Latest news with #acquisitions
Business Insider
5 hours ago
- Business
- Business Insider
The US Air Force let AI help operators find targets to speed up kill chain decisions
The exercise saw operators use AI to speed up targeting acquisitions and decisions. The exercise saw operators use AI to speed up targeting acquisitions and decisions. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt The exercise saw operators use AI to speed up targeting acquisitions and decisions. US Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jennifer Nesbitt This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. The US Air Force used artificial intelligence to speed up its targeting decisions in a recent exercise. The goal was to test how AI could improve the accuracy and timeliness of operator responses, the Air Force said, in order to have a more automated kill chain in a potential future fight. The four-day Experiment 3 exercise, held last month, was a stress test of future warfare technologies and tactics in a realistic combat scenario. "By replicating this novel methodology, we allowed tactical-level participants to explore how tools and workflows could shape kill chain execution for the future of warfighting," Lt. Col. Wesley Schultz, the director of operations for the 805th Combat Training Squadron/Shadow Operations Center-Nellis, said. A kill chain is a military decision process that guides how forces detect a threat, zero in on it, act, and evaluate the outcome. The US military is actively looking to evolve its kill chain through automation, AI, data-driven command and control decisions, and interconnected sensors, surveillance, and reconnaissance tools. During the training, operators used AI software to accelerate decision-making and targeting processes. It was designed to speed up those processes and "reduce the cognitive load" on human operators, the service said in a release. The Air Force and other military programs have been working on unmanned aircraft than can fly alongside piloted aircraft or on their own. US Air Force photo by Richard Gonzales Reducing the cognitive load, or mental effort, of warfighting personnel has become a priority, especially in recent years with the rise of AI. US military leaders and officials believe that AI can assist humans in assessing massive amounts of battlefield data to help make clearer decisions more quickly. The AI used was developed under the Maven Smart System, a larger US military AI initiative. During testing, the assessments made only by operators were compared to those made with AI recommendations. The testing was intended to explore the value of human-machine teaming. "Differences between machine-generated recommendations and operator decisions highlighted the complementary strengths of human judgment, such as intuition, experience and situational awareness, in time-sensitive targeting," the service said. Feedback from the exercise, as well as observations of how the AI operated, was then used to refine systems and processes. Former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said earlier this year that future warfare will be "highly automated, highly autonomous, action at long range, precision," and space will be a "decisive theater," adding that the "response times to bring effects to bear are very short" Related stories Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know "We're going to be in a world," he said, "where decisions will not be made at human speed; they're going to be made at machine speed." And last year, he argued that mastery of artificial intelligence solutions could be key to winning the next major war. AI is being implemented across the military, changing how weapons systems and technologies are operated. US Army 25th Infantry Division/Staff Sgt. Brenden Delgado US military branches have been testing how to use AI to speed up decision-making. The Air Force has been looking at pairing the technology with uncrewed systems and drones, like collaborative combat aircraft. The service has let AI algorithms fly fighter jets, and there has been a lot of time and research invested in how artificial intelligence can augment pilot capabilities. AI as a tool can also complete back-end work in the military, such as better search functions for analyzing Department of Defense doctrine, understanding elements of specific locations, commands, or job positions, paperwork, and situation reports. The rise of AI in militaries has been met with skepticism and ethical concerns from experts and officials about its implementation, especially in combat scenarios. The Pentagon has maintained that its policy on AI will keep a human in the loop for decision-making, though some observers have argued that this may not be possible in a high-speed, data-driven future war. Others have noted that the technology may develop at a quicker pace than Washington or the Pentagon can regulate it. In recent Air Force testing, the human was kept in the loop. The AI functioned in a support role rather than hunting down targets independently with autonomy.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Goldman Sachs reportedly eyes Northern Trust merger: What to know
Goldman Sachs (GS) is allegedly on the hunt for new acquisitions, potentially of Northern Trust (NTRS), according to Semafor. Morning Brief host Julie Hyman breaks down the details of the report. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Morning Brief here. Well, Goldman Sachs is eyeing new acquisitions. That's according to reporting from Semaphore. In the past year, CEO David Solomon discussed a potential takeover with Northern Trust and nearly secured a $6 billion deal with Clearwater. Semaphore reports there's a possibility that talks with Northern Trust could reignite. That's after a recent Wall Street Journal report indicated that Bank of New York Melon has also approached Northern Trust for a potential merger. If acquired, Northern Trust could bring Goldman $1.3 trillion in client assets. And these reports come as Goldman has hit a so-called growth wall. The bank's merger arm brokered a trillion dollars of deals last year, but it's been 25 years since the firm itself bought anything of size. Back in 2016, Goldman launched a consumer banking division with the goal of diversifying revenue streams. Just six years later, it significantly scaled back that business after racking up billions in losses due to high expenses and rising loan losses. When asked to explain that failed foray, Solomon said on an earnings call, quote, we tried to do too much too quickly. This latest round of acquisition talks comes as Goldman Sachs stock sits near all-time highs, up nearly 50% from a year ago. It also comes as on a broader basis we have seen some loosening of regulations and perhaps signals that deals could be more likely to get a green light. Related Videos Oil Inventory Build Is Biggest Question on Prices: Goldman Goldman Sachs Posts Firm's Best-Ever Stock-Trading Quarter Goldman Sachs Remains Optimistic on AI Theme in Asia Sign in to access your portfolio
Globe and Mail
10 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Decisive Dividend Corporation Announces Two Strategic Tuck-in Acquisitions
KELOWNA, BC , July 22, 2025 /CNW/ - Decisive Dividend Corporation (TSXV: DE) (the " Corporation" or " Decisive") is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned United Kingdom based subsidiary, Techbelt Ltd. (" Techbelt"), has completed two strategic tuck-in acquisitions. Techbelt has acquired Blackburn Conveyor Systems (" Blackburn") as well as the assets of NK Technics' United Kingdom based conveyor belt business (" NK"), for aggregate cash consideration of $0.8 million , from arm's length parties. These acquisitions allow Techbelt to expand its polyurethane ("PU") and polyvinyl chloride ("PVC") belting products, diversifying its product suite, while also adding conveyor fabrication and servicing capabilities to its business offering. These acquisitions strengthen Techbelt's ability to serve its existing customers with PU and PVC products and complementary conveyor system fabrication and servicing, as well as expand into a broader range of industries and applications. In addition, the acquisitions provide additional space, equipment and people to meet the strong demand from Techbelt's growing customer base while continuing to service the customers of Blackburn and NK. Simon Sparkes , Managing Director of Techbelt, noted: "I wish Peter Hicks of Blackburn and his team a very warm welcome to Techbelt and the wider Decisive group of companies. Blackburn is a fantastic company with a strong reputation for high quality products and exceptional levels of service. This strategic acquisition, coupled with the acquired assets of NK will add specific engineering capabilities to our United Kingdom portfolio with greater upsides for our customers." Jeff Schellenberg , Chief Executive Officer of Decisive, noted: "These two acquisitions are great additions to Techbelt, with the additional capabilities and customers Blackburn and NK provide building on a business that has performed very well post-acquisition. These acquisitions are aligned with our focus of acquiring within the industry verticals we have previously invested in. We also have the benefit of plugging these two businesses into Techbelt's high-performing leadership team, lead by Simon, an approach that will fast-forward integration in a customer-focused way for the benefit of Decisive shareholders. Additionally, we continue to see a strong flow of acquisition opportunities within our existing five focused business verticals as we execute on our strong pipeline of acquisition prospects. Further, the increase in the available capacity we have under our credit facilities as well as the cost of capital improvement from a significantly improved payout ratio, which demonstrates the sustainability of our dividend, can support the financing necessary for further acquisition activity. We look forward to providing further updates to our shareholders as our M&A program unfolds." About Decisive Dividend Corporation Decisive Dividend Corporation is an acquisition-oriented company, focused on opportunities in manufacturing. The Corporation's purpose is to be the sought-out choice for exiting legacy-minded business owners, while supporting the long-term success of the businesses acquired, and through that, creating sustainable and growing shareholder returns. The Corporation uses a disciplined acquisition strategy to identify already profitable, well-established, high quality manufacturing companies that have a sustainable competitive advantage, a focus on non-discretionary products, steady cash flows, growth potential and established, strong leadership. For more information on Decisive, or to sign up for email notifications of Corporation press releases, please visit Cautionary Statements Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to the potential benefits of the Blackburn and NK acquisitions described above to Techbelt and the Corporation as well as potential future acquisitions. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of expectations and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management at the time the statements are made, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Corporation's control and many of which are subject to change. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements which only speak as to the date they are made. Although management believes that the expectations and assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations or assumptions will prove to be correct. A number of factors could cause actual future results, performance, achievements and developments of the Corporation to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, achievements and developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by forward-looking information are more particularly described in the most recent annual MD&A and annual information form of the Corporation available on the Corporation's profile at The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information..
Bloomberg
16 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Kraft Heinz Failure Is a Cautionary Tale for Many M&A Deals
One of the most totemic deals in the consumer goods industry could soon be unwound – the 2015 combination of HJ Heinz Co. and Kraft Foods Group Inc. This is more than one transaction gone awry. The saga challenges the justifications made for so many mergers and acquisitions. Above all, it underscores that scale is often more of a hazard than a benefit. Kraft Heinz Co., as the united firm was renamed, is mulling a split into companies focused on condiments and groceries respectively, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. It's been clear for many years that the original tie-up failed to deliver. A breakup would finally acknowledge that the enterprises could more likely thrive apart.
Zawya
20 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Deals of the day: Mergers and acquisitions
The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Monday: ** German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday the government had not yet decided whether it would take a stake in the German division of state-owned Dutch power grid operator TenneT and was still in talks with the Netherlands. ** Sands Point Risk has closed its first acquisition with a deal for Pennsylvania-based medical stop-loss MGU BRM Specialty Markets, the latest step in its expansion plans after previously launching in transactional liability and construction, sources familiar with the matter told Program Manager. ** London-based private equity firm Apax Partners has agreed to acquire Guernsey-based investment company Apax Global Alpha (AGA) for about 916.5 million euros ($1.07 billion), the companies said. ** Norwegian online classifieds group Adevinta said it had sold its Spanish business to Swedish private equity firm EQT to focus more on its remaining European units. ** Britain and ChatGPT maker OpenAI have signed a new strategic partnership to deepen collaboration on AI security research and explore investing in British AI infrastructure, such as data centres, the government said on Monday. ** French engine and aircraft equipment maker Safran said it had finalised the acquisition of flight control and actuation activities from Collins Aerospace. ** Power equipment maker GE Vernova will buy France-based Alteia, which makes artificial intelligence-based tools that allow utility companies to review their grids, it said. ** Shares of Brazilian medical diagnostics company Fleury jumped on Monday after reports of a potential acquisition by hospital chain Rede D'Or, which analysts said could generate synergies. ** Eutelsat said it has signed a strategic agreement with the UK government to offer connectivity services through its LEO network for diplomatic missions, law enforcement activities and military operations and critical interventions. ** Titan Company will buy a 67% stake in Dubai-based luxury brand Damas from Qatar's Mannai Corporation at an enterprise value of 1.04 billion dirham ($283.2 million), potentially making it one of the largest Indian jewellers in the Middle East. ** German forklift truck maker Jungheinrich said it had agreed to sell its Russian unit to a Russian financial investor and asset manager, and was cutting its full-year profit forecast as a result. ** Financial software provider SS&C Technologies said it will acquire Carlyle's British fund network and data business Calastone for about 766 million pounds ($1.03 billion). ** Cross-border payments provider IFX Payments said that it is considering withdrawing its takeover offer for Argentex , just days after the British currency risk management company appointed administrators due to a funding shortfall. ** Emirati conglomerate Al-Futtaim is to buy a 49.95% stake in Saudi Arabian franchiser Cenomi Retail in a deal worth more than 2.5 billion riyals ($667 million), Cenomi Retail said in a statement on Sunday. (Compiled by Rajarshi Roy, Prakhar Srivastava and Apratim Sarkar in Bengaluru)
