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Friday's dramatic failure of the bank, which focuses on tech startups, was the biggest since the 2008 financial crisis. Even small startups are getting in on the action to help others. Aleem Mawani, founder of Streak, a company with about 30 employees, tweeted Friday he would lend his personal cash free of any terms to other small startups worried about paying staff. Some, including Lowercarbon Capital, have offered loans to portfolio companies that have funds stuck at SVB. Gurson estimated "conservatively" that Altman has given more than $1 million to support other startups in similar need.

At some Silicon Valley Bank branch locations in California, depositors gathered early Friday to attempt to get their cash out, fearing it could be inaccessible in the coming days. It has had financial relationships with a who’s who of Silicon Valley firms over the years, including Snapchat's parent Snap Inc (SNAP.N). A locked door to a Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) location on Sand Hill Road is seen in Menlo Park, California, U.S. March 10, 2023. A Silicon Valley Bank spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent Friday. As of Friday, FarmboxRx’s funds were still tied up with Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ How SVB employees are coping after being ordered to leave the office, from polishing their resumes to hitting the bar: 'We're pretty much in the dark'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Emmalyse Brownstein | Rebecca Ungarino | Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It read: "Operations of the SVB Securities broker dealer are distinct from the receivership of SVB Financial." The SVB Securities employee called the whirlwind leading up to SVB's meltdown as "scary, scary stuff." Kevin Heal, senior analyst at Argus Research, said he sees both SVB Securities and SVB Private being sold. SVB bought the healthcare investment bank Leerink Partners in 2018, renaming it SVB Leerink and then SVB Securities. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty ImagesHeal thinks the investment banking operations could be purchased by a smaller investment banking firm that doesn't have tech or healthcare prowess, like US Bancorp or PNC.

March 10 (Reuters) - The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Friday sent shockwaves through the startup community, which has come to view the lender as a source of reliable capital, particularly for some of tech’s biggest moonshots. It has had financial relationships with a who’s who of Silicon Valley firms over the years, including Snapchat's parent Snap Inc (SNAP.N)Snap declined to comment. A Silicon Valley Bank spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment sent Friday. Uncertainty swept through Silicon Valley as startup founders and venture capital firms worried they could, among other things, fail to make payroll. As of Friday, FarmboxRx’s funds were still tied up with Silicon Valley Bank.

☆ Palantir lands $99.6 mln deal with U.S. State Department
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 8 (Reuters) - Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.N) has won a contract to sell up to $99.6 million worth of software to the U.S. Department of State for monitoring the health of the diplomatic corps, the company told Reuters ahead of a Wednesday announcement. The bureau has sought software to record health incidents, predict risks, manage medical-evacuation missions and handle other tasks, according to a government document. Palantir told Reuters the State Department has already paid the company $10 million as part of the purchase agreement, and it will book the remaining value over the next five years. The Denver, Colorado-headquartered company said the deal continues a pilot dating back to 2021 and other State Department work since 2017. Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, Calif.; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Salesforce to add ChatGPT to Slack as part of OpenAI partnership
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 7 (Reuters) - Salesforce Inc (CRM.N) said on Tuesday it was working with ChatGPT creator OpenAI to add the chatbot sensation to its collaboration software Slack, as well as bring generative artificial intelligence to its business software generally. ChatGPT also would integrate with Slack to help users summarize conversation threads and handle other queries. Clara Shih, a general manager at Salesforce, said in a press briefing that the announcement responded to demand by businesses for the nascent technology. Salesforce's generative AI tools would help companies “completely reimagine how they engage with their customers,” she said. Salesforce also announced a fund to invest in generative AI startups.

☆ Best Buy, Walmart, other major US retailers tout health services
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Katherine Masters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Electronics retailer Best Buy recently kicked off a partnership with Atrium Health, part of Advocate Health, one of the country’s largest nonprofit hospital systems, Best Buy Chief Executive Officer Corie Sue Barry announced Thursday on a call with analysts. The partnership combines Atrium's hospital-at-home program with Best Buy’s technological services, she said. Best Buy Chief Financial Officer Matthew Bilunas, however, predicted continued growth of the company's health services would contribute to gross profit rate expansion even as it anticipates cooling demand throughout 2023. "The role of technology within health care is becoming more important than ever, and our strategy is to enable care at home for everyone," Barry said. New sign-ups for Best Buy's health services are expected to help drive a 40 to 70 basis point improvement in gross margins this year, despite lower sales.

☆ OpenAI's long-time backer Reid Hoffman leaves board
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 3 (Reuters) - LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is leaving OpenAI's board to avoid conflicts of interest as he backs more artificial intelligence companies, he said in an online post. Hoffman also co-founded Inflection AI, one of the highest profile startups working on technology similar to OpenAI's. At the same time, Hoffman said he remained OpenAI's "ally" and wanted to work toward "elevating humanity" through technology including cross-industry partnerships if desired. Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, said in a Twitter post responding to Hoffman that he looks forward "to much more collaboration in the future!" Hoffman remains on the board of Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), itself a major partner to and investor in OpenAI.

☆ Microsoft Africa internet plan moves forward with fiber deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 2 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) has reached a deal with Africa's biggest independent fiber network toward its goal of expanding internet access on the continent, its President Brad Smith said. The effort aims to build a new cloud-computing and AI market longer-term, which would benefit Microsoft, Smith has said. The software maker's so-called Airband initiative brings together telecoms and electricity providers, non-profits and governments to increase internet access. Smith also said Microsoft would work to improve food production in Africa through various partnerships, including applying artificial intelligence to monitor crops. Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, Calif.; Editing by Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Microsoft adds new Bing to Windows computers in effort to roll out AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) on Tuesday started adding its recently upgraded Bing search engine to its Windows computer software, aiming to put artificial intelligence (AI) at the fingertips of hundreds of millions of people. The Windows 11 update, Microsoft's latest in a flurry of product revamps this month, shows how the Redmond, Washington-based software maker is marching ahead on AI notwithstanding recent scrutiny of its technology. Microsoft's operating system will include the new Bing in desktop computers' search box, which helps half a billion monthly users navigate their files and the internet, the company said. Microsoft has been gathering feedback on the new Bing before a wider rollout. In addition to the new Bing, Microsoft's Windows update will include software that can connect to iPhone messages and calls starting with a limited set of users, the company said.

☆ Brexit deal hailed as 'turning point' for Northern Ireland, but could still face opposition in Belfast
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WINDSOR, U.K., Feb. 27, 2023: Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (L) and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced a landmark post-Brexit trading arrangement seeking to rectify problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol. Dan Kitwood/AFP via Getty ImagesLONDON — The new Brexit deal signed by the U.K. and the European Union on Monday was heralded as a "turning point" for Northern Ireland, but must still pass muster in Belfast. The sticking point could come from across the Irish Sea in Stormont, near Belfast, where the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly has been suspended for a year after the pro-Brexit Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) resigned in protest over the Northern Ireland Protocol. "There can be no disguising the fact that, in some sectors of our economy, EU law remains applicable in Northern Ireland." BELFAST, U.K., Feb. 17, 2023: DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson speaks to reporters outside the Culloden Hotel in Belfast after Northern Irish leaders held talks with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

☆ Northern Ireland's DUP: New deal does give Stormont ability to apply brake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said a new provision to stop new European Union trade rules from applying to goods in Northern Ireland did appear to give its Stormont regional assembly the ability to apply a brake. "I do think that what has been proposed at first reading does give Stormont the ability to apply the brake where the application of EU law for the purposes of facilitating cross-border trade impacts on our ability to trade with the rest of the United Kingdom," Jeffrey Donaldson told BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday. We continue to have some concerns," he said of the new post-Brexit deal struck between Britain and the EU on Monday. The Stormont brake, unveiled as part of the deal, enables the British government to stop new EU laws from applying to goods in Northern Ireland if requested by a third of lawmakers in Stormont, the British province's regional assembly. Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, Editing by Kylie MacLellanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ HP forecasts strong quarter as cost cuts, easing supply chain pressures help
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 28 (Reuters) - PC maker HP Inc (HPQ.N) on Tuesday forecast second-quarter adjusted profit above estimates and re-affirmed its full-year earnings target, expecting to benefit from cost cuts and higher shipments as supply chain pressures ease. HP forecast second-quarter adjusted per share earnings between 73 cents and 83 cents, above analysts' average estimate of 76 cents. It also maintained its full-year adjusted profit target of $3.20 to $3.60 per share. The strong profit forecast overshadowed a nearly 19% drop in first-quarter revenue to $13.8 billion that also missed analysts' average estimate of $14.12 billion, according to Refinitiv data. PC shipments are expected to be down 6.8% this year, compared with a 16% decline last year, according to projections by market research firm Gartner.

☆ A risk taken, UK's Sunak announces the Windsor Framework
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Elizabeth Piper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

But it was secrecy that fostered suspicion among two big hitters in the years-long Brexit debate - the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland's biggest unionist party, and the pro-Brexit Conservative European Research Group (ERG). "I am pleased to report that we have now made a decisive breakthrough, together we have changed the original protocol and are today announcing the new Windsor framework," Sunak told a news conference. Then both former leaders had threatened to rip up the Northern Ireland protocol with legislation in parliament and their administrations had regularly criticised the EU for being overly legalistic and inflexible. Pressing pause on the Northern Ireland Protocol bill which would all but rip up the earlier agreement, he saw solving the Northern Ireland standoff as a concrete "win" for his administration which has struggled to establish itself. But Sunak still has to win over not only some of his lawmakers in the ERG, but more importantly the DUP.

☆ Amazon completes One Medical takeover after FTC nod, discounts membership
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said on Wednesday it completed its $3.5 billion takeover of primary care provider One Medical (ONEM.O), a day after a U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) official announced that the agency would not challenge the deal. The acquisition, announced last July, gives the online retailer brick-and-mortar offices for consumers to receive medical care for the first time, in addition to a virtual health offering. Amazon also said it would discount One Medical membership to $144 from $199 for the first year to new customers, irrespective of whether they're Prime loyalty subscribers. Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru and Jeffrey Dastin in Palo Alto, Calif.; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Executives across the technology sector are talking about how to operate AI like ChatGPT while accounting for the high expense. What makes this form of AI pricier than conventional search is the computing power involved. Still, footing the bill is one of two main reasons why search and social media giants with billions of users have not rolled out an AI chatbot overnight, said Paul Daugherty, Accenture's chief technology officer. Technology experts also said a workaround is applying smaller AI models to simpler tasks, which Alphabet is exploring. The company said this month a "smaller model" version of its massive LaMDA AI technology will power its chatbot Bard, requiring "significantly less computing power, enabling us to scale to more users."

☆ U.S. will not challenge Amazon.com's plan to buy One Medical, FTC official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will not file a complaint aimed at stopping Amazon.com's (AMZN.O) plan to buy primary care provider One Medical, an FTC official said on Tuesday. Amazon.com Inc said in July it would buy One Medical for $3.49 billion, expanding the e-commerce giant's virtual healthcare business and adding brick-and-mortar doctors' offices for the first time. The FTC official said that the agency planned to send a pre-consummation warning letter that would say it still had specific concerns about the deal. One Medical is in more than a dozen U.S. markets and gives members access to virtual care at any time of the day or night. The FTC is also probing Amazon.com's plan to buy Roomba maker iRobot Corp (IRBT.O) for $1.7 billion.

The talks follow weeks of media speculation that a deal was close with the EU to revise the Northern Ireland protocol, which was agreed when Britain left the bloc three years ago. Speaking earlier in Munich, Sunak said a new deal was "by no means done," adding that Brussels and London had an understanding of how the problems could be resolved. "We're working through them (the issues) hard and we will work through them intensely with the EU, but we are by no means done." Sunak reassured the audience at the conference that Britain wanted to have a positive relationship with the bloc. Reporting by Muvija M and Kate Holton; Editing by Jane Merriman and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Microsoft's Bing plans AI ads in early pitch to advertisers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Last week, Microsoft and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google announced new generative AI chatbots a day apart from the other. Microsoft expects the more human responses from the Bing AI chatbot will generate more users for its search function and therefore more advertisers. Advertisements within the Bing chatbot may also enjoy more prominence on the page compared to traditional search ads. loadingMicrosoft's Edge web browser, which uses the Bing search engine, has a market share under 5% worldwide, according to one estimate from web analytics firm StatCounter. Parts Geek did not immediately respond to questions about whether it was aware of its ads appearing in the new Bing chatbot.

☆ Britain's Sunak touts EU protocol progress in Northern Ireland, no deal yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Amanda Ferguson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

After weeks of intense London-Brussels talks, momentum has been building towards a deal to revise the Northern Ireland Protocol - the arrangements agreed to avoid a hard border with EU member Ireland when Britain exited the EU in 2020. "I had positive conversations with political parties in Northern Ireland," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters. In Belfast, Sunak focused his attention on the Democratic Unionist Party, whose opposition to the protocol must be overcome to make any deal work. The other political parties that met Sunak on Friday said detail from the prime minister on a potential deal was "scant". Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the militant Irish Republican Army that wants Northern Ireland to split from the UK and unite with Ireland, became the province's largest party for the first time at elections last year.

It was created by OpenAI, a private company backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), and made available to the public for free. Its ubiquity has generated fear that generative AI such as ChatGPT could be used to spread disinformation, while educators worry it will be used by students to cheat. A second congressional aide described the discussions as focusing on the speed of changes in AI and how it could be used. In an interview with Time, Mira Murati, OpenAI's chief technology officer, said the company welcomed input, including from regulators and governments. "The whole value proposition of these types of AI systems is that they can generate content at scales and speeds that humans simply can't," he said.

While the UK as a whole voted to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum, Northern Ireland voted 56% to 44% to remain. But if there is no agreement unionists can support, Northern Ireland will continue to have no functioning political institutions, he said, "and I don't think that is an outcome that anybody really wants". "If the choice is Sinn Fein rule or even imperfect British rule I would certainly take British rule before I would take Sinn Fein rule," said TUV leader Jim Allister. Completing the intense pressure Donaldson is under from all sides as the defining moment of his leadership nears is the more liberal Ulster Unionist Party, ready to cast itself as the unionist party of pragmatism if the DUP's boycott escalates. What will ultimately protect Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom is if Northern Ireland works."

☆ Factbox: How to get Microsoft's new AI-enhanced Bing
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 7 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) on Tuesday unveiled a juiced-up version of its Bing search engine and Edge Web browser, powered by an upgraded version of ChatGPT's underlying technology. Users will need to go to this link and sign in to a Microsoft account to get on a waitlist to access Bing search. To jump the line, Microsoft said users can set Bing as the default search engine on their PC and scan a QR code to download the Bing Search app on your phone. Here is how Microsoft has integrated the technology from OpenAI, in which Microsoft first invested in 2019, into Bing and Edge. For more complex searches, such as planning a detailed trip itinerary or researching a TV set to buy, users can refine their search by asking more details through the Bing chat.

☆ Microsoft to infuse software with more AI as Google rivalry heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft is staking its future on AI through billions of dollars of investment. Working with the startup OpenAI, the company is aiming to rival Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google and potentially claim vast returns from tools that speed up all manner of content creation, automating tasks if not jobs themselves. “This technology is going to reshape pretty much every software category," said Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella, in a briefing for reporters at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. "Microsoft is looking to win this AI battle," he said in a research note on Monday. Last week Microsoft announced the startup's AI will generate meeting notes in Teams, its collaboration software, as well as suggest email replies to vendors using its Viva Sales subscription.

☆ Microsoft packs Bing search engine, Edge browser with AI in big challenge to Google
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft is staking its future on AI through billions of dollars of investment as it directly challenges Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google. “This technology is going to reshape pretty much every software category," Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella told reporters in a briefing at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. On Monday it unveiled a chatbot of its own called Bard, while it is planning to release AI for its search engine that can synthesize material when no simple answer exists online. PRACTICAL USESAt the event, Mehdi demonstrated how the AI-enhanced search engine will make shopping and creating emails much easier. For the quarter ending Dec. 31, Alphabet reported $42.6 billion in Google Search and other revenue, while Microsoft posted $3.2 billion from search and news advertising.

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