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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
Hammerspace Inc., a startup that uses the Linux kernel to provide applications with faster access to data, has closed an $80 million funding round. The company detailed today that the Series B deal was led by Altimeter with participation from ARK Invest and several unnamed backers. Ark Invest also joined Hammerspace’s previous $56 million raise in 2023.
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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
Anthropic PBC today updated its Claude chatbot with a new tool, Research, that can generate highly detailed answers to user questions. The feature is rolling out alongside a new integration with Google Workspace. The connector will allow Claude to incorporate information from Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs into prompt responses. When the new Research tool is enabled, Claude runs not one but multiple searches to find information requested by workers.
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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
OpenAI is in the early stages of developing a social network, The Verge and CNBC reported today. It’s believed the artificial intelligence provider has already built an internal prototype of the platform. However, sources told The Verge that OpenAI could still opt against entering the social media market. The prototype reportedly features an interface “focused on ChatGPT’s image generation” tool.
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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
Artificial intelligence safety startup Virtue AI Inc. today announced that it has raised $30 million in funding to enhance its technology. The company raised the capital over two rounds led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Walden Catalyst Ventures. The venture capital firms were joined by more than a half dozen other backers including Lip-Bu Tan, Intel Corp.’s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer.
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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
OpenAI today made a trio of new language models available to developers through its application programming interface. The flagship algorithm in the series, GPT-4.1, is described as being “significantly better” than its predecessor at coding. The two other models, GPT-4.1 mini and GPT-4.1 nano, trade off some output quality for lower pricing. All three models can process prompts with up to one million tokens, which allows them to analyze large uploads such as GitHub repositories.
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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
Intel Corp. will sell a 51% stake in its Altera field programmable gate array unit to Silver Lake. The companies announced the deal today. The transaction values Altera at $8.75 billion, just under half what Intel paid to acquire the company in 2015. Silver Lake, a private equity firm known for large tech deals, will reportedly pay the chipmaker about $3.4 billion in cash. A field programmable gate array, or FPGA, is a chip with reconfigurable circuits called logic blocks.
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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
Nvidia Corp. today announced plans to mass produce artificial intelligence supercomputers in the U.S.The company disclosed in conjunction that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has started producing Blackwell chips at its Arizona fab complex. The hub currently includes one operational processor plant that came online last year. In the coming years, TSMC plans to build five more fabs on the site along with two advanced packaging facilities.
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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
Google LLC has reportedly laid off hundreds of employees from its Platforms & Devices group, which develops the company’s Pixel phones and other consumer devices. The job cuts were first reported by The Information on Thursday. Google later confirmed the workforce reduction without commenting on the number of affected employees. The several hundred workers reportedly hit by the layoffs represent under 4% of the Platforms & Devices group’s workforce, which stands at about 25,000 employees.
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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
The U.S. Defense Department is scrapping a set of technology and consulting contracts worth $5.1 billion. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed officials to make the cuts in a Thursday memorandum. Additionally, he instructed the Pentagon’s Chief Information Officer to prepare a new plan for lowering technology spending. In a video, Hegseth said the canceled deals include a $1.8 billion batch of consulting agreements awarded by the Defense Health Agency.
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1 week ago | 
siliconangle.com | Maria Deutscher
Thinking Machines Lab Inc., an artificial intelligence startup led by former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati, is reportedly raising a $2 billion seed round. Business Insider reported the company’s fundraising effort today. The publication cited two sources as saying that the round could value Thinking Machines at upwards of $10 billion. In March, Insider reported that the company was seeking to raise $1 billion round at a $9 billion valuation.
