
Google cuts about 200 staff in global business unit, The Information reports
Google on Tuesday cut about 200 employees across its global business unit, which is responsible for sales and partnerships, The Information reported on Wednesday, citing a person with knowledge of the situation.

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DeChambeau not seeking LIV Golf exit: 'they see the value in me'
OAKMONT, Pennsylvania :Bryson DeChambeau, who has evolved into one of the game's most popular players, revealed on Tuesday that his contract with LIV Golf expires next year and that he has no plans to take his big-hitting talents elsewhere. DeChambeau joined LIV in 2022 and his future with the Saudi-backed circuit has been the source of speculation, with some suggesting the two-times major champion turned down a proposal for a new contract and is looking to return to the PGA Tour. But DeChambeau, speaking to reporters at Oakmont Country Club ahead of his U.S. Open title defence this week, said he feels the team element of LIV Golf is a viable option and one he wants to be a part of. "We're looking to negotiate end of this year, and I'm very excited," said DeChambeau, who is captain of LIV Golf's Crushers GC. "They see the value in me. I see the value in what they can provide, and I believe we'll come to some sort of resolution on that. Super excited for the future." LIV Golf, which features no-cut, 54-hole events, held its inaugural event in June 2022, and through mega-money contracts and lucrative purses has lured some of golf's biggest names. The PGA Tour and Saudi backers of rival LIV Golf have yet to reach an official deal that would unite the game of golf despite agreeing to a "framework agreement" two years ago to merge and form one unified commercial entity. "I think that LIV is not going anywhere," said DeChambeau, who headlines the list of 14 LIV Golf players in the U.S. Open field this week. "(Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan) has been steadfast in his belief on team golf, and whether everybody believes in it or not, I think it's a viable option. I think it's a viable commercial option." DeChambeau said he feels there is a "sustainable model" for team golf. "Our team has been EBITDA positive for the past two years, so we're starting to grow and move in the right direction, just like TGL," said DeChambeau. "TGL has done a great job. They've got some teams that are making some money, and I believe there is a sustainable model out there." TGL is a tech-infused indoor golf league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy that held its first season earlier this year and featured players hitting shots at a simulator screen before moving to a green that can rotate 360 degrees, creating hole-to-hole variations. "How it all works with the game of golf, who knows, but I know my worth. I know what LIV brings to the table," DeChambeau added. "And I'm excited for the future of what golf is going to be."


CNA
an hour ago
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Search startup Glean's valuation hits $7.2 billion in AI funding boom
Glean said on Tuesday it was valued at $7.2 billion in its latest funding round - the third capital raise for the U.S. enterprise AI search startup in less than two years. The round marks a nearly 57 per cent jump in valuation for Glean, underscoring strong investor appetite for startups leveraging AI use cases. In the previous funding in September, the company's valuation had more than doubled in just over six months. Businesses and governments worldwide are rushing to adopt artificial intelligence, with applications ranging from enterprise productivity and drug discovery to infrastructure and beyond. Palo Alto, California-based Glean raised $150 million in the funding round led by asset manager Wellington Management. Startups are choosing to stay private for longer, raising larger funds in late-stage rounds, as public market recovery remains slow. "Founders avoid the volatility of public markets and employees receive secondary-market liquidity via structured rounds," said Michael Ashley Schulman, partner at Running Point Capital Advisors. Glean, which surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue in its last fiscal year, was founded in 2019 by a team of former Google search engineers. It uses AI assistants and large language models to generate personalized answers to queries. According to Schulman, Glean's 72x valuation multiple on revenue is "punchy", but investors are getting "early access to a franchise" since the company is cash-flow positive. Earlier this year, the company rolled out its Glean Agents offering, which allows businesses to use AI to automate operations. It is on track to support 1 billion agent actions by the end of 2025, the company said. Industry leaders have hailed AI-based agents as a transformative-use case of the technology. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has also suggested that the agents will disrupt how we use software-as-a-service, a business model that has long been the staple of software startups.


CNA
2 hours ago
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Judge rejects class action for Google privacy lawsuit
People who accused Google of illegally collecting their personal information, after they chose not to synchronize their Google Chrome browsers with their Google accounts, cannot sue the Alphabet unit as a group in a class action, a U.S. judge ruled. In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California agreed with Google that it was appropriate to address case-by-case whether millions of Chrome users understood and agreed to its data collection policies. "Inquiries relating to Google's implied consent defense will overwhelm the damages claims for all causes of action," Rogers wrote. She dismissed the proposed damages class action with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again. The judge also said Chrome users cannot seek policy changes as a group. David Straite, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, declined to comment on Tuesday. Sandi Knight, vice president of litigation at Google, in a statement said the company appreciated the decision, and that Chrome Sync has "clear privacy controls." Class actions let plaintiffs seek potentially greater recoveries at lower cost than they could in individual lawsuits. The decision followed a ruling last August by the federal appeals court in San Francisco, which said Rogers should consider whether reasonable Chrome users consented to letting Google collect their data when they browsed online. Chrome users pointed to Chrome's privacy notice, which said they "don't need to provide any personal information to use Chrome" and Google would not collect such information unless they turned on the "sync" function. Rogers had dismissed the case in December 2022. She said she oversees two other privacy cases against Mountain View, California-based Google, but the claims in those cases differed "significantly." The appeals court ruling followed Google's 2023 agreement to destroy billions of records to settle a lawsuit claiming it tracked people who thought they were browsing privately, including in Chrome's "Incognito" mode. The case is Calhoun et al v Google LLC, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 22-16993.