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☆ The fabulous life of Michael Dell, the $108 billion tech icon betting big on AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Julie Bort | Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Michael Dell is one of the world's wealthiest people, with a net worth of more than $100 billion. The Dell Technologies founder made his fortune by democratizing the PC and striking shrewd deals. Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Go to newsletter preferences Thanks for signing up! AdvertisementMichael Dell, the tech entrepreneur who helped bring the personal computer to the masses, ranks among the world's wealthiest people with a net worth of $108 billion, per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Persons: Michael Dell, —, Dell Organizations: Dell Technologies, Service, Bloomberg, Fortune, Business

AbridgeAbridge CEO Dr. Shiv Rao. AbridgeHQ: PittsburghTotal raised: $62.5 millionWhat it does: The medical scribe startup uses large language models to document patient-doctor interactions in electronic medical records. What makes it promising: Easing administrative burdens for providers is top of mind for investors as growing burnout drives more clinicians out of the healthcare field. Abridge is using AI to tackle one of the most time-consuming, burnout-inducing processes in healthcare — clinical documentation.

Persons: Abridge, Shiv Rao Organizations: Abridge, Pittsburgh

☆ Today's GenAI models are cost and energy pigs. Quantum tech could fix that.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Zapata, a startup spun out of Harvard, uses quantum physics math to train GenAI models with less data. AI models must be regularly fed. AI models also require hefty, energy-consuming GPU chips. Since founding that year, Zapata has 18 patents and patents pending on its AI tech, it says. And quantum tech could be among the alternatives.

Persons: Zapata, Andretti, —, Guido Appenzeller, Christopher Savoie, Mario, Michael Andretti's SPAC, it's, GenAI Zapata, OpenAI, hasn't Organizations: Andretti Racing, Service, America, Intel's Data, CNBC, Nvidia, Andretti Global, Andretti, Corp, Zapata, BMW, Computer, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Comcast Ventures, Ventures, Bloomberg Locations: Harvard, Zapata, Savoie

☆ Zero knowledge proofs could 'fix the Internet' and make us all trust each other again, former Merck CIO says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read preview"I think we're at the cusp of changing the world," investor Clark Golestani said of a technology called Zero Knowledge Proofs. Golestani spent 24 years as a chief information officer at pharma giant Merck, before becoming a venture investor five years ago. He's an investor and board member of a startup named Toposware that hopes to embed ZKP security into its customers' everyday internet usage. It's a tech that Andreessen Horowitz crypto investor Michael Blau recently compared to a magician's trick. Toposware is developing a cloud service, a so-called "settlement layer" where companies can add its ZKP service to their networks.

Persons: —, Clark Golestani, Golestani, Theo Gauthier —, Taher Elgamal, Andreessen Horowitz, Michael Blau, Blau, Toposware, Gauthier Organizations: Service, pharma, Merck, Netscape Communications, Business, Stanford, CEA, French Atomic Energy Commission Locations: Toposware, Europe, United States

☆ The top 10 people in artificial-intelligence healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-01 | by ( Julie Bort | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Read previewNEW LOOKGoing forward, AI could become a crucial part of the healthcare industry. Many hospitals and pharmaceutical companies hope AI can fix key problems in medicine, particularly with productivity. Big Tech companies have also been making moves in healthcare and AI. Microsoft, a major investor in OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, bought the healthcare company Nuance for $20 billion in 2022.Insider identified the top 100 people who make AI intelligent. Here are our picks for healthcare.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Business, Big Tech, Microsoft Locations: OpenAI

☆ Some Microsoft employees fume over the company's open offer to hire hundreds of OpenAI staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

When Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott said the company would hire hundreds of OpenAI employees and match their current compensation, some Microsoft workers were furious. For existing Microsoft workers, 2023 was a year in which they feared for their jobs and their pay. In an open letter, nearly all of OpenAI's workforce said "Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees." Scott confirmed the offer in a post on X, writing that all OpenAI employees had "a role at Microsoft" and that the software giant would match their OpenAI compensation. However, the damage to morale among some Microsoft employees has already been done.

Persons: Kevin Scott, Satya Nadella, OpenAI, Sam Altman, Nadella, he'd, Altman, Greg Brockman, Scott Organizations: Microsoft, Business

☆ Sam Altman's return to OpenAI doesn't necessarily mean a return to normalcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . In today's big story, we're looking at Sam Altman returning to the helm of OpenAI. Less than five days after his shocking ouster, Sam Altman is set to return to OpenAI as its CEO. Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella, a key figure in the past few days' drama, comes out a winner. By helping to reinstall Altman at OpenAI, he stabilizes a key piece of Microsoft's AI strategy.

Persons: —, NASA's James Webb, Sam Altman, JACK GUEZ, OpenAI, Altman, we're, Bret Taylor, Larry Summers, Taylor, Adam D'Angelo, Greg Brockman, OpenAI's confounder, They've, Tim Paradis, Satya Nadella, Kevin Scott, Insider's Ashley Stewart, Julie Bort, Darrin Zammit Lupi, Patrick T, Fallon Rivian, Elon Musk's, Jack Dorsey, Amr Bo Shanab, Madison, they're, Vladimir Putin, Billie Jean King, Jamie Lee Curtis, Scarlett Johansson, Hailey Bieber, John Deere, LongeviQuest's Ben Meyers, Yumi Yamamoto, Fabrizio Villatoro, Jack SteerLo, Fusa Tatsumi, they've, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, Getty, Silicon, Business, Microsoft, REUTERS, Elon, Madison Ave Locations: OpenAI, AFP, OpenAI's, India, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ Chaos at OpenAI ensues
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

In today's big story, we're looking at the continued fallout from the shocking Sam Altman ouster at OpenAI. Altman is alive and well, but his run as CEO of OpenAI ended abruptly on Friday. But in the days since his firing, he's escaped a messy weekend looking like the ultimate hero, Business Insider's Katie Notopoulos writes. To be fair, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI CEO Emmett Shear don't seem to know why either. Meanwhile, Salesforce's Marc Benioff is already actively recruiting OpenAI employees on X.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, Altman, OpenAI, he's, Katie Notopoulos, Altman isn't, Ilya Sutskever —, Sutskever, Kali Hays, Satya Nadella, Emmett Shear, Satya Nadella Stephen Brashear, Julie Bort, Microsoft's Nadella, Nadella, that's, Madeline Renbarger, That's, It's, Kali, Ashley Stewart, Salesforce's Marc Benioff, Scott Olson, Bridgewater's, Greg Jensen, Jim Chanos, Elon, New York Jefferson Siegel, Nvidia's, Jensen Huang, execs, Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Arantza Pena Popo, Camila Téllez, Melkorka, Téllez, Carly Rae Jepsen, Björk, Colleen Ballinger, Clinton, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Getty, BlackRock, Reuters, Nvidia, Elon, HP, Nordstrom, Clinton Lee Locations: OpenAI, Silicon Valley, Bridgewater, New York, Texas, Millennials, New York City, San Diego, London

☆ The biggest potential loser of the OpenAI fiasco wasn't Sam Altman. It was Satya Nadella.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementIf Sam Altman can't be convinced to return to OpenAI, Microsoft is in trouble. All of which means that the biggest loser if Altman can't be convinced to return isn't Altman. This OpenAI board is way over its head and the failed coup is now backfiring," investor Dan Ives, an analyst at Webush, told Business Insider. OpenAI only gave Microsoft a few minutes advance warning before announcing Altman's ouster, sources told Business Insider. Earlier this month the company made over 100 announcements of integrations with OpenAI tech across Microsoft's AI tools, AI models, tools in its cloud, the company told Business Insider.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Webush's Dan Ives, —, VCs, Vinod Khosla, Greg Brockman, Altman wasn't, isn't Altman, Satya Nadella, Sam, Dan Ives, Brockman, Mira Murati, he's, Ives, ChatGPT Organizations: Microsoft, Service, Khosla Ventures, Chiefs, Nadella, Business, OpenAI, Google Locations: @OpenAI, Mira, Silicon Valley, OpenAI

☆ WeWork bankruptcy: One of the biggest startup failures of all time, and venture capitalists haven't learned a thing.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

WeWork, backed by Softbank and other top VC firms, was once worth $47 billion. AdvertisementAdvertisementWeWork just isn't working anymore, and the venture capitalists who backed the company when it was a high-flying startup haven't learned a thing from its disaster. When a $47 billion startup shrivels so drastically, who gets hurt? Then there's Neumann, who owned over 68 million shares of common stock and virtually all its Class C stock — nearly 20 million shares — earlier this year. Staggering as it might seem to blow away nearly $47 billion dollars, with those kinds of repercussions, WeWork isn't a warning for most of the venture capital community.

Persons: Softbank, haven't, —, WeWork's, Adam Neumann, WeWork, Vivek Ranadivé, Fitch, there's Neumann, speck, Neumann, Andreessen Horowitz Organizations: Venture, Service, Street Journal, New York Stock Exchange, BowX, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, CNBC, Reuters, SEC, Insight Partners, Benchmark Locations: Sacramento, It's

☆ Israeli tech social media star: I'm working 20 hours a day fighting lies about Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

He explains how his job, and the Israeli tech ecosystem, has been altered by the Israel-Hamas war. We all are going to mourn and I'm going to mourn, but I don't know that now is the time for me to mourn. Today, the entire Israeli tech ecosystem is mobilizing to help soldiers and families. AdvertisementAdvertisementOf course, much of the Israeli tech ecosystem has been called up to reserve duty, and that presents a challenge. These are challenging times, and I see everyone in the Israeli tech ecosystem doing all we can.

Persons: Hillel Fuld, —, Robert Scoble, It's, I've, I'm, Israel Defense Forces —, Joe Biden —, We're, That's, we're, we've, We've, would've, it's Organizations: Service, Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, Insight Partners, Israel Locations: Israel, America, Russia, Ukraine, China

☆ 2 startup founders and a VC share why they won't hire anyone who supports Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Two startup founders and a VC explain why they won't hire people who support Hamas. Struck has pledged never to hire people who support Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the US. In the days following the horrific terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, this distinction was sometimes lost. In their interviews with Insider, Struck, Broukhim, and Frischer explained nuanced stances and where they draw the line on this issue. Frischer's takeMatt Frischer, co-founder of Protect Matt FrischerFrischer has similar opinions.

Persons: —, Adam, Michael Broukhim, Matt Frischer, Oren Etzioni, Israel, Bill Ackman, Frischer, FabFitFun Michael Broukhim, Broukhim, He's, Jonathan Neman, Matt Frischer Frischer, It's Organizations: Hamas, Service, Israel, Madonna Venture, Pershing, Harvard, Columbia, Defamation, cribs Locations: Israel, Los Angeles, Palestine, FabFitFun

Insider asked 34 top fintech investors to nominate the most promising startups. VCs highlighted startups that haven't raised more than a Series C.Behind-the-scenes firms, payment and compliance startups dominated this year's list. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Insider surveyed 34 early-stage investors — including Bain Capital Ventures, Point72 Ventures, and Index Ventures — about the hottest fintechs to watch. There were also several sustainability-focused startups, offering everything from electric-vehicle financing to marketplaces for financing renewable-energy projects.

Persons: VCs, we'll, Mark Peter Davis Organizations: Service, Bain Capital Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Ventures, Interplay, Bank Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ One of the most successful VCs in cybersecurity, Ted Schlien, names 3 new trends to watch
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

One of Kleiner Perkins longest-serving investors quietly launched a firm to specialize in security startups. Schlein sees three big new security markets, including an area he's "most scared about." That's partly because strong security startups tend to command higher-than-typical prices when acquired, Schlein says. Security startup trendsSchlein says he currently sees three big trends for next-gen cybersecurity startups. While at Kleiner, Schlein backed startup Apurio, and wrote a check at Ballistic for ArmorCode.

Persons: Kleiner Perkins, Ted Schlein, Schlein, It's, he's Organizations: Ballistic Ventures, Symantec, Security, Companies, Cequence, IT, Software, Hewlett, Packard, ArmorCode Locations: Kleiner

☆ Return to work mandates are ridiculous, unnecessary and, in some instances, even cruel
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

So I can say from experience that today's corporate return-to-office mandates are ridiculous, unnecessary and, in some instances, even cruel. For one, CEOs and CFOs are looking at big expenditures on corporate offices that remain either empty or are vastly oversized. The best run companies are focusing more on the thing they can best measure from afar: the work employees actually do. Not only do you do the work, you also eat there, work out there, and do your hobbies on campus. An office work environment will naturally evolve back to being a social hub over time, without draconian mandates that lack data and research to support them.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Mike Blake, Zoom, Robert Johnson, doesn't, Aki Ito, Mark Zuckerberg, there's Organizations: Morning, Amazon, REUTERS, Business, Stanford, Yahoo, AP Locations: San Jose , California, New York, India, China, Santa Monica, Calif

Insider asked more than 30 top fintech investors to nominate the most promising startups. VCs highlighted startups that haven't raised more than a Series C.Here are the 54 most promising fintechs. Insider surveyed 34 early-stage investors — including Bain Capital Ventures, Point72 Ventures, and Index Ventures — about the hottest fintechs to watch. As was the case last year, fintechs that sell to businesses, as opposed to those that serve consumers directly, dominated the list. Check out the 54 fintechs identified as most promising by top investors.

Persons: VCs, we'll, Mark Peter Davis Organizations: Bain Capital Ventures, Point72 Ventures, Ventures, Interplay

Adept: a machine learning research labNiki Pezeshki is a general partner at Felicis Ventures. FelicisStartup: AdeptRecommended by: Niki Pezeshki, FelicisRelationship: No financial interestTotal funding: $415 million, according to the companyWhat it does: Adept is a machine-learning research and product lab aiming to build AI technology that can automate human tasks as varied as running software and browsing the web. Why it's on the list: "Fresh off a massive round of funding, Adept is poised to deliver artificial general intelligence that truly benefits working people," Pezeshki said. "So much software is repetitive tasks, and Adept is creating an AI that will enable workers to increase productivity and focus on more creative tasks."

Persons: Niki Pezeshki, Pezeshki Organizations: Felicis Ventures, Felicis

☆ The 19 most promising cybersecurity startups of 2023, according to VCs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

We asked a select group of VCs to name the most promising computer security startups in 2023 so far. Cybersecurity was a hot area of venture investment during the pandemic but VCs have slowed investment in information security as part of an overall slowdown. The number of acquisition deals in the second quarter this year are up by 50% compared to the first quarter, PitchBook data shows. So, when we asked dozens of VCs at the most successful firms to name the most promising startups of 2023 so far as part of our annual Most Promising Startups project, quite a few were security startups. We asked the VCs to name startups that are in their portfolios and ones that aren't.

Persons: Cybersecurity Organizations: University of San Locations: University of San Diego, PitchBook

Ikeguchi had also made “several disparaging remarks” about the flag before shooting Carleton, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The store’s flag has been torn down several times before, but it was always replaced with a bigger flag, Carleton’s daughter, Ari Carleton told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Monday. “I know that she passed standing up for something she believed in,” Ari Carleton said. Hollywood director Paul Feig paid tribute to Lauri Carleton, calling her a wonderful friend. Lauri Carleton and her husband were married for 28 years and share “a blended family of nine children,” according to the website.

Persons: Laura Ann “ Lauri ” Carleton, Travis Ikeguchi, Ikeguchi, “, Carleton, Sheriff Shannon Dicus, ”, Ari Carleton, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, . Carleton, Kelley Robinson, Gavin Newsom, Dicus, ” Ari Carleton, Lauri Carleton’s, Paul Feig, Lauri Carleton, Bort, Lauri, ” Feig, ” Lauri Carleton’s, “ Lauri, ” Matthew Clevenger, Clevenger, “ It’s Organizations: CNN, San, San Bernardino County Sheriff’s, Carleton, ., Human, Twitter, ArtCenter College of Design, Lake Arrowhead Locations: Southern California, Cedar Glen, Los Angeles, San Bernardino County, California, ” California, Pasadena , California

☆ $3.7 billion data startup Cohesity prepares for a public listing, again, as hope rises that IPOs will return this fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The data startup Cohesity is gearing up to go public as soon as its bankers give the nod, CEO Sanjay Poonen told Insider. But when it last announced it had filed confidential IPO paperwork, on December 21, 2021, its timing couldn't have been worse. Before the startup could debut, the tech IPO window was slammed shut by rising inflation and interest rates, as well as fears of a full-blown recession. "I can't predict the market, but, you know, if that happens, I'd say we'd be as ready as we were in 2021," Poonen said. And as the market opens up, we'll pick the right time, whether it's fall, whether it's next year," Poonen added.

Persons: Cohesity, Sanjay Poonen, IPOs, Poonen, He's, it's, Eric Brown, Srinivasan Murari, he's Organizations: Microsoft, Web Services, Electronic Arts, McAfee, Google, VMware, IBM, Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IDC, Bloomberg Locations: Informatica

☆ $3.7 billion data startup Cohesity gets ready for an IPO, again, as hope rises that IPOs will return this fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cohesity just hired a new CFO and is talking about getting ready for its IPO. Data startup Cohesity is gearing up to go public as soon as its bankers give the nod, CEO Sanjay Poonen told Insider. But when it last announced it had filed confidential IPO paperwork on December 21, 2021, its timing couldn't have been worse. Before the startup could debut, the tech IPO window was slammed shut by rising inflation and interest rates, and fears of a full-blown recession. The last splashy IPO was HashiCorp on December 9, 2021, so the window has now been closed for 20 months and counting.

Persons: Cohesity, Sanjay Poonen, IPOs, He's, it's, Poonen, Eric Brown, Srinivasan Murari, he's Organizations: Microsoft, Web Services, ARM, Electronic Arts, McAfee, Google, VMware, IBM, Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IDC, Bloomberg Locations: Informatica

☆ Cisco CEO says AI is already becoming a huge new market after it 'missed' the initial cloud computing boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Cisco CEO surprised analysts by mentioning it had already sold half a billion dollars of AI gear. Cisco is trying to woo cloud companies away from offerings by Nvidia. "To date, we have taken orders for over half a billion dollars for AI Ethernet fabrics. But Robbins says this new AI cloud market will be triple or more the size of the original and, this time, he plans to make sure Cisco gets its share. And, you know, unfortunately for us, as it's been well documented, we missed the original cloud build out," Robbins said.

Persons: it's, Chuck Robbins, That's, Infiniband, Robbins, Morgan Stanley, Meta Marshall, Julie Bort Organizations: Cisco, Nvidia, Morning, Mellanox Technologies, AMD, Arista, Broadcom, HPE, Intel, Meta, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Arista Networks, Twitter

Adonis: AI revenue collection for healthcare providersBen Ling, the founder and a general partner at Bling Capital. Bling CapitalStartup: AdonisRecommended by: Ben Ling, Bling CapitalRelationship: InvestorTotal funding: $22.9 million, according to PitchBook. What it does: Adonis uses AI to automate and create intelligent revenue-collection software between healthcare providers such as doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies. "They are trending to significantly exceed revenue expectations in 2023 and is considered one of the fastest growing healthcare software companies in the United States. As a result, Adonis is overseeing the processing of billions of dollars of claims and impacting revenue outcomes for thousands of the nation's providers," Ling said.

Persons: Adonis, Ben Ling, Ling Organizations: Bling Locations: United States

We asked top VCs to name the most promising healthtech startups of 2023. VCs nominated startups in their portfolios and companies with which they had no financial ties. It's tough for digital-health startups to raise money these days. But promising startups can still stand out in this environment, as VCs focus on backing upstarts positioned to win big. To identify the most promising startups in healthtech, Insider asked VCs for their recommendations — including firms they'd invested in, and ones they hadn't.

Persons: VCs, upstarts, they'd, Read Organizations: Venture Locations: healthtech

☆ I'm an AI software engineer and I predict that most AI startups being funded today will die
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

An AI engineer says most people don't understand what AI can really do and what it can't, yet. Those working in AI understand when startup claims are realistic and when they're mostly hype. Generative AI is just way, way overhyped right now and that means that many of the AI startups getting VC funding today are going to fail. Today's AI can't really do what so many startups say their apps can do because AI can't reliably predict things. So, how can you tell if an AI startup's technology will work or if it and the company will likely fail?

Persons: OpenAI, I've Organizations: salespeople, Amazon, Costco, Walmart Locations: San Francisco, Seattle , New York

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