tech

Tesla accelerates AI agent push as xAI’s Macrohard falters

Painting “MACROHARD” on the roof of an xAI data center hasn’t been enough to bring the company’s core AI office worker to life. Business Insider reports that the effort to compete with Microsoft has stalled amid staff and leadership departures and what appears to be a hiring freeze.

At the same time, Elon Musk’s public company, Tesla, seems to be accelerating its own AI agent project, dubbed “Digital Optimus.” It’s meant to perform tasks on a computer much like the Optimus robot would do in the real world.

Unlike Macrohard’s screenshot-based training approach, Tesla’s effort reportedly mirrors its Full Self-Driving system, processing information in real time rather than step by step.

Add this to the growing list of ways Musk’s empire is blurring together: SpaceX merged with xAI in February, and now Tesla appears to be absorbing one of xAI’s most ambitious projects, with some of Macrohard’s work and computing resources reportedly shifting to Tesla’s Autopilot team.

XAI's Macrohard project stalls as Tesla ramps up a similar AI agent effort

XAI's Macrohard project stalls as Tesla ramps up a similar AI agent effort

Unlike Macrohard’s screenshot-based training approach, Tesla’s effort reportedly mirrors its Full Self-Driving system, processing information in real time rather than step by step.

Add this to the growing list of ways Musk’s empire is blurring together: SpaceX merged with xAI in February, and now Tesla appears to be absorbing one of xAI’s most ambitious projects, with some of Macrohard’s work and computing resources reportedly shifting to Tesla’s Autopilot team.

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Google completes acquisition of Wiz — its biggest ever

Today Google said it has completed its $32 billion acquisition of cybersecurity startup Wiz, the largest deal in the company’s history.

“This acquisition is an investment by Google Cloud to improve cloud security and enable organizations to build fast and securely across any cloud or AI platform,” the company wrote in a press release.

The companies agreed to the all-cash purchase last year, after quite a bit of back and forth.

Alphabet updated acquisitions chart — Sherwood News

Google Completes Acquisition of Wiz

Google Completes Acquisition of Wiz

Alphabet updated acquisitions chart — Sherwood News

David Crowther, Claire Yubin Oh

Perplexity has been left behind in the AI wars

Once touted as a potential Google killer, the AI search engine’s traffic has been flat over the last year, while peers like Claude have surged ahead.

Amazon Wins Suit Against Perplexity, Blocking AI Shopping Agent

tech

Uber jumps on news it’s partnering with Amazon’s Zoox in Las Vegas and Los Angeles

Uber jumped premarket after announcing it will offer rides in Amazon-owned Zoox autonomous vehicles on its platform in Las Vegas later this summer and Los Angeles in the middle of next year, as part of a multiyear agreement. Zoox is currently testing in 10 US markets, while it’s available to the public in Las Vegas and select users in the Bay Area.

Uber separately announced a partnership with Serve Robotics and White Castle today to deliver food in Serve’s autonomous sidewalk robots.

Zoox is partnering with Uber | Zoox

Zoox is partnering with Uber | Zoox

tech

Salesforce reportedly planning $25 billion bond sale to help fund $50 billion buyback

When Salesforce reported earnings last month, it announced a $50 billion share buyback as a show of confidence in its position at a time when investors are questioning AI’s impact on enterprise software. Now, to help fund that buyback, the company is reportedly seeking to sell up to $25 billion in debt — a record sum for Salesforce that could test investor appetite for a more leveraged balance sheet.

Moody’s Ratings called funding the buyback via a bond sale “a material shift in financial policy” and downgraded Salesforce’s credit rating to A2. S&P Global Ratings also lowered its outlook to negative.

Salesforce Plans to Raise Up to $25 Billion to Fund Buybacks

Salesforce Plans to Raise Up to $25 Billion to Fund Buybacks

Moody’s Ratings called funding the buyback via a bond sale “a material shift in financial policy” and downgraded Salesforce’s credit rating to A2. S&P Global Ratings also lowered its outlook to negative.

tech

Yann LeCun raises $1 billion for his Advanced Machine Intelligence Labs, breaking European records

One of the esteemed pioneers of generative AI, Yann LeCun, has raised $1.03 billion in a seed funding round for his company Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI) Labs, the largest seed round for a European company. This give AMI Labs a pre-money valuation of $3.5 billion.

The company said the round was co-led by Cathay Innovation, Greycroft, Hiro Capital, HV Capital, and Bezos Expeditions. Nvidia, Dassault Group, and global investment firm Temasek are also listed as investors.

After recently leaving Meta, LeCun is making a bold bet that “world models” — which understand how physical objects interact with their environment — are the key to AI’s next big breakthrough, rather than large language models.

The EU is eager to build out its own bench of AI startups as it seeks to build a “Euro stack” that lessens the region’s dependence on American tech companies. The Paris-based AMI Labs will instantly become one of the most important tech companies working on AI in the EU.

Yann LeCun’s AI start-up raises more than $1bn in Europe’s largest seed round

Yann LeCun’s AI start-up raises more than $1bn in Europe’s largest seed round

The company said the round was co-led by Cathay Innovation, Greycroft, Hiro Capital, HV Capital, and Bezos Expeditions. Nvidia, Dassault Group, and global investment firm Temasek are also listed as investors.

After recently leaving Meta, LeCun is making a bold bet that “world models” — which understand how physical objects interact with their environment — are the key to AI’s next big breakthrough, rather than large language models.

The EU is eager to build out its own bench of AI startups as it seeks to build a “Euro stack” that lessens the region’s dependence on American tech companies. The Paris-based AMI Labs will instantly become one of the most important tech companies working on AI in the EU.

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