Business - News Articles

Waymo Hits 10 Million Robotaxi Rides as Tesla Competition Looms

May 20, 2025

CNBC

Waymo achieves 10 million robotaxi rides milestone, doubling its volume in five months while delivering over 250,000 weekly paid trips across four major cities, as Tesla prepares to launch competing autonomous taxi service in Austin next month.

Autonomous Vehicles Business

Warby Parker Shares Soar on $150 Million Google Smart Glasses Deal

May 20, 2025

CNBC

Warby Parker shares surged around 16% after Google announced a $150 million partnership to develop stylish smart glasses, with the first line set to launch after 2025 using Google's Android XR operating system and AI assistant.

AR/VR & Wearables Funding Business

Microsoft-Backed Builder.ai Faces Insolvency After $1B Valuation Plunge

May 20, 2025

TechCrunch

Builder.ai, a Microsoft-backed AI software company once valued over $1B, is entering insolvency proceedings due to financial strain, leadership turmoil, and alleged inflation of sales figures, despite raising over $450M in funding and promising simplified app development.

Funding Business

Google Unveils $250 Monthly 'VIP' AI Subscription Service

May 20, 2025

CNBC

Google announced a premium $249.99 per month 'Google AI Ultra' subscription service, offering exclusive access to its latest AI models, early access features, massive storage, and premium perks like YouTube Premium, positioning it as a 'VIP pass' for cutting-edge Google AI.

Consumer Products Foundation Models Business

Alation Acquires Numbers Station to Supercharge AI Agent Offerings

May 20, 2025

TechCrunch

Alation, an enterprise data intelligence platform valued at $1.7 billion, has acquired Numbers Station, a startup building AI agents for structured data, to bolster its AI offerings and enable large language models to operate on enterprise databases more effectively.

Data & Analytics Agents Business

Google's 50-Minute Meeting Policy Sparks Malicious Compliance Craze

May 16, 2025

clientserver

In 2011, Larry Page became Google's CEO and tried to enforce meeting policies like 50-minute time slots, but employees maliciously complied by booking available 10-minute slots, causing meeting disruptions and showcasing the futility of rigid rules without buy-in.

Business

Meta Postpones 'Behemoth' AI Model Amid Slowdown in AI Progress

May 16, 2025

PYMNTS.com

Meta has postponed the release of its highly anticipated 'Behemoth' AI model, originally slated for summer, to fall or later, citing a slowdown in AI progress and a lack of significant improvements, potentially signaling that current scaling approaches for large language models may be reaching their limits.

Foundation Models Business

Salesforce Acquires Convergence.ai to Bolster AI Agent Capabilities

May 15, 2025

Salesforce

Salesforce signs agreement to acquire Convergence.ai, an AI company specializing in adaptive agents that can navigate complex digital workflows, bolstering Salesforce's Agentforce platform and AI capabilities for automating sophisticated tasks.

Agents Business Enterprise

Databricks Acquires Neon for Serverless Postgres Power

May 14, 2025

Databricks

Databricks, a leader in data and AI, has acquired Neon, a serverless Postgres company, to provide developers and AI agents with a powerful, elastic, and open database foundation that combines speed, scalability, and branching capabilities for seamless data management.

Data & Analytics Agents Cloud Computing Business

Meta Unveils AI Startup Accelerator at STATION F with Hugging Face & Scaleway

May 13, 2025

stationf

Meta, Hugging Face, and Scaleway have joined forces to launch an AI startup accelerator at STATION F, offering housing, events, and comprehensive startup programs to support and nurture promising AI ventures.

Funding Open Source Business