Databricks Secures Massive $10B Funding Round Amid AI Boom

Databricks raises a cool $10B as the boom in AI models rages on - SiliconANGLE

The bottomless pit of funding for all things artificial intelligence remains... bottomless. Case in point: This week Databricks raised more money than God. That's going to be one monster IPO next year (maybe) if the economy holds up. Neobank Chime filed confidentially for an initial public offering next year, following ServiceTitan's IPO last week. Is a thawing in the works this winter? Dave Vellante and David Floyer have a plan to revive Intel's chip foundry business, but it's going to take a lot of cooperation by some powerful companies and the government. Cyber consolidation keeps chugging along, as Arctic Wolf bought BlackBerry's Cylance unit and Cisco bought SnapAttack. Elsewhere in technology, TikTok's bid to survive in the U.S. will go to the Supreme Court next month. Your guess as to what the Supremes will do is as good as mine. You can hear more about this and other news on John Furrier's and Dave Vellante's weekly podcast theCUBE Pod later today on YouTube. And don't miss Vellante's weekly deep dive Breaking Analysis. Here's the big enterprise and emerging technology news this week from SiliconANGLE and beyond: Databricks raising mammoth $10B funding round at $62B valuation Perplexity AI gets $500M in funding and immediately spends some of it to buy RAG startup Carbon SandboxAQ raises $300M at $5.6B valuation to develop AI and quantum technology Meta Platforms joins forces with Elon Musk to try to block OpenAI's for-profit transition AI lending technology firm Zest AI announces $200M growth investment from Insight Partners AI-powered accounting startup Basis raises $34M in funding AI world model startup Decart reels in $32M AI-powered 3D modeling startup Backflip closes $30M round Nuon raises $16.5M to transform software-as-a-service deployment Starboard Systems gets $5.5M funding to automate logistics and quotes for freight forwarders AI copilot for game devs Coplay raises $1.2M Dawn of digital labor: Salesforce's Marc Benioff envisions a multitrillion-dollar opportunity for AI agents Google debuts reasoning-optimized Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental model Nvidia debuts NeMo Retriever microservices for multilingual generative AI Nvidia launches Jetson Orin Nano Super, a powerful AI brain for robotics and edge And a deeper look by Zeus Kerravala: The robots are coming! And Nvidia is going to power them with a revamped Jetson and lower price Google debuts Veo 2 video generator, upgraded Imagen 3 with Whisk remix tool OpenAI upgrades ChatGPT's search engine with speed, usability improvements OpenAI's makes the full version of its o1 reasoning model available, but only to some developers OpenAI goes retro, making ChatGPT available over the phone Google expands Code Assist with support for third-party data sources Patronus AI releases Glider: a small, high-performance AI evaluator model for other models Instagram to add video editing features powered by Meta's Movie Gen AI model Writer launches Palmyra Creative to address creativity gaps in existing AI models Overture makes its open-source transportation dataset generally available Sahara AI's new Data Services Platform allows anyone to earn money by creating datasets for AI Tray.ai unleashes low-code platform for building AI agents Nexla leverages Nvidia NIM for faster, cost-efficient generative AI workflows Jasper introduces a studio for no-code AI app development and Slack integration Florida rolls out AI-driven emergency warning system Causal AI: The next frontier in transparent and accountable AI systems UK coalition of creatives rejects government plan on AI copyright exemption There's even more AI and big data news on SiliconANGLE Breaking Analysis: A bold plan to spin out and revive Intel's foundry business PitchBook: Enterprise tech momentum in 2025 will be fueled by AI growth and crypto revival PitchBook: Private equity funding faces first decline in five years amid maturity pressures "Neobank" Chime filed for an IPO, likely next year. AMD backs $333M funding round for cloud infrastructure provider Vultr Grammarly acquires Coda, takes on co-founder Mehrotra as new CEO Automated accounting software startup Aiwyn raises $113M Sonar acquires open-source security specialist Tidelift Accenture's stock moves higher as generative AI demand powers strong earnings beat Shares of Micron tumble on weak outlook for memory chips We have more news on cloud, infrastructure and apps Arctic Wolf acquires BlackBerry's Cylance endpoint security unit for $160M+ Cisco to acquire threat detection and defense company SnapAttack Ireland's privacy regulator fines Meta €251M over 2018 cyberattack Keepit keeps raising money, closing on $50M in its latest funding round Bureau secures $30M to expand risk intelligence platform and global reach OPSWAT acquires Fend to enhance industrial cybersecurity with data diode technology BlackBerry reports strong earnings, topping expectations Report: US investigating China's TP-Link and could ban its routers next year Database belonging to Builder.ai found exposing 1.29TB and 3M+ records 1.4M records stolen in Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center ransomware attack Rhode Island's RIBridges system breached in cyberattack targeting personal data CISA releases draft updates to National Cyber Incident Response for public comment SlashNext report warns of eightfold rise in credential phishing as AI drives sophistication Cofense report warns of credential-harvesting attacks that spoof Proofpoint, Mimecast and Virtru Zimperium warns of growing threat of sophisticated mobile phishing attacks targeting executives TikTok CEO meets with Trump as company hopes Supreme Court will block upcoming ban and Supreme Court to hear arguments on looming TikTok ban and EU opens probe into TikTok over possible Russian interference in Romanian election Smart ring startup Oura nabs $200M at $5.2B valuation Apple reportedly developing giant foldable iPad for 2028 launch Precision Neuroscience raises $102M to advance AI-powered brain implant Engineered Arts restructures in US and secures $10M to scale up humanoid robots And check out more news on emerging tech, blockchain and crypto and policy AWS' longtime lead blogger and all-around evangelist Jeff Barr is leaving that job -- but not AWS. His last post says he will "invest more time focused on learning and using fewer things, building cool stuff, and creating fresh, developer-focused content as I do so."

Google lands big AI punches with new agent initiatives - SiliconANGLE

Google has been very busy, making a flurry of announcements this week that placed it credibly near the top in the artificial intelligence race. It made a good one-two-three AI punch with new Gemini models, a new AI agent platform and the general availability of its Trillium chips and cloud instances. That's after announcing a quantum chip breakthrough and before introducing a VR/AR version of Android. So much for all that antitrust stuff slowing it down. But OpenAI has been no slouch either, in the middle of a 12-day run of product and feature introductions, including the general availability of its video generation model Sora this week. ServiceTitan completed the first tech IPO since Rubrik in April, but that's still a pretty slow year. Will 2025 be any better? If you know where the economy's going as Trump returns, well, I don't believe you. Next week theCUBE and partner NYSE will hold a Cyber Week event in New York and a CFO Summit in Palo Alto. As the year winds down, Micron and Blackberry will be the last tech companies to report earnings results. You can hear more about this and other news on John Furrier's and Dave Vellante's podcast theCUBE Pod later today on YouTube. Here's the big enterprise and emerging technology news this week from SiliconANGLE and beyond: Wrapping up re:Invent: Breaking Analysis: AWS re:Invent 2024: Builder ethos embraces simplicity At AWS re:Invent 2024, AI innovations fall across markets Meeting at center ice: The NHL and AWS redefine hockey broadcasting and fan engagement Character.AI sued over slew of harmful chatbot messages sent to children Chatbots are learning to lie (per Axios) Will AI eat the browser? Om Malik makes a good case that it soon will do just that. Google unveils Gemini 2.0 including 2.0 Flash as the foundation for AI agent experiences Google launches Agentspace to combine AI agents and enterprise search Google Cloud moves its AI-focused Trillium chips into general availability Apple brings ChatGPT integration to iPhone, iPad and Mac with Apple Intelligence update Report: Apple working with Broadcom to develop custom chipset for AI OpenAI makes its Sora video generator generally available OpenAI finally launches screen and live video observation for paying ChatGPT users Red Hat expands AI model support in new release of Linux AI platform Databricks introduces new API for generating synthetic datasets Acceldata adds AI-assisted reconciliation to its data observability platform Dataiku launches generative AI tool for dynamic data storytelling MongoDB crushes Wall Street's targets and boosts annual forecast but stock sags Liquid AI raises $250M led by AMD to build a new type of generative AI model OpenAI backs $78M round for AI language learning startup Speak C3 AI shares surge on strong second quarter and upgraded outlook Together AI acquires CodeSandbox, adds code interpreter to its AI development platform WaveForms AI raises $40M in seed funding to create more empathetic AI voices Stainless Software gets $25M in funding to bring AI-generated SDKs to developers Vapi secures $20M to advance AI voice agent platform and scale operations RapidCanvas raises $16M to streamline data science projects with AI agents Generative AI app testing platform Gentrace raises $8M to make LLM development more accessible SkySQL nabs $6.6M for its AI-integrated cloud database Embedded analytics startup Embeddable raises €6M in seed funding AI context intelligence startup Wald raises $4M, debuts data loss protection platform AIMon raises $2.3M to combat AI hallucinations with LLM judges There's even more AI and big data news on SiliconANGLE First tech IPO since Rubrik way back in April: Software maker ServiceTitan jumps 42% in stock market debut Oracle's rampant cloud growth wasn't enough for Wall Street, and its stock slides after-hours Shares of Broadcom jump on rising AI chip sales and 'massive opportunity' TSMC posts strong year-on-year revenue growth of 34% despite month-to-month slowdown, as foundry pulls in $8.5B in revenue for November Adobe's weak forecast stokes fears of AI disruption, sending its stock lower AI keeps the data center boom going: AI-focused data center startup Crusoe raises $600M at $2.8B valuation and AI data center builder Nscale nabs $155M investment TeamViewer buys 1E, which detects PC software problems, for $720M Optical chip interconnect startup Ayar raises $155M to bring light to AI workloads Gigs gets $73M in funding to help any company spin up a mobile network offering Digital accessibility design startup Evinced raises $55M Software testing startup LambdaTest raises $38M in Qualcomm-backed round Aampe raises $18M to scale consumer app personalization with AI agents Stigg raises $17.5M to simplify SaaS platform and feature pricing models Cofactr secures $17.2M to expand supply chain tools for high-compliance industries IBM touts fiber optic technology it says can cut AI training times and energy use by 80% Microsoft previews new water-efficient data center design We have more news on cloud, infrastructure and apps Cloudflare 2024 report highlights internet growth and rising cybersecurity challenges Now-patched macOS and iOS vulnerability allowed undetected access by bypassing data protections Comparitech reveals widespread privacy gaps in mobile shopping apps ahead of holiday season Cohesity becomes world's largest data protection software provider after completing combination with Veritas business Citrix strengthens zero-trust security with acquisitions of deviceTRUST and strong.network Email security provider Sublime Security raises $60M for platform growth Astrix Security secures $45M to strengthen nonhuman identity protection in enterprise Extreme Networks launches Extreme Platform ONE to simplify enterprise networking and security And analysis from Zeus Kerravala: Extreme Networks rolls out its platform to simplify network operations Rubrik introduces Turbo Threat Hunting for faster cyber recovery Silverfort unveils Privileged Access Security to address enterprise identity security gaps More cybersecurity news here Google debuts next-gen quantum computing chip with breakthrough error correction Google debuts Android XR operating system for VR and AR devices TikTok makes a last stand as it asks for emergency pause on US ban General Motors ends Cruise robotaxi business in strategic industry exit It's going to sting Microsoft too: Microsoft expects $800 million impairment charge in Q2 2025 over Cruise exit Archer Aviation raises $430M, partners with Anduril to develop military aircraft AI robotics inspection outfit ANYbotics raises $60M to drive expansion DNA-based data storage company Biomemory raises $18M And check out more news on emerging tech, blockchain and crypto and policy Virtuozzo founder Serg Bell is returning to become CEO and "chief constructor" of the platform for alternative cloud providers. So is co-founder Jan-Jaap Jager, who will be president and chief operating officer. Also joining the company is new Chief Automation Officer Oleg Melnikov, a co-founder of Parallels and chief technology officer at Acronis. Dec. 17: Cyber Week from theCUBE and NYSE Wired, streaming expert interviews and analysis live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Tech stack modernization: AWS drives AI success - SiliconANGLE

The AWS re:Invent gathering in Las Vegas last week provided several newsworthy announcements, including the cloud giant's entry into the world of AI foundation models with the release of Amazon Nova, along with major enhancements for Amazon Bedrock, Amazon SageMaker and Q Developer. Yet, beyond the announcement publicity generated was a clear statement from Amazon Web Services Inc. that it intends to leverage its position at the top of the cloud ecosystem to build the infrastructure in support of tech stack modernization for enterprise AI. It is a transition that will require the right tools to be successful, according to Andy Jassy (pictured), chief executive of Amazon.com Inc., in an exclusive interview with theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media's livestreaming studio "You have to build the right set of primitives, and that's what we've been doing with SageMaker and Bedrock," Jassy told theCUBE. "You have to have your infrastructure modernized for AI." Jassy and a number of industry executives and analysts offered their thoughts on tech stack modernization and the latest AWS announcements during interviews at the event by theCUBE. Here's theCUBE's complete video interview with Andy Jassy: Here are three key insights you might have missed during the event: The announcements from AWS at re:Invent pointed toward an interest in building the technology surrounding AI, a process described by one company executive as "scaling up" vs. "scaling out" in support of the workload. Models may be important, but if the infrastructure to drive them hasn't been modernized, the outcome will not be good. "It's not just the model. I think people very often trick themselves with a good model that they think they're there, but they're really only about 70% of the way there," said Jassy. "In applications, they don't really work well for users if there's 30% error rates or wonkiness. So, the UI really matters. The fluency, the messaging really matters; the latency really matters and the cost efficiency really matters." Amazon's process of tech stack modernization included announcements last week of new prompt caching tools for Amazon Bedrock to control AI processing costs. Recent enhancements for Q Developer will make machine learning more accessible for nontechnical users, and one analyst took note of the company's more unified approach in tech stack modernization. "I've been covering Amazon for years, and one of the things I've been noticing is the growth of building these platforms and having these tech stacks to help with these modernization efforts," said Paul Nashawaty, analyst at theCUBE Research, during a conversation at the event. "Amazon is delivering. They're putting together these unified packages that don't offer this bag of bits anymore, and they're offering a single way of delivering ... this tech stack." The company's approach toward stack modernization is also being reflected among members of the AWS customer base. Lori Beer, global chief information officer of JPMorgan, described how her organization has been focused on retooling for AI in the cloud during an appearance on theCUBE. "We've been working really hard on continuing to strengthen resiliency in the cloud, security in the cloud, through our great partnership with AWS," she said. "We have a hybrid approach, so we run massive scale inside our data centers. We're critical infrastructure, but we also leverage the innovation happening in the public cloud. Our continued prioritization is around continuously modernizing." This process of modernization has shaped an AWS strategy to leverage its position at the top of the cloud ecosystem and build the key infrastructure elements in support of enterprise AI. It is an approach that could lead to a transformational synergy between the cloud and the rapidly-expanding influence of artificial intelligence, as noted by Jerry Chen, general partner at Greylock Partners LLC. "The past 12, 13 years you've been living this cloud-mobile transition," said Chen, in an interview during the event. "Phase one was just move the stuff you had in your data center to the cloud. Phase two is let's rewrite things in a cloud-native way. Amazon's really pioneered what cloud-native means. Now, we're seeing what AI-native means. I think we're seeing Amazon try to reinvent themselves to say, 'We're the AI-native cloud.'" Here's theCUBE's complete video interview with Jerry Chen: There was significant messaging from AWS at re:Invent around inferencing, the process in which an AI model uses a knowledge base to analyze information and make predictions. In an exclusive interview prior to the event, AWS chief executive Matt Garman described how inferencing would become a core element of AWS services. "Inference is the next core building block," Garman said. "If you think about inference as part of every application that you go build, it's not just a separate generative AI application and then all my other applications -- it's just an integral part, just like you would think about databases." Many of the recent enhancements for Amazon Bedrock were designed to support this approach. At re:Invent, AWS has unveiled significant updates to Amazon Bedrock, its managed service providing access to high-performing foundation models via a unified API. AWS customers such as Salesforce Inc. have built Bedrock inferencing capabilities into its fully cloud-native Heroku platform. Salesforce has been focused on enhancements to enable developers who want to build and operate AI applications in the cloud. "We replatformed, but the best thing is the user experience is exactly that simple clean experience that people are used to," said Betty Junod, Heroku chief marketing officer at Salesforce, in an interview with theCUBE. "But they're getting things like Graviton performance, they're getting EKS, ECR, Global Accelerator. They're getting managed inference powered by Bedrock ... same experience they love with just more horsepower and more tools around it." One factor that is driving the AWS approach to inferencing centers around its importance to customers seeking to leverage enterprise interest in the technology. Nutanix Inc. is building tools for inferencing that will help businesses achieve consistency across AI workloads. "One of the key components of that generative AI application development lifecycle, whether you do agents or retrieval augmented generation, is inference," according to Debojyoti Dutta, vice president of engineering at Nutanix, in a conversation with theCUBE. "We are focused in Nutanix Enterprise AI on how to do inference really well for the enterprise. We simplify the entire lifecycle of inference for our customer. A customer can go and choose any model from Hugging Face or from the Nvidia catalog and then deploy the model very easily with a couple of button clicks." Here's theCUBE's complete video interview with Matt Garman: Many of the conversations at re:Invent centered around the need for flexibility in the tech stack. Prioritization of interoperability and performance is leading key industry players, such as VMware at Broadcom Inc., to build for a hybrid computing model. "At VMware by Broadcom, the strategy is very simple. We are a private cloud company, but we also believe in the model of you have customer choice, you can run that," said Ahmar Mohammad, vice president of partners, managed services and solutions GTM, VCF Division, at Broadcom, during a conversation with theCUBE. "Allowing customers that flexibility to run that same stack on-prem or in the public cloud or combination of both in a hybrid environment, that's exactly what we are enabling now." The rise of AI agents, pieces of intelligent software to perform specific tasks, will also lead to greater reliance on hybrid application development. Large language models will need to draw from a wide range of data sources which will change the nature of how applications are constructed. "There's no magic in computing; there's logic there," said Sarbjeet Johal, technology analyst and member of theCUBE Collective, during an interview at re:Invent. "There are zeros and ones, and they get flipped based upon what we tell computers to do. In this case, large language models are telling them based upon our prompts. The fact is that when we view the next-generation applications, they will be hybrid applications. We will use the old constructs, data coming from the actual databases where it sits there right now and then also the generative AI agents will be called in." The hybrid landscape is also receiving particular attention as AI-driven cloud innovation drives a need for simplifying complex migrations and optimizing data management. This has been a priority for AWS, according to Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec, vice president of technology at the cloud giant, who spoke with theCUBE. "In my area, we are all about changing how people think about solving problems, and we're doing that in two ways ... in data and in migration of Windows applications, VMware applications and event mainframes," she said. For companies such as SAP SE, solving problems means opening new avenues for customers to use software-as-a-service solutions in a hybrid world. This includes SAP's ERP offering, which has moved to the cloud as the potential of AI solutions provides new vectors of growth. "It is a transformational effort," said Jan Gilg, president and chief product officer of cloud ERP at SAP SE, in an appearance on theCUBE. "For a long time, ERP has been looked at as very technical and upgrades have been looked at as very technical. Even moving to the cloud ... instead of running it on my own hardware, I now run it on a hyperscaler. How can I actually extend the standard software to bring out the secret sauce? That is where there's so much possibility nowadays with the technology available based on AI." Here's theCUBE's complete video interview with Mai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec: