What's up: Reddit sues Anthropic; Amazon plans to invest $10 billion in AI infrastructure; Meta talks to Disney, A24 about content for new VR headset.

Good morning. AI makes even the boring business hot. The WSJ's Belle Lin reports on how venture capital firms are chasing traditional services businesses as they look to supercharge their processes with AI. 

Even Thrive Capital, backer of high-flyers like OpenAI, Databricks and Wiz, is getting involved. 

The venture capital firm's holding company, Thrive Holdings, has raised $100 million for an entity set up to infuse AI into information technology services companies.

The entity, Shield Technology Partners, has already acquired four IT services companies.

Anuj Mehndiratta, Thrive Capital’s head of portfolio impact, data science and product, tells the WSJ that the plan is for Shield Technology Partners to embed software engineers into each of its IT portfolio businesses, all working to build an AI-driven solution that all of the portfolio companies will use.

IT services work is “incredibly well-suited” to what AI can streamline, he said. Read the story.

Looking to boost interest in its upcoming premium virtual-reality headset, Meta Platforms is offering Hollywood studios like Disney and A24 millions for episodic and stand-alone immersive video based on well-known intellectual property. “Avatar” director James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment has already signed up, working with Meta on exclusive VR content, WSJ reports. 

Reddit is suing Anthropic, alleging that the AI startup unlawfully used its data for commercial purposes without paying for it and without abiding by the company’s user data policy, WSJ reports. The social media company in a complaint filed Wednesday in California said Anthropic’s bots accessed its servers “over one hundred thousand times.” Reddit has reached formal agreements with both OpenAI and Google to license its valuable human user data.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are asking Crowdstrike for information related to an incident last July, in which a bug in the company’s software knocked millions of computers offline, WSJ reports. The agencies are also seeking details about the company’s revenue-recognition practices. The cybersecurity company on Tuesday posted a lower-than-expected outlook, citing an incentive program it launched last year to try to retain customers after the July outage.

Amazon plans to spend $10 billion on data center projects in North Carolina, creating some 500 jobs in the state, WSJ reports. The company also announced that it was creating a new group focused on agents. The team, part of its product-development arm, will be housed at its Lab126 R&D unit, CNBC reports. 

Coming to your doorstep: Robots. Amazon also is testing technology enabling humanoid robots to deliver packages, the Information reports.

Chinese regulators are holding back approval of Apple's rollout of AI services to Chinese users, FT reports. Apple and Chinese partner Alibaba had submitted to authorities multiple AI products, part of its rollout of Apple Intelligence for local users.

The LinkedIn page for Ryan Roslansky, chief of the professional networking site, is about to get turbocharged. Microsoft this week announced that Roslansky will also helm its Office productivity software unit, Bloomberg reports.

Citi will reduce its technology workforce in China by about 3,500 as part of ongoing restructuring to streamline global operations, WSJ reports. The job cuts affect technology staff based in Shanghai and Dalian who provide financial technology and operational services for Citi’s businesses globally.

Some economists are beginning to question the accuracy of recent U.S. inflation data after the federal government said staffing shortages hampered its ability to conduct a massive monthly survey. (WSJ)

Activity among U.S. services firms sank unexpectedly in May, the Institute for Supply Management’s index showed, amid uncertainty and price pressures prompted by tariffs. (WSJ)

The Houthis are proving to be a surprisingly difficult foe, engaging the Navy in its fiercest battles since World War II despite fighting from primitive quarters and caves in one of the world’s poorest countries. (WSJ)

The Trump administration is redirecting a key antidrone technology earmarked for Ukraine to American forces, a move that reflects the Pentagon’s waning commitment to Kyiv’s defense. (WSJ)

The WSJ CIO Journal Team is Steven Rosenbush, Isabelle Bousquette and Belle Lin.

The editor, Tom Loftus, can be reached at thomas.loftus@wsj.com.