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TomTom has partnered with Microsoft to create an AI-powered conversational assistant for cars

TomTom makes AI-based conversational assistant for cars

Digital mapping specialist TomTom said it has partnered with tech giant Microsoft to create an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered conversational assistant for vehicles.

Business • 19 Dec 23

Microsoft has committed to invest over $10 billion into OpenAI and owns 49% of the company

UK competition regulator reviews Microsoft, OpenAI plan

Britain's antitrust regulator said today it will review whether to launch a merger probe of Microsoft's multi-billion dollar partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI, weighing in on the US software giant's operations for a second time this year.

Business • 08 Dec 23

Alphabet said its new artificial intelligence model Gemini could help narrow the gap in a race with Microsoft-backed OpenAI

Wall St cheers arrival of Alphabet's AI model Gemini

Alphabet shares ended 5.3% higher last night as Wall Street cheered the launch of Gemini, saying the new artificial intelligence model could help narrow the gap in a race with Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

Business • 08 Dec 23

The study found that while one-third of companies have experienced a data breach, only 14% have had to report an incident to the National Cyber Security Centre or the Data Protection Commission

Half of companies experienced a cyber incident - survey

Almost half of organisations in Ireland have encountered cyber incidents in the last three years, while one in five have suffered resulting financial loss, according to new research from Microsoft Ireland.

Business • 07 Dec 23

Google claims that Microsoft's its business practices in the UK cloud market has left rivals at a significant disadvantage

Google wants antitrust action against Microsoft in UK

Google has called on Britain's antitrust regulator to take action against Microsoft, claiming its business practices had left rivals at a significant disadvantage, according to a letter seen by Reuters.

Business • 01 Dec 23

Former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (left) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (right)

OpenAI staff threaten to quit unless board resigns

Hundreds of staff at ChatGPT's parent company OpenAI have signed a letter threatening to leave the tech firm unless "all current board members resign," according to US media reports.

Business • 20 Nov 23

Anne Sheehan, General Manager of Microsoft Ireland; Enda McDonagh, Managing Partner, PwC Ireland and Aisling Curtis, Market Leader, Strategic Alliances at PwC Ireland

PwC in deal with Microsoft on new GenAI Business Centre

PwC Ireland is launching a new GenAI Business Centre as it expands its strategic AI collaboration with Microsoft into Ireland.

Business • 20 Nov 23

LSEG owns London's 300-year old stock exchange

LSEG ups growth guidance, plans new share buyback

The London Stock Exchange Group has raised its mid-term growth guidance to "mid to high single" digits and said it would return £1 billion to shareholders in 2024 as it looks beyond the integration of data and analytics company Refinitiv.

Business • 17 Nov 23

Microsoft and Google said they will not challenge their new EU 'gatekeeper' status

Microsoft, Google won't challenge EU gatekeeper status

Microsoft and Google will not challenge an EU law requiring them to make it easier for users to move between competing services such as social media platforms and internet browsers.

Business • 14 Nov 23

Numbers employed at LinkedIn's Irish arm rose by 449 from 1,787 to 2,236 as staff costs increased from $294.2m to $322.54m

Pre-tax profits fall by 43.5% at LinkedIn's Irish unit

Pre-tax profits at the main Irish arm of jobs and professional networking social media platform LinkedIn last year decreased by 43.5% to $99.5m (€93.4m) due to higher costs.

Business • 03 Nov 23

The Siemens Industrial Copilot scheme will see Microsoft and Siemens work together to use generative AI for the manufacturing, transportation and healthcare industries

Siemens and Microsoft to work together on AI project

Siemens and Microsoft have today announced a joint project to use artificial intelligence to increase productivity and human-machine collaboration.

Business • 31 Oct 23

Microsoft's cloud computing and PC businesses grew as customers anticipate using its AI offerings

Microsoft sales beat estimates as customers set for AI

Microsoft has beaten Wall Street estimates for fiscal first-quarter results in all segments, with its cloud computing and PC businesses growing as customers anticipate using its artificial-intelligence offerings.

Business • 25 Oct 23

Microsoft announced the biggest gaming deal in history - worth $69 billion - in early 2022

UK regulator clears Microsoft's deal for Activision

Britain finally cleared Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard today after it forced the Xbox owner to sell the steaming rights to games including "Call of Duty" to address its competition concerns.

Business • 13 Oct 23

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft had a combined market share of supply by revenue in UK public cloud infrastructure services market of 70-80% in 2022

UK regulator wants Amazon, Microsoft competition probe

Britain's media regulator has today asked the country's antitrust authority to investigate US tech giants Amazon and Microsoft's dominance of the UK cloud market.

Business • 05 Oct 23

Tech giants battling for content to build AI - Nadella

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella has said that tech giants were competing for vast troves of content needed to train artificial intelligence, and complained Google was locking up content with expensive and exclusive deals with publishers.

Business • 03 Oct 23

Microsoft announced the biggest gaming deal in history in 2022, but the $69 billion deal was blocked by the UK competition regulator

Britain set to clear fresh Microsoft-Activision deal

Microsoft's restructured $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard "opens the door" to the biggest ever gaming deal being cleared, Britain's antitrust regulator said today.

Business • 22 Sep 23

Omar Abbosh will succeed Andy Bird, who is retiring after about three years as Pearson CEO

Pearson names Microsoft executive Abbosh as its new CEO

British education group Pearson said today it has appointed Microsoft executive Omar Abbosh as its new CEO effective early 2024.

Business • 20 Sep 23

Microsoft is still trying to get UK approval for its $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard

UK minister rejects Microsoft criticism of deal ruling

British business minister Kemi Badenoch said today she did not agree with Microsoft President Brad Smith that the Competition and Market Authority's initial decision to block its purchase of videogame maker Activision was bad for Britain.

Business • 19 Sep 23

OpenAI said it plans to grow a team over the next year in Ireland

AI firm OpenAI to open new office in Dublin

ChatGPT developer OpenAI said today it is opening a new office in Dublin.

Business • 14 Sep 23

Microsoft last month offered to sell its cloud streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment after the UK's Competition and Markets Authority blocked the biggest gaming deal in history

EU regulators seek views on Microsoft remedies for CMA

EU competition regulators are asking Microsoft's rivals and customers whether they are affected by the US tech giant's proposals to gain UK approval for its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, sources close to the matter said.

Business • 12 Sep 23

The Starfield game being played at the Xbox booth at the Gamescom conference in Cologne last month

Microsoft gambles big on 'Starfield' video game

"Starfield", one of the most-anticipated video games in years, launches worldwide tomorrow with the hype - and production standards - of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Business • 05 Sep 23

Microsoft is trying to avoid a possible EU competition fine

Microsoft to unbundle Teams from Office

Microsoft said today it would unbundle its chat and video app Teams from its Office product and make it easier for competing products to work with its software, but rivals said it may need to do more to stave off a possible EU antitrust fine.

Business • 31 Aug 23

The UK regulator is the only major one to still object to the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal

Microsoft, Activision to sell streaming rights for deal

Microsoft said today that its acquisition target Activision Blizzard would sell its non-European streaming rights to Ubisoft Entertainment as part of a restructured transaction to get it past British regulators.

Business • 22 Aug 23

Apple last month became the first company in the world to reach a market value of $3 trillion

Apple, Microsoft world's top 2 companies by market cap

Tech giants Apple and Microsoft remained the top two global companies by market capitalisation at the end of July after riding this year's rally in technology shares.

Business • 01 Aug 23

The CMA called for anyone wishing to comment on the new version of Microsoft's takeover of Activision Blizzard to do so by August 4

UK regulator seeks input on Microsoft-Activision deal

The UK competition regulator has today called for public responses on whether Microsoft's $69 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard, maker of video game "Call of Duty", should be cleared ahead of a final decision by August 29.

Business • 31 Jul 23