Alibaba Leads $300 Million Bet on AI Training Startup UniPat AI
Alibaba is in talks to lead a $300 million funding round for AI training and benchmarking startup UniPat AI, with Tencent and HSG joining as terms remain subject to change.
Business
Google and Accenture Launch Joint AI Unit to Deploy 1,000 Engineers as Google Battles to Close Enterprise AI Market Gap
Google Cloud and Accenture are launching a joint AI unit deploying up to 1,000 engineers to help enterprises adopt Gemini-powered tools, as Google fights to close a massive market share gap, currently holding just 6% of enterprise AI spending compared to Anthropic's 43.5% and OpenAI's 39.7%.
Listen Labs Walks Away From $125M Series C as Salesforce Eyes $2B Acquisition
Listen Labs stuns the venture world by walking away from a signed $125M Series C term sheet, reportedly driven by Salesforce's ongoing talks to acquire the voice AI startup for approximately $2 billion.
Meta Launches Muse AI Agent With Web Browsing and Purchase Capabilities, But Privacy Concerns and Trust Issues Loom Large
Meta launches Muse, a powerful AI agent for US users capable of browsing the web, making purchases, and managing emails, but the company's history of privacy scandals and consumer trust issues raises serious concerns about handing Meta control over sensitive personal data.
Zuckerberg Calls Trump Directly to Block National AI Regulator, Citing China Competition Risk
Mark Zuckerberg personally calls President Trump to block a proposed national AI regulator, warning it could cost the U.S. its competitive edge over China, as the White House weighs two rival oversight models backed by opposing factions of the tech world.
Pentagon Contradicts Commerce Secretary's Claim That Anthropic Has Resolved Issues With Trump Administration
The Pentagon directly contradicts Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's claim that Anthropic has resolved its issues with the Trump administration, with Under Secretary of Defense Emil Michael confirming the Defense Department's supply-chain risk designation against the AI company remains fully in effect.
Zuckerberg Calls Trump to Push Back on AI Regulator as Every Binding Oversight Proposal Gets Softened to Voluntary
Mark Zuckerberg personally calls Trump to oppose a national AI regulatory body, and as every binding oversight proposal gets quietly softened to voluntary, questions mount over whether Big Tech is effectively writing its own rules.
Anthropic Delays IPO Timeline to Late September Amid $2 Trillion Valuation Buzz
Anthropic delays its IPO prospectus to late September, with marketing starting mid-October and listing expected just before November midterms, as the AI giant eyes a staggering $2 trillion valuation while securing a $15 billion credit facility backed by Wall Street's biggest banks.
Funding
Business
Microsoft Slashes Speech AI Prices 72% With New MAI-Transcribe-2, Undercutting OpenAI and Google
Microsoft slashes speech AI prices 72% with its new MAI-Transcribe-2 model, offering transcription at just $0.10 per hour while undercutting OpenAI, Google, and ElevenLabs with support for 60 languages, advanced features, and top-tier accuracy — all part of a bold push to own its AI infrastructure and reduce reliance on outside partners.
Nvidia Acquires Hugging Face for $12.9 Billion in Landmark AI Deal Raising Open-Source Concerns
Nvidia acquires AI platform Hugging Face for $12.9 billion in its second-largest deal ever, promising to keep the platform open and independent while critics warn that corporate pressures could quietly erode its open-source mission.