more than $1 trillion over the past year. The change is part of a reordering of the stock market that was set in motion by the advent of generative artificial intelligence. The values of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Google dwarfed former market leaders like Walmart, JPMorgan Chase and General Motors.

Persons: Apple, JPMorgan Chase Organizations: Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, Apple, Bloomberg, Exxon, Facebook, Google, Walmart, JPMorgan, General Motors

At 1 p.m. on a Friday shortly before Christmas last year, Kent Walker, Google’s top lawyer, summoned four of his employees and ruined their weekend. The group worked in SL1001, a bland building with a blue glass facade betraying no sign that dozens of lawyers inside were toiling to protect the interests of one of the world’s most influential companies. For weeks they had been prepping for a meeting of powerful executives to discuss the safety of Google’s products. The deck was done. But that afternoon Mr. Walker told his team the agenda had changed, and they would have to spend the next few days preparing new slides and graphs.

Persons: Kent Walker, Google’s, Walker Locations: SL1001

Page, hampered for more than a decade by an unusual ailment in his vocal cords, described his vision of a digital utopia in a whisper. If that happens, Mr. Musk said, we’re doomed. Finally he called Mr. Musk a “specieist,” a person who favors humans over the digital life-forms of the future. That debate has pitted some of the world’s richest men against one another: Mr. Musk, Mr. Page, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, the tech investor Peter Thiel, Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Sam Altman of OpenAI.

Persons: Page, Musk, we’re, ”, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, OpenAI Organizations: Valley, Meta, Microsoft Locations: Silicon

☆ Amazon Introduces Q, an A.I. Chatbot for Companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Karen Weise | More About Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Amazon was quieter about its A.I. Amazon also introduced a platform this year that allows customers to have access to different A.I. As the leading provider of cloud computing, Amazon already has business customers storing vast amounts of information on its cloud servers. In response, Amazon built Q to be more secure and private than a consumer chatbot, Mr. Selipsky said. Amazon Q, for example, can have the same security permissions that business customers have already set up for their users.

Persons: Selipsky, “, ” Organizations: Companies Locations: Anthropic

More board members, who could be plucked from OpenAI’s biggest investor, Microsoft, and the A.I. Mr. Altman was not named to the board on Tuesday night, and it was not clear if he ever will be. But some already argue that it will not be as attuned to OpenAI’s original mission to create A.I. The tech industry — perhaps even the world — will be watching to see if OpenAI is any closer to balancing those dueling aspirations than it was a week ago. “This needs to be a trustworthy organization that’s aligned with its board, and at the end of it all, OpenAI is a more valuable organization than it was a week ago.”

Persons: Altman, ”, Aaron Levie Organizations: Microsoft

Sam Altman was reinstated late Tuesday as OpenAI’s chief executive, the company said, successfully reversing his ouster by the company’s board last week after a campaign waged by his allies, employees and investors. The board of directors will be overhauled, jettisoning several members who had opposed Mr. Altman. Adam D’Angelo, the chief executive of Quora, will be the only holdover. “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo,” OpenAI said in a post to X. “We are collaborating to figure out the details.

Persons: Sam Altman, Altman, Adam D’Angelo, Sam, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, ” OpenAI, Greg Brockman, upended Organizations: Quora

For much of the past year, OpenAI’s board of directors has been criticized as too small and too divided to effectively govern one of the fastest-growing start-ups in Silicon Valley history. On Friday, the board’s dysfunction spilled into public view when four of its members fired Sam Altman, OpenAI’s popular and powerful chief executive. Mr. Altman, 38, returned to the company on Tuesday night, after days of haggling over his job and over the makeup of the board. The board and Mr. Altman’s allies discussed more than a half dozen options for its future. The departing board wanted to be sure the replacements would be independent thinkers and experienced enough to stand up to Mr. Altman.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI’s, Altman, Altman’s, Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs, Brian Chesky Organizations: Emerson Locations: Silicon Valley

☆ How Microsoft’s Satya Nadella Kept the ‘Best Bromance in Tech’ Alive
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just two weeks ago, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella stood onstage next to OpenAI’s Sam Altman at the start-up’s conference in a former concert hall in San Francisco. Both wore black jeans, Mr. Altman in an army-green shirt and Mr. Nadella in navy casual. “We love you guys!” Mr. Nadella said as he turned to Mr. Altman. “Awwww,” Mr. Altman responded. And what could have been an embarrassing moment for Mr. Nadella and his company has turned into a display of corporate muscle flexing that has stunned industry insiders.

Persons: Satya Nadella, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Altman, Nadella, “, Mr, OpenAI Organizations: Microsoft Locations: San Francisco, OpenAI

☆ Amazon Revenue Jumps as Consumer and Business Spending Improves
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Amazon reported solid quarterly sales on Thursday, showing that corporations and consumers are spending as inflation has eased. The company posted $143.1 billion in revenue for the third quarter, up 13 percent from a year earlier. The results beat analysts’ expectations and surpassed Amazon’s own forecast. The fourth quarter is typically Amazon’s biggest, a period that includes Christmas shopping and an October deals event. Investors have been keenly focused on the performance of Amazon’s cloud computing business, which is critical to Amazon because it produces a majority of the company’s profits.

☆ Cloud Growth Powers Microsoft Above Expectations
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Karen Weise | More About Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The results also showed early signs that the company’s investments in generative artificial intelligence were beginning to bolster sales, most notably reversing what had been slowing growth of the company’s important cloud computing product. The company had $56.5 billion in sales in the three months that ended in September, up 13 percent from a year earlier. wouldn’t start producing meaningful results until after the start of 2024, when more products become widely available. The company and its competitors are racing to put generative A.I. provider, thanks to its partnership with — and $13 billion investment in — the start-up OpenAI, which introduced the chatbot ChatGPT almost a year ago.

Organizations: Microsoft, —

☆ For Amazon’s Andy Jassy, a Cleanup Job Just Got a Lot Bigger
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Karen Weise | More About Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the two years since Andy Jassy replaced Jeff Bezos as Amazon’s chief executive, he has been cleaning up after his company’s aggressive pandemic expansion and after Mr. Bezos. Mr. Jassy has reined in Amazon’s voracious warehouse growth, culled from the company’s sprawl of products and laid off thousands of employees on several of Mr. Bezos’ pet projects. The suit focused on parts of the business that took off before Mr. Jassy gained control over the retail division. The redacted complaint mentions Mr. Bezos 16 times, and Mr. Jassy only twice. Mr. Jassy joins other big tech chief executives who have taken control of enormous businesses from idiosyncratic founders at difficult moments.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos, Bezos, Jassy, ”, Sucharita Kodali Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Street, Forrester Research Locations: Washington

☆ Microsoft Revenue Up 8% to $56.2 Billion in Latest Quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Karen Weise | More About Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft reported record sales and profits on Tuesday, as it shook off recession fears and began reaping the benefits of its investments in generative artificial intelligence. The company had $56.2 billion in sales in the three months that ended in June, up 8 percent from a year earlier. The profits beat Microsoft’s previous record of $18.8 billion, in December 2021, even as capital expenses grew to $10.7 billion, which included costs to build out data centers and buy expensive chips necessary for developing cutting-edge A.I. Investors have rallied behind Microsoft in recent months as the company has unveiled generative A.I. features across its products, including integrating a chatbot into its Bing search engine and adding an A.I.

Organizations: Microsoft, Investors

☆ Microsoft and Activision Delay Deal to Settle British Regulatory Issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Karen Weise | More About Karen Weise | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard said on Wednesday that they were delaying a $69 billion merger as the two companies scrambled to get final approval from British antitrust regulators. The new extension, set for Oct. 18, signals that the two companies believe they will complete the deal but need more time to satisfy regulators’ concerns. When Microsoft announced its plans to acquire the video game publisher Activision in early 2022, the two companies set a deadline of July 18 this year to close the deal. The revised agreement introduced an escalating breakup fee that Microsoft would have to pay to Activision if the purchase fell through, from $3 billion until Aug. 29, then growing to as much as $4.5 billion if it does not close by Sept. 15. “We are confident about our prospects for getting this deal across the finish line,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, wrote on Twitter.

Persons: Activision Blizzard, Brad Smith Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Twitter

☆ When A.I. Chatbots Hallucinate
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Karen Weise | Cade Metz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Chatbots like ChatGPT are used by hundreds of millions of people for an increasingly wide array of tasks, including email services, online tutors and search engines. But there is no way of ensuring that these systems produce information that is accurate. The technology, called generative A.I., relies on a complex algorithm that analyzes the way humans put words together on the internet. The tech industry often refers to the inaccuracies as “hallucinations.” But to some researchers, “hallucinations” is too much of a euphemism. Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing chatbots both repeatedly provided inaccurate answers to the same question.

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