Deezer and YouTube are experimenting with AI-powered features
Deezer and YouTube are testing AI-powered features for playlist creation and music discovery, including text prompt-based playlist generation and sound-based search capabilities.
This Week in AI: July 8–14
The European Commission found X in breach of the DSA; Microsoft is stepping down from its seat on OpenAI's board; SoftBank acquired Graphcore; AMD acquired Silo AI; Captions and DreamFlare AI secured funding rounds; Anthropic launched advanced prompt evaluation tools; and much more.
AWS and Workday announced a strategic partnership to deliver business-ready AI capabilities
AWS and Workday have expanded their partnership to develop generative AI capabilities, enhance native integrations for custom applications, and collaborate on market initiatives, aiming to accelerate cloud transformation and improve enterprise productivity and decision-making for their customers.
Amazon's AI-powered assistant Rufus is now available for US customers in the Amazon app
Amazon has launched Rufus, an AI-powered shopping assistant, to all US customers in its mobile app. Rufus offers personalized product recommendations, comparisons, and shopping advice powered by a specialized large language model trained on Amazon's catalog and web-sourced information.
HERO Software secured €40 million to boost the expansion of its platform for tradespeople
HERO Software, an AI-powered platform initially created to combat climate change, has raised €40 million in Series B funding to expand its comprehensive workflow management solution for tradespeople across Europe.
The European Commission finalized its preliminary findings on X, and it does not look good
The European Commission has issued preliminary findings alleging that X (formerly Twitter) is in breach of the Digital Services Act, potentially leading to significant fines and required corrective measures if confirmed.
Helsing, a defense tech startup, raised $487M and announced its plans to expand to the Baltic region
Germany-based defense AI startup Helsing has raised €450 million in a Series C funding round led by General Catalyst, which it plans to use for product development, R&D, and expansion into the Baltic region, highlighting its mission to enhance European defense capabilities through AI technology.
SoftBank has acquired Graphcore, putting an end to speculation
SoftBank Group Corp has acquired UK-based AI chipmaker Graphcore for an undisclosed amount, potentially rescuing the company from financial difficulties and allowing it to continue developing its alternative to NVIDIA's dominant GPU technology, while maintaining its operations and workforce.
AWS is launching App Studio to democratize enterprise-ready AI application development
AWS has introduced App Studio, a generative AI-powered service that eliminates the learning curve to low-code tools to enable professionals with some technical expertise to create, manage, and deploy generative AI applications.
AMD acquired Silo AI, Europe's largest private AI lab in Europe, for about $665 million
AMD is set to acquire Europe's largest private AI lab, Silo AI, for $665 million, expanding its AI capabilities and strengthening its position in the global AI solutions market.
OpenAI's board will forego observer seats amid scrutiny of the company's relations with big tech firms
Microsoft withdraws its observer seat on OpenAI's board and Apple's plans for a similar role are canceled, as both companies respond to increasing regulatory scrutiny of big tech's involvement with AI startups.
Captions closed a $60M Series C as it plans to invest $100M into generative video research
Captions, an AI-powered video creation platform, has raised $60 million in Series C funding, bringing its total funding to over $100 million and valuing the company at $500 million, while announcing plans to invest $100 million in AI video research in New York City.