Canada appoints AI minister, Apple continues to innovate
In this week's edition of Tech Talk, Tony Ryma talks with cybersecurity expert and tech analyst Ritesh Kotak about Canada appointing its own AI minister and Apple's latest innovations.
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Starbucks (SBUX) Unveils New AI Assistant for Baristas That's Powered by Microsoft
Coffee making is going high tech. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter Starbucks (SBUX) is rolling out a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) assistant for its coffee baristas that's powered by Microsoft (MSFT) Azure's OpenAI platform. The AI assistant will initially be deployed in a trial at 35 Starbucks locations in the U.S. as part of a strategy to simplify baristas' jobs and speed-up service at the company's coffee shops. The global coffee chain showed off the new technology to more than 14,000 North American store managers at an event held in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 10. A broader rollout of what Starbucks is calling the 'Green Dot Assist' platform across the U.S. and Canada is slated to begin this autumn. News of the AI assistant comes as Starbucks tries to revive its sluggish sales under new CEO Brian Niccol. Improved Service Niccol has set a goal of improving Starbucks' service times to four minutes per order. The hope is that quick, accurate answers to barista questions will help speed-up service and improve quality at Starbucks locations. With the AI assistant, Starbucks' baristas will be able to use a tablet to get answers to questions such as how to make an iced espresso and troubleshoot equipment errors. As the AI assistant evolves, Starbucks has even bigger plans for its use, including automatically creating a ticket with information technology (IT) for equipment issues. Starbucks is expanding its relationship with Microsoft about a year after the tech giant's CEO Satya Nadella stepped down from Starbucks' board of directors. SBUX stock has risen 2% this year. Is SBUX Stock a Buy? The stock of Starbucks has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 23 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 12 Buy and 11 Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average SBUX price target of $93.25 implies 1.99% upside from current levels.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
CLEAR, T-Mobile Modernize Workforce Identity Verification to Strengthen Enterprise Security
NEW YORK, June 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CLEAR (NYSE: YOU), the secure identity company, today announced that it worked with T-Mobile to deploy CLEAR1, the identity platform for enterprises, across its operations. CLEAR1 enables seamless and secure identity verification for employees, an experience that is as simple as taking a selfie. With this biometric multi-factor authentication (MFA) solution, T-Mobile is able to verify employees and other team members based on who they are – not just the phones and laptops they use or the passwords and security questions they know. T-Mobile uses CLEAR1 as an enhanced way to authenticate access to its platforms and systems using biometric MFA, which replaces legacy methods like passwords and one-time PINs. 'As cyber threats grow more complex and bad actors become more sophisticated, further securing T-Mobile starts with knowing exactly who's behind the screen,' said Mark Clancy, SVP, Cybersecurity at T-Mobile. 'CLEAR1 gives us a strong, identity-first approach that helps us build trust across our systems by verifying the person — not just their credentials. It's a key step in strengthening our identity verification and better protecting our infrastructure, teams and customers.' "Identity is the foundation of trust in every organization," said Jon Schlegel, Chief Security Officer at CLEAR. 'CLEAR1 empowers businesses to strengthen security, reduce friction, and build confidence across their workforce. We're proud to help organizations meet today's threats head-on with a solution that's fast, secure, and built for the real world.' Today's cybercriminals are outpacing outdated screening and authentication methods, posing as trusted employees to gain access to sensitive systems and data. According to estimates from the U.S. Treasury, State Department, and FBI scams involving fake IT workers have generated hundreds of millions of dollars annually since 2018 — highlighting the need for identity-first strategies that strengthen cybersecurity and protect business continuity. CLEAR1 empowers organizations in the fight against sophisticated cyber threats by anchoring authentication in real identity, drawing from identity signals across biometrics, documents, device, and source corroboration–to maximize security and minimize friction for employees. For more information on how T-Mobile is using CLEAR1, visit: About CLEAR CLEAR's mission is to strengthen security and create frictionless experiences. With over 31 million Members and a growing network of partners across the world, CLEAR's identity platform is transforming the way people live, work, and travel. Whether you are traveling, at the stadium, or on your phone, CLEAR connects you to the things that make you, you – making everyday experiences easier, more secure, and friction-free. CLEAR is committed to privacy done right. Members are always in control of their own information, and we never sell Member data. For more information, visit Forward-Looking Statements This release may contain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that any and such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results, developments and events may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those described in the Company's filings within the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the sections titled "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10- K. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein.
CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
Wealthsimple launches credit card, new line of credit to challenge big banks
Wealthsimple Inc. announced its first credit card and a line of credit Wednesday as it ramps up efforts to challenge the dominance of Canada's big banks. The expansion also includes the additions of mobile cheque deposits, wire transfers and bank drafts to the chequing account it launched in 2020 when it started pushing toward the full financial suite offered by banks. Wealthsimple, which started more than a decade ago with a focus on automated investment management, has long emphasized that it doesn't want to become an actual bank, and chief commercial officer Paul Teshima says it still has no plans to become one. "What we want to do is continue to lean into the fact that because we don't have a banking licence, we can do interesting and different use cases," he said. He pointed to Wealthsimple's arrangement with 10 banks to hold its clients' deposits, giving them Canada Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage of up to $1 million, as one of those benefits. Bank draft delivery now, cheque delivery promised Wealthsimple's new offerings Wednesday include its credit card with two per cent cash back, while it says its line of credit will have rates as low as 4.45 per cent when it launches by the end of the year. (The current prime rate is 4.95 per cent.) New credit card customers will not be charged additional conversion or FX fees when spending money in foreign currencies. Wealthsimple also plans to offer its clients the ability to use their investment account balances as collateral for lines of credit. Not everything is purely digital. Clients will also be able to have bank drafts shipped at no cost to recipients. It's also working on a feature where users can still write traditional paper cheques using the app, with the financial institution printing and delivering the cheque to the recipient. "There are some people who still use cheques," Teshima said in an interview with CBC News. "What we don't wanna do is obviously expect clients to not do those things that they do today." Wealthsimple is also hinting at a pilot project being launched in the Toronto area where actual cash will be delivered to a client's door. "For those urgent moments, we're going to send cash right to your doorstep, similar to Uber Eats," explained Teshima, noting the pilot may eventually include U.S. dollar delivery. Big banks hold most assets in Canada But even as Wealthsimple adds features, its unclear how much market share the company will be able to take from the Big Six banks that include RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC, Scotiabank and National Bank. Canadians are known to be reluctant to switch away from the big banks — the six control more than 90 per cent of bank assets under management. "Our biggest competition are the banks," Teshima said, but he noted there's reason to think there's demand for alternatives, pointing to the results of a survey Wealthsimple commissioned from Angus Reid that showed a quarter of respondents were dissatisfied with the current banking system, and 38 per cent had considered leaving their bank in the past year. He said Wealthsimple has already shown it's possible to get people to move their retirement accounts, something some were previously skeptical about. "What I think what we've shown is that with a lot of investment in technology and working our clients, we make that process as seamless as possible, and so we're taking a very similar approach with the chequing account." He expects strong demand for the credit card Wealthsimple has been rolling out in test phases over the past year, as it's by far the most requested product requested by clients. The company has shown there's demand for its combined spending and savings account as well, with about a quarter of its more than three million customers already signed up for one. Activity in higher-interest accounts boomed in recent years as rates topped four per cent, but Teshima says there's still demand even as rates decline.
