DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Embattled AI firm Appen loses more executives, months after Alphabet cut ties
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-22 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Appen, the embattled artificial intelligence firm that once helped train AI models for tech giants including Microsoft , Nvidia and Google , has lost its executives in charge of revenue and marketing. The departures follow Alphabet 's announcement in January that it was cutting all contractual ties with Appen, which once helped train Google's chatbot and other AI products. Two weeks after that decision, Appen CEO Armughan Ahmad left after just 12 months on the job. After a "strategic review process," Alphabet notified Appen in January of the termination, which went into effect March 19, according to a filing from Appen. Companies are spending far more on processors from Nvidia and less on external AI training from companies like Appen.

Persons: Andrew Ettinger, Alicia Hale, Ryan Kolln, Google's, Armughan Ahmad, Appen's, Kolln, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Appen didn't Organizations: Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, CNBC, Apple, Amazon, Appen, Australian Securities Exchange Locations: Australian

☆ Alphabet cuts ties with Australian AI firm that helped train Bard and Google Search
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai departs federal court on October 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. Appen, based in Australia, has helped train AI models for a star-studded list of tech behemoths. Five customers — Microsoft , Apple , Meta , Google and Amazon — have in the past accounted for 80% of Appen's revenue. Alphabet accounted for roughly one-third of Appen's revenue, meaning the decision to end the relationship will impact "at least two thousand subcontracted Alphabet workers," according to a statement Monday from the Alphabet Workers Union. Alphabet has cut contractual ties with Appen , the artificial intelligence data firm that helped train Google's chatbot Bard, Google Search results and other AI products.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Appen, Bard, Appen's, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Bard, didn't, Bard chatbot Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet Workers, Appen, Revenue, Australian Securities Exchange, CNBC, Adobe, Nvidia, U.S . National Labor Relations Board Locations: Washington ,, Australia

☆ The generative AI boom should have been Appen's time to shine. Here's what went wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

For Appen, that would mean finding specialists in particular types of information that can bolster generative AI systems. Even before the generative AI transition, wages for Appen's data labelers were a sticking point. Kim Stagg, Appen's vice president of product, said the work required for generative AI services was different than what the company has needed in the past. "With generative AI, we see a different demand." The company's plunging stock price suggests that investors don't see the company's business offerings transferring to the generative AI space.

Persons: Jonathan Raa, Mike Monegan, he'd, Appen, it's, Armughan Ahmad, Mark Brayan, Ahmad, Monegan, he's, Appen's, Helen Johnson, Fab Dolan, Sujatha Sagiraju, Elena Sagunova, Jen Cole, Jukka Korpi, Still, OpenAI's, Google's Bard, didn't, Bard chatbot, Ed Stackhouse, raters, Erik Vogt, Vogt, hadn't, Kim Stagg, we've, Stagg, Lisa Braden, Harder, Canaccord Organizations: Nurphoto, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, Nvidia, Revenue, CNBC, Australian Securities Exchange, Adobe, U.S . National Labor Relations Board Locations: Seattle, Europe, Middle East, Africa

Search resuls for: "Appen didn't"

3 mentions found