Latest news with #BloombergTechconference
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Figure AI CEO skips live demo, sidesteps BMW deal questions onstage at tech conference
Brett Adcock, co-founder and CEO of the humanoid robotics startup Figure AI, made a rare public appearance at the Bloomberg Tech conference on Thursday. Figure has recently been the subject of a couple news articles that questioned its progress with marquee customer BMW. Figure objected so strenuously to at least one of these reports that Adcock publicly threatened to sue the publication. When asked about the skepticism surrounding the BMW relationship and whether it is a pilot or has commercial value to the company, Adcock replied with an explanation of the technical benefit of having robots on a factory floor but didn't provide specifics about the contractual relationship with BMW. "We get a lot of value, and it's really important that we need to figure out how to run robots every day. We get to see how well they perform. We get to track all the metrics," he said. Two months ago, Figure also published a YouTube video showing a couple of its robots working in a BMW factory. Adcock did, however, say that Figure AI has signed a contract with a second, unnamed customer for initial deployment, a customer that Bloomberg has reported to be UPS. Figure AI has drawn attention for making claims that its AI-powered robots possess human-like fine motor skills and can manipulate objects with precision. Despite releasing numerous videos of its robots at work, the company hasn't done a live demonstration of the humanoids. The interviewer, Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow, pointed out that while two other robotics companies, Agility Robotics and Boston Dynamics, showcased their robots at the conference, Figure AI did not. 'It kind of goes back to our whole philosophy around we don't go to a lot of events," said Adcock. "I think it's a giant waste of time. To be frank, I have to bring a team here to bring robots here. They could be at the office,' he said, adding that the company is showcasing the robots in videos. Adcock confirmed that Figure AI is expecting to manufacture and deploy roughly 100,000 units within four years. The skepticism about Figure's commercial relationship comes amid the company's attempts to raise a $1.5 billion round at a $39.5 billion valuation, sources told Bloomberg, a fifteenfold increase from the $2.6 billion valuation it achieved in February 2024. TechCrunch reported in April that Figure AI has been issuing cease-and-desist letters to secondary market brokers, demanding they stop marketing its shares because they are not authorized to do so. This article originally appeared on TechCrunch at
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Uber Is Once Again Considering Crypto Payments, Years After Mulling BTC as Payment Method
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the ride-hailing giant is exploring the use of crypto as a payment method, which marks the third time the company has made the claim since 2021. Speaking at the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco on Thursday, Khosrowshahi said the company is in the 'study phase' of evaluating stablecoins for operational use. 'I think stablecoins are one of the more interesting instantiations of crypto that have a practical benefit beyond being a store of value,' Khosrowshahi said. Uber was an early member of the Diem Association (formerly Libra), joining in 2019 to support Meta's now-defunct stablecoin initiative aimed at reshaping global payments. 'You can have your opinions on Bitcoin, it's a proven commodity, and people differ on where it's going. But stablecoins seems quite promising, especially for global companies moving money around internationally,' Khosrowshahi continued on Thursday. 'That's super interesting to us, and we're definitely going to take a look.' The remarks echo what Khosrowshahi told CNBC in September 2021, when he said Uber would 'look into' accepting BTC and other cryptocurrencies as payment. At the time, he dismissed any plans to put crypto on the company's balance sheet, saying, 'We are going to keep our cash safe.' Later, in February 2022, Khosrowshahi told Bloomberg that the company would 'absolutely' accept cryptocurrencies as a form of payment at 'some point' in the future, but emphasized that the time wasn't right yet. 'We're having conversations all the time,' Khosrowshahi said at the time. 'As the exchange mechanism becomes less expensive and becomes more environmentally friendly, I think you will see us leaning into crypto a little bit more.' When he made crypto-related comments in 2021, BTC traded flat for the next three months. However, his February 2022 comments came weeks before the beginning of an industry-shaking major market correction, which kicked off later that spring.
Bloomberg
14 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Uber CEO Makes Moves to Entice Customers to Use All His Services
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter with reporting and analysis about the business of tech from Bloomberg's journalists around the world. Today, Natalie Lung looks at the strategy Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi described as the next steps for his company's growth during an appearance at the Bloomberg Tech conference. Help us improve Bloomberg's newsletters: Take a quick survey to share your thoughts on your signup experience and what you'd like to see in the future.
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Google's parent Alphabet to keep hiring engineers despite AI advances: Sundar Pichai
Alphabet Inc.'s Sundar Pichai said his company will keep expanding its engineering ranks at least into 2026, stressing human talent remains key even as Google 's parent ramps up AI investments. Speaking at the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco, Pichai said he will continue to invest in engineering in the near future. US tech leaders like Microsoft Corp. have trimmed more staff this year, reflecting in part the enormous investments needed to ensure leadership in AI. The firings have stoked fears about the technology replacing certain job functions. Google itself has conducted rounds of layoffs in recent years to free up resources. 'I expect we will grow from our current engineering base even into next year, because it allows us to do more with the opportunity space,' Pichai said in conversation with Bloomberg's Emily Chang. 'I just view this as making engineers dramatically more productive, getting a lot of the mundane aspects out of what they do.' Still, Pichai presented a vision of AI that was at once optimistic about the technology's possibilities and sober-minded about some of its present limitations. While AI excels in areas like coding, the models continue to make basic mistakes, Pichai said. 'So are we currently on an absolute path to AGI? I don't think anyone can say for sure,' Pichai said. He was referring to artificial general intelligence: the dream of building AI that can perform on par with humans. As Google incorporates more AI into its search engine, publishers have sounded the alarm about how the company's AI-generated answers deprive them of traffic. Pichai stressed that the company remains committed to sending traffic to the web. 'Compared to most companies in the world, we take care to design an experience which is going to showcase links,' Pichai said. 'We took a long time testing AI Overviews and prioritised approaches which resulted in high quality traffic out. I'm confident that many years from now that's how Google will work.' Pichai has led Google since 2015, when he took the reins from Google co-founder Larry Page pledging to focus even more on AI. Asked about what qualities the public can expect to see in the company's next CEO, Pichai quipped: 'Whoever is running it will have an extraordinary AI companion.' At the same conference on Wednesday, Meta Platforms Inc. Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth said that there's been a cultural shift in the Silicon Valley and it is now more palatable for the tech industry to support the US military's efforts. The company announced a partnership with defense contractor Anduril Industries Inc. last week to develop products for the US military, including an artificial intelligence-powered helmet with virtual and augmented reality features. Anduril's co-founder Trae Stephens and other industry leaders such as Perplexity AI Inc. Chief Executive Officer Aravind Srinivas will join the Bloomberg Tech summit on Thursday.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Uber CEO says stablecoins could reduce cross-border costs
Uber CEO says stablecoins could reduce cross-border costs originally appeared on TheStreet. Uber is looking into stablecoins as a potential solution for moving money across borders more efficiently, according to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. Speaking at the Bloomberg Tech conference in San Francisco on Thursday, Khosrowshahi said the company is in the 'study phase' of exploring stablecoins, digital assets typically pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. Stablecoins, he said, offer 'a practical benefit other than crypto's historic value.' For a company with a global footprint like Uber, he noted, it's 'quite promising especially for global companies' since it could help lower the cost of transferring funds internationally. 'That's super interesting to us and we're definitely going to take a look,' Khosrowshahi added. While the company is still in the early research stage, the Uber CEO also made a brief reference to Bitcoin, calling it a 'proven commodity,' but did not elaborate further on its potential use by the platform. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to assets like the U.S. dollar or euro. They combine the speed and transparency of crypto with the stability of traditional currency. Most are backed by reserves like cash or short-term government bonds. U.S. lawmakers are currently discussing legislation aimed at regulating stablecoins, which are increasingly being adopted for their perceived stability and low transaction costs. Uber has yet to make any formal announcements about accepting crypto, but Khosrowshahi's comments show the company is actively exploring the technology's practical use cases. As per Kraken's price feed, Bitcoin is down 1.9% in the last 24 hours, currently trading around $103,019. It has dropped from a weekly high of $106,723. Uber CEO says stablecoins could reduce cross-border costs first appeared on TheStreet on Jun 5, 2025 This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jun 5, 2025, where it first appeared. 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
