Google Faces Antitrust Investigation Over Deal for AI-Fueled Chatbots
The Justice Department is probing whether Alphabet Inc. 's Google violated antitrust law with an agreement to use the artificial intelligence technology of a popular chatbot maker, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Antitrust enforcers have recently told Google they're examining whether it structured an agreement with the company known as Character.AI to avoid formal government merger scrutiny, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the confidential probe. In a deal with Google last year, the founders of the chatbot maker joined the search firm, which also got a non-exclusive license to use their venture's technology.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
HOTstream Cast Embedded integrates with LG Smart TVs
Guest-facing solution provider MCOMS, in collaboration with Google and LG, has integrated its HOTstream Cast Embedded platform with the latest LG Smart Hotel TVs, featuring built-in Google Cast capabilities. This partnership signifies a leap forward in in-room entertainment, allowing guests to stream content from their devices directly to the TV without the need for external hardware. The integrated solution will be showcased at HITEC 2025, where attendees can witness firsthand the HOTstream Cast Embedded platform's impact on the guest experience. Guests can start streaming their preferred content almost instantaneously by scanning a QR code on their LG Hotel TV. This feature is designed to provide a seamless and hassle-free experience for users. LG Electronics USA hospitality senior director Jake Benner said: 'LG is pleased to support this exciting collaboration with Google and MCOMS. Our commitment to innovation in hospitality is further strengthened by offering secure, embedded casting in our hotel TVs, helping hotel operators modernise while enhancing the guest experience." According to MCOMS, HOTstream Cast Embedded is among the first casting platforms to be fully certified and integrated directly into LG Smart Hotel TVs in the hospitality industry. It offers managed device access, enables hotel staff monitoring, and uses MCOMS's patented media casting technology to safeguard guest privacy. The solution provider has designed the platform to support dual deployment, enabling hotels to upgrade older TV models to the latest LG TVs with integrated casting. This approach offers investment protection and maintains high levels of guest satisfaction throughout the transition. MCOMS CEO Costas Sakellariou said: 'Our collaboration with LG and Google underscores our commitment to delivering futureproof solutions, empowering hotels to meet modern guest expectations. "MCOMS's embedded casting solution will increase guest satisfaction and enhance operational efficiency, all without sacrificing security or privacy." "HOTstream Cast Embedded integrates with LG Smart TVs" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
GitHub's CEO says startups can only get so far with vibe coding
Founders can use AI to launch a startup, but GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke says they still need developers. At VivaTech in Paris, Dohmke said a startup built with coding assistants "doesn't have much value." Startups would struggle to attract investors without developers building complex systems, he said. AI tools can lower the barrier to launching a startup, but scaling them still requires technical expertise, GitHub's CEO has said. Speaking on the sidelines of VivaTech in Paris, Thomas Dohmke said over the last two years, he's observed companies go from needing convincing to use AI to "a lot of FOMO" in the market. AI coding assistants can now help non-technical founders create a startup with a small team and no external funding, he said during a Q&A at Station F, a startup campus. But as more startups use vibe coding tools to build products using natural language prompts, it's harder to stand out among investors. "The investors would ask, 'Why would I invest in you instead of the 10 other people?'" Dohmke said, adding that bootstrapping startups predominantly built with coding assistants wouldn't necessarily have "as much value." He added that a "non-technical founder will find it difficult to build a startup at scale without developers," because they "can't build a complex system to justify the next round." "The value of your startup isn't defined by what you can develop using cheap measures," Dohmke said. Startups would still need a deeper understanding of how their systems operate, he added. GitHub, which was acquired by Microsoft for $7.5 billion in 2018, has over 150 million users worldwide who create and share code on its platform. The company's Copilot tool provides coding suggestions and explanations for human developers. Vibe coding has raised questions about the demand for software developers and the skills that are most valuable in the AI era. In an April "EO" podcast, Dohmke said he had "never seen anything more exciting" than today's AI-driven engineering boom. However, he stressed that "every kid, every child, should learn coding" because knowing when to rely on one's own code still matters. Speaking at VivaTech, Dohmke said software engineers still need a "willingness to learn" about how to use AI prompts when coding and when to use an AI agent. "If I figure out how to write a prompt for something I can do myself, it's a waste of time," he said. "It's about the prompting skills, but also knowing when not to use the prompt." Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Prediction: Buying This AI Stock Will Not Look Smart in 5 Years
is growing its revenue at a decent rate, but it's not scaling its business with any efficiency. It is growing slower than its AI peers and is posting huge operating losses. The stock trades at an expensive valuation. 10 stocks we like better than › Just about every stock with some connection to artificial intelligence (AI) has seen its price soar in the past couple of years. Ever stock, that is, except (NYSE: AI), that is. The AI-focused company with the ticker "AI" is trading down around 22% over the past year and around 86% from all-time highs as the company struggles to grow and get anywhere close to generating a profit. This AI company has a lot of hype around it, and even brags about huge wins with partnerships with other AI players. A lot of this is all bark and no bite. Here's why investors will be disappointed with the results of stock compared to other AI-associated investments over the next five years. has been a trendy name in the AI space for years. The company brands itself as the AI enterprise software company, deploying software solutions including its new agentic AI platform and generative AI tools. It has large customers, including energy giants and the U.S. Air Force, implementing its software in operations. This all sounds fine and dandy, but it oversells as a company with actual software products. Similar to a consultant, has a large sales team that wins contracts to build custom software solutions for companies, which is different than a software provider that builds once and ships as many times as it can, such as Microsoft. It is a much more difficult business model, and one that is harder to scale with large profit margins. generated only $389 million in revenue over the last 12 months, even though the AI sector is in the middle of one of the largest spending booms ever. Compare that to its quasi-competitor, Palantir Technologies. The company generated $3.11 billion in revenue over the last 12 months and is growing revenue much faster than Last quarter, revenue grew 26% year over year compared to 39% for Palantir. One could argue, looking at the metrics referenced above, that is in fine shape as a business. It is growing revenue at over 20% year over year and has long-term software consultant contracts with big enterprises. But those strong top-line metrics aren't making it down to the company's bottom-line profit and loss metrics, which keep moving in the wrong direction. This is an indicator that the company has a bloated expense structure and will struggle to scale due to the custom-built software it deploys. Last fiscal year, had an operating loss of $324 million on $389 million in revenue. It spent $231 million on stock-based compensation -- a noncash dilutive expense -- which is around 60% of its overall revenue. This is an unsustainable figure and needs to be dramatically reduced in order for to generate a profit. Spending 10% of revenue on stock-based compensation can be a concern for investors when analyzing a stock, but 60% is unheard of. It is no surprise then why stock is down. It has to spend a boatload every year to retain its research, sales, and operational staff that deploy these consultant contracts with large enterprises, and these costs are simply outweighing any revenue earned by these contracts, making persistently unprofitable. Two main reasons stand out to me as to why stock will struggle to generate a positive return for shareholders over the next five years. First, the services it provides do not look scalable due to the custom-build process and heavy losses it is sustaining. In fact, it looks like the company has the opposite of operating leverage, as its operating loss has gotten worse and worse since going public around five years ago, even though revenue is growing. Second, stock trades at a high valuation. It has a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 8.5, which is much higher than the S&P 500 average. This is for a company with deeply negative operating margins and no history of profitability. Yes, revenue is growing at a decent clip, but the company is showing zero signs of operating leverage. In fact, one might argue that growing revenue is a bad thing for as historically, all growing revenue has done is lead to larger operating losses. A high valuation, huge losses, and slower revenue growth than its AI peers make a bad stock to own right now. Avoid buying it for your portfolio despite the AI hype in the markets today. Before you buy stock in consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $655,255!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $888,780!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 999% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 174% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Brett Schafer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Microsoft and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool recommends and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Prediction: Buying This AI Stock Will Not Look Smart in 5 Years was originally published by The Motley Fool
