Latest news with #AI-centric
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Minister Nara Lokesh taps Singapore expertise to build future-ready talent pool
VIJAYAWADA: HRD, IT and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh shared a bold vision for the future of education and skill development in Andhra Pradesh. Speaking at a roundtable conference titled 'Skills to Competencies: Accelerating Workforce Transformation' in Singapore, he emphasised that traditional education systems no longer suffice in a fast-changing, tech-driven world, adding, 'The Fourth Industrial Revolution demands more than technical knowledge. It requires adaptability, innovation and complex problem-solving.' The minister affirmed that Andhra Pradesh is revamping its university curricula to include skill-based programmes aligned with global trends to meet these challenges, and is fostering a culture of lifelong learning. He announced the State government's readiness to collaborate with Singapore institutions like Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) to establish skill-based universities focused on continuous education. Andhra Pradesh is also keen to work with Singapore Management University (SMU) and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to integrate industry needs into academic programmes, he said. 'Andhra Pradesh is investing in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and IoT. The State plans to partner with SMU's Lab to develop AI-centric education and research programmes,' Lokesh emphasised. He cited Singapore's SkillsSG Ventures as a model for aligning skill-building with industry needs, a strategy AP plans to adopt through its Skill Development Mission. He revealed that the State government is also exploring partnerships with institutions like the National University of Singapore (NUS) for student exchange programmes, joint research and global exposure. 'The challenges of workforce transformation are global, and our solutions must be global too,' Lokesh said. 'By combining Andhra Pradesh's vision with Singapore's expertise, we can create a globally competitive workforce.' NUS Registrar R Rajaram, NTU Associate Vice President Sia Siew, SMU Professor Pradeep Reddy, SUTD Chair Professor Rajesh Elara Mohan, SUSS Associate Professor Yap Meen Sheng and SkillsSG Ventures directors were present.
Courier-Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Courier-Mail
Woman at centre of Coldplay kiss cam scandal resigns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Music Tours. Followed categories will be added to My News. The woman at the centre of the Coldplay kiss cam scandal has resigned. Kristin Cabot, who was caught on the jumbotron canoodling with her boss Andy Byron at the UK band's Boston concert last Wednesday, has stepped down as the HR chief at Astronomer, a job she held for less than a year. The New York-based tech company confirmed the news in a statement on Thursday, US time. 'I can confirm that Kristin Cabot is no longer with Astronomer, she has resigned,' a spokesperson for the company told Page Six. It comes days after Byron also resigned from his job as the firm's CEO. 'As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,' a rep for the tech company said on Saturday. 'Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.' Kristin Cabot human resources officer at AI-centric New York firm Astronomer. Picture: LinkedIn After the pair infamously scrambled to hide from the concert kiss cam, and subsequently made headlines around the world, Astronomer announced it was launching a formal investigation into the scandal and placed Cabot and Byron on leave. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was left bewildered by their actions on the big screen, joking onstage the pair were either 'really shy or having an affair', as details swiftly emerged about their respective marriages. Byron, who is estimated to have a net worth of $A76 million, is married to a woman named Megan Kerrigan Byron, who has since removed his last name from her Facebook and deactivated her social media accounts. She is yet to comment publicly. Megan Kerrigan Byron is married to Astronomer CEO Andy Byron. Picture: Facebook Andy Byron has resigned as CEO of the AI-centric New York firm Astronomer. Picture: Astronomer Cabot, for her part, appears to be married to Privateer Rum's CEO Andrew Cabot, since they share the same last name and are co-owners of the same house in New Hampshire. She divorced her first husband, Kenneth Thornby, in 2022, according to Massachusetts court records. Neither Byron nor Cabot have commented on the affair allegations. Meanwhile, the fate of both their respective marriages remains unknown. Cabot was hired as the company's human resources officer in November 2024, while Byron held the position of CEO from July 2023. Originally published as Woman at centre of Coldplay kiss cam scandal resigns
New York Post
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, HR chief Kristin Cabot seen smooching before pair were caught on Coldplay's kiss cam, new video shows
Oh, snap! Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his HR chief Kristin Cabot were caught smooching at Wednesday's Coldplay concert before their alleged affair was exposed on the event's 'kiss cam,' a new video shows. The two-timing co-workers huddled close as they repeatedly locked lips and embraced while appearing to belt the lyrics to Coldplay's 'Yellow' to each other as it played during the concern, according to footage obtained by TMZ Friday. Advertisement The silhouetted secret lovers — both of whom have families — were also seen laughing and swaying arm-in-arm to the hit song as the massive crowd lit up Gillette Stadium with their cellphones. 4 Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot were caught on Coldplay's 'kiss cam.' Grace Springer via Storyful The steamy office tryst was later put on blast when the jumbotron suddenly panned to them — prompting the cuddling pair to awkwardly duck out of view as they scrambled to hide their faces. Advertisement 'Oh, what?' lead singer Chris Martin said after catching the embarrassing viral moment. 'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy.' The tech tycoon and chief people officer of the AI-centric New York firm have since been placed on leave after the caught-on-camera faux pas erupted into a social media frenzy, sources told Axios. 4 The pair scrambled to hide their faces after they were caught on the jumbotron. Grace Springer via Storyful Advertisement 4 Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot were put on leave from AI tech firm Astronomer after the sordid scandal erupted. Bain Capital Ventures Byron is currently stalling his resignation as he negotiates an exit package and salary, according to the report. The company announced Friday that it had launched an investigation into the illicit fling. 4 New York Post July 18 front page: Tech CEO's affair with HR chief exposed on Coldplay concert screen. Advertisement 'Astronomers are committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,' the company said in a statement. 'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability. The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.' Neither Byron nor Cabot has spoken out yet about the salacious scandal.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Applied Materials Soars 14% in a Month: Time to Buy or Hold the Stock?
Applied Materials AMAT shares have climbed 14.4% in a month, outperforming the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry's return of 6.2%. This outperformance raises the question: Should investors accumulate AMAT shares or book profits and exit the investment? Applied Materials One Month Price Performance Chart Image Source: Zacks Investment Research AMAT Benefits From Growing Adoption of Its Products Applied Materials is experiencing strong traction in its etching, deposition, metrology and inspection tools. AMAT's Sym3 Magnum etch system, Cold Field Emission eBeam technology, gate-all-around, backside power delivery, and 3D DRAM technology nodes are gaining traction as they play crucial roles in the manufacturing and inspection of high-performance processing and memory chips used for AI and HPC workloads. AMAT's Sym3 Magnum etch system has yielded more than $1.2 billion in revenues since its launch in February 2024. Moreover, in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, AMAT's management anticipated AMAT's revenues from DRAM customers to grow more than 40% in fiscal 2025. Earlier, Applied Materials reported that its revenues from advanced semiconductor nodes crossed $2.5 billion in 2024, and it expected the figure to double in fiscal 2025 as customers' adoption of its GAA and backside power delivery solutions grows. Applied Materials stands to gain from the rising demand for advanced chips required to power AI-centric data centers. The company's deep expertise in logic and solid position in DRAM patterning have aided it in maintaining a stronghold in the semiconductor space. Its patterning systems and technologies, which are designed to address the shrinking pattern dimension challenges and the growing complexity in vertical stacking, can play a crucial role in high-performance chip development for AI. Due to the favorable mix of products and traction in high-margin solutions, Applied Materials' gross margin has been experiencing positive momentum for the past four quarters and came in at 49.2% in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, which is also the highest gross margin since the fourth quarter of fiscal 2000. Broad Portfolio Gives AMAT a Competitive Edge The semiconductor equipment market in which AMAT operates has other larger players, including Lam Research LRCX, ASML Holding ASML and KLA Corporation KLAC. However, AMAT differentiates from its competitors by providing comprehensive deposition, etch, metrology, and packaging solutions, whereas its competitors specialize only in one vertical or the other. AMAT also commands a strong integration of materials science and fabrication; the others don't. For instance, ASML Holding specializes in the photolithography and advanced manufacturing equipment segment. KLA Corporation is a dominant competitor in the wafer inspection space and Lam Research has a strong atomic layer deposition portfolio. AMAT stands out because of its full-stack portfolio, strength in materials engineering, and ability to co-optimize across fabrication steps. This is the reason why, despite having competition from Lam Research, KLA Corporation and ASML Holdings, Applied Materials is able to keep its margins intact as it's not just a tools vendor. Applied Materials offers end-to-end solutions that improve chip yield, power, performance, and cost. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAT's earnings per share is pegged at $9.47, indicating year-over-year growth of 9.5%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Applied Materials is trading at a 12-month forward P/S ratio of 5.34, significantly below the industry average of 6.64. Given its dominance in semiconductor equipment and AI-driven chip manufacturing, this valuation discount suggests strong upside potential over the long term. AMAT Forward 12 Month (P/S) Valuation Chart Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Conclusion: Buy AMAT Stock Now Applied Materials remains a key player in semiconductor manufacturing, with a strong position in AI-driven chip development, advanced packaging and next-generation process technology. For investors, investing in AMAT stock remains the best approach. Currently, Applied Materials carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report KLA Corporation (KLAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research 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
Engadget
14-07-2025
- Business
- Engadget
Meta announces huge new data centers, but they could gobble up millions of gallons of water per day
Meta is building several gigawatt-sized data centers to power AI, as reported by Bloomberg . CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the company will spend "hundreds of billions of dollars" to accomplish this feat, with an aim of creating "superintelligence." The term typically refers to artificial general intelligence (AGI), which describes AI systems that boast human-level intelligence across multiple domains. This is something of a holy grail for Silicon Valley tech types . The first center is called Prometheus and it comes online next year. It's being built in Ohio. Next up, there's a data center called Hyperion that's almost the size of Manhattan. This one should "be able to scale up to 5GW over several years." Some of these campuses will be among the largest in the world, as most data centers can only generate hundreds of megawatts of capacity. To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. Meta has also been staffing up its Superintelligence Labs team, recruiting folks from OpenAI, Google's DeepMind and others. Scale AI's co-founder Alexandr Wang is heading up this effort . However, these giant data centers do not exist in a vacuum. The complexes typically brush up against local communities. The centers are not only power hogs, but also water hogs. The New York Times just published a report on how Meta data centers impact local water supplies. There's a data center east of Atlanta that has damaged local wells and caused municipal water prices to soar, which could lead to a shortage and rationing by 2030. The price of water in the region is set to increase by 33 percent in the next two years. Typical data centers guzzle around 500,000 gallons of water each day, but these forthcoming AI-centric complexes will likely be even thirstier. The new centers could require millions of gallons per day, according to water permit applications reviewed by The New York Times . Mike Hopkins, the executive director of the Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority, says that applications are coming in with requests for up to six millions of water per day, which is more than the county's entire daily usage. 'What the data centers don't understand is that they're taking up the community wealth,' he said. 'We just don't have the water.' To view this content, you'll need to update your privacy settings. Please click here and view the "Content and social-media partners" setting to do so. We're going to have to decide soon how to regulate the growing data center industry which pose several issues for desert communities. "They consume large amounts of electricity and water 24 hours per day, seven days a week." — Arizona Green Party 🌻 (@AZGreenParty) July 10, 2025 This same worrying story is playing out across the country. Data center hot spots in Texas, Arizona, Louisiana and Colorado are also taxing local water reserves. For instance, some Phoenix homebuilders have been forced to pause new constructions due to droughts exacerbated by these data centers. If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.
