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☆ Salesforce CEO Benioff rips Microsoft's AI efforts. Here's why we're not picking sides
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-22 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In the emerging AI software battle between Microsoft and Salesforce , investors do not need to pick a side. The announcements came roughly one year after the tech giant launched a suite of AI assistant tools called Microsoft 365 Copilot. Both companies leaning into AI agents is notable because Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has not been hesitant to attack Microsoft's competing AI offerings. Salesforce stock is up 28% year to date versus Microsoft's roughly 9% gain since the start of 2024. I don't want to go against Microsoft," Jim said.

Persons: Jim Cramer, —, Marc Benioff, Benioff, who's, Satya Nadella, Nadella, They're, We've, Salesforce, Slack, Agentforce, Jim, it's, Jim Cramer's, Salesforce's Dreamforce, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Microsoft, Deutsche Bank, Club, CNBC, Getty Locations: Agentforce, Salesforce's, Mulesoft, San Francisco , California

☆ Forward's leaders are already recruiting for a new startup, just a week after the healthcare company shut down
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-22 | by ( Rob Price | Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AdvertisementHealthcare startup Forward just closed its doors last week, but its executives are already onto their next venture. Related VideoLesser told former Forward employees that Aoun will serve as a cofounder, board member and advisor to the new startup, per the messages. It's unclear what the startup will focus on as a business or if any of Forward's previous investors will be involved in the new venture. AdvertisementIt's an ultra-quick turnaround from Forward's leaders after the startup announced on November 13 that it would immediately shutter its more than a dozen locations and lay off its nearly 200 employees. AdvertisementOn a Friday episode of The Information's More or Less podcast, Aoun said he's already hearing interest from Forward's investors to back his next venture.

Persons: Adrian Aoun, Jonathan Lesser, Bali Raghavan, Lesser, Salesforce's Marc Benioff, Raghavan didn't, —, Aoun, he's, I've Organizations: Healthcare, Bali, Business, Forward, Khosla Ventures, Softbank Locations: Silicon Valley

☆ Google Gemini gets Marc Benioff's stamp of approval
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

His latest fascination is Google's Gemini Live, an AI voice assistant. Marc Benioff gave Google's AI voice assistant, Gemini Live, his stamp of approval. "Just downloaded Gemini Live, and I'm absolutely blown away," he wrote in an X post on Sunday. Google released a smartphone app for Gemini Live on Apple's App Store on Thursday, just a few months after the virtual assistant was made free for users. We already have that live," Benioff said.

Persons: Marc Benioff, Benioff, Sundar Pichai, Copilot, Insider's Ashley Stewart, OpenAI's ChatGPT, ChatGPT's, Axios, Jensen Huang, David Sacks Organizations: Gemini, Microsoft, Google, Apple, Apple Intelligence, Business, BI, Pacific, Nvidia Locations: Francisco

☆ Inside Microsoft's struggles with Copilot
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-15 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +23 min

In September 2023, Microsoft's famously soft-spoken CEO, Satya Nadella, unveiled the company's flagship AI product, Copilot, with sweeping fanfare. Some of Microsoft's own employees and executives are privately concerned that Copilot won't be able to deliver on its ambitions. Copilot's struggles have created an opening for Microsoft's rivals, some of whom have seized on the opportunity to promote their own agendas. "Now, when Joe Blow logs into an account and kicks off Copilot, they can see everything," said one Microsoft employee familiar with customer complaints. As complaints and questions over Copilot mount, so does the pressure to justify Microsoft's unprecedented level of spending on AI.

Persons: Microsoft's, Satya Nadella, Gartner, Copilot, it'll, Copilot's, Marc Benioff, Benioff, Goldman Sachs, Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz, Ethan Miller, Jared Spataro, Spataro, —, Joe Blow, Joe, Nadella, Gary Marcus, Marcus, Wile, Coyote, Brontë, Judson Althoff, Jason Zander, Zander, We've, OpenAI, Tasos Katopodis, Steve Jobs Organizations: Microsoft, Venture, Getty, Goldman, BI, Fortune, Excel, Lumen Technologies, Honeywell, Gartner, Wall Street, Initiative, Department of Homeland Security, Employees, San Francisco, Software, Apple, Jobs Locations: Microsoft's, Copilot, New York City

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff attends the TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York on April 26, 2023. The Greek media company Antenna Group is in talks to acquire Time from Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff, according to people familiar with the matter. "There is no agreement to sell Time," said a Time spokesperson, who declined to comment on the talks with Antenna. An Antenna Group spokesperson didn't respond for comment. The Antenna Group nearly acquired Vice Media in 2022 before the company declared bankruptcy.

Persons: Marc Benioff, didn't, Benioff, Jeff Bezos, Lynne, Alan Murray Organizations: Jazz, Lincoln Center, Antenna, Comcast, Washington Post, U.S, NPR, Meredith Corp, Time Inc, Meredith, Media, Arianna, CNBC Locations: New York, Europe, Arianna Huffington's

☆ Bret Taylor’s AI startup Sierra raises funding at $4.5 billion valuation
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-28 | by ( Kate Rooney | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Bret Taylor, co-CEO of Salesforce, speaks at the Viva Technology Conference in Paris on June 15, 2022. Artificial intelligence startup Sierra, co-founded by ex-Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor, is more than quadrupling its valuation to $4.5 billion in a fresh funding round. The San Francisco-based company, which was valued at $1 billion in January, raised $175 million in a funding round led by Greenoaks Capital. Sierra is focused on helping enterprises like home security company ADT , Sonos , Weight Watchers and Casper personalize and implement AI agents for customer service. Taylor describes Sierra as "conversational AI," and bristles at the word "chatbot," even banning the phrase in the company's downtown San Francisco office.

Persons: Bret Taylor, Sierra, Taylor, Marc Benioff, Elon Musk, Clay Bavor, Casper personalize, Bavor, ICONIQ, Josh Kushner’s Organizations: Salesforce, Viva Technology Conference, Greenoaks Capital, Twitter, Elon, Google, Sierra, Google Labs, CNBC Locations: Paris, San Francisco

☆ Insider Today: Millennial money mistake
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-27 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Check out tomorrow's edition of Insider Today for the first in a series focused on what a Trump or Harris presidency would mean for your finances. On the agenda today:AdvertisementBut first: A tech CEO puts an end to employees working remotely from Bali. In a memo to staff seen by Business Insider, Markus Villig said all staff would be required to work from the office 12 days a month starting January. Business Insider combed through 1.7 million listings and analyzed thousands of makes and models to understand what drives America. Also read:AdvertisementThe AI Power ListKaran Singh for BIFor the second year running, Business Insider released its list of the most powerful people in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Persons: —, Ford's, Jim Farley doesn't, Trump, Harris, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, Markus Villig, We've, Automobiles Pete Ryan, we've, Buckle, Jimmy Simpson, millennials, Karan Singh, Natalie Ammari, It's, Marc Benioff Organizations: Business, Service, Today, Automobiles, BI, Federal, Google, Walgreens, Microsoft Locations: Shanghai, Bali, United States, xAI

☆ How to dance the earnings two-step: Recognize initial stock distortions and then act
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-27 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

For all we know, the yield curve may simply be going through the birthing of an un-inverted yield curve. GOOGL YTD mountain Alphabet YTD Search used to be so simple. META YTD mountain Meta Platforms YTD Meta Platforms has run big ahead of the quarter. AMZN YTD mountain Amazon YTD Let's get to the two toughest of the week, Amazon and Apple. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: let's, Eli Lilly, nonfarm payrolls, Carl Quintanilla, batty, Jeff Marks, Waymo, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, Department's, Mark Zuckerberg, Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, Trump, Warren Buffett, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim Organizations: CNBC, Microsoft, Apple, Treasury, Federal Reserve, charlatans, Honeywell, Twitter, Club, Gemini, YouTube, Google, Donner Party of cannibalization, AMD, Nvidia, Intel, Merck, Pfizer, Tech Titans, Meta, Amazon Web Services Locations: Wall, cyclicals, California, Philly

☆ Big Tech goes nuclear: Amazon's pitch to use power plants shows the crucial role the energy source plays for AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, inside Amazon's internal pitch for turning to nuclear power to meet its growing energy needs . AdvertisementThat's led Big Tech to consider nuclear power to address its skyrocketing energy requirements. Nuclear power ticks that box better than other clean energy options like solar or wind. Nuclear power, meanwhile, is an industry in desperate need of some love , BI's Daniel Geiger and Ellen Thomas previously reported. From advertising platforms to AI tech companies, here's the startups to watch .

Persons: —, Jocko Willink, we've, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, That's, Business Insider's Eugene Kim, Andy Jassy, it's, Sam Altman, Eugene, BI's Hasan Chowdhury, BI's Daniel Geiger, Ellen Thomas, Jim Burke, Vistra, Chelsea Jia Feng, Elon Musk, Jean Boivin, He's, Marc Benioff isn't, bashed, Miles Brundage, OpenAI, Emma Tucker's, Tucker, Mike Jeffries, SpaceX's, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, Milan Sehmbi Organizations: Business, Service, Navy, Big Tech, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Keystone, Hulton, Constellation Energy, Getty, EV, BlackRock Investment Institute, San Francisco, BI, AGI, Abercrombie, Fitch Locations: Fukushima, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New York, London

☆ Interview: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff bashes Microsoft as generative AI threatens his company's CRM lead
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In a Business Insider interview this week, he let loose again, blasting Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant, while touting the Salesforce AI agents that are rolling out soon. In the interview with BI, Benioff focused on Salesforce's continued lead in the CRM market, rather than Microsoft's creeping gains. Generative AI may change CRMGenerative artificial intelligence may be a new challenge to Salesforce and especially its lead in CRM software. He cited CRM software, which replaced the physical Rolodex and helped salespeople keep in better touch with their contacts. It helps companies create their own AI agents to assist with tasks such as customer service and sales.

Persons: —, Marc Benioff isn't, Benioff, Copilot, Salesforce's, Rishi Jaluria, salespeople, Salesforce, Jaluria, It's, Morgan Stanley, Einstein, Agentforce Organizations: Microsoft, Salesforce's, Service, IDC, RBC Capital Markets

☆ Starboard Value's Jeff Smith says Salesforce has 'a lot more to go' and can get more profitable
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-22 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Starboard revealed a holding in the stock and Salesforce responded by cutting thousands of employees and moving up its timeline for widening its adjusted operating margin. On Tuesday, Starboard said in a presentation that Salesforce "can continue to become more efficient and more profitable." And Starboard said Salesforce should commit to adhering to the rule of 50 by the 2028 fiscal year. The activist firm laid out two scenarios, both of which involved Salesforce's revenue growth accelerating and its adjusted operating margin widening. The Agentforce technology for automating customer interactions, which Salesforce discussed at its Dreamforce conference in September, has the potential to boost revenue growth, Starboard said.

Persons: They've, Jeff Smith, CNBC's David Faber, Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Salesforce's, Mason Morfit, Amy Weaver Organizations: 13D, ValueAct, UBS, Adobe, Intuit, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, CNBC Locations: New York

☆ Marc Benioff says Microsoft rebranding Copilot as AI 'agents' shows they're in 'panic mode'
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Benioff said Microsoft Copilot was inaccurate and compared it to "Clippy 2.0." Salesforce recently announced a pivot to Agentforce, its own product that inlcudes custom AI agents. Benioff's post comes over a month after Salesforce announced its own pivot to AI agents through Agentforce. Advertisement"This is the next big transformation," Benioff told Fortune in September, referring to AI agents. In his X post critiquing Microsoft Copilot, the Salesforce CEO said Agentforce, in contrast, was "what AI was meant to be."

Persons: Marc Benioff, Benioff, Microsoft Copilot, Salesforce, —, Copilot, Fortune, Agentforce Organizations: Microsoft, it's, Service, Monday, Business, McKinsey, Thomson Reuters

☆ Microsoft to roll out new autonomous AI agents next month, fending off challenge from Salesforce
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Starting next month, they'll move into public preview, meaning more organizations can start building AI agents of their own. AI agents can act as virtual workers that can carry out a series of tasks without supervision. Microsoft demonstrated how its autonomous AI agents work. Competition is fierceMicrosoft is doubling down on AI agents at a time when competition is intensifying up in the red-hot artificial intelligence space. Microsoft 365 Copilot is a service offered by the tech giant that embeds generative AI into its suite of productivity apps.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Dimas Ardian, they'll, Jared Spataro, Salesforce, Zahra Bahrololoumi, —, Bahrololoumi, I'm, Marc Benioff Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Microsoft, Copilot, Dynamics, McKinsey, CNBC, Crown Commercial Service Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Salesforce, London, U.S, San Francisco, Ireland, Copilot

☆ Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff slams Microsoft's Copilot again, calling it 'disappointing'
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-17 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Benioff criticized Microsoft's Copilot again, calling it "disappointing" and inaccurate. The Salesforce CEO slammed Microsoft's AI assistant in an X post, saying, "It just doesn't work." AdvertisementMarc Benioff has criticized Microsoft's AI assistant, Copilot, for the second time in as many months. The Salesforce chief called Copilot "disappointing" in a post on X. Salesforce has launched its own AI assistant called Einstein Copilot. On both occasions, Benioff compared Microsoft's Copilot to Clippy — the discontinued animated paperclip that offered suggestions in applications including Word.

Persons: Marc Benioff, Microsoft's Copilot, Microsoft's, —, Copilot, Salesforce, Einstein, Clippy, Benioff, Gartner, Microsoft didn't Organizations: Service, Gartner, Microsoft, Business

☆ These 5 portfolio stocks outperformed the market's incredible run since our September Monthly Meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

We did hold onto our rate-sensitive names like Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley , which were among the best performers since the last Monthly Meeting. Morgan Stanley: 16.2% Following the Fed's decision, shares advanced as investors became more optimistic about a soft landing for the U.S. economy. Morgan Stanley benefits from lower rates — and, in turn, a better economy — because it can usher in more Wall Street dealmaking such as initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. That's because the Club has been debating exiting Morgan Stanley altogether for a potentially better investment banking rebound play like Goldman Sachs. Morgan Stanley reiterated its buy-equivalent rating on Oct. 10, arguing that Eaton has a positive setup into earnings season.

Persons: It's, Wells, Morgan Stanley, Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley's, Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Piper Sandler, Guggenheim, Meta, Eaton, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Angela Weiss Organizations: Dow Jones Industrial, Dow, Procter, Gamble, Meta, Fed, Northland Capital Markets, UBS, Citigroup, Analysts, JPMorgan, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, Traders, New York Stock Exchange, AFP, Getty Locations: U.S, Wells Fargo, Salesforce, Eaton, Tuesday's, Northland

☆ Jensen Huang says he wants Nvidia to be a company with 100 million AI assistants
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-14 | by ( Shubhangi Goel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Jensen Huang says he hopes Nvidia will be a 50,000 employee company with "a 100 million AI assistants." Huang described a future where Nvidia can use AI assistants across every division to raise output. "I'm hoping that Nvidia someday will be a 50,000 employee company with a 100 million, you know, AI assistants, in every single group," Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said on an episode of the "Bg2" podcast released on Sunday. AI agents break down a task into multiple smaller steps, each tackling a specific task to achieve a broader objective. And Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in May that the company is working on developing AI agents with more capabilities.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Huang, —, I'm, Marc Benioff, Sundar Pichai, Pichai Organizations: Nvidia, Tech, Google, Service, AIs, Slack, Bloomberg, Big Tech

☆ Lilly Ledbetter, who sued Goodyear for gender discrimination and was an equal pay activist, dies at 86
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-13 | by ( Steve Almasy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Lilly Ledbetter, whose gender pay equity legal fight was the inspiration for the Fair Pay Act of 2009, has died at age 86, according to the team making a film about her life. In the 1990s, after 19 years of working for Goodyear, Ledbetter learned she had been making thousands of dollars less each month that other – male – managers. When Barack Obama became president the first bill he signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. “My heart is with Lilly Ledbetter and her loved ones as they mourn her passing,” he said. “Lilly Ledbetter fought tirelessly for equal pay for men and women.

Persons: CNN — Lilly Ledbetter, Ledbetter, AL.com, Goodyear, Barack Obama, Lilly, ”, “ I’ll, ” Obama, “ Lilly, “ Michelle, Chuck Schumer, Lilly Ledbetter, “, –, “ Lilly Ledbetter, Marc Benioff, ” Benioff, hasn’t, Chuy Garcia, Lilly’s, ” Garcia, Deborah Vagins, CNN’s Vanessa Yurkevich, Jeanne Sahadi Organizations: CNN, Goodyear, AFL, American Federation of Labor, Industrial, Congress, White, National Committee, Pay Equity Locations: backpay

☆ Big backer of Nvidia heaps on praise after the recent stock rally. Where we stand now
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Morgan Stanley has a buy-equivalent rating on the Club stock and a price target of $150 a share, implying 13% upside from Wednesday's close. If artificial intelligence models are tasked with completing more complicated tasks, that could play into Nvidia's hands over time, Morgan Stanley reasoned. Several positive updates on AI adoption last month helped Nvidia's stock mount the comeback, which has completely erased a severe post-earnings slide that began Aug. 28 . More recently, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has touted "insane" demand for Blackwell . Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang talks onstage with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff during Salesforce's Dreamforce on September 17, 2024 in San Francisco, California.

Persons: Morgan Stanley's, Jensen Huang, Morgan Stanley, Nvidia's, Morgan, Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Marc Benioff, Salesforce's Dreamforce, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Nvidia, Club, Blackwell, Tech, Microsoft, Nasdaq, Google, Apple, Devices, Broadcom, CNBC, Getty Locations: —, San Francisco , California

☆ Former Humane execs secure $25 million valuation after departing AI hardware startup
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-08 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Two former executives of Humane, the embattled AI hardware startup, are reemerging with a new artificial intelligence software venture that has raised $4 million at a $25 million valuation. He and Hartley Moy are marketing the startup toward enterprise customers in industries like finance, insurance, SaaS, healthcare services and media. "It really came down to the opportunity that we saw in the enterprise side of the house," Hartley Moy, Infactory's CEO, told CNBC. But the two's departure had to do with the business opportunities they saw when working at Humane, Hartley Moy said. WATCH: Former Apple designers launch $700 Humane AI Pin as smartphone replacement

Persons: Brooke Hartley Moy, Ken Kocienda, Kocienda, Hartley Moy, Sam Altman, Marc Benioff, Slack, Andreessen Horowitz, Infactory, Ohtani Organizations: Humane, CNBC, HP, Microsoft, Tiger Global, Google, Apple, Bee Partners, SPV Locations: Salesforce

☆ Meet Jeff Smith, the hedge-fund investor taking on Pfizer
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-07 | by ( Alex Morrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Starboard Value has taken a $1 billion stake in drugmaker Pfizer. The hedge fund, headed by Jeff Smith, has become one of the most feared activist investors. AdvertisementPharmaceuticals giant Pfizer got a wake up call Sunday evening when one of Wall Street's most feared activist investors revealed a stake in the company. AdvertisementPfizer, with a market cap north of $160 billion, is among the largest companies Starboard's Smith has ever targeted. With less than a 10% stake Smith replaced the entire 12-person board and assumed the role of chairman.

Persons: Jeff Smith, —, Smith, Starboard's Smith, Ian Read, Frank D'Amelio, Ken Squire, Paul Singer, Elliott, Carl Icahn, Dan Loeb, Peter Feld, Olive Garden's, Marc Benioff, Brontë Wittpenn, Brontë, Squire, they're, Albert Bourla, Bourla, wagered Organizations: Pfizer, Service, Pharmaceuticals, 13D, Investor, Lazard, Elliott Management, Icahn Enterprises, Cowen Group, AOL, Darden Restaurants, Olive Garden, Longhorn, Darden, Wall, San Francisco, Getty, Smithfield Foods, Bristol, Myers Squibb, Celgene, Autodesk, Starbucks Locations: Olive Garden, Fortune, America, Olive, Washington

☆ These 3 ugly duckling stocks will become beautiful swans as the Fed cuts rates
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-29 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Some of it had to do with the old joke being that Best Buy was nothing but an Amazon showroom. CEO Corie Barry is a no-nonsense heavyweight who mastered the supply chain for Best Buy during the pandemic. As the JPMorgan recent upgrade on Best Buy said, most investors don't realize how awful this period has been for Best Buy. It doesn't hurt, of course that Best Buy has a substantial dividend — 3.68%, down from 4% and 5% when we were buying it. We have watched Eaton and Dover go higher and that was without the rate cycle, just with the data center.

Persons: Stanley Black, Decker, —, couldn't, Corie Barry, Barry, don't, It's, Stanley, Trump, Helene, Hock Tan, Marc Benioff, Mike Sievert, Blackwell, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Melissa Repko Organizations: Empire, Circuit, Intel, HP Inc, HP, JPMorgan, Williams, Dick's Sporting Goods, Abercrombie, Fitch, Depot, Procter, Gamble, Linde, Honeywell, Quantum Computing, Tech, Broadcom, VMWare, Elon, Mobile, Nvidia, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, Microsoft Locations: Sonoma, Covid, China, Lowe's, Eaton, Dover, San Francisco, Secaucus, N.J

☆ Salesforce to close Portland office, asks employees to relocate or take severance
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AdvertisementSalesforce will close its office in Hillsboro, Oregon, and is asking many of its employees based there to either relocate or accept a severance package. In virtual meetings Thursday afternoon, the cloud software giant notified staffers who report to its Hillsboro office, thirty minutes outside of Portland, of its decision. AdvertisementSalesforce opened its Hillsboro office in 2013. The Hillsboro office was Salesforce's only location in the Portland metro area. The Hillsboro office closure also comes as Salesforce, which makes and sells cloud-based software for customer relationship management, attempts to rebrand as a company powered by artificial intelligence.

Persons: Salesforce, —, Marc Benioff, Ellen Thomas Organizations: Service, Hillsboro office's, Business, Oregonian Locations: Hillsboro , Oregon, San Francisco, Hillsboro, Portland, Indianapolis, Atlanta, Seattle, Seattle .

☆ How we're thinking about 7 portfolio stocks with ties to OpenAI after its latest shakeup
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

We're taking a keen interest because several stocks in the Club portfolio have ties to the startup behind ChatGPT. Co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who had been chief scientist, also left earlier this year and launched a new AI startup. Microsoft Microsoft got the first-mover advantage among big tech firms because of its early investment in OpenAI. As of now, we still haven't heard much about Lilly's exact plan to utilize OpenAI's technology. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on May 21, 2024.

Persons: OpenAI, Sam Altman's, There's, Mira Murati, she's, Bob McGrew, Barret Zoph, Altman, Ilya Sutskever, it's, here's, ChatGPT, Jim Cramer, Jim, That's, —, OpenAI's, Jensen Huang, Nikesh Arora, Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley, Morgan, Eli Lilly Eli Lilly, Eli Lilly's, Einstein, Marc Benioff, Jim Cramer's, Sam Altman, Jason Redmond Organizations: Club, Microsoft, Nvidia, Reuters, CNBC, Apple Intelligence, Apple, Bloomberg News, Street, Microsoft Microsoft, Blackwell, Palo, Palo Alto Networks, Employees, OpenAI, Barclays, Jim Cramer's Charitable, AFP, Getty Locations: OpenAI, Redmond, Washington, Palo Alto, Redmond , Washington

☆ Salesforce may finally have found its AI footing. What it means beyond the initial hype
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bowing to investor pressure, Salesforce has adopted a more disciplined approach to dealmaking, increasing the importance of internal product development. "Agentforce is the product announcement [Salesforce] investors have sought for years," Needham analysts wrote in a recent note to clients. Salesforce stock remains down about 13% from its 2024 peak close and record high of $316.88 a share on March 1. CRM 1Y mountain Salesforce's stock over the past 12 months. Analysts said Salesforce is cheap compared to peers on multiple valuation metrics with ample room to increase free cash flow ahead.

Persons: Salesforce, Jim Cramer, Agentforce, Mulesoft, Needham, Einstein, —, Jim, Bofa, Baird, Piper Sandler, Piper, Jim Cramer's, Marc Benioff, Salesforce's Dreamforce, Justin Sullivan Organizations: Wall Street, Nasdaq, Barclays, Saks, Investors, Bank of America, CNBC, Getty Locations: Dreamforce, San Francisco, San Francisco , California

☆ 6 things from my San Francisco trip reveal which stocks are AI winners
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-22 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Almost everyone else seems to want to deploy AI in some meaningful way but don't seem to know how. It's available on HP 's AI personal computers right now but hasn't really attracted a lot of interest yet — good for Club company Best Buy 's forward earnings. For some companies, companies like CVS , this is a no brainer. One that can build things or get things or just give you a cup of your coffee. I don't know what will happen to people who are doing this now.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Marc Benioff, Copilot, hasn't, Uber, San Francisco —, Amazon's, Benioff, Benioff's, Agentforce, Tesla, Elon, Donald Trump, Pat Gelsinger, gunning, Lisa Su, Jensen, Su, wasn't, Nvidia's Blackwell, Blackwell, Mike Sievert, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Carlos Barria Organizations: Microsoft, Club, Nvidia, Oracle, HP, Devices, AMD, Saks Fifth, CVS, Siemens, Starbucks, Intel, Qualcomm, Arm Holdings, Enterprise, Constellation Energy, GE Vernova, Apple, Mobile, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC Locations: San Francisco, Atlanta, Austin , Texas, Dreamforce, bailiwick, Eaton, Dover, California

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