The project is a collaboration of the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T).

“Vulnerabilities in software are a key risk in cybersecurity, with known exploits being a primary path for bad actors to inflict a range of harms. By leveraging SBOMs as key elements of software security, we can mitigate the risk to the software supply chain and respond to new risks faster, and more efficiently,” said Allan Friedman, senior advisor and strategist at CISA.

Protobom allows companies to read data from software specifications (SBOMs), create their own SBOMs, and translate SBOMs into a variety of standard formats.

According to OpenSSF, there are many SBOM formats and schemas, which can be challenging for companies. The goal of the new project is to provide “a format-neutral data layer on top of standards that allows applications to work seamlessly with any kind of SBOM.”

“Protobom is a step towards greater efficiency and interoperability by translating across the widely used formats so that tools and organizations can focus on what’s important. It is a positive solution that helps shape a more transparent software-driven world”, Allan Friedman added.

OpenSSF also explained that by integrating Protobom into applications that link SBOM and vulnerability information, organizations will be able to more quickly access the necessary patches and mitigations to keep their software supply chains safe.

According to Omhar Arasaratnam, General Manager of OpenSSF Protobom will enable organizations to proactively manage the risk of their open source dependencies.

The project is led by the Linux Foundation’s LF AI and Data organization, which focuses on platform initiatives related to artificial intelligence and data.

LF AI and Data executive director Ibrahim Hadadt states in a press release that OPEA is expected to pave the way for the release of “fortified,” “scalable” generative AI systems that “leverage the best open source innovations from across the ecosystem.”

Other project members include Intel, IBM-owned Red Hat, Hugging Face, Domino Data Lab, MariaDB and VMware.

When asked what these companies can build together, Haddad hinted at several possibilities, such as “optimized” support for AI toolchains and compilers that allow AI workloads to run on different hardware components, as well as “heterogeneous” pipelines for generating augmented data (RAG). RAG is gaining popularity in enterprise applications of generative AI.

RAG models reference this external information – which can be in the form of proprietary company data, a public database, or some combination of the two – before generating a response or performing a task.

OPEA members say they are very interested in creating a toolkit for enterprise generative AI.

Although each of the companies has a different focus – Cloudera focuses on the cloud AI ecosystem, Domino offers generative AI applications for businesses, and VMware handles the infrastructure for AI – all have shown interest in AI development and have launched products and partnerships in this area.

However, the question of truly working together on developing compatible AI tools within OPEA remains open. Although companies may have different interests and strategies, collaboration is possible, especially if they have a common point that rests on the development of AI technologies.

Read more:
1. Acer Noted Consecutive Revenue Growth
2. Tesla Faces Stock Drop, Layoffs and Investor Pessimism
3. Microsoft Invests $1.5 Billion in UAE AI Company

Preliminary revenue for the first quarter of 2024 reached 58.83 billion Taiwan dollars with a 12.1% year-on-year increase. This includes last quarter’s revenue growth from notebook business (10.7%), desktop (12.3% growth), gaming ( 9.5%) and an increase in chromebooks (10.1%).

The Company’s strategy of creating multiple business growth engines continues to be successful. Non-computer and display activities generated 29.4% of the company’s revenue in the first quarter.

Revenues at server and artificial intelligence workstation specialist Altos Computing Inc. grew 63.5% year-over-year in the first quarter. Home appliance maker Acerpure was the other firm in the group to achieve growth of 11.8%, while Acer ITS Inc. posted a 44.0% increase.

This is the ninth consecutive month that Acer has seen growth in its revenue.

Read more:
1. Tesla Faces Stock Drop, Layoffs and Investor Pessimism
2. Huawei has incurred the wrath of the US
3. Microsoft Invests $1.5 Billion in UAE AI Company

Often after the announcement of job cuts, companies’ stock prices skyrocket, but investors, however, did not react as expected to the latest news from the electric car maker.

Tesla shares plunged 29% in the first quarter, the worst period since late 2022 and the third-largest drop since the company’s initial public offering in 2010. Shares are 60% below the peak reached in November 2021.

In 2018, when Tesla laid off 9% of its employees, the stock rose more than 3%. In 2022, the stock fell 9% on the initial announcements surrounding the layoffs, but recovered after Musk commented on his decision.

Today, however, market pessimism is taking over shareholders.

Earlier this the company reported a drop in vehicle shipments in the first quarter – the first annual decline since 2020, when production ceased during the pandemic. In China, Tesla has faced an onslaught of competition from domestic electric vehicle makers, including BYD and phone maker Xiaomi.

Last week, the company announced it was halving the subscription price of its premium driver-assistance system, offered as “full self-driving” (FSD), for U.S. customers. According to the latest data available from Kelley Blue Book, electric vehicle prices were down 9.7% year-over-year in March, and Tesla prices hit an all-time low in January, although there was a spike in March.

Tesla executives Drew Ballino and Rohan Patel announced Monday they are leaving the company. Drew Baglino has worked at Tesla since 2006. Rohan Patel joined in 2016 after serving as a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama on climate and other issues.

Regarding the layoffs, Musk said it was “critical to look at every aspect of the company to reduce costs and increase productivity.”

However, analysts and investors see a demand problem. According to FactSet, 18 analysts have lowered their price targets on Tesla stock this month, while none have become more optimistic.

Tesla is forecasting lower growth in 2024 compared to the previous year, with no plans for this year yet.

The company faces strong competition as well as the unpredictability associated with Musk’s actions. In addition to all the issues he has with regulators, Musk is involved with a host of other ventures such as SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Co. Despite his claims that he doesn’t miss important meetings at Tesla and keeps an eye on every single event at the company, it seems that it is shaping up to be a challenging year in which the electric car company needs to regain the trust of its investors and customers.

Read more:
1. Huawei has incurred the wrath of the US
2. JetBrains Launches JetBrains IDE Services
3. Microsoft Invests $1.5 Billion in UAE AI Company

Microsoft President Brad Smith will join G42’s board of directors. The investment expands the existing partnership between the two companies, and with this investment Microsoft will acquire a minority stake.

G42 will leverage its artificial intelligence applications and services in Microsoft Azure as well as deploy Microsoft’s cloud offerings.

G42 operates data centers and sells artificial intelligence applications. The company has developed an Arabic model for large languages called Jais, which will be available through Azure.

According to sources, the deal Microsoft is making with G42 is unusual. However, the company says the commercial partnership is “backed by assurances to the US and UAE governments through a first-of-its-kind binding agreement to implement world-class best practices to ensure secure, reliable and responsible AI development and deployment”.

G42 Chairman Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahya is also the UAE’s national security adviser.

The government’s involvement comes after months of scrutiny of G42 for its links to China. A few months ago, Mike Gallagher, chairman of the U.S. Special Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, urged the Commerce Department to “scrutinize” G42 to see if it should be blacklisted for commercial exports.

Gallagher alleged that G42 maintains ties to blacklisted Chinese firms, such as Huawei, and that it works with Chinese military and intelligence services.

Yet when these accusations came out, however, G42 flatly denied them and even reportedly invested in Chinese firms itself, including TikTok owner ByteDance.

The project will highlight the importance of advanced data centres that can meet the demands of cutting-edge artificial intelligence applications. The expansion of the partnership between the two companies marks a significant step towards unlocking the true potential of artificial intelligence.

The plan is to have the supercomputer up and running by 2028, with initial information that it will be deployed in the US. The project is part of a multi-phase initiative with a horizon of six years. It is divided into five phases, with Stargate representing the final stage. Microsoft is currently developing a smaller supercomputer for OpenAI that will be released in 2026.

A significant amount of investment is also being devoted to the creation of Stargate and the provision of artificial intelligence chips, which are essential to the supercomputer’s functionality.

Stargate is poised to become a transformative leap in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

According to insiders, there is a high probability that the cost of creating the supercomputer will be over $115 billion, which is significantly more than Microsoft’s capital expenditure on infrastructure last year.

The partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI is a strategic move to maintain its leadership in AI innovation. By investing in the development of Stargate and collaborating with industry stakeholders, Microsoft seeks to push the boundaries of AI’s capabilities and pave the way for transformative advancements in a variety of fields.

Amidst the billions of dollars being invested in AI technology and the confidence that tech giants are heralding towards it, the lay off trend in #tech business continues in 2024.

This past March, dozens of companies laid off employees, struggling with challenging market conditions. While the losses that tech firms have suffered since the beginning of January have been many times less than previous years, curbing inflation and an improving economic picture are not enough to end the layoffs.

Below you’ll see a list of companies that laid off employees in March, some of which have permanently suspended operations, TechCrunch reports.

ChowNow

ChowNow has laid off 20% of its staff following the acquisition of sales platform Cuboh. This isn’t the first layoff for the company, which laid off 100 people in 2022.

Nintendo of America

The company everyone knows is restructuring its testing department, at the expense of the employees it’s made up of. A Nintendo spokesperson told Kotaku that the changes will put an end to some tasks, but will result in the creation of new full-time positions. However, whether the hopeful plans for employees will come to fruition remains to be seen.

Dell

Dell has reduced its global workforce by about 6,000 jobs, according to a 10-K filed with the SEC. The filing reveals that the company has cut 13,000 jobs over the past year.

Synctera

Synctera also makes the list of companies that have entered the lay off trend. A Fintech Business Weekly report said the layoffs affected 17 people, or about 15% of the company.

ShopBack

ShopBack has eliminated 195 positions in an effort to become more sustainable, CEO Henry Chan wrote in a blog post. The layoffs affect nearly a quarter of the company’s employees.

Airmeet

Airmeet has cut 20% of its total workforce in its second restructuring in the past year.

Chipper Cash

CEO Ham Serunjogi announced in a blog post that he has made another round of cuts affecting 20 employees.

Textio

Texito has reportedly made 16% of its staff redundant in a strategic move to support its Textio Lift product.

Stash

The company has laid off about 25% of its employees. According to Axios, the layoffs affect about 80 people.

Phantom Auto

Phantom Auto has ceased operations after failed attempts to secure new funding, TechCrunch reports. The remote driving startup, which laid off employees last year, employed just over 100 people.

IBM

IBM also made the list of companies that laid off employees in March. This time, the company laid off its marketing and communications workforce. Earlier, IBM announced a strategy to replace up to 8,000 jobs with artificial intelligence.

Inscribe.ai

Inscribe.ai has laid off just under 40% of its staff, the company confirmed to TechCrunch.

Turnitin

Turnitin is another company that laid off around 15 people earlier this year, following comments from CEO Chris Karen that the company would be able to cut 20% of its staff again thanks to artificial intelligence.

Sorare

Sorare has laid off 13% of the people working in its New York office. According to claims from a source via TechCrunch, the reason for this is that fantasy sports platform Web3 is focusing on its Paris headquarters.

Project Ronin

Project Ronin has carried out a mass layoff that has affected around 150 employees. The reason for it is the winding down of the company.

Kobiton, a provider of mobile testing tools, will integrate with Applitools’ test automation platform, Applitools Intelligent Testing Platform.

In this way, Applitools customers will now have access to hundreds of real mobile devices and be able to perform automated tests on them. According to Applitools, this will make it easier for customers, who until now had to turn to their own devices or third-party cloud devices to test mobile apps.

Other benefits of the new partnership include the ability to leverage both companies’ artificial intelligence technologies, continuous testing, scalability and security.

Amazon’s total investment in Anthropic is worth $4 billion.

According to sources, Amazon had until the end of the first quarter to decide whether to increase its investment to a maximum of $4 billion, and a few months later – the investment is already in place.

Anthropic’s AI models are one of very few that compete at the highest levels of capability, but are available at enterprise scale for internal deployment or in consumer-facing applications.

OpenAI’s GPT AI chatbots and Google’s Gemini are well known among tech circles, but newcomers like Mistral could very well threaten the AI dominants.

They identify 2021-founded Anthropic as one of OpenAI’s biggest competitors, attracting billions in funding.

Anthropic has relationships with big tech companies like Google, which joined a $450 million funding round in May led by Spark Capital. Google and Amazon Web Services are partners in Anthropic’s cloud computing.

Forbes’ America’s Best Startup Employers list, compiled in conjunction with Statista Inc., recognizes the top 500 startups displaying excellence across employer reputation, employee satisfaction, and growth. Millions of data points were gathered and analyzed. Out of 20,000 companies, 3,000 qualified for in-depth analysis, and 500 startups made the final ranking for distinguished corporate culture and employee engagement practices.

“When George Dochev and I founded LucidLink eight years ago, our vision was to pioneer innovation while prioritizing our people and fostering a vibrant culture. We’ve been incredibly fortunate to attract individuals who resonate with this vision and have joined us on this remarkable journey. It’s a profound honor for Forbes to acknowledge what we’ve always believed – that the strength of a company lies in its people. This recognition reaffirms our commitment to nurturing a workplace where talent thrives and innovation flourishes”, said Peter Thompson, CEO and co-founder of Lucidlink.

LucidLink’s recognition highlights its unwavering commitment to fostering excellence and innovation. Its industry-leading technology and culture have received numerous accolades, including National Association of Broadcasters Product of the Year in 2022 and 2023 and Inc. Magazine’s Best US Workplaces in 2023.

This year’s Best Startup Employers list is the fifth such ranking from Forbes and Statista, identifying the best-performing and most innovative startup employers. For consideration, companies must be headquartered in the US, founded between 2014 and 2021, employing at least 50 employees, and exhibiting a startup structure – which excludes spin-offs of large corporations.