Amazon's Zoox to scale up robotaxi production for US expansion, FT reports
Amazon's self-driving start-up Zoox will scale up production next year as it accelerates plans for a commercial rollout of its fleet of robotaxis in the U.S., the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
The company will open a new site in California's Bay Area to expand its footprint beyond a current small production facility in Fremont, Zoox co-founder Jesse Levinson told the newspaper.
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2 hours ago
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Unglamorous world of 'data infrastructure' driving hot tech M&A market in AI race
Weighed down by tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty, dealmaking has slowed to a crawl across most industries except one: the unglamorous world of data infrastructure. The companies that process the data used to build advanced AI models have become highly sought after targets for legacy tech companies like Meta, Salesforce, and ServiceNow in the scramble to stay competitive against the likes of OpenAI, Google and Anthropic. 'AI without data is like life without oxygen, it doesn't exist,' said Brian Marshall, global co-head of software investment banking at Citi. 'Because of that, data is having a zeitgeist moment right now driven by AI,' Marshall said. Tech deals are one of the few bright spots in an otherwise gloomy M&A market, accounting for $421 billion of the $1.67 trillion in global deals announced in the first five months of the year, or about 25 per cent of total M&A, according to preliminary data compiled for Reuters by Dealogic. That's up from about 20 per cent last year and 17 per cent in 2023, the data shows. Of the tech deals, those involving AI software makers accounted for almost three quarters of the overall value, the data shows. SPEED MATTERS Goldman Sachs Managing Director Matthew Lucas, who focuses on M&A relating to all aspects of computing, said enterprise data, as it applies to use in AI, is the 'most dynamic area in software M&A right now.' 'There's a very strong perception that speed matters a lot, getting there first matters a lot, and that tends to lend itself to doing M&A,' Lucas said. The software firms that help companies manage their data on cloud-based systems are increasingly valuable commodities as the number of such potential targets is rapidly shrinking. Enterprise data infrastructure and analytics companies like Confluent, Collibra, Sigma Computing, Matillion, Dataiku, Fivetran, Boomi, and Qlik, could become targets for legacy tech providers in the near term, investment bankers say. The companies, they say, may help businesses integrate, analyze, and store information better. Executives for Boomi, Dataiku, Fivetran, and Qlik all said they weren't surprised by the attention. "Messy, siloed data has long undermined the attempts of enterprises to deliver on the transformative potential of analytics. Now, with the urgency to deploy effective AI, fixing it isn't just essential — it's existential," Florian Douetteau, co-founder and CEO of Dataiku, said in a statement. Requests for comment from Confluent, Collibra, Sigma Computing, and Matillion weren't immediately returned. LEGACY TECH BUYS IN Several multibillion-dollar deals for data infrastructure companies have been struck or closed just in the last few weeks. Meta announced Friday a $14.8 billion deal for a 49 per cent stake in data-labeling company Scale AI. Salesforce announced plans last month to buy data integration company Informatica for $8 billion. Artificial intelligence is driving a once-in-a-generation makeover in tech that's forcing several of the largest social media platforms and software makers to buy companies that help AI-backed systems run smoothly. Worldwide, generative AI spending is expected to total $644 billion in 2025, an increase of 76.4 per cent from 2024, according to a forecast by technology data provider Gartner. In early May, IT management provider ServiceNow said it was buying data catalogue platform which will allow ServiceNow to better understand the business context behind data, executives said when it was announced. The Salesforce acquisition of Informatica, announced late last month, will allow Salesforce to better analyze and assimilate scattered data from across its internal and external systems before feeding it into its in-house AI system, Einstein AI, executives said at the time. IBM closed on its acquisition of data management provider DataStax the very next day. IBM said the deal, announced in February, will allow it to manage and process unstructured data before feeding it to its AI platform. BAD AI ADVICE Those deals highlight the strategic importance for legacy software players to own all aspects of data management, and M&A is often the fastest way to achieve it. Instead of building complex data systems from scratch, they are acquiring specialists that can help organize, clean, and connect data from across their business. Would-be targets have sometimes become the hunters as was the case when Databricks, a leader in data processing and AI that was recently valued at $62 billion, announced plans last week to buy serverless database manager Neon for $1 billion. But dealmakers warned that companies can't just buy any kind of data and throw it into an AI system and expect good results. Air Canada <> was found liable in small claims court and forced to refund airfare last year after one of its AI chatbots gave a customer bad advice. Those types of errors can happen if the wrong kind of unfiltered data is imported into an AI engine, tech dealmakers say. 'A lot of companies have a huge amount of data, but I think they're learning that you can't just funnel every piece of data you have into an AI engine with no organization, and hope that it spits out the right answer,' said Brian Mangino, partner at Latham & Watkins.
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Alligator near your ball? AI rules expert at US Open will tell you what to do
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania :The rules of golf can be complex but at this week's U.S. Open an interactive artificial intelligence avatar is offering a glimpse into how golfers can get instant answers to questions, even what to do if you encounter an alligator on the course. Inside a hospitality suite overlooking the 17th green at Oakmont Country Club are three demo terminals that feature an avatar of USGA rules expert Jay Roberts standing with steepled fingertips and awaiting any questions about golf rules. To interact with the Rules of Golf AI Avatar, a user must tap and hold their finger on the screen while asking a question in either English, Spanish or Mandarin and then get answered in that same language. When asked what to do if a golfer finds an alligator in the same bunker where their ball is, the avatar quickly shows some mental wit: "An alligator in the bunker, now that's a hazard." The avatar then proceeds to tell the user they can either take free relief by dropping their ball at the nearest point in the bunker where they are safe, no closer to the hole, or take a penalty stroke and drop outside the bunker. Deloitte, in collaboration with the United States Golf Association, created the demo using four years of USGA expert-answered rules inquiry data, combined with advanced AI to provide real-time and accurate answers to rules questions. The avatar is not yet accessible to the broader community or stakeholders that the USGA works with but could ultimately serve players through an app on their phone or perhaps on a screen in their golf cart. According to Lou DiLorenzo, Deloitte's National AI & Data Strategy leader, the technology can help further educate golfers on the rules of the game, which can help ensure fair play and perhaps even speed up the pace of play. "What we are doing here is using technology to help make the game and the rules more accessible, which is good for more people to enjoy playing it under fair play conditions," DiLorenzo told Reuters. "Ultimately we think it's going to help increase speed of play, we think it's going to help the interaction between the USGA and the courses that it serves and ultimately the membership that it represents."
CNA
3 hours ago
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Analysis:Unglamorous world of 'data infrastructure' driving hot tech M&A market in AI race
Weighed down by tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty, dealmaking has slowed to a crawl across most industries except one: the unglamorous world of data infrastructure. The companies that process the data used to build advanced AI models have become highly sought after targets for legacy tech companies like Meta, Salesforce, and ServiceNow in the scramble to stay competitive against the likes of OpenAI, Google and Anthropic. 'AI without data is like life without oxygen, it doesn't exist,' said Brian Marshall, global co-head of software investment banking at Citi. 'Because of that, data is having a zeitgeist moment right now driven by AI,' Marshall said. Tech deals are one of the few bright spots in an otherwise gloomy M&A market, accounting for $421 billion of the $1.67 trillion in global deals announced in the first five months of the year, or about 25 per cent of total M&A, according to preliminary data compiled for Reuters by Dealogic. That's up from about 20 per cent last year and 17 per cent in 2023, the data shows. Of the tech deals, those involving AI software makers accounted for almost three quarters of the overall value, the data shows. SPEED MATTERS Goldman Sachs Managing Director Matthew Lucas, who focuses on M&A relating to all aspects of computing, said enterprise data, as it applies to use in AI, is the 'most dynamic area in software M&A right now.' 'There's a very strong perception that speed matters a lot, getting there first matters a lot, and that tends to lend itself to doing M&A,' Lucas said. The software firms that help companies manage their data on cloud-based systems are increasingly valuable commodities as the number of such potential targets is rapidly shrinking. Enterprise data infrastructure and analytics companies like Confluent, Collibra, Sigma Computing, Matillion, Dataiku, Fivetran, Boomi, and Qlik, could become targets for legacy tech providers in the near term, investment bankers say. The companies, they say, may help businesses integrate, analyze, and store information better. Executives for Boomi, Dataiku, Fivetran, and Qlik all said they weren't surprised by the attention. "Messy, siloed data has long undermined the attempts of enterprises to deliver on the transformative potential of analytics. Now, with the urgency to deploy effective AI, fixing it isn't just essential — it's existential," Florian Douetteau, co-founder and CEO of Dataiku, said in a statement. Requests for comment from Confluent, Collibra, Sigma Computing, and Matillion weren't immediately returned. LEGACY TECH BUYS IN Several multibillion-dollar deals for data infrastructure companies have been struck or closed just in the last few weeks. Meta announced Friday a $14.8 billion deal for a 49 per cent stake in data-labeling company Scale AI. Salesforce announced plans last month to buy data integration company Informatica for $8 billion. Artificial intelligence is driving a once-in-a-generation makeover in tech that's forcing several of the largest social media platforms and software makers to buy companies that help AI-backed systems run smoothly. Worldwide, generative AI spending is expected to total $644 billion in 2025, an increase of 76.4 per cent from 2024, according to a forecast by technology data provider Gartner. In early May, IT management provider ServiceNow said it was buying data catalogue platform which will allow ServiceNow to better understand the business context behind data, executives said when it was announced. The Salesforce acquisition of Informatica, announced late last month, will allow Salesforce to better analyze and assimilate scattered data from across its internal and external systems before feeding it into its in-house AI system, Einstein AI, executives said at the time. IBM closed on its acquisition of data management provider DataStax the very next day. IBM said the deal, announced in February, will allow it to manage and process unstructured data before feeding it to its AI platform. BAD AI ADVICE Those deals highlight the strategic importance for legacy software players to own all aspects of data management, and M&A is often the fastest way to achieve it. Instead of building complex data systems from scratch, they are acquiring specialists that can help organize, clean, and connect data from across their business. Would-be targets have sometimes become the hunters as was the case when Databricks, a leader in data processing and AI that was recently valued at $62 billion, announced plans last week to buy serverless database manager Neon for $1 billion. But dealmakers warned that companies can't just buy any kind of data and throw it into an AI system and expect good results. Air Canada <> was found liable in small claims court and forced to refund airfare last year after one of its AI chatbots gave a customer bad advice. Those types of errors can happen if the wrong kind of unfiltered data is imported into an AI engine, tech dealmakers say. 'A lot of companies have a huge amount of data, but I think they're learning that you can't just funnel every piece of data you have into an AI engine with no organization, and hope that it spits out the right answer,' said Brian Mangino, partner at Latham & Watkins.
