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☆ Vodafone signs $1.5 bln Microsoft deal for AI, cloud and IoT
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

(Photo Illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)Vodafone has agreed a 10-year partnership with Microsoft to bring generative AI, digital, enterprise and cloud services to more than 300 million businesses and consumers across its European and African markets. Microsoft's Chief Commercial Officer Judson Althoff said Vodafone's strength in IoT and financial services were strategically important. Microsoft deploys "digital twins" to model manufacturing environments so that process improvements can be tested in the cloud. "Vodafone's IoT stack allows us to go into those environments, model the environment, create large-scale data stores, and use AI to help customers meet their sustainability goals," he said. "We are excited to bring generative AI capabilities to help customers make more intelligent financial decisions," he said.

Persons: Budrul Chukrut, Vodafone's, Luka Mucic, Judson Althoff Organizations: Vodafone, LON, Getty Images, Microsoft Locations: CHINA, British, Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa

☆ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talks AI at Davos
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Tuesday he was “hopeful” and “optimistic” about the future of artificial intelligence. In a conversation with Klaus Schwab, chairperson of the World Economic Forum, Nadella discussed where he believes the AI industry is headed and the safety guardrails needed in place. “As a digital technology industry, the biggest lesson learned perhaps for us is that we have to take the unintended consequences of any new technology along with all the benefits,” Nadella said. At the same time, AI companies and lawmakers continue to call for sweeping regulations of the technology. Nadella said this is a fundamental change seen the industry over the last 10 years.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Klaus Schwab, Nadella, ” Nadella, it’s, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Bill Gates, ”, “ Organizations: CNN, Economic, “, Microsoft Locations: Switzerland, Silicon

☆ Microsoft's everyday AI companion Copilot is here to help – if you're willing to pay
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewMicrosoft is ready to offer you a personal AI buddy — if you're willing to pay. The Redmond tech giant is rolling out its "everyday AI companion," called Copilot, to both individuals and small and medium-sized businesses through paid subscription services. On one level, Copilot is a generative AI tool integrated into Microsoft's suite of apps: think Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. Divya Kumar, Microsoft's search and AI marketing chief, told Business Insider there's a simple reason to pay: to get priority access to the best AI models. In a demo, Kumar used Outlook to show how Copilot could help save time on emails.

Persons: —, Bill Gates, Bennett Raglin, Gates, ChatGPT, Satya Nadella, Stephen Brashear, Divya Kumar, OpenAI, Kumar, It's Organizations: Service, Redmond, Business, Microsoft, Getty

☆ Microsoft brings Copilot AI assistant to small businesses and launches a premium tier for individuals
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft said on Tuesday that small businesses can now subscribe to its Copilot virtual assistant in the company's productivity apps. And consumers who pay for the Microsoft 365 software can sign up for a new paid version of Copilot. But those who pay for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions haven't been able to use it in Word, Excel, Outlook and other apps. Those with Copilot Pro receive "priority access to the very latest models — starting today with OpenAI's GPT-4 Turbo," Mehdi wrote. "Whether you need advanced help with writing, coding, designing, researching or learning, Copilot Pro brings greater performance, productivity and creativity," Mehdi wrote.

Persons: chatbot, Satya Nadella, Nadella, Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's, haven't, OpenAI's, Mehdi, Melius, Ben Reitzes Organizations: Microsoft, Investors, Google, Apple, Microsoft's Ignite, Windows, Bing, Copilot Locations: Seattle, copilot.microsoft.com

☆ Microsoft briefly tops Apple as most valuable public company
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft on Thursday briefly yanked the title of most valuable publicly traded company from Apple in early trading. Also last week, Microsoft said device makers will soon introduce Windows PCs with a Copilot key on their keyboards for fast access to the software maker's artificial intelligence assistant. Microsoft also stole from Apple the bragging rights for most valuable public company in 2018 and in 2021. But two years ago, Apple became the first company to exceed $3 trillion in market capitalization. Oil and gas production company Saudi Aramco briefly controlled the title before Apple took it back.

Persons: Apple, iPhones, Piper Sandler Organizations: Microsoft, Apple, The New York Times, U.S . Department of Justice, Barclays, Saudi Aramco, CNBC PRO

☆ Leaked presentation reveals how Microsoft built one of its top AI products, from cherry picking outputs to pitching government clients
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-10 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

GPU supply problemsOriginally, Microsoft was working on its own machine-learning models for security use cases, according to the presentation by Microsoft Security Research partner Lloyd Greenwald. AdvertisementThe pitchThe pitch centered around the benefits of mostly using a single universal AI model rather than many individual models. "Today, our Early Access Program customers regularly share their satisfaction with the latest version of Security Copilot." He also mentioned ServiceNow connectors, and information from Microsoft Defender, the company's antivirus software, along with other sources of security data. It described Security Copilot as a "closed-loop learning system," that gets feedback from users and improves over time.

Persons: —, Lloyd Greenwald, Greenwald, Frank Shaw, Shaw, Microsoft's Shaw, Kevin Scott, Satya Nadella, Eric Douglas, doesn't Organizations: Service, Business, Microsoft, Microsoft Security Research, BI, Microsoft Sentinel Locations: GPT

☆ Microsoft says a Copilot key is coming to keyboards on Windows PCs starting this month
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-04 | by ( Jordan Novet | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft on Thursday said keyboards on upcoming Windows PCs will feature a Copilot key for having text conversations with the software maker's virtual assistant. It's one of the most prominent additions to the Windows keyboard since the 1994 introduction of the Windows key for viewing the Start menu. Copilot in Windows taps artificial intelligence models from Microsoft-backed startup OpenAI, which operates its own popular ChatGPT chatbot. Microsoft has started delivering Copilot on PCs with Windows 10, the world's most popular operating system, and Windows 11. People can hold down the Windows key and push the C key to summon the Copilot.

Persons: Yusuf Mehdi, It's Organizations: Microsoft, Workers, Copilot, Windows Locations: Redmond , Washington

☆ Tech stocks dominated 2023 investing. Here's where the sector finds growth in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-31 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

After 2023's blowout run, it's hard to recall the once gloomy investing setup for technology stocks last December. As the calendar year turns, don't expect technology stocks to match 2023's blowout gains, but the year's performance is no fluke. AI stocks may dominate tech-focused investing, but don't sleep on the other emerging themes. GOOGL YTD mountain Alphabet shares in 2023 Both companies have rolled out new initiatives in the months since. Arm Holdings made headlines this year as one of the first major companies to go public , reviving the IPO market after a roughly two-year drought.

Persons: behemoths, Jay Woods, Mark Zuckerberg, didn't, chipmakers, David Waddell, Everybody's, Copilot, Paul Meeks, Gene Munster, Alphabet's, Meeks, Morgan Stanley, Andrew Slimmon, They're, Slimmon, CNBC's, Wall, Nvidia's, He's, Mahoney, Ken Mahoney, it's, Brent Fredberg, Munster's, Management's Albert Tsuei, Tsuei, William Blair's Jonathan Vo, Keith Weiss Organizations: Federal Reserve, Treasury, Freedom, Microsoft, Waddell & Associates, Oracle, Arista Networks, Morgan, Morgan Stanley Investment, Meta, Nvidia, Devices, Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Broadcom, Holdings, Micron Technology, Brandes Investment Partners, Micron, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, MGM Resorts, Johnson, Okta, UBS, Management's, Palo Alto Networks, Palo Alto Locations: British, Clorox

☆ For Microsoft and OpenAI, after a year in the 'hype cycle,' the Copilot corporate spending boom is just getting started
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-20 | by ( Eric Rosenbaum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

While another third (32%) said they have not made the spending decision, only 13% said they would not be acquiring similar gen AI capabilities. Microsoft has pointed to customers including Visa, BP, Honda and Pfizer using Copilot, and professional services firm partners on Copilot AI including Accenture, EY, KPMG, and PwC. And even amid the hype, it's important to keep in mind that as gen AI spending grows, it is still dwarfed by companies' cybersecurity budget needs. That means roughly $5 will be spent on security for every dollar spent on gen AI. But it's growing, and for now at least, when it comes to the billions in gen AI spending, Microsoft is in the pole position.

Persons: Dan Ives, Google Bard, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Altman, Jason Wong, Wong, Joe Atkinson, That's, Copilot, It's, Gartner, it's, Will, John Lovelock Organizations: Microsoft, Wedbush Securities, " Enterprises, Google, CNBC Technology, Survey, Gartner, Visa, BP, Honda, Pfizer, Accenture, EY, KPMG, CNBC, CNBC TEC, SAP, Adobe, Amazon Web, Meta, SharePoint Locations: San Francisco , California, U.S, Copilot, Salesforce, that's

☆ GitHub execs say coders are rushing to use its AI coding tool despite copyright concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-19 | by ( Rosalie Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Last month, the company launched new updates to Copilot Chat, a chat function that can help developers troubleshoot bugs or answer coding questions. Copyright risksIn September, Microsoft announced a policy that it would provide indemnification coverage to copyright claims related to its AI-powered Copilot tools, including GitHub Copilot. If customers don't want their code included in training sets for AI, they can make their GitHub code bases private. "That's part of listening to the community and trying to understand the feedback and how can we help," McKinley said. "Others are experimenting with AI," Shani said.

Persons: GitHub, GitHub's, Shelley McKinley, McKinley, Inbal Shani, Shani, GitHub McKinley, she's, OpenAI, we've, We're Organizations: Business, Microsoft, Northern Locations: GitHub, Northern California

☆ Here’s a rapid-fire update on all 33 stocks in our portfolio, including those Cramer would buy on dips
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-19 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

Here's a rapid-fire update on all the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust, the portfolio we use for the CNBC Investing Club. If we get a sell-off in January, Eaton is a logical place to look to buy, Jim said. Procter & Gamble : It's possible that 2024 is a better year for P & G the company than P & G the stock, Jim said. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: Jim Cramer's, Jim, they'll, we've, there's, he'd, Dupont De, Ed Breen, Danaher, Walt Disney, Bob Iger, Trian's Nelson Peltz, Estee Lauder, Bausch, we're, Eaton, Mary, Eli Lilly's, he's, Vimal Kapur, Kapur, We've, Eli Lilly, Mark Zuckerberg, Morgan Stanley, Morgan, Elliott, Stanley Black, Decker, TJ Maxx, Charlie Scharf, it's, Jim Cramer, Virginia Sherwood Organizations: Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust, CNBC, Club, Broadcom, VMWare, Bausch, Bausch Health, Charitable Trust, Caterpillar, Federal, Costco Wholesale, Coterra Energy, Dupont De Nemours, Fed, Walt, Eaton Corporation, Ford, GE Healthcare, Google, Honeywell, New, Facebook, Meta, Reality Labs, Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Nvidia, AMD, Apple, Palo Alto Networks, Procter & Gamble, Constellation Brands, Elliott Management, Constellation, Modelo, Corona, Street, TJX, TJ, Wynn Resorts, Jim Cramer's Charitable, NYSE Locations: hospitalizations, China, U.S, Palestine, Wells Fargo

☆ Salesforce markets itself as an AI company customers can trust. Customers aren't buying it yet.
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-18 | by ( Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Salesforce has moved slowly on AI, RBC Capital Markets managing director Rishi Jaluria told Insider — at least that's what the company's partners and customers told him. One said they were encouraging customers to start first with Einstein, the original AI product Salesforce launched in 2016, before adding new generative-AI services to their bills. The question was the first of many moments during the conference when a Salesforce executive brought up trust and safety when talking about generative AI. Despite that, Salesforce continues to invest in other companies via its venture arm, which includes a $500 million Generative AI fund. Jaluria said that with the exception of Microsoft, he doesn't expect software companies to see meaningful revenue gains from generative AI until at least 2025.

Persons: Salesforce, Rishi Jaluria, —, Jaluria, they've, Einstein, Matthew McConaughey, pensively, Patrick Stokes, Salesforce's, Stokes, it's, There's, John Somorjai, McKinsey's, Somorjai, Ellen Thomas Organizations: Company, Business, RBC Capital Markets, World, Salesforce Ventures, Microsoft Locations: New York, ethomas@insider.com

☆ Here are 7 portfolio stocks that can benefit from bigger tech budgets in the age of AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-12 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In aggregate, the survey results point to a 60 to 70 basis point acceleration for IT spending growth in each of the next three years, with cloud spending growth much stronger at 150 to 300 basis points. Cloud and AI A rebound in cloud growth is expected thanks in large part the renewed focus and need to invest in artificial intelligence. In fact, 73% of the CIO respondents said they are "implementing now, plan to implement, or are testing generative AI." As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio.

Persons: Piper Sandler's, Piper, OpenAI, Einstein, Jim Cramer, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Chino Organizations: Microsoft, Web Services, Google, IBM, Oracle, Nvidia, Piper, Broadcom, Marvell Technology, VMWare, Cybersecurity, Palo Alto Networks, Broadcom —, CNBC Locations: Silicon Valley, America

☆ 10 industry leaders transforming business in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-11 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

In 2023, Business Insider's annual list of People Transforming Business highlights key players across the advertising, ESG, finance, AI, and labor sectors. Increasingly, they're turning to more opaque private credit markets to borrow money. The world of private credit sits outside the traditional banking system. Analysts expect the private credit market to balloon in size — likely keeping lawyers like Breen very busy. Muthukrishnan is trying to make sense of how risky these private credit loans are by overseeing what is so far the most comprehensive look at vulnerabilities in the industry.

Persons: Mira Murati, who's, Vince Toye, Eileen Fisher, Eileen Fisher Fisher, Guerin Blask, Eileen Fisher Eileen Fisher, she's, Fisher, Janelle Jones, Jones, Lexey, —, She's, Justin Breen, Proskauer Breen, Proskauer Justin Breen, he's, Breen, Ares Capital, He's, McLaren, Julie Su, Labor Julie Su, Department of Labor Julie Su, Su, Marty Walsh, Murati, Jim Wilson, Neal Mohan, YouTube Mohan, Katie Thompson, YouTube It's, YouTube isn't, Mohan, Muthukrishnan, Satya Nadella, Microsoft Satya Nadella, Ben Kriemann, Nadella, Steve Ballmer, Mathias Döpfner, Axel Springer, Tim Cook, Apple Cook, Justin Sullivan, Cook, Steve Jobs, Jobs, JPMorgan Chase Toye, JPMorgan Chase, Toye, they'll, Vince Toye's, Bella Sayegh, Rebecca Ungarino, Lara O'Reilly, Juliana Kaplan, Alex Nicoll, Tim Paradis, Stephanie Hallett, Michelle Abrego, Josée Rose, Ryan Joe, Emily Canal, Kaja Whitehouse, Alyssa Powell, Davis, Jonann Brady Organizations: JPMorgan, Service Employees International, SEIU, New York, Ford, Service Employees International Union, United Auto Workers Union, Spelman College, US Department of Labor, Economic Policy Institute, Center for Economic, Research, Department of Labor, The New York Times, Ares, Churchill Asset Management, European, Atlético Madrid, Labor, Labor Department, MacArthur Foundation, New York Times, Dartmouth, OpenAI, Associated Press, YouTube, NFL, DirecTV, Federal, Microsoft, Manipal Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin -, University of Chicago, Apple, Apple Watch, Google, Time, JPMorgan Chase, National Housing Trust, Trenton Almgren Locations: McDonald's, Lorain , Ohio, Atlanta, California, Los Angeles, Albania, Canada, Muthukrishnan, Hyderabad, India, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, OpenAI, Virginia, Wells Fargo, Trenton

☆ How a violent 1800s uprising against machines could foreshadow our future with AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementI asked Merchant for his perspective on how history informs how we should think about AI and labor. AdvertisementTake the clothworkers: skilled weavers made really high quality cloth and framework knitters made stockings that were nice and durable. Just about everyone loses except the factory owners, who profit from churning out more shoddily made stuff at a rate that the skilled workers can't compete with. AdvertisementBased on your understanding of history, what are the chances that AI helps people by lowering the gap between lower skilled and higher skilled workers? Now, as then, the vast, vast majority of the time, AI absolutely cannot replicate a good writer or worker's output.

Persons: —, Insider's Aki Ito, Brian Merchant, Merchant, Aki Ito, Aki, coders, Ian, it's Organizations: Big Tech, Service Locations: England

☆ Internal Microsoft email shows a shakeup in Charlie Bell's security organization
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Microsoft named a new chief information security officer, according to an internal email. Igor Tsyganskiy, Bridgewater's former chief technology officer, will take on the role Jan. 1. The move suggests Microsoft and Bell want to shake up the CISO role and strategy, one insider said. Microsoft's security boss Charlie Bell, in an internal email to employees Tuesday, named a new chief information security officer and announced new roles for the current CISO and deputy CISO, the latter of which will be leaving the organization. Igor Tsyganskiy, the former Bridgewater chief technology officer who recently joined Microsoft, will become the company's new CISO on January 1.

Persons: Igor Tsyganskiy, Bell, Charlie Bell, CISO Organizations: Microsoft, Bridgewater, Security, Business

☆ AI Helps Unskilled Employees on the Job, Hurts Experienced Workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

The numbers have prompted AI optimists to predict an economic boom and AI pessimists to worry about a future of fewer jobs. The question isn't how much AI helps out around the office but who it helps — and why. AI, in other words, is raising overall productivity by narrowing the gap between high performers and low performers. Researchers tasked people to write a short story, with and without the help of an AI tool for generating ideas. A few enterprising employers will go all in on hiring job candidates with less experience and boosting their performance with AI.

Persons: I've, optimists, It's, coders, it's, Bolt, it'll, we'll, isn't, We've, there's, Aki Ito Organizations: Software, Management, Law, Business Locations: United States

☆ Wall Street underscores why we're in Apple and Microsoft for the long haul
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A new batch of Wall Street commentary on Monday highlights exactly why we're bullish on mega cap tech stocks Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT). AAPL YTD mountain Apple (AAPL) year-to-date performance New data from UBS indicated that Apple continues to grab market share in India. That's one of many reasons why the Club continues to reiterate an "own it, don't trade it" stance on Apple stock. Microsoft also confirmed that the company has had consistent access and rights to all of OpenAI's intellectual property and technology. Microsoft stock, up over 53% year-to-date, was trading 1.49% lower Monday, at $368.09.

Persons: OpenAI, Apple, Tim Cook, We're, –, Sam Altman, Altman, Piper Sandler, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Brendan Mcdermid Organizations: Apple, Microsoft, UBS, Analysts, CNBC, Counterpoint Research, –, Huawei, U.S, Traders, New York Stock Exchange Locations: India, U.S, China, Europe, OpenAI, New York City

☆ How Cramer makes sense of the 'great bottom' of 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

We've seen a stock rally that can't seem to quit. Probably when the supply of stock comes to market through IPOs and we get a weak bond auction that causes the bond market to hiccup. So now, you just got my best lesson about the great bottom of 2023. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. The New York Stock Exchange is seen during morning trading on December 01, 2023 in New York City.

Persons: It's, devolves, Jamie Dimon, Elon Musk, Josh Frost, –, we've, unawares, We've, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Michael M Organizations: Federal, Fed, JPMorgan, Tesla, Club, Microsoft, Google, Apple, Labor Department, Jim Cramer's Charitable, CNBC, The New York Stock Exchange, Santiago, Getty Locations: IPOs, New York City

☆ These 10 stocks notched double-digit gains and outperformed the market in November
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

FL YTD mountain Foot Locker (FL) performance year-to-date Foot Locker (FL) climbed 28.3% during November, making it the Club's No. Foot Locker stock, down more than 26% year-to-date, closed 1.4% lower Thursday, at just under $27.28 apiece. CRM YTD mountain Salesforce (CRM) performance year-to-date Salesforce (CRM) shares jumped 25.4% in November, coming in second place for monthly gains. NVDA YTD mountain Nvidia (NVDA) performance year-to-date Nvidia (NVDA) — an "own it, don't trade it" name — was the portfolio's fifth-best performer in November. WFC YTD mountain Wells Fargo (WFC) performance year-to-date Shares of Wells Fargo (WFC) jumped 12.07% in November, as the broader market rally lifted financials.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Mary Dillon's, Locker, Palo, CrowdStrike, We're bullish, —, Wall, Walt Disney, Nelson Peltz's, Wells, Morgan Stanley, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Altman, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Michael M Organizations: —, Palo Alto Networks, Palo Alto, Management, Nvidia, DIS, Walt Disney, Disney, Oracle, Microsoft, CNBC, Traders, New York Stock Exchange, Santiago, Getty Locations: FL, Palo, Palo Alto, Wells, Wells Fargo, OpenAI, DHR

☆ The world is splitting between those who use ChatGPT to get better, smarter, richer — and everyone else
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

There is growing evidence that artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT can make you more efficient and capable at work. And the effect will be particularly noticeable if no one else in the company is using AI in this way. All said that outsourcing time-consuming, small jobs to AI tools freed up their time. AI at work still needs careful handlingThere are obvious caveats to using AI to do your work for you. Some companies also have specific rules for AI tools due to fears around copyright or data security.

Persons: ChatGPT, —, OpenAI's, techies, Google's, Matt Calkins, Appian, It's, Shakespeare, Shona Ghosh Organizations: Service, Harvard Business School, Boston Consulting, Developers, Microsoft, Workers

☆ ChatGPT one year on: From viral AI bot to OpenAI's boardroom battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 30 (Reuters) - We asked ChatGPT, OpenAI's viral chatbot, how it felt on its first birthday. The generative AI craze has disrupted several industries from cloud computing and customer service to movie editing and screenplay writing. Reuters GraphicsCHATGPT APP DOWNLOADSSix months after ChatGPT's website launch, OpenAI introduced the chatbot application to Apple's (AAPL.O) iOS in May and later on Android in July. With these applications running mostly on the cloud, vendors of cloud computing services, including Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet, have also seen their shares surge. Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) have invested billions to improve their cloud computing capabilities and take on more AI workloads as businesses embrace such tools.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, ChatGPT, Sam Altman, chatbots, Bard, Anthropic's Claude, Character.AI, Microsoft's, OpenAI, John Grisham, George R.R, Martin, Jonathan Franzen, Akash Sriram, Harshita Mary Varghese, Zaheer Kachwala, Jaspreet Singh, Sweta Singh, Saumyadeb Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft, Reuters, Android, Nvidia, Nasdaq, TECH, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Salesforce raises annual profit view on steady cloud demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Zaheer Kachwala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 29 (Reuters) - Salesforce (CRM.N) raised its annual profit forecast and its third-quarter results beat Wall Street targets on Wednesday, benefiting from a strong demand for its cloud and business products in an uncertain economy. Salesforce expects fourth-quarter adjusted profit in the range of $2.25 to $2.26 per share compared with estimates of $2.17. It forecast revenue between $9.18 billion and $9.23 billion, the midpoint of which exceeded estimates of $9.21 billion, according to LSEG data. The company's third-quarter revenue of $8.72 billion narrowly beat expectations, while adjusted profit of $2.11 per share beat estimates by 5 cents. It also raised the lower end of its annual revenue forecast to $34.75 to $34.8 billion.

Persons: Porte, Benoit Tessier, Salesforce, Charlie Miner, Einstein, Slack, Zaheer Kachwala, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Wall, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, Bengaluru

☆ This is the commentary Cramer wants to hear most when Salesforce reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Now, with the Club holding set to report earnings, Jim Cramer wants to hear whether its AI endeavors are really on track to boost its financials. "We want to hear that numbers must be raised next year because of the new business that [Salesforce is] getting now" as a result of AI, Jim said Tuesday. It's been a year since OpenAI's ChatGPT went viral and accelerated investment into generative AI applications, which can create human-like text sentences and images in response to user queries. Since then, Salesforce and other software companies have raced to incorporate generative AI capabilities into their existing products or launch new ones all together. Still, the analysts reiterated their buy-equivalent rating on Salesforce stock and a $250-per-share price target.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Marc Benioff, Jim, It's, OpenAI's ChatGPT, Salesforce, Piper Sandler, Jim Cramer's, Stefan Wermuth Organizations: Club, Adobe, Microsoft, LSEG, Oppenheimer, CNBC, Salesforce, Economic, Bloomberg, Getty Locations: Davos, Switzerland

☆ Salesforce shares are deservedly rewarded after a stellar quarter and a rosy outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bottom line It was another terrific quarter from Salesforce with steady, double-digit revenue growth and a continued operating margin uplift, leading to a huge increase in earnings per share. Additionally, the topline growth story has some game to it, thanks to the surge in interest in its Data Cloud. By Cloud unit, the most exciting performance in the quarter came from the Data Cloud. Revenue growth accelerated to 22% from 16% in the prior quarter, and the company said it added 1,000 new customers in the quarter alone. Artificial intelligence is driving the interest in the Data Cloud, as more customers seek to use Mulesoft's integration technology to unlock data across legacy systems, cloud apps, and devices.

Persons: Salesforce, Marc Benioff, management's, Salesforce's headcount, Salesforce's, Jim Cramer's, Jim Cramer, Jim, Nicholas Kamm Organizations: Revenue, LSEG, CNBC, Salesforce, Economic, Washington, AFP, Getty Locations: Americas, Africa, Asia, headcount, Washington ,

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