All posts tagged: acquires

Cohere acquires, merges with Germany-based startup to create a ‘transatlantic AI powerhouse’

Cohere acquires, merges with Germany-based startup to create a ‘transatlantic AI powerhouse’

Published by skeptic

Cohere, the Canada-based enterprise AI unicorn, announced Friday that it would merge with the Germany-based enterprise AI company Aleph Alpha. The deal, which has yet to close, will value the newly formed company at $20 billion, the FT reported. Schwarz Group, one of Aleph Alpha’s top backers, will also invest $600 million in Cohere’s Series E round, which is expected to close later this year, CNBC reported. A handful of Silicon Valley players continue to dominate the AI commercial landscape, which is busy with consolidation activity. A press release announcing the Cohere-Aleph Alpha union said one goal of the merger was to give businesses and governments an alternative to these dominant tech players, one that offers greater independence and control over their data. It also hopes to combine the talent pool across Canada and Germany to create a “transatlantic AI powerhouse.”  Source link

OpenAI Acquires Tech Talk Show TBPN—and Buys Itself Some Positive News

OpenAI Acquires Tech Talk Show TBPN—and Buys Itself Some Positive News

Published by skeptic

OpenAI announced Thursday that it had acquired the online business talk show TBPN for an undisclosed sum. The move comes as OpenAI struggles with its public image, which has taken a significant hit in recent months. Since launching in 2024, TBPN has risen in popularity among Silicon Valley circles by offering a daily live stream about the technology industry that’s seen as more tech-friendly than traditional outlets. The show’s two hosts, John Coogan and Jordi Hays, offer real-time commentary on breaking news, cycle through viral social media posts, and interview executives from companies including Meta, Salesforce, Palantir and OpenAI. It’s become especially popular among OpenAI staff and other AI researchers, many of whom are addicted to the social media platform X. It’s hard to understand how a media startup fits into OpenAI’s core businesses selling ChatGPT, Codex, and a new super app the company is developing to consumers and enterprises. Last month, OpenAI’s CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo, told staff in an all hands meeting that the company needed to cancel its side projects and …

OpenAI acquires TBPN, the buzzy founder-led business talk show

OpenAI acquires TBPN, the buzzy founder-led business talk show

Published by skeptic

OpenAI has acquired popular tech industry talk show TBPN — Technology Business Programming Network — making this the AI giant’s first acquisition of a media company. The show will report to OpenAI’s chief political operative, Chris Lehane. TBPN, hosted by former tech founders John Coogan and Jordi Hays, is a daily live show that airs on YouTube and X for three hours, focusing on tech, business, AI, and defense. The show has gained a cult following in Silicon Valley, a safe space where industry power players can speak candidly and be questioned by fellow insiders. The show has a reputation for being something of a Sports Center for the tech industry — a place where top tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella, Marc Benioff, and, yes, Sam Altman, come to chop it up, react to the news of the day, and occasionally make some of their own. TBPN will continue to live on as its own brand, which OpenAI will help scale. Not that it necessarily needed help on that front; TBPN has grown …

OpenAI acquires technology talk show TBPN in surprise move

OpenAI acquires technology talk show TBPN in surprise move

Published by Sam Flores

April 2 : OpenAI, jostling with Anthropic for enterprise customers, has bought TBPN, an online tech talk show that has built a loyal Silicon Valley following through interviews with industry CEOs. Entrepreneurs John Coogan and Jordi Hays, who started TBPN in late 2024 with the aim of competing with industry heavyweights including CNBC, will join OpenAI as part of Thursday’s move. The deal is surprising given that OpenAI had not previously indicated any plans to enter the news business and had recently shelved its Sora video-generation tool as part of its efforts to focus on the lucrative market for AI coding tools. OpenAI, which did not disclose the financial details of the deal, said the move would help communicate its plans better and guide the conversation about the changes AI creates. The money-losing startup said it would maintain TBPN’s editorial independence and drew parallels to other such efforts by large tech companies over the years in its newsletter, the Prompt. “This isn’t new in form. Media has long sat within larger enterprises, whether that was …

WMG Acquires Music Distribution Company Revelator

WMG Acquires Music Distribution Company Revelator

Published by Daniella Wilson

Warner Music Group is acquiring the B2B independent music distribution service Revelator, the company announced on Wednesday, the latest affirmation of the hot market for distributors as music companies are looking to capitalize on the indie market. Neither Revalator nor WMG shared financial details of the sale, though they said the deal is expected to close next financial quarter. “The combination of Revelator’s leading-edge technology and array of premier services with our global infrastructure will turbocharge our joint mission to support more labels and artists around the world,” WMG CEO Robert Kyncl said in a statement. “I’m very pleased to welcome the Revelator team to the WMG family.” As Revelator Founder & CEO Bruno Guez added: “Since launching Revelator in 2012, we’ve striven to make the music industry fairer, simpler, and more transparent by bridging the gap between creativity, technology, and distribution. We’re very happy to partner with WMG to superserve artists, labels, and distributors around the world.” WMG’s Revelator deal follows Universal Music Group subsidiary Virgin Music’s $775 million purchase of Downtown Music, which gave the company distribution …

Getty Museum Acquires Two Significant Dutch Still Lifes

Getty Museum Acquires Two Significant Dutch Still Lifes

Published by José Betancourt

The Getty Museum in Los Angeles has acquired two Dutch still lifes of note—including one that the institution said it “has been seeking over two decades,” according to a press release announcing the news. Jan Davidsz. de Heem’s Glass Vase with Flowers and Fruit (ca. 1673–74) is one of nine similar paintings that demonstrate the artist’s “skill of illusionism and accurate botanical and entomological observations,” per the release, and was unrecorded until it came out of a private collection in Germany in 2022. The arrangement includes flame tulips (“still a highly prized flower in the Netherlands”) as well as plums, berries, roses, morning glory, milk thistle, and honeysuckle. Related Articles Look closely and you will also see insects going about their business at minuscule scale. “Butterflies and caterpillars, associated with metamorphosis, represented the transience of life and the soul freed from greed and desire,” the Getty’s release reads. “And, according to literary tradition, ants were respected as hardworking and symbolized diligence and frugality.” De Heem’s painting is already on view in the Getty Center’s West …

Zenobē acquires Revolv’s 100 unit electric delivery van fleet

Zenobē acquires Revolv’s 100 unit electric delivery van fleet

Published by skeptic

UK-based Zenobē backed up its ambitions of fleet electrification leadership by closing on its acquisition of California-based Revolv, signaling the company’s continued confidence in North America’s commercial EV market. Zenobē’s approach to the US market has been mostly focused on managing and deploying electric school bus fleets, but this latest acquisition adds 13 operational depots in California and more than 100 trucks to the company’s fleet, catapulting Zenobē towards a leading position in North American commercial EV sector.  “This (investment) is a strong opportunity to accelerate electrification at scale,” explains Steven Meersman, Founder and Director of Zenobē. “By pairing Revolv’s fleet electrification platform with our deep experience and unique financing models. We’re grateful to Revolv CEO Scott Davidson and the team at GDEV Management for backing Revolv early on. Now we are taking it to the next stage.” In addition to the California sites, Zenobē supports over 3,400 electric vehicles across over 120 depots globally, with operations in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Zenobē are also the leading owner and operator of …

Amazon acquires Rivr, maker of a stair-climbing delivery robot

Amazon acquires Rivr, maker of a stair-climbing delivery robot

Published by skeptic

Rivr, a Zurich-based autonomous robotics startup known for its stair-climbing delivery robot, has been acquired by Amazon in a deal that signals the e-commerce giant’s interest in doorstep delivery. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Rivr co-founder and CEO Marko Bjelonic, who once described the four-legged wheeled robot to TechCrunch as a “dog on roller skates,” shared the acquisition news on LinkedIn. The Information was first to report the deal. Bjelonic said in his LinkedIn post that the acquisition will “accelerate our vision of building General Physical AI through doorstep delivery, bringing robotics and AI closer to real-world deployment at scale,”meaning, in plain terms, that Amazon’s resources should help Rivr get its robots onto more doorsteps, faster. Last year, Rivr launched a pilot program in Austin with Veho, package delivery company. Bjelonic said, at the time, he hoped to learn from the partnership with Veho and eventually scale to 100 bots by 2026. It’s unclear if the company was ever able to reach that milestone. TechCrunch has reached out to Rivr for comment. Rivr got …

National Gallery of Art Acquires Hundreds of Works

National Gallery of Art Acquires Hundreds of Works

Published by José Betancourt

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., announced today the acquisition of hundreds of works to its permanent collection, spanning from the 17th century to today. This round of acquisitions shows some of the museum’s current priorities in terms of shoring up its holdings, including early photography and recent large-scale works. Among these is a trove of 35 Civil War photographs by the likes of Alexander Gardner, George N. Barnard, and Andrew Joseph Russell, alongside pieces by Dan Flavin, Barbara Kruger, Claire Fontaine, and Pepón Osorio. “As stewards of the nation’s collection, we are honored to continue expanding our holdings with significant works that tell new stories and deepen our collection across mediums, highlighting artistic developments throughout history and uplifting ongoing innovation by contemporary artists,” chief curatorial and conservation officer E. Carmen Ramos said in a statement. “This group of acquisitions unites works of profound historical relevance with work by living artists continuing to shape artistic dialogues, expanding key areas of our collection, particularly in the fields of photography and sculpture.” Several of the …

International African American Museum Acquires ‘1850 Daguerreotypes’

International African American Museum Acquires ‘1850 Daguerreotypes’

Published by Jenni Sidey

The International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina, has officially acquired a set of 15 daguerreotypes, dating to 1850, that scholars believe to be the earliest known photographs taken of enslaved Americans. The seven enslaved people photographed for the series are identified as Alfred, Delia, Drana, Fassena, Jack, Jem, and Renty; Renty and Delia were father and daughter, respectively, as were Jack and Drana. “The 1850 Daguerreotypes,” as the IAAM is now calling the collection, were taken by J. T. Zealy in South Carolina, where the sitters had been enslaved, more than 175 years ago, and just over a decade after the invention of the daguerreotype. The images show each subject from the waist up, shirtless, and from frontal and profile view. Related Articles They were commissioned by Louis Agassiz, a 19th-century natural historian and a professor at Harvard University, which owned the photographs until recently, to advance racist ideology about Black people. The images were rediscovered in Harvard’s holdings in 1976. The IAAM hosted a reception to welcome the photographs to their …