Plus: Alphabet hires former Eli Lilly executive as its CFO.
| For June 05, 2024 |  |
| Here’s a look at today's tech briefing: - Boeing launches first crewed Starliner spacecraft.
- Nvidia surpasses Apple as second-most valuable company.
- AT&T and Verizon resolve outage.
- SAP to acquire tech support platform WalkMe for $1.5B.
- Alphabet hires former Eli Lilly executive as CFO.
- AI employees urge stronger whistleblower protections.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | Boeing's Starliner spacecraft successfully launched today, carrying two NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. After multiple delays, Boeing's first crewed Starliner spacecraft lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station shortly before 11 a.m., entering a stable orbit 30 minutes later. More: - Starliner was carried by the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, which released the Starliner capsule in orbit.
- The spacecraft is carrying NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who are scheduled to reach the ISS on Thursday after a 25-hour journey.
- They will spend eight days aboard the ISS and conduct tests of Starliner, including "launch, docking, and return to Earth."
- Starliner is also transporting 760 pounds of cargo, including 300 pounds of food and supplies for the ISS crew.
Zoom out: - Starliner's initial May launch was postponed due to a valve problem, followed by cancellations in mid-May due to a propellant leak and minutes before takeoff on Saturday due to a computer issue.
- The test is Boeing's final step in its goal to transport astronauts regularly to and from the space station, competing with SpaceX.
- In 2014, both companies were chosen to build spacecraft for commercial flights to the ISS. SpaceX has completed nine crewed missions.
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| 2 | | Nvidia's stock reached record highs on Wednesday, elevating its market cap beyond $3 trillion to overtake Apple. If the valuation holds, Nvidia will become the world's second most valuable company after Microsoft. 
What the numbers show: Nvidia's shares have surged around 147% this year, adding $1.8 trillion to its market cap amid soaring demand for its AI chips. During Wednesday's intraday trading, Nvidia's market value briefly reached $3.007 trillion, edging out Apple's $3.005 trillion. Microsoft remained the world's most valuable company with a market value of $3.15 trillion. The bigger picture: Apple was the first to achieve $1 trillion and $2 trillion market caps, holding the title of most valuable company until Microsoft surpassed it earlier this year. Meanwhile, Nvidia's stock has surged over 24% after its Q1 earnings report in late May. Its quarterly data center business, including AI chip sales, skyrocketed by 427% YoY to $22.6B. Conversely, Apple's shares are up only by about 5% this year, reflecting a slowdown in its iPhone sales growth. | | | |
| 3 | | AT&T and Verizon resolved an outage that prevented some customers from completing calls between carriers. The "interoperability issue" began around 11 a.m. ET Tuesday and was resolved nine hours later, according to Downdetector. More: - Neither company has specified the reason for the outage.
- AT&T and Verizon customers reported dropped calls and difficulties reaching contacts of other phone carriers.
- The FCC said on Tuesday it was investigating reports of widespread wireless call failures across multiple states.
- By 8 p.m. AT&T declared the issue resolved, citing collaboration with "the other carrier."
- AT&T denied that it was a "nationwide outage," noting that calls between its own customers were not affected.
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| 4 | | German business software giant SAP has acquired Israeli Saas company WalkMe for $1.5B in cash. The deal is expected to boost SAP's AI offerings for enterprise customers. More: - Both companies' boards approved the $14 per share transaction, reflecting a 45% premium over WalkMe's Tuesday closing price.
- Founded in 2011, WalkMe began with real-time on-screen guidance for website navigation, evolving into a "digital adoption platform."
- Its platform detects and resolves user issues within an organization's applications, providing support and automation to streamline tasks.
- SAP said the acquisition will help it better support users to adopt new solutions and get the most out of their IT investments. The deal is expected to bolster SAP's Signavio, LeanIX, and generative AI offerings.
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| 5 | | Alphabet has hired Anat Ashkenazi, former Eli Lilly CFO, as its new finance chief, succeeding Ruth Porat. With 23 years at Eli Lilly, Ashkenazi oversaw finance chiefs across commercial, R&D, and manufacturing, and led corporate strategy and transformation. During her tenure, the pharma giant introduced popular drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. More: - Last year, Alphabet announced that the current CFO, Porat, would shift to a new role as president and chief investment officer.
- Porat, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker, remained CFO as Alphabet searched for a successor.
- Ashkenazi will take over as finance chief of Alphabet and Google on July 31.
Zoom out: - The shift comes as Google began restructuring its finance division, including layoffs, as it prioritizes investments in AI.
- In a memo, Porat said tech's shift to AI means Google has the chance "to make more helpful products for billions of users and provide faster solutions to our customers."
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| 6 | | Employees at AI companies signed an open letter urging more AI transparency and protections for workers voicing concerns about AI's risks. The letter was signed by current and former employees of OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic. More: - The letter, "A Right to Warn about Advanced Artificial Intelligence," is also endorsed by AI experts Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Stuart Russell.
- The signatories argue that AI firms "have strong financial incentives to avoid effective oversight."
- The letter urges AI companies to foster more open criticism and protect employees who disclose risks when other avenues fail. It calls for anonymous channels for staff to report AI risks and protections for whistleblowers against retaliation.
Zoom out: - In a response, OpenAI said it's "proud of our track record providing the most capable and safest AI systems and believe in our scientific approach to addressing risk."
- The ChatGPT maker recently formed a new Safety and Security Committee, led by CEO Sam Altman and other board members. The move came after OpenAI dissolved its "superalignment" team for managing long-term AI risks.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Join industry's leading AI conference - free passes available! Register Now! passes are selling quickly.**
- Google is acquiring Cameyo, a software virtualization company, to incorporate Windows app virtualization into ChromeOS. Financial details weren't disclosed.
- A former Meta engineer sued the company, alleging discrimination and wrongful termination related to his handling of Palestinian Instagram posts.
- Zoom CEO Eric Yuan discussed AI's role in creating "digital twins" to attend meetings on behalf of users.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for publications including USA Today, the Arizona Business Gazette, and The Arizona Republic, where she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for collaborative reporting on state pension cost increases. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Beth Duckett | |
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