Microsoft shares $500M in AI savings internally days after cutting 9,000 jobs
Microsoft’s chief commercial officer Judson Althoff noted AI has been so useful that Microsoft was able to save more than $500 million last year in its call center alone.
California lawmaker behind SB 1047 reignites push for mandated AI safety reports
California State Senator Scott Wiener on Wednesday introduced new amendments to his latest bill, SB 53, that would require the world’s largest AI companies to publish safety and security protocols and issue reports when safety incidents occur.
Steve Davis left DOGE in May, but officials say he’s still running the show
Though he officially left the U.S. government in May, Steve Davis — Elon Musk’s low-flying former top lieutenant at the Department of Government Efficiency — continues wielding influence at DOGE, according to the WSJ. The outlet says Davis regularly gives directions to current DOGE officials and has privately dismissed his departure as “fake news.”
Neobank Revolut seeks $65B valuation, a year after its $45B deal
Europe’s fintech darling Revolut is looking to raise a new funding round that would give it a $65 billion valuation, the Financial Times reports. The U.K.-based company is reportedly in talks to raise around $1 billion by issuing new shares and selling existing ones. The U.S.-based firm Greenoaks is said to be leading the round, […]
Rivian spinoff Also raises another $200M to build e-bikes and more
Also, the micromobility startup that spun out of Rivian this year, was raised $200 million from Greenoaks Capital.
LangChain is about to become a unicorn, sources say
AI infrastructure startup LangChain is raising a new round at about $1 billion valuation led by IVP.
Grok is being antisemitic again and also the sky is blue
Grok, the AI chatbot powered by Elon Musk’s xAI company, is back with more antisemitic rants.
Apple COO Jeff Williams to step down later this month
Having worked at Apple for nearly three decades, Williams has played a significant role in introducing the iPod and iPhone programs, leading the development of the Apple Watch, and overseeing the design team, among other contributions.
US government confirms arrest of Chinese national accused of stealing COVID research and mass-hacking email servers
Accused hacker and Chinese national Xu Zewei was arrested in Italy at the request of U.S. prosecutors.
Meta reportedly recruits Apple’s head of AI models
Ruoming Pang previously ran Apple’s in-house team that trained the AI foundation models that underpin Apple Intelligence and other on-device AI features.