DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 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

☆ Oracle blasts IBM and publicly offers to hire Linux engineers after Red Hat's latest controversial move
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

IBM's Red Hat has caused an uproar in the Linux community with its latest attempt to squash competitors like Oracle that offer clones of its flagship Red Hat Enterprise Linux software. Oracle has also offered its own version of RHEL called Oracle Linux since 2006, and Oracle and Red Hat have had an antagonistic relationship ever since. And, because that new, you-shall-not-share provision violates the spirit of open source (and some question if it also violates open source licenses), there was a predictable backlash from open source advocates. The core of it — known as the kernel — is built by the Linux Foundation, a non-profit that is separate from Red Hat (although Red Hat supports the foundation). On Monday, Edward Screven, Oracle's top engineering leader, published a blog post with head of Oracle Linux development Wim Coekaerts slamming IBM.

Persons: CentOS, Alma, Greg Kurtzer, RHEL, Mike McGrath, We've, McGrath, Kurtzer, it's, we've, CIQ, Edward Screven, Wim Coekaerts, Coekaerts, Screven, Red, Edward Screven Oracle, Taylor Tyson Organizations: Linux, Oracle, Red Hat, IBM, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Alma Linux, Rocky Linux, Hat, CentOS, Oracle Linux, Red, Linux Foundation, Microsoft

☆ Oracle's cloud business, which runs TikTok, could be hurt the most from Biden's new proposed restrictions for China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Most US cloud companies won't be too hurt except perhaps Oracle, which runs TikTok. US cloud computing companies are about to be the latest target in the discord between the Biden administration and China. That loophole involves cloud computing companies. They merely have to pay for cloud computing services offered by the largest cloud providers. Chinese companies have plenty of local cloud providers to use for their cloud computing needs, like Tencent and Alibaba Cloud.

Persons: Biden, Bernstein, Mark Moerdler, Moerdler, Moerdler isn't, Ampere, Larry Ellison, Joe Biden, Julie Bort Organizations: Morning, Oracle, Wall Street, Amazon Web Services, Google, Microsoft, TikTok, Nvidia, supercomputing, AMD, Twitter Locations: China, Beijing

There are thousands of firms out there, each with their own specialties and varied track records. We've narrowed it down to the best 75 based on data from Crunchbase and the firms themselves. Given that, Insider created the Seed 75 list as a new member to our Seed 100 and Seed 30 lists of the best individual seed investors. Some companies verified the Crunchbase data, some didn't respond but most others supplied us with updated data. What follows is the top 75 seed firms who scored at the top of our weighted scale.

Persons: We've Organizations: Crunchbase Locations: Crunchbase

☆ Leaked messages show angry employees roasting Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella after he thanked the troops for a 'landmark' fiscal year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted a thank-you note to the troops on Wednesday. In light of all of this, CEO Satya Nadella took to Microsoft's internal message boards on Wednesday to thank the troops, in a message viewed by Insider. But a number of employees reacted to Nadella's thank-you note with salty messages, according to internal posts seen by Insider. Another message, also upvoted by over 100 people, wrote, "Here employees take pay cuts as our company and leadership make record profits. As we previously reported, a recent internal Microsoft poll showed that more Microsoft employees say they would leave if they got another comparable offer.

Persons: Satya Nadella, he's, It's, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft, Activision

☆ Oracle is betting its AI future on a company called Cohere. Here's why this little-known startup is becoming OpenAI's chief rival.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Oracle is offering generative AI to its customers based on tech from a startup called Cohere. Oracle will be embedding Cohere's generative AI technology into a bunch of its products and Cohere will be using Oracle's cloud to train, build, and deploy its generative AI models, Oracle chairman and CTO Larry Ellison said. One is that Cohere is designed for enterprise customers, meaning companies can use their own data to train their AI models, without sharing that data. But at the moment, Cohere is the only partner Oracle announced to power its generative AI services for customers, though this could change one day. He was a research intern at Google Brain in 2017 when he co-authored a paper on a way of training AI models to improve their abilities to understand language.

Persons: Cohere, Geoffrey Hinton, Fei, Fei Li, Pieter Abbeel, Larry Ellison, That's, Ellison, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Salesforce, Aidan Gomez, cofounders, Nick Frosst, Ivan Zhang, Gomez Organizations: Oracle, Morning, NVIDIA, Salesforce Ventures, New York Times, Microsoft, Wall, Nvidia, Google, Cohere Locations: Cohere, OpenAI, Toronto

☆ Oracle's biggest critic, Goldman Sachs, admits it was wrong about rating the stock a sell
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Oracle reported a record-breaking $49.95 billion in annual revenue thanks to success in cloud computing. It has convinced its biggest critic, Goldman Sachs, to change its mind about its potential. And on Tuesday, Oracle's biggest critic, Goldman Sachs analyst Kash Rangan, admitted he was wrong. He did gracefully swallow his pride enough to admit that since he first imposed the sell rating, the stock has climbed 46%. And he's also got his eye on Oracle's cash situation, given how expensive it is to build and maintain data centers.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, there's, Oracle's, Kash Rangan, Rangan, he's, What's, Safra Catz, it's, Morgan, Keith Weiss, luke, Weiss Organizations: Oracle, Morning, Yahoo Finance, Microsoft

☆ Salesforce insiders say that by wooing back former execs, Marc Benioff may finally feel comfortable enough to loosen his grip
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has been wooing back former executives for years. Insiders say that those that know Benioff best may get him to loosen his grip. Salesforce founder and CEO Marc Benioff has spent years wooing former executives back to the company. Benioff has surrounded himself with people "that know how Salesforce works and know how Benioff works" one former exec explained. With all of that new blood from aquisitions washed away, Benioff seems to think Salesforce can move forward by going back.

Persons: Marc Benioff, Brian Millham, Millham, Salesforce, Benioff, he's, Miguel Milano, Ariel Kelman, Kendall Collins, Steve Fisher, Dave Moellenhoff, Jim Steele, Clara Shih, Marc, —, Larry Ellison, Benioff's, Keith Block, Bret Taylor, Slack, Stewart Butterfield, Mark Nelson, Julie Bort Organizations: Oracle, Twitter Locations: Salesforce

☆ A top analyst says Apple is on the cusp of another monster sales cycle for the iPhone 15 and its share price will break more records
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He's predicting massive sales of the iPhone 15 and growth of its services business. Despite some signs that iPhone sales have slowed, one Apple watcher is predicting iPhone sales to bounce back and push its stock into stratospheric levels. Right now, prices for Apple's state-of-the-art iPhone 14 Pro Max start at $1099, with the slightly smaller pro starting at $999. Services is on pace to approach $100 billion compared to the roughly $50 billion it had in 2020, he writes in his note. But he's not wrong that Services growth is astounding and that it is quickly marching toward $100 billion.

Persons: Dan Ives, haven't, Ives, he's, Max Organizations: Morning, Apple, Wall, Services

☆ If your bank texts you to warn you of a fraudulent charge, that's likely a scammer, FTC warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The FTC said bank impersonation led to $330 million in reported consumer losses in 2022, doubled from 2021. The FTC just issued a new warning saying bank impersonation has become the top type of fraudulent text messages scammers are using these days. Bank impersonation resulted in $330 million in reported consumer losses in 2022, the FTC said in a new report released on Thursday. As soon as you can, review your transaction history to verify that such a transaction is pending and call the bank using the phone numbers on your statements or card. Bank of America also warns to never click a link in a suspicious text message as it could load malware on your phone.

Persons: Scammers, That's Organizations: FTC, Morning, Bank of America, Walmart Locations: Wells, Wells Fargo

☆ Salesforce is developing a ton of new AI products that could lead to 'a massive new buying cycle' Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley analysts believe
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Salesforce could be leading it, with a giant list of new AI products in the works. And he told tale after tale of planned AI products. Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss believes Salesforce's claims that AI has the potential to "spark a massive new buying cycle." Rangan tallied up 15 pending AI products from Salesforce. There will be five new AI products incorporated into the Marketing cloud to automate tasks ranging from personalized emails to analyzing engagement.

Persons: Salesforce, Marc Benioff, Claude, Goldman Sachs, Kash Rangan, Salesforce's, Einstein, Rangan, Morgan Stanley's Keith Weiss, Weiss Organizations: OpenAI, Salesforce Ventures, Google, Salesforce's, Slack, Products, Next

☆ I'm a former Google engineer who founded an AI startup. Here are the AI tech skills to learn and the tech roles AI will replace.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AI will overtake many tasks, and some roles, he says, leaving people free for more creative work. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Zach Smith, founder of Nova AI. But the path to my dream career – founder of a newly launched startup called Nova AI – wasn't straightforward or easy for me. And the people who do them should prepare themselves to be shifted towards different, more creative tasks. While I don't think that QA engineers are going to be entirely replaced, all of the manual functions they do will be automated.

Persons: Zach Smith, Gayle McDowell, I've, there's, it's Organizations: Morning, Nova, Google, Georgia Institute of Technology, Nova AI

☆ Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and his fast-rising COO Brian Millham tell us where the software giant is headed after 'a difficult time'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Julie Bort | Nicholas Carlson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The changes shifted more responsibility to President and COO Brian Millham. The changes shift more responsibility to president and COO Brian Millham, and go some way toward addressing investor concerns about succession -- should Benioff decide to pass the CEO reins in the future. Brian Millham: Closer to 70%. We're seeing many of our ex-employees want to come back to Salesforce, incredible boomerangs back to the company. Benioff: Well, I think Brian and my marriage is quite proven.

Persons: Benioff, Brian Millham, Millham, Nich Carlson, Marc Benioff, Salesforce, Brian, he's, it's, I'm, Marc, Carlson, Ariel Kelman, Miguel Milano, Kendall Collins, you've, I've Organizations: Morning, Insider's Locations: Salesforce's, Salesforce

☆ In an internal memo, Marc Benioff shakes up Salesforce's top ranks, and drops a subtle hint about the company's succession plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Nicholas Carlson | Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Miguel Milano becomes Salesforce's Chief Revenue Officer, moving from the same role at software company Celonis. Ariel Kelman, is the new Chief Marketing Officer of Salesforce. Benioff responded to the pressure by laying off thousands of employees and making other changes to increase the company's efficiency. Miguel Milano, our new Chief Revenue Officer: I'm excited to welcome back Miguel Milano to Salesforce as our Chief Revenue Officer. Ariel Kelman, our new Chief Marketing Officer:It's also incredible to welcome back Ariel Kelman as our new CMO!!!

Persons: Benioff, Marc Benioff, Miguel Milano, Milano, Ariel Kelman, Kendall Collins, Brian Millham, Salesforce, Millham, He's, Read, I'm, Brian, Brent, Juan, Miguel, It's, Ariel, Sarah Franklin, Sarah, she's, Sarah's, Congratulation Sarah, Alex Dayon, Alex, Alex !, Hui Hou Alex, Kendall, salesforce Organizations: Salesforce, Amazon, Oracle, Celonis, Amazon Web Services, Staff, Business Technology, Elliott Management, Human Resources, Global, Services, EMEA, APAC, AWS, Advisory, Board Locations: Okta, Salesforce, Celonis, AppDynamics

☆ 3 reasons why Tim Cook could create a multibillion-dollar entertainment industry with Apple's new headset
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

My daughter uses her VR headset to smash boxes with a saber, weave around obstacle courses, dance, and kill zombies. Even so, I can't wait to try Apple's Vision Pro headset and I'm hoping, despite the $3,500 price, that it will be the headset for me. Apple CEO Tim Cook has a chance to bring me and millions of other people who aren't gamers, into an exciting new world. It has already released 100 of its own arcade games for the Vision Pro headset and announced a partnership with Disney. Apple's partnership with Disney for the Vision Pro is a good example.

Persons: I'm, hasn't, it's, Tim Cook, Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Cook Organizations: Apple, PlayStation, Meta, Microsoft, Vision, Disney, Hololens Locations: Africa, India, Paris

☆ As Reddit battles OpenAI and sees its pre-IPO valuation fall, I can't help quoting Taylor Swift: Karma's gonna track you down
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fidelity marked down the value of Reddit shares, a developer revealed details about new fees. Insider previously reported that Fidelity's Growth Company Fund had already marked down its Reddit stock in January disclosures. OpenAI disclosed in research that Reddit was among its massive number of sources used to train the underlying AI models. I asked ChatGPT if it is going to pay for Reddit dataI asked ChatGPT if it is going to pay for Reddit data. With its new battle against OpenAI, it's clear that Reddit feels similarly about misuse of online content.

Persons: Reddit's, Reddit, didn't, Harold Klaje, OpenAI, hasn't, Steve Huffman, Christian Selig, He's, We've, Taylor Swift Organizations: Fidelity, Techcrunch, Growth, Fund, Bloomberg

The Seed 100 is our annual list of the best early-stage investors, based on data analysis. These investors have proven track records and are on track for continued success. Also read our list that focuses exclusively on successful women: Seed 30: The best early-stage women investors of 2023Seed-stage investing is the riskiest — and potentially most rewarding — venture-capital round and the choice of seed investor can make or break a startup. The Seed 100 identifies top investors via data analysis supplied by Tribe Capital*. Scroll down for the full Seed 100 list.

Our annual list of the best women seed investors has been expanded this year. Also read: The Seed 100: The best early-stage investors of 2023The venture-capital industry has historically been a boys' club. That's changing as more women join venture firms, found their own firms, become angel investors, and join investing syndicates. The best seed investors can repeatedly identify winners years before they are successful. Scroll down for the full Seed 30 list.

☆ 10 Things in Tech: 'I saw a quantum computer,' Gen Zer learns data analytics on YouTube, and Ford's Ranger Raptor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google's AI demonstration showed how Big Tech keeps on winning. Lots of startups are throwing their hat into the generative AI race. But it looks like Big Tech has a leg up on the competition. And it makes competitors even more dependent on Big Tech companies. My colleague Hugh Langley highlights how size and reach, not just quality, will win the AI race and breaks down how Big Tech is set to reap most of the spoils.

☆ I saw a quantum computer used by JPMorgan, with Microsoft and Nvidia as partners, and it was mind-blowing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Quantum computers are wondrous because they operate on quantum mechanics. Quantum computers are wondrous because they operate on quantum mechanics: the tiniest parts of the universe where the rules of physics as we think we know them don't always apply. I visited as part of an invitational media-and-analysts' day held a few days before Quantinuum officially launched H2, its 32-qubit, second-generation quantum computer on Tuesday. Companies like Nvidia and Microsoft, which is building its own quantum computer, are partners to Quantinuum. A schematic drawing of the Quantinuum H2 computer.

☆ Amazon is tracking employee badge swipes ahead of its return-to-office mandate. Some workers are worried.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Eugene Kim | Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon tracks team-level office badge data, internal emails show. Companies commonly use badge data for facilities management and safety reasons. Workers fear this data will be used to monitor for compliance with its return-to-office mandate. One of the contentious issues among employees is how Amazon plans to use employee badging data to track them. Amazon currently shares a weekly building occupancy report with managers, according to emails seen by Insider.

☆ The notion of 'fake work' or coasting in the tech industry has a long history, but experts say it's just an 'excuse for bad management'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Tech workers have been accused of "coasting," as well as "resting and vesting" in the past. Experts said the notion of fake work is part of a larger issue in the industry and often an excuse. People have long accused tech workers of failing to pull their weight — they've just had different names for it over the years. These claims are shedding light on larger management issues and internal problems within major tech companies, experts told Insider. And while some experts say a certain level of "fake work" is a natural part of the boom-and-bust cycle in tech, not all agree.

☆ From using multiple banks to managing VC relationships, these are the 5 lessons every founder should have learned from the Silicon Valley Bank nightmare
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

If something happens to one bank, such as a bank run, your company won't face ruin. Silicon Valley Bank famously required such clauses as CNBC reported, for at least some of its loans. Why Silicon Valley Bank failed: SVB's management surprised the market by unveiling bad news coupled with a planned capital raise that failed, among other factors. How Silicon Valley Bank imploded: There was lots of blame to go around. More of our Silicon Valley Bank coverage can be found here.

☆ If Marc Benioff is forced to sell Slack to appease activist investors, it would probably be worth less than half the $28 billion he paid just 18 months ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He calculated Slack would be worth less than half what Salesforce paid for it, and could still be worth selling. Salesforce founder and CEO Marc Benioff has multiple activist investors with stakes in his company, circling him to demand changes. One possible outcome is that Benioff is forced to sell or spinoff Slack, according to analysts. It paid more than twice that — $27.7 billion — in an acquisition that closed just 18 months ago. Under siege from fearsome activist investorsWhen we say Benioff has multiple activist investors circling, we mean he's practically under siege.

Insider asked more than 40 top fintech investors to nominate the most promising fintechs. Here are the 61 most promising fintechs. Insider surveyed 43 investors — including those from Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and QED Investors — about the most promising fintechs to watch. Global fintech funding dropped to $20.4 billion in the second quarter, falling 46% from last year, according to data from CB Insights. Check out the 61 fintechs identified as most promising by top investors.

Search resuls for: "Bort"

25 mentions found