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☆ Microsoft CEO responds to anti-Israel demonstrations at universities, says Hamas terrorist attacks must be 'condemned in the strongest possible ways'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft's CEO said Hamas' terrorist attack must be "condemned in the strongest possible ways." Satya Nadella was asked about his thoughts on the war and anti-Israel demonstrations at universities during an interview with Axel Springer. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementAdvertisementMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella spoke out against the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and anti-Israel demonstrations at American universities during an interview with Axel Springer, Insider's parent company, on Tuesday. "There was a terrorist attack by Hamas on innocent citizens of Israel, and that has to be condemned in the strongest possible ways," Nadella said during an interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Axel Springer, —, Nadella, Mathias Döpfner, Döpfner Organizations: Elite, Harvard, Service, Microsoft, Yale, Stanford Locations: Israel, Berlin, American

☆ Microsoft's CEO on one of the biggest philosophical questions about AI and whether it's manipulating us
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, weighed in on AI's capacity for empathy and manipulation during an interview on Tuesday. Answers to existential AI questions rest on philosophy as well as tech, according to Nadella. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Nadella and Döpfner discussed the "ethical issues" of AI developing human emotions like empathy or a sense of humor on Tuesday. AdvertisementAdvertisement"We need some moral philosophers to guide us on how to think about this technology and deploying this technology," the Microsoft CEO said.

Persons: Satya Nadella, —, Mathias Döpfner, Axel Springer, Nadella, Döpfner, Elon Musk, We've, Musk's, OpenAI Organizations: Microsoft, Service, Business

☆ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says empathy isn't a soft skill — it's actually 'the hardest skill we learn'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Kylie Kirschner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella thinks empathy is an important business skill, not just a soft skill. AdvertisementAdvertisementMicrosoft CEO Satya Nadella thinks that empathy is more than just a soft skill — it's crucial in both personal and professional life. "Empathy is not a soft skill," Nadella said in an interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner on Tuesday. "It reshaped me as a human being, as a parent, as a partner, and as a leader at work," Nadella said. On a broader level, Nadella also thinks empathy plays a key role in driving innovation.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Nadella, Axel Springer's, —, Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, Zain, Anu, — he's Organizations: Service, Ernst Locations: Seattle, Berlin

☆ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says he weighs 2 factors when considering making an acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Satya Nadella has orchestrated a slew of acquisitions at Microsoft since becoming CEO in 2014. His remarks come on the heels of Microsoft closing its $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal. AdvertisementAdvertisementSatya Nadella has closed a number of deals for Microsoft in his tenure as CEO, and he says there are two key factors he considers when eyeing possible acquisitions. Nadella discussed his thought process for acquisitions while speaking at the Axel Springer Award ceremony in Berlin on Tuesday. Axel Springer is Insider's parent company.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Axel Springer's, —, Nadella, Axel Springer Organizations: Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, Service, Activision, Mojang Studios Locations: Berlin

☆ Google to pay German publishers 3.2 mln eur per year on interim basis
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman passes the logo from the web search engine provider Google during the digital society festival 're:publica', at the Arena Berlin in Berlin, Germany June 9, 2022. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBERLIN, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Google (GOOGL.O) has agreed to pay German publishers 3.2 million euros ($3.38 million) a year for its publication of news content pending a decision from the German patent office (DPMA) on the issue, the sides said in separate statements on Thursday. The U.S. search engine operator reached the agreement with Corint Media, an umbrella organisation that represents the interests of German and international publishers including Sat.1, ProSieben, RTL, Axel Springer and CNBC. The sides had previously agreed on a one-off payment of 5.8 million euros by Google for the period since the introduction of new press ancillary copyright legislation in 2021. ($1 = 0.9481 euros)Reporting by Klaus Lauer, Writing by Friederike Heine, Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Annegret, Axel Springer, Christine Jury, Fischer, Klaus Lauer, Friederike Heine, Miranda Murray Organizations: Google, Arena, REUTERS, Rights, Corint Media, Sat, RTL, CNBC, Spiegel, Zeit, Corint, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, U.S

☆ Israel can't yield to Hamas threat to kill hostages, says Henry Kissinger
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Henry Kissinger said that Israel should not give in to Hamas' threat to hostages. Hamas recently said it would kill hostages if Israel strikes Gaza homes without warning. AdvertisementAdvertisementFormer US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said that Israel cannot give in to Hamas' threats to kill Israeli hostages, but called it a "heartbreaking decision" for any leader to have to make. Asked by Döpfner how he would handle Hamas' threat to hostages, Kissinger said: "Sitting on the outside, it is not possible for me to state a complete answer." AdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking of the threat to hostages, Kissinger said that "there has to be some penalty, there has to be some serious limitation of their capability of taking this kind of action."

Persons: Henry Kissinger, —, Israel, Mathias Döpfner, Axel Springer, Abu Ubaida, Döpfner, Kissinger, Richard Nixon, Anwar Sadat, aren't Organizations: Israel, Service, Welt, Palestinian Ministry of Health, State Locations: Israel, Gaza, Nazi Germany, Egypt, Syria, Hamas, Ukraine

☆ Israeli woman describes being rescued by the IDF from Hamas fighters who took her hostage and massacred her village
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Paul Ronzheimer | Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An Israeli woman living on Kibbutz Be'eri was taken hostage by Hamas fighters on Saturday. But Israeli officials say they have found 107 bodies there, after Hamas fighters targeted it as part of its surprise attacks launched over the weekend. But she said she heard Hamas militants forcibly breaking down her door and entering the house. Efrat said the fighters told her they wouldn't hurt her and only wanted the keys to the kibbutz's vehicles. The Hamas fighters asked her to help extract people from a vehicle, though she was uncertain if they were dead or alive, she said.

Persons: Be'eri, —, Adi Efrat, Axel Springer, Efrat, Bild's Paul Ronzheimer, Eyal Warshavsky Organizations: Service, Israel Defense Forces, Bild, Saturday, The, New York Times, Gaza Ministry, Health Locations: Be'eri, Israel, Gaza

☆ Ukraine refused 10 Leopard tanks from Germany because they needed repairs and it didn't have the technicians and parts to fix them, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukraine refused to take 10 German Leopard tanks because they were in bad shape, per German media. Germany has committed 110 tanks to Ukraine as part of a $2.9 billion package. Authorities in Kyiv refused to import the group of Leopard 1A tanks on the grounds that they needed significant repairs, German newspaper der Speigel reported on Tuesday. Germany has committed to sending 110 tanks to Ukraine as part of a $2.9 billion military aid package announced in the spring. As of early August, German news outlet die Welt reported that just 10% of the country's promised tanks to Ukraine had been delivered.

Persons: Der Spiegel, Axel Springer, der Spiegel, Boris Pistorius, Der, — Organizations: Service, Leopard, Authorities, New York Times, Forbes, German Ministry of Defense Locations: Ukraine, Germany, Wall, Silicon, Kyiv, Russia, Der Speigel

☆ Death by LLM: Stack Overflow's decline, and its plan to survive, shows the future of free online data in an AI world
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Alistair Barr | Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Some AI models that compete against Stack Overflow were partly trained on the company's data. Online communities, like Stack Overflow and Wikipedia, thrived as hubs for experts and curious browsers to come together and share information freely. In 2021, Prosus, a major backer of Chinese tech giant Tencent, bought Stack Overflow for $1.8 billion. However, Nat Friedman, the CEO of Github through 2021, expects tech companies to pay for training data in the future. Stack Overflow is also working on new ways to measure the impact of a human's answer on the platform.

Persons: Prashanth Chandrasekar, OpenAI, Chandrasekar, coders, OpenAI's GPT, Stack, Elon Musk, Andreessen Horowitz, Sam Altman, JASON REDMOND, Jaap Arriens, GitHub, it's, chatGPT, Nasim Uddin, we're, Nat Friedman, Nat Friedman GitHub Friedman, Friedman, Axel Springer, Semafor, Prashanth Organizations: Union Square Ventures, Getty, Twitter, Publishers, Microsoft, Associated Press Locations: GPT, Prosus, AFP

☆ Read the 20-page pitch deck that startup Anzu used to raise $48 million to help place ads in video games
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Ryan Joe | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Anzu helps brands place their ads in video games. The company raised $48 million to build out its executive suite and hire staff. Inserting ads into video games — like as a billboard in a car-racing game — is increasingly enticing to advertisers hoping to message hard-to-find Gen Zers. The company raised a $20 million round last year, bringing its total to $85 million. "After proving the model with mobile games and casual games, we're moving into AAA games," Benedy said.

Persons: Zers, Axel Springer, Itamar Benedy, Anzu, Benedy, we'll Organizations: Emmis Corp, Simon Equity Partners, PayPal, Bandai Namco, AAA, Ubisoft, VR, Apple, Apple Vision Locations: Anzu

☆ After jobs warning, Germany's Axel Springer says AI can liberate journalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"For newsrooms, AI opens up new paths and freedoms. While Springer did not comment on the number of jobs at risk, company sources told Reuters a low three-digit number of employees would ultimately have to leave. Fadlallah said his focus was on regulatory challenges and the opportunities the technology opens up for consumers. Axel Springer is active in more than 40 countries and employs more than 18,000 people worldwide. Alongside its German titles, the firm owns English-language news website Politico, U.S. media company Insider and classified portals StepStone and AVIV.

Persons: Axel Springer, Samir Fadlallah, Springer, Fadlallah, Klaus Lauer, Anna Mackenzie Organizations: Reuters, Bild, Politico, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Berlin, AVIV

☆ Bild: Germany's biggest newspaper is cutting 20% of jobs as it prepares for an AI-powered digital future
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Axel Springer, which publishes Germany’s biggest-selling daily newspaper, told employees in an email Tuesday that the newspaper would cut six of its 18 regional editions, and close two-thirds of its regional offices. The company plans to produce Bild’s regional newspapers, and manage its regional reporters, from Berlin in the future, it said. According to German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine, about 200 jobs will be cut. Axel Springer would not confirm the exact number of layoffs to CNN, but it said the figure would be in the “low three-digit[s].” Bild currently employs about 1,000 people. “AI will soon be able to completely take over the layout of the printed newspaper,” the company added.

Persons: Axel Springer, Mathias Döpfner, Axel Springer’s, ” Axel Springer Organizations: London CNN, CNN, Frankfurter Allgemeine, Bild Locations: Berlin

☆ Russia's Lancet drone is hampering Ukraine's counteroffensive, smashing Western gear and exposing poor air defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Footage of destroyed Ukrainian vehicles is spreading, often attributed to the Lancet drone. Russian officials have gleefully shared videos of piled-up wreckage, and often cited as the cause the Russian-made Lancet drone. A still image from a video claiming to show the moment just before Russia's Lancet drones hit a cluster of vehicles. obtf_kaskad/TelegramA still image from a video purporting to show the moment just before Russia's Lancet drones hit a cluster of vehicles. "We should also note that we don't know how many of these new Lancet drones Russia has," he added.

Persons: —, James Patton Rogers, Rogers, Olga Skabeyeva, Vladimir Solovyov, Axel Springer, Patton Rogers, Julian Röpcke, Lancets Organizations: Service, Cornell Tech Policy Institute, University of Southern, Donetsk People's, Russian, IRIS, Air, Ukraine — Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian, —, University of Southern Denmark, Donetsk People's Republic, Germany, Ukrainian

☆ German media group Axel Springer eyes AI acquisitions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, June 9 (Reuters) - German media giant Axel Springer will establish a dedicated mergers-and-acquisitions team to look at firms specialising in artificial intelligence, CEO Matthias Doepfner said in an internal podcast to employees obtained by Reuters. The M&A competence centre "needs to entirely focus on acquisitions - early-stage acquisitions or later-stage acquisitions in AI companies - that can be, for various reasons, important or attractive for Axel Springer," Doepfner said. But the strategy could also turn up Axel Springer's next StepStone, he added. If the market environment improves, Axel Springer aims to go public with StepStone, a popular online jobs portal, this year. Doepfner said he is particularly interested in AI technology that seeks to disrupt Axel Springer's business models of advertising, e-commerce and journalism.

Persons: Axel Springer, Matthias Doepfner, Doepfner, Axel Springer's, Klaus Lauer, Rachel More, Miranda Murray Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: BERLIN

☆ Russia says it has video of the first Western tank in Ukraine getting blown up, and it could well be legit
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is jubilant over footage is says shows a Leopard tank being destroyed in Ukraine. Western tanks like the German-made Leopard are being deployed in Ukraine as part of its long-awaited counter-offensive. —🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) June 8, 2023The footage from Thursday shows a row of tanks in a field, with ordinance exploding around them. And the Kremlin has a clear interest in showing that Ukraine's prized Western weapons can be defeated. Both UA Weapons Tracker and Oryx are open-source accounts on Twitter, but with considerable heft.

Persons: —, Insider's Sinéad Baker Organizations: Service, Ministry of Defense Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ How to land a job with Blackstone, Apollo, KRR, and other private equity titans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Private equity is often seen as the Holy Grail of finance jobs — but breaking in can be challenging. We also have data on private equity pay and the industry's top recruiters. Here is what we found about pay at private equity firms, including Blackstone, Apollo, and Bain Capital. Private equity recruiting has been starting earlier than ever Getty ImagesPrivate equity firms like to recruit young talent from investment banks. These days, the private equity recruiting process has started earlier than ever, resulting in middle-of-the-night interviews with offers being made — and blown up — all before Labor Day.

Persons: —, bymuratdeniz, Blackstone, Samantha Lee, Drew Angerer, Skye Gould, Jon Gray, Grace Koo, Read, Carlyle, Alex Crisses, Thoma Bravo, Warburg Pincus, Wharton's, Axel Springer Organizations: Blackstone, KKR, Service, Apax Partners, Oaktree, of Foreign Labor, Apollo, Bain Capital, Labor, General Atlantic, PJT Partners, Partners, dealmakers, Wall, University of Michigan Locations: Carlyle, Blackstone, Axel

☆ Barbie owes her existence to a 1950s German comic strip
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Barbie likely wouldn't exist if Mattel's founder hadn't stumbled across Bild Lilli, a plastic doll based on a comic strip. The first Barbie doll, from 1959, had Lilli's red lips, high blonde ponytail, and winged eyeliner. But these dolls had flat chests, big bellies, and squatty legs – they were built like overweight six- or eight-year-olds," Handler wrote. The newspaper began making Lilli dolls in 1955 because of the comic's popularity and to market the newspaper. "Here were the breasts, the small waist, the long, tapered legs I had enthusiastically described for the designers all those years ago," Handler wrote.

Persons: Barbie, hadn't, Ruth Handler, —, Ruth Handler —, Mattel —, Barbara, Handler, Lilli, SSPL, Axel Springer publication's, Reinhard Beuthein, Robin Gerber, Ruth, Gerber, Elliot, Frederic Neema, Mattel, Lobel, Greiner, Louis Marx, Marx, Fiona Hanson, Hausser Organizations: Bild Lilli, Service, Mattel, Getty Images, Hausser, Getty, Greiner, Hausser's Locations: Europe, Lucerne, Swiss, Los Angeles, Lilli, New York

☆ KKR built a new client portal on AWS that helped the PE giant cut costs by 50%. An exec breaks down 3 things he wishes he knew ahead of time.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

KKR built a new client portal to replace a legacy one built using vendor tech. KKR had a problem with its client portal. When clients faced issues with the portal, KKR had no visibility into what was causing the problem and could only open a ticket with the vendor, he said. In 2020, KKR embarked on a total rebuild of its client portal, which eventually launched in the summer of 2021. The new portal was built on AWS, where KKR has already moved much of its technology and infrastructure.

Persons: Leo Bogdanov, KKR's, Bogdanov, Serverless, it's, Axel Springer Organizations: KKR, Amazon Web Services, AWS Locations: Axel

☆ The messy, high-stakes world of private equity's fossil-fuel dilemma
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Most major private-investment firms are working to cut down on emissions their portfolio companies send into the atmosphere. It's also set targets to get three-quarters of its majority-owned power-and-energy portfolio companies' emissions that they generate directly and indirectly covered by Paris-aligned climate goals by 2025. A growing number of private-equity firms' pension-fund limited partners are under pressure themselves to either invest around environmental, social, and governance matters or shun investing through those lenses altogether. Firms' plans with their upstream investments tend to draw the most attention because they're involved in drilling for new oil and gas. If you're a private-equity firm and you continue to make new upstream investments, I don't believe you have a Paris-aligned plan.

BuzzFeed wasn't the only digital media company to announce layoffs Thursday. Miller added that going public is probably not the best strategy for digital media companies like Buzzfeed. The news comes during a tough period for digital media companies as publishers are cutting staff as advertisers reduce spending. BuzzFeed will lay off 15% of staff and shut down its news unit, BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti wrote in an email to staff Thursday. The digital media company scaled back its news operation in an attempt to make BuzzFeed News profitable, resulting in the departure of several editors.

☆ Elon Musk says he gets 'swarmed' at parties by people wanting to discuss work, and struggles to trust people, reporter who secured rare interview says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk gave an unexpected interview to the BBC late Tuesday. According to James Clayton, the reporter who spoke to Musk, the billionaire opened up about his personal life. Musk said he's often "swarmed" by people at parties wanting to discuss work, Clayton wrote. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. Musk spoke with BBC correspondent James Clayton about his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in October and the six months that have followed including the layoffs.

☆ Why big investors like Carlyle and Ares are zeroing in on Hollywood and sports deals — and driving private credit in media to new highs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Rebecca Ungarino | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

And Ares raised $3.7 billion for a fund last fall geared specifically toward sports, media, and entertainment investments across private debt and private equity. Unlike private equity investing, where managers take stakes in companies or buy them, private credit investors lend to businesses and make money on interest payments. (Private investment firm KKR's media, entertainment, and sports portfolio includes Insider parent company Axel Springer.) Carlyle's $146 billion credit arm has also provided capital to Clair, a media tech company that specializes in live production services and audio products. The strategists said driving that uptick are private credit defaults that include so-called softer forms of default, like breaching a loan's terms and conditions, along with private credit portfolio companies having generally lower ratings and less diversified businesses.

☆ Big media is gearing up for battle with Google and Microsoft over AI chatbots using their articles for training: 'We are actively considering our options'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Publishers want Google and Microsoft to pay them for the use of media content to train their AI. Media companies are also studying how to change their business models to protect themselves from the bots' threat. Within media companies, the topic is being discussed at the highest levels, from the C-suite to the boardroom. Executives are also strategizing with peers and competitors about the possibility of forging a united position against the tech companies, according to multiple publishing sources. The same year, an Australia law forced tech companies to pay news outlets for linking to their articles.

☆ The owner of Insider and Politico says AI is coming for journalists' jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —One of Europe’s biggest media groups has warned journalists that artificial intelligence (AI) could steal their jobs, and has provided tips for how reporters can avoid the chop. “Only those who create the best original content will survive.”AI raceDöpfner’s warnings come three months after Open AI opened up access to ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot. The bot is capable of providing lengthy, thoughtful responses to questions, and can write full essays, responses in job applications and journalistic articles. Its instant popularity has turbocharged a race among tech companies to bring their own AI products to market. Staff in journalistic roles, such as reporters and specialist editors, are not currently the target of cuts, Döpfner said.

☆ Axel Springer to Restructure German Business in Shift to U.S. Focus
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Bojan Pancevski | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

German-based Axel Springer is one of Europe’s biggest media houses. BERLIN—The German owner of Politico and other U.S. outlets announced Tuesday an important restructuring of its domestic operation as part of a strategy to shift its focus to the U.S. and become a globally leading digital-only publisher. Axel Springer SE, one of Europe’s biggest media houses and the only one with a major U.S. presence, will slim down its corporate structure. It aims to boost earnings in its German media business by around 100 million euros, equivalent to $106.1 million, over the next three years, with a mid-term aim to shut down its print editions, the company said.

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