Latest news with #DavidHsu
Business Wire
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Retool Awarded 2025 Databricks Emerging Partner of the Year
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Retool, the leading application layer for AI, is honored to announce its recognition as the 2025 Databricks Emerging Partner of the Year. Presented at the annual Data + AI Summit, the award celebrates Retool's deep integration with the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform, which has helped shared customers accelerate development, securely scale internal applications, and realize tangible business outcomes from AI investments. 'Databricks has redefined the modern data stack, and Retool is proud to be the app layer that helps enterprises turn that data into action,' said David Hsu, co-founder and CEO of Retool. 'This award is a testament to our shared vision where, with our help, developers drive the future of work, powered by AI.' "These awards are always one of my favorite moments of the year, and we are thrilled to name Retool the 2025 Databricks Emerging Partner of the Year," said Roger Murff, VP of Technology Partners at Databricks. "As more enterprises seek to build domain-specific AI applications, Retool's partnership with Databricks is essential to helping these organizations leverage the right data to build AI agents that drive real business outcomes." This award reflects growing recognition of how organizations are transforming operations through AI-powered automation. Our Databricks integration addresses this need by giving teams a direct path from raw data to business outcomes—whether that's operational dashboards for real-time insights or autonomous agents handling complex workflows. The platform handles the technical complexity of security and scale, so developers can focus on solving business problems rather than infrastructure challenges. About Retool Retool is the application layer for AI and leading platform for internal software development, trusted by over 10,000 companies worldwide, including Amazon, Stripe, Brex, and Orangetheory Fitness. Using Retool, developers deploy sophisticated apps and agents dramatically faster without sacrificing quality or control, combining powerful building blocks with the flexibility of custom code. The company's model-agnostic approach lets teams select the optimal AI capabilities for each use case while maintaining enterprise-grade security and scalability. To learn more, visit
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CEO of Retool, an AI company that works with BCG, says AI is here to replace labor
Retool is launching a platform for AI to automate tasks. The system, Agents, allows users to build agents on top of every large language model on the market. Retool's CEO says the launch comes as leaders ask: "How do we get LLMs to actually replace labor?" While public debates swirl around AI ethics and safety, Retool CEO David Hsu said the real conversation his clients are having is simpler: "How do we get LLMs to actually replace labor?" Retool, a platform for building AI applications that works with consulting firms like Boston Consulting Group and companies like Amazon Web Services and Databricks, has an answer. On Wednesday, Retool launched Agents, its version of AI agents. Retool's system is meant to help users build, test, and manage agents. "People are kind of scared to talk about it publicly, and actually, many of our customers even are kind of scared to talk about it publicly," Hsu told Business Insider of replacing labor. But as companies debate ways to automate jobs with large language models, they're also dabbling in the next generation. On a podcast last year, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said that "we're hitting the upper limits of the LLMs right now" and that the future lies in autonomous agents. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said he believes we'll all be working alongside agents and "AI employees" one day. These virtual assistants don't just respond to queries or make predictions from patterns but also complete tasks autonomously by breaking down problems, outlining plans, and troubleshooting when they encounter a tough problem. 2025 has been billed as the year of agents, as companies such as OpenAI, Salesforce, and Glean have launched platforms to help people build and manage agents. Retool's Agents not only allows users to build agents on top of every large language model on the market but also tackles two areas Hsu sees as key to making agents more effective. One is building "hyperspecific" agents, Hsu said. These are more accurate than agents set up to do broad tasks like browsing the web. The second is an agent management system Hsu described as a kind of "god view" which allows users to observe what agents are doing at any given point, including past behavior. "You can micromanage agents, and they don't care if they have to be micromanaged," Hsu said. Hsu said customers were already using agents for external work like customer service. He gave an example of a company that built an agent to handle customer refunds using three tools: one to look up customers by name, another to find their latest invoice in the payments platform Stripe, and a third to issue the refund. Companies are also redesigning internal work with agents, using them as stand-ins for middle management. Some clients are using agents to analyze meetings and go back to employees and say, "Hey, actually, you didn't do well in this meeting," Hsu said. One company, he said, is even considering doing away with sales managers because the "agent manager" is giving more objective feedback. Retool's agents use a pay-by-the-hour model, starting at $3 an hour. Customers pay for agents only when they're actively working, and rates are based on the LLM they're using. That means that rather than pay for an employee, companies can outsource work to a bot for an hourly wage. The strategy reflects concerns that companies have raised about returns on artificial intelligence investment. BCG's AI Radar survey of over 1,800 C-level executives found that while 75% ranked generative AI in their top three strategic priorities, only 25% said they saw value in it. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
CEO of Retool, an AI company that works with BCG, says AI is here to replace labor
While public debates swirl around AI ethics and safety, Retool CEO David Hsu said the real conversation his clients are having is simpler: "How do we get LLMs to actually replace labor?" Retool, a platform for building AI applications that works with consulting firms like Boston Consulting Group and companies like AWS and Databricks, has an answer. On Wednesday, Retool launched Agents, its version of AI agents. Retool's system will help users build, test, and manage AI agents. "People are kind of scared to talk about it publicly, and actually, many of our customers even are kind of scared to talk about it publicly," Hsu told Business Insider of replacing labor. But as companies debate ways to automate jobs with large language models, they're also dabbling in the next generation. On a podcast last year, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said, "We're hitting the upper limits of the LLMs right now," and that the future lies in autonomous agents. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said he believes we'll all be working alongside agents and " AI employees" one day. These virtual assistants don't just respond to queries or make predictions from patterns; they complete tasks autonomously by breaking down problems, outlining plans, and troubleshooting when they encounter a tough problem. The year 2025 has been billed as the year of agents, as companies from OpenAI to Salesforce to Glean have launched platforms to help people build and manage agents. Retool's Agents will not only allow users to build agents on top of every large language model on the market, but also tackle two areas Hsu sees as key to making agents more effective. One is to build "hyper-specific" agents, Hsu said. These are more accurate than agents set up to do broad tasks like browsing the web. The second is an agent management system called "God View" that allows users to observe what agents are doing at any given point, including recording past behavior. "You can micromanage agents, and they don't care if they have to be micromanaged," Hsu said. Hsu said customers are already using agents for external work like customer service. He gave an example of a company that built an agent to handle customer refunds using three tools: one to look up customers by name, another to find their latest invoice in the payments platform Stripe, and a third to issue the refund. Companies are also redesigning internal work with agents, using them as stand-ins for middle management. Some clients are using agents to analyze meetings and go back to employees and say, "Hey, actually, you didn't do well in this meeting," Hsu said. One company, he said, is even considering doing away with sales managers because the "agent manager" is giving more objective feedback. Retool's agents are priced according to a pay-by-the-hour model, starting at $3 per hour. Customers only pay for agents when they're actively working, and according to the LLM they're using. That means that rather than pay for an employee, companies can outsource work to a bot for an hourly wage. The strategy reflects concerns that companies have raised about returns on AI investment. BCG's AI Radar report of over 1,800 C-level executives revealed that while 75% rank generative AI in their top three strategic priorities, only 25% said they see value in it.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
SolarMax Technology Reports First Quarter 2025 Financial Results
RIVERSIDE, Calif., May 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SolarMax Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq SMXT) ('SolarMax' or the 'Company'), an integrated solar energy company, today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. First Quarter 2025 Financial Highlights Revenue: $6.9 million, compared with $5.8 million in the first quarter of 2024. Gross profit: $1.4 million, compared with ($0.5) million in the first quarter of 2024. Cost of revenues in the first quarter of 2024 included a one-time, non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $1.3 million. Total operating expense: $2.6 million, compared with $18.4 million in the first quarter of 2024. Operating expense in the first quarter of 2024 included a one-time, non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $15.9 million. Net loss: $1.3 million, or $0.03 per share, compared with a net loss of $19.3 million, or $0.46 per share in the first quarter of 2024. David Hsu, CEO of SolarMax, stated, 'We are encouraged by our progress this quarter, having achieved a 20% increase in revenue and improvement in gross margin despite ongoing inflationary and regulatory pressures. We believe this improvement demonstrates our team's ability to navigate a dynamic market while enhancing operational efficiency and executing on cost containment initiatives.' 'While California's NEM 3.0 policy—which significantly reduced the compensation homeowners receive for excess solar power sent to the grid—continues to impact residential solar demand in the state, we're seeing meaningful traction through our dealer network and our proposed commercial projects,' continued Hsu. 'We are laying the groundwork for commercial and industrial solar and battery system projects that we believe represent a growth opportunity. Although we have no executed contracts, our development pipeline is active, and we are seeking to position SolarMax for longer-term diversification and growth.' About SolarMax Technology Inc. SolarMax, based in California and founded in 2008, is a leader within the solar and renewable energy sector focused on making sustainable energy both accessible and affordable. SolarMax has established a strong presence in southern California. SolarMax is looking to generate growth with strategic initiatives that aim to scale commercial solar development services and LED lighting solutions in the US while expanding its residential solar operations. For more information, visit Any information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website or any other website or any social media is not a part of this press release. Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended ('Securities Act') as well as Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the Company's future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as 'believe,' 'expect,' 'may,' 'will,' 'should,' 'would,' 'could,' 'seek,' 'intend,' 'plan,' 'goal,' 'project,' 'estimate,' 'anticipate,' 'strategy,' 'future,' 'likely' or other comparable terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding the Company's strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause the Company's actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risk and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, including but not limited to the Company's ability to develop its commercial solar business and to be accepted as a provider of commercial solar systems in the United States, and its ability to recommence its operations in China where is has not generated any revenue since 2021, and to respond to any changes in governmental policies relating to renewable energy and those factors described in 'Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements' 'Item 1A. Risk Factors,' and 'Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,' in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, as filed with the SEC on March 31, 2025. SolarMax undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by law. You should read this press release with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. Contact:For more information, contact:Stephen Brown, CFO(951) 300-0711Sign in to access your portfolio
