Amazon releases a video generator — but only for ads

Like its rival, Google, Amazon has launched an AI-powered video generator — but it’s only for advertisers at the moment, and somewhat limited in what it can do. Today at its Accelerate conference, Amazon unveiled Video Generator, which turns a single product image into video showcases

AI notetaker Fathom raises $17M

In many meetings today, it sometimes feels like there are more AI notetaking and transcription bots than people. There are seemingly dozens of options to choose from these days, but one I’ve seen with increasing regularity is Fathom. The company was one of the earlier players when it launched

LinkedIn scraped user data for training before updating its terms of service

LinkedIn may have trained AI models on user data without updating its terms. LinkedIn users in the U.S. — but not the EU, EEA, or Switzerland, likely due to those regions’ data privacy rules — have an opt-out toggle in their settings screen disclosing that LinkedIn scrapes person

IBM acquires Kubernetes cost optimization startup Kubecost

IBM on Tuesday announced that it has acquired Kubecost, a FinOps startup that helps teams at companies like Allianz, Audi, Rakuten, and GitLab monitor and optimize their Kubernetes clusters with a focus on efficiency and, ultimately, cost. Tuesday’s announcement follows IBM’s $4.3 bill

Workday acquires AI-powered document platform Evisort

Workday announced on Tuesday that it’s acquiring Evisort, an AI-powered contract management platform, for an undisclosed amount. In a statement, Terrance Wampler, group general manager at Workday, said that Evisort’s tech will enable Workday to add a range of AI-powered document proces

GreenLite, founded by an ex-Gopuff exec, automates construction permitting

Construction permitting often involves drafting lengthy applications, leading to unpredictable timelines for developers and businesses. There are tens of thousands of jurisdictions — each with their own different forms and application processes for building permits. Ben Allen knows a thing o

Slack is turning into an AI agent hub. Should it?

The head of Slack, Denise Dresser, tells technewss she is shifting the business chat platform into a “work operating system,” specifically by making Slack a hub for AI applications from Salesforce, Adobe, and Anthropic. The company’s CEO sees Slack as more than a place to chat wi

Intel moves to spin out foundry business, inks AI chip deal with AWS

Intel has announced a key customer win and changes to its foundry business as the beleaguered chipmaker looks to execute a turnaround. Intel is taking steps to transition its chip foundry division, Intel Foundry, to an independent subsidiary, Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger said in a blog post. Intel

Generative AI startup Typeface acquires two companies, Treat and Narrato, to bolster its portfolio

Typeface, a generative AI startup focused on enterprise use cases, has acquired a pair of companies just over a year after raising $165 million at a $1 billion valuation. Typeface revealed on Monday that it has purchased Treat, a company using AI to create personalized photo products, and Narrato,

IBM makes developing for quantum computers easier with the Qiskit Functions Catalog

IBM today launched the Qiskit Functions Catalog, a new set of services that aims to make programming quantum computers easier by abstracting away many of the complexities of working with these machines. “I do think it’s the next big transition since we put the quantum computer on the

AI coding assistant Supermaven raises cash from OpenAI and Perplexity co-founders

Jacob Jackson was all-in on AI early in his career. Jackson co-founded Tabnine, the AI coding assistant that went on to raise close to $60 million in venture backing, while still a computer science student at the University of Waterloo. After selling Tabnine to Codata in 2019 (during his final ex

TeamBridge, founded by former Uber execs, raises $28M to build HR software for hourly workers

Arjun Vora and Tito Goldstein were working on the corporate side of Uber when they realized that HR software largely wasn’t built to manage hourly staff. Many hourly workers lacked a way to complete basic self-service tasks, the pair perceived, like clocking in and changing payment accounts.

AWS brings OpenSearch under the Linux Foundation umbrella

AWS today announced that it is transitioning OpenSearch, its open source fork of the popular Elasticsearch search and analytics engine, to the Linux Foundation with the launch of the very aptly named OpenSearch Foundation. AWS first launched the OpenSearch project in 2021, after Elastic changed it

Three and Vodafone's $19B merger hits the skids as UK rules the deal would adversely impact customers and MVNOs

The U.K.’s antitrust regulator has delivered its provisional ruling in a longstanding battle to combine two of the country’s major telecommunication operators. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says that Three and Vodafone’s planned $19 billion merger — announced