#microsoft

Sam Altman of OpenAI

OpenAI in talks to raise new funding at $100bn valuation

The terms, valuation and timing of the funding round have not yet been finalised and could still change

Sam Altman of OPENAI

Microsoft, OpenAI tie-up comes under antitrust scrutiny

UK to look at whether Microsoft-OpenAI deal harms competition

Naim Yazbeck, GM Microsoft UAE

COP28: Microsoft’s Naim Yazbeck on leveraging data, tech to drive sustainability

Microsoft UAE’s general manager shares how UAE organisations can embrace ‘sustainable’ possibilities presented by technology and tells us about the company’s participation at COP28

OpenAI - Sam Altman

UPDATE: Sam Altman to join Microsoft after OpenAI exit

Altman’s sacking angered current and former employees and worried them over an upcoming $86bn share sale

AI

United Nations creates advisory body to address AI governance

Members include tech company executives, government officials from Spain to Saudi Arabia, and academics from countries such as the US, Russia and Japan

Microsoft activision

Biggest-ever gaming deal clears regulatory hurdle: Microsoft closes $69bn Activision Blizzard deal

The deal was blocked in April by UK’s Competition and Markets Authority which said it could give Microsoft a stranglehold over the nascent cloud gaming market

Microsoft

Microsoft, Oracle expand cloud partnership

The new offering, Oracle Database@Azure, will give customers direct access to Oracle database services running on OCI and deployed in Microsoft Azure data centres

Microsoft and G42 to offer joint sovereign cloud and AI offerings Image Microsoft

G42, Microsoft alliance expands to include joint sovereign cloud and AI offering

This announcement marks the first significant outcome since G42 and Microsoft announced their intention to partner earlier this year, in April

Sony

Sony gains most since July after PlayStation gaming price hike

The gaming and entertainment giant will now charge as much as $159.99 annually for the premium tier of the popular service

Microsoft Ubisoft

Microsoft to sell off Activision cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft

The French gamemaker will get the rights for all of Activision Blizzard’s console games released in the next 15 years

Meta's Llama 2 model released

Meta unveils AI chatbot Llama 2 for commercial use via Microsoft

The partnership aligns Meta more closely with Microsoft, which has emerged as the clear leader in AI

Elon Musk

Elon Musk wants to build own ChatGPT AI

The Tesla chief and owner of Twitter confirmed he intends to get involved in the AI race sparked by OpenAI’s intelligent chatbot

Chaitanya Peddi - Co-founder of Darwinbox

SME story: Darwinbox co-founder Chaitanya Peddi on HR tech and the firm’s partnership with Microsoft

HR tech firm Darwinbox and software giant Microsoft are collaborating to redefine the ‘future of work’

Dewa

DEWA becomes first UAE government entity to use ChatGPT

The aim is to provide services supported by this technology and employ it in serving customers and employees

Microsoft continues to commit heavily to education and skilling initiatives.

Power Letters 2023: Naim Yazbeck, general manager, Microsoft UAE

Microsoft continues to commit heavily to education and skilling initiatives

IBM

IBM to cut about 3,900 workers, still hiring in ‘higher growth’ areas

The company’s current headcount is 260,000

Microsoft networking issues take down Outlook and Teams

Customers reported difficulties across multiple regions in accessing Microsoft 365 services, including email and videoconferencing tools

Microsoft

Microsoft plans 10,000 job cuts, will take $1.2bn charge

The layoffs come as the software giant said it’s seeing customers exercise caution, with some parts of the world in recession

Darwinbox and Microsoft have signed a partnership

Microsoft invests in HR tech unicorn Darwinbox

Darwinbox, which has an office in DIFC, works with leading regional enterprises such as Noon.com, Masafi, Alef Education, Retailo,  Mobily Infotech, Seepco, Eyewa, Shalina Healthcare and Foodics

Getty Images_NurPhoto_Contributor

Microsoft eyes $10bn investment in ChatGPT creator

ChatGPT has lit up the internet since launching at the end of November last year, gathering its first million users in less than a week

Big tech targets bond market

Big tech targets bond market for cash to buy back sinking stocks

As an economic downturn looms, the average blue-chip company is expected to be in balance sheet repair mode

Sayed Hashish

Cisco appoints Sayed Hashish as VP of customer experience for the Middle East and Africa

Hashish will help shape Cisco’s strategic CX direction, with a strong focus on leveraging technology to support digitisation, innovation and social inclusion

Ellington Properties

Dubai-based Ellington Properties partners with Microsoft to support business growth

Microsoft’s property management solution minimises manual processes and human interference thereby ensuring enhanced service

Kyndryl

IBM spinoff Kyndryl is betting on Amazon, Microsoft, and Google for growth

The spinoff left Kyndryl with 90,000 employees and a large chunk of the legacy infrastructure services business that had been a drag on growth for IBM before the split

Emirates NBD launches global accelerator programme

Emirates NBD launches global accelerator programme for metaverse startups

The bank is looking for fintechs, digital experience startups and emerging technology players operating to support its immersion into the virtual world

Apple

Apple lays off recruiters as part of its slowdown in hiring

Apple is still retaining recruiters who are full-time employees and not all of its contractors were fired as part of the move

Commscope Microsoft

Commscope, Microsoft join hands to transform industrial manufacturing

Commscope deploys its integrated CBRS network solution with Microsoft Azure private MEC to create agile factories and transform workforce efficiency

Stocks

Big tech sinks stocks as clock ticks on earnings

All major groups in the S&P 500 retreated with losses in megacaps like Tesla and Apple weighing heavily on trading

Naim Yazbeck

Microsoft hires Naim Yazbeck as general manager for UAE

Yazbeck is the successor to Sayed Hashish, who served in the role since 2016

ADRES Microsoft

ADRES partners with Microsoft to strengthen its digital real estate platform

The digital platform uses technology from Azure, such as cloud-native space, including Azure Kubernetes Services