Robert Hof – SiliconANGLE

AI spurs an explosion in data center spending. Can it all pay off?

Robert Hof — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 17:38:07 +0000

TikTok returned early this week after a short pause thanks to newly minted President Trump, but it was his other executive orders on AI and crypto that are likely to roil the business world. Meanwhile, Trump’s memecoins and loosening of crypto rules provide a way to funnel money to him while he’s president: corruption in broad daylight. […]

The post AI spurs an explosion in data center spending. Can it all pay off? appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

As AI ushers in a new era of extreme parallel computing, startup funding keeps booming

Robert Hof — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 18:36:27 +0000

TikTok is about as far from enterprise computing as it gets, but who isn’t watching what its fate will be in coming days? The Chinese-owned social app’s future in the U.S. still hangs in the balance. It appears neither Biden nor especially Trump wants it to shut down abruptly, but the Supreme Court today upheld […]

The post As AI ushers in a new era of extreme parallel computing, startup funding keeps booming appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

At CES, new processors bring serious AI to the desktop

Robert Hof — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 18:25:28 +0000

Leave it to the CES consumer electronics show to wrest Silicon Valley from its holiday slumber, and chipmakers from Nvidia to Advanced Micro Devices to Qualcomm obliged. It was all about enabling artificial intelligence at the desktop and that’s going to require serious hardware horsepower. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang even upgraded his usual leather jacket for […]

The post At CES, new processors bring serious AI to the desktop appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

2024 was Nvidia’s year. In 2025, will it keep the AI juggernaut going?

Robert Hof — Fri, 03 Jan 2025 18:01:13 +0000

Enterprise tech folks seemed to take a break this week, with relatively light news, even though 2025 at large unfortunately started with literal bangs. You can get the main news this week with the headlines below, so I won’t go into detail this time. Besides, what happened this week will pale in comparison to what […]

The post 2024 was Nvidia’s year. In 2025, will it keep the AI juggernaut going? appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

OpenAI hits some potholes, as Chinese AI models get more interesting

Robert Hof — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 20:33:57 +0000

This was a blessedly slow week — though less so than I thought it would be — so there were just a few highlights I’ll note in quick bullet points so you can get back to the fam too: * Agentic AI is coming — but not for awhile, says theCUBE Research’s Dave Vellante. * OpenAI […]

The post OpenAI hits some potholes, as Chinese AI models get more interesting appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

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

Robert Hof — Fri, 20 Dec 2024 18:04:40 +0000

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. Meanwhile, Perplexity raised $500 million for its AI search and immediately bought AI startup Carbon. And continuing […]

The post Databricks raises a cool $10B as the boom in AI models rages on appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Google lands big AI punches with new agent initiatives

Robert Hof — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 18:46:17 +0000

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 […]

The post Google lands big AI punches with new agent initiatives appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Andy Jassy returns to AWS re:Invent as Amazon beefs up its AI chops

Robert Hof — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 15:29:04 +0000

Amazon Web Services’ re:Invent conference in Las Vegas dominated the news this week, as the cloud giant debuted credible new artificial intelligence models dubbed Nova, new Trainium AI chips and cloud instances, and numerous new additions to its Bedrock and Sagemaker AI application platforms. Although a lot of new services are still in preview, all in […]

The post Andy Jassy returns to AWS re:Invent as Amazon beefs up its AI chops appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

All eyes on Amazon Web Services ahead of an AI-heavy re:Invent

Robert Hof — Fri, 29 Nov 2024 15:16:54 +0000

It’s time to get ready for Amazon Web Services’ re:Invent conference, starting Monday in Las Vegas — the biggest cloud computing conference of the year. To prepare, check out our new Special Report: AI and the Cloud, with exclusive features, interviews and analysis, and all the important news starting next week. We take a deep […]

The post All eyes on Amazon Web Services ahead of an AI-heavy re:Invent appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Nvidia comes through again, as AI dominates Microsoft Ignite and SC24

Robert Hof — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 17:33:59 +0000

The king of artificial intelligence came through. Despite sky-high expectations, Nvidia Wednesday managed to outdo earnings expectations as it nearly doubled revenue from a year ago and more than doubled its profit. Investors more or less liked what CEO Jensen Huang (pictured) told them about the future too, as they bid up the stock almost […]

The post Nvidia comes through again, as AI dominates Microsoft Ignite and SC24 appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

AI agents are on the march, but will they justify the endless big spending on AI?

Robert Hof — Fri, 15 Nov 2024 20:04:54 +0000

Agentic artificial intelligence, the notion of AI agents that can semiautonomously conduct a series of tasks without much human involvement, gained even more momentum this week, as OpenAI said its Operator agent is coming in January. David Linthicum tells us what else is coming in agentic AI, though it’s also worth pointing out that it’s mostly talk […]

The post AI agents are on the march, but will they justify the endless big spending on AI? appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Is generative AI hitting a ceiling? Maybe, but investors don’t care

Robert Hof — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 15:37:11 +0000

Of course the presidential election looms over everything, and I’ll just say one thing: Any executives or investors counting on President-elect Donald Trump keeping the vast majority of promises he has made are not as smart as they think they are. Maybe they just want their taxes and regulations cut, and they may well get those. […]

The post Is generative AI hitting a ceiling? Maybe, but investors don’t care appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

AI drives a cloud resurgence, but it’s costing a lot

Robert Hof — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 17:18:20 +0000

Generative artificial intelligence is driving a resurgence in cloud spending, as earnings results from Amazon Web Services and Google this week both saw upside from forecasts. Even Microsoft’s disappointing Azure revenue forecasts came from not having enough infrastructure to support more business, a factor Amazon CEO Andy Jassy also mentioned — and excessive demand isn’t a bad problem to […]

The post AI drives a cloud resurgence, but it’s costing a lot appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

AI model madness vs. AI model skeptics

Robert Hof — Fri, 25 Oct 2024 17:21:40 +0000

New artificial intelligence models keep arriving every day — make that several times a day now, judging from the list below — and you have to wonder if customers can keep up. What do you bet your company on, when an even shinier new one arrives by lunchtime? Moreover, doubts remain about whether the current […]

The post AI model madness vs. AI model skeptics appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Data centers try to cool it as AI explodes, and Big Tech goes nuclear

Robert Hof — Fri, 18 Oct 2024 14:55:05 +0000

What a turnaround for nuclear power — and it’s all thanks to artificial intelligence. This week two more Big Tech companies bet on nukes as Google and Amazon joined the party Microsoft started a few weeks ago. All that training of AI models takes a lot of power. And that’s despite, or because of, the fact that AI models are […]

The post Data centers try to cool it as AI explodes, and Big Tech goes nuclear appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

AMD doubles down on AI, Google faces possible breakup and ‘causal AI’ is coming

Robert Hof — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 18:14:23 +0000

Concerns are mounting over when and how all this investment in artificial intelligence will pay off — even at AI leader OpenAI, which reportedly predicts it will lose $14 billion in 2026 on $100 billion in revenue and won’t make a profit until 2030. Still, the money keeps pouring into AI companies, from $250 million […]

The post AMD doubles down on AI, Google faces possible breakup and ‘causal AI’ is coming appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

OpenAI sets a VC fundraising record — but can it fulfill the promise?

Robert Hof — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 17:33:18 +0000

If OpenAI could just monetize all the ink that gets spilled on the company, perhaps it could justify raising such a crazy amount of money this week. And get this: The $6.6 billion round, at a (gulp) $157 billion valuation, the biggest VC round ever, won’t even be enough to relieve CEO Sam Altman from having to […]

The post OpenAI sets a VC fundraising record — but can it fulfill the promise? appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

OpenAI’s talent exodus: Sam Altman says everything’s fine and superintelligence is on the way!

Robert Hof — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 16:40:16 +0000

This week brought yet another big shakeup at OpenAI, as Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati and others quit. But CEO Sam Altman seems to be cementing his control. And Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said in a memo that OpenAI’s oversubscribed (no, really?) funding at a $150 billion valuation is set to close next week. […]

The post OpenAI’s talent exodus: Sam Altman says everything’s fine and superintelligence is on the way! appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

AI boosts nuclear power, Salesforce bets on agents, and the remote-work era winds down

Robert Hof — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 19:36:55 +0000

Artificial intelligence infrastructure is taking really big bucks now to build out, as BlackRock and Microsoft joined this week to invest up to $100 billion in AI data centers and power projects. And that’s not all: Microsoft also teamed up with Constellation Energy to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to fuel its demand […]

The post AI boosts nuclear power, Salesforce bets on agents, and the remote-work era winds down appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

AI bears fruit: Apple slowly infuses AI into iPhones, OpenAI debuts first Strawberry models

Robert Hof — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 14:34:11 +0000

This was the week that Apple finally infused artificial intelligence into its new iPhones, Watches and AirPods, though some of features won’t be coming for a bit and overall, the AI stuff seemed a little underwhelming. The medical features such as AirPods’ ability to serve as FDA-grade hearing aids and sleep apnea detection, though, look great. […]

The post AI bears fruit: Apple slowly infuses AI into iPhones, OpenAI debuts first Strawberry models appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

More big bucks for AI startups — but investors are getting restless for results

Robert Hof — Fri, 06 Sep 2024 19:18:05 +0000

It’s no surprise that entrepreneurs with a pedigree like Ilya Sutskever’s can raise a billion dollars, as the OpenAI co-founder did this week for his startup, SSI. And he wasn’t alone, as Nvidia and others also invested in two other startups, Sakana AI and You.com. But investors are getting restless, as Nvidia stock also got hammered this past […]

The post More big bucks for AI startups — but investors are getting restless for results appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

The AI economy keeps cruising, so Nvidia will be fine — but rivals loom

Robert Hof — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 19:25:35 +0000

All eyes were on Nvidia’s earnings report this week as a proxy for the artificial intelligence economy, and even for the graphics chip giant, it was too much to live up to. Nvidia earnings disappointed, but really, how could they not? Most of the news was actually quite good, as growth looks to continue for […]

The post The AI economy keeps cruising, so Nvidia will be fine — but rivals loom appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Beyond OpenAI: The rise of not-too-large language models

Robert Hof — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 19:46:35 +0000

A flurry of new artificial intelligence models this week illustrated what’s coming next in AI: smaller language models targeted at vertical industries and functions. Both Nvidia and Microsoft debuted smaller large language models too. Also supporting the notion of more customized models — call them VLMs — OpenAI made its GPT-4o fine-tuning generally available. As […]

The post Beyond OpenAI: The rise of not-too-large language models appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Regulators tighten their fingers around Big Tech’s neck, but they’re not slowing down AI

Robert Hof — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 16:15:07 +0000

Regulators are circling ever closer to big tech companies — the latest being Google, which the Federal Trade Commission more than hinted this week should be broken up. It’s not at all certain that will happen, since it’s up to the judge in the Google v. Epic Games case, but it’s clear that Big Tech is headed for […]

The post Regulators tighten their fingers around Big Tech’s neck, but they’re not slowing down AI appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

At Black Hat, cybersecurity faces an AI conundrum amid a glut of defensive weapons

Robert Hof — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 18:33:45 +0000

Ahead of the annual Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas, we warned that defensive tool sprawl is only likely to get worse. Onsite, the talk was about, of course, the impact of AI. So far, so good, but defenders are bracing for more sophisticated artificial intelligence-driven attacks. Meantime, lots of cybersecurity providers are doing well, if earnings and new fundings are […]

The post At Black Hat, cybersecurity faces an AI conundrum amid a glut of defensive weapons appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Dell lays off thousands of workers in sales reorganization

Robert Hof — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 19:22:26 +0000

Updated: Dell Technologies Inc. is laying off an unspecified number of employees in a reorganization of sales and marketing teams, according to sources. According to Bloomberg today, the reorganization includes a new group focused on artificial intelligence services. Update: One source close to the matter had told SiliconANGLE that 12,500 layoffs, or about 10% of […]

The post Dell lays off thousands of workers in sales reorganization appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Wait, will generative AI really pay off? Inquiring investors want to know

Robert Hof — Fri, 02 Aug 2024 18:10:54 +0000

Amid a glut of funding for artificial intelligence companies, there’s understandably increasing concern among investors this past week, apparent in disappointment in the earnings results of a number of technology companies, whether all this will pay off. We’re at the point in the investment cycle where it’s hard to tell, though to my eyes, it […]

The post Wait, will generative AI really pay off? Inquiring investors want to know appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

New AI models flood the market even as AI takes fire from regulators, actors and researchers

Robert Hof — Fri, 26 Jul 2024 19:44:25 +0000

Vice President Kamala Harris’ presumed ascension to the Democratic presidential nomination following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal scrambled this week certainly scrambled the race, but it also set everyone in tech wondering what a Harris administration might mean. Bottom line: Nobody knows — and of course there’s no guarantee she will win the election come November, […]

The post New AI models flood the market even as AI takes fire from regulators, actors and researchers appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

CrowdStrike breaks the internet and generative AI gets the side eye

Robert Hof — Fri, 19 Jul 2024 19:10:34 +0000

CrowdStrike Holdings ended the week with a bang, or more like a whimper from system administrators around the world, as it sort of broke the internet by issuing an update to its software with a defect that took down Windows computers everywhere. The cybersecurity company issued a workaround, but the incident, which affected banks, airlines and […]

The post CrowdStrike breaks the internet and generative AI gets the side eye appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

AWS aims its AI push at enterprises, and the chip industry dreams of an AI boom

Robert Hof — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 17:48:26 +0000

Despite the seeming dominance of OpenAI and Microsoft in generative artificial intelligence, it’s becoming clear that the other cloud providers, not to mention AI startups, will make this anything but a winner-take-all business. Amazon Web Services made it latest bid to be a major player at its summit in New York this week, aiming to […]

The post AWS aims its AI push at enterprises, and the chip industry dreams of an AI boom appeared first on SiliconANGLE.