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AI Acquisitions on Record Pace; Deepfakes Getting Better; TuSimple Raises Another $120 Million
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Signage is displayed outside a McDonald's Corp. restaurant in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on July 22, 2019. The company this month agreed to acquire Apprente. CREDIT: CHRISTOPHER DILTS/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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AI acquisitions on record pace. Artificial-intelligence companies are being bought at a record pace, with more than 140 acquisitions taking place in the first eight months of this year, according to a report from research firm CB Insights released this week.
Pace expected to continue. In all of 2018, also a record year, there were 166 AI deals, CB Insights said. Factors driving the buying spree include a shortage of AI talent and companies looking to augment their products and services, according to CB Insights, which sees no slowdown in the number of transactions.
“We have a lot of acquisitions where companies are trying to bring teams as well as core technologies on board to boost their own primary product,” said Deepashri Varadharajan, lead analyst, AI, for CB Insights.
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Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Microsoft Corp., Facebook Inc., Intel Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. have been among the leading acquirers, with each buying more than seven AI companies over the past few years.
More than just the tech vendors buying. But buyers go beyond tech companies. A case in point is McDonald’s Corp., which this month agreed to acquire Apprente, which specializes in voice-based, conversational technologies. The fast-food chain earlier this year said it was buying Dynamic Yield Ltd. to improve in-store ordering and online marketing.
A word of caution. Professional-services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP cautions that companies should look closely at what they are buying. Marc Suidan, PwC’s technology, media and telecommunications deals leader, said acquirers need to consider four things:
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Talent. AI experts are in high demand, so buyers need to make sure that the target company has the right talent, that those people will stick around and, if needed, that they are open to being retrained.
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Technology. Acquirers need to make sure the technology is as good as promised and that it is well built. They need to look inside the product to make sure it’s not “vaporware,” or overhyped.
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Operations. Buyers need to know that the acquired company’s offering doesn’t invade customers’ privacy, that it won’t cause public harm, and that cybersecurity measures are in place.
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Business case. Purchasers need to ensure the acquired technology provides a product or service that will achieve a business goal.
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A Pinterest Pin made of a LEGO installation is seen in this undated photo taken at Pinterest headquarters in San Francisco, California, U.S. released on April 16, 2019. PHOTO: COURTESY PINTEREST/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
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Pinterest harnesses AI for visual-based shopping. Pinterest Inc. wants to redesign how people shop online for the perfect area rug or pair of shoes, reports WSJ’s Sara Castellanos.
The company is leveraging its artificial-intelligence technology, fed by billions of images, to entice more users into buying items they see on its website or mobile app—and to expand its user base, which would translate into more advertising dollars.
Billing itself as a “visual discovery engine,” the company offers a website and mobile app where its 300 million global monthly active users can browse through photos and post—or “pin”—them to personalized digital inspiration boards. Users look to Pinterest for images related to style, gardening, home décor and other categories.
AI accurately identifies billions of objects. The company said this week that its AI technology can accurately identify more than 2.5 billion objects in photos of fashion and home décor, such as a specific brand of men’s black boots or a particular brown leather sofa. Hundreds of millions of those objects are “shoppable,” meaning users can click on an item—or a similar recommendation—and purchase it through a brand’s website. Pinterest doesn’t get a cut from the brand if the user makes a purchase; it makes money through ads on its platforms.
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“A constitutional right we have is innocent until proven guilty. Facial recognition could flip that idea around.”
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— Mutale Nkonde, a Harvard fellow and AI policy adviser, speaking about the technology at the EmTech conference, according to MIT Technology Review.
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A woman in Washington, DC, views a manipulated video on January 24, 2019, that changes what is said by President Donald Trump and former president Barack Obama, illustrating how deepfake technology can deceive viewers. CREDIT: ROB LEVER/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Deepfakes keep getting better. Deepfake technology is improving faster than top experts thought possible, reports MIT Technology Review. Deepfake pioneer Hao Li, an associate professor at the University of Southern California, said at this week’s EmTech event that, within a few years, it may be possible to create virtually undetectable fake images.
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With AI’s watchful eye, China wants to raise smarter pupils. A growing number of classrooms in China are equipped with artificial-intelligence cameras and brain-wave trackers, WSJ reports. Many parents and teachers see them as tools to improve grades, but they’ve become some children’s worst nightmare. WSJ got exclusive access to a classroom near Shanghai to see how these devices are being put to use. Watch the video.
Detroit police oversight board approves controversial facial recognition policy. Compared with a previous version of the proposed policy, the directive narrows the allowable use of the technology, the Detroit Free Press reports. The police can't use facial recognition software on live or recorded video, or use it to assess a person's immigration status.
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TuSimple raises another $120 million. TuSimple, an autonomous truck startup, added $120 million to a Series D investment, bringing the round’s total to $215 million, reports TechCrunch. Financing was led by Sina, which operates China’s biggest microblogging site Weibo. UPS, which announced in August that it had taken a minority stake in the company, also participated in the latest round. TuSimple reached unicorn status in February when the company was valued at just more than $1 billion.
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What: WSJ Tech Live Conference
Where: Laguna Beach, Calif.
When: Oct. 21-Oct. 23, 2019
The Wall Street Journal’s global technology conference, WSJ Tech Live, returns to Laguna Beach, Calif., for its fifth year on Oct. 21 to Oct. 23 at the Montage hotel. Join top leaders in tech, media and business for newsmaking onstage interviews with Robert Iger, CEO of Walt Disney; Jeff Wilke, CEO of the world-wide consumer business at Amazon; Shari Redstone, vice chair of CBS and Viacom; Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission; Michael Schroepfer, chief technology officer of Facebook; and many more.
Some of the themes we’ll be exploring this year:
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Big tech and regulation
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The streaming wars
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The race to 5G
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The landscape of threat and security
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The U.S.-China trade war and its impact on technology
The full speaker list for 2019 and the agenda can be found here.
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