Meta hired Salesforce’s CEO of AI, Clara Shih, to lead a new organization building AI tools for businesses that use Meta’s apps to reach consumers, according to a LinkedIn post from Shih on Tuesday. Meta confirmed the appointment and the new Business AI group in a statement to TechCrunch. “I’m thrilled to share today that I’ve joined Meta to lead a new Business AI group,” said Shih. “Our vision for this new product group is to make cutting-edge AI accessible to every business, empowering all to find success and own their future in the AI era.” Meta has an unusual business model around AI, claiming to use an open source approach, though not by everyone’s definition of it. Read more on Meta hiring Clara Shih at the link in the bio 👆 Article by Maxwell Zeff Image Credits: David Paul Morris / Bloomberg / Getty Images #TechCrunch #technews #artificialintelligence #Meta #Salesforce

We're back 👏 For all the chatter about the decline of San Francisco, data repeatedly shows that the Bay Area, including the city itself, is still the best place for venture-backed startups. Startups located in the Bay Area vacuumed up $90 billion of VC investment in 2024, which was 57% of the $178 billion of global venture funding spent last year, new stats released on Tuesday by Crunchbase show. As we previously reported, this isn’t just happenstance. It’s a result of the area’s dominance in AI, the biggest tech of 2024, as well as being home to Big Tech (Google, Nvidia, Salesforce, etc.), and a longstanding startup infrastructure there — from Y Combinator to the VC-land of Sand Hill Road. Read more on Crunchbase's findings at the link in the bio 👆 Article by Julie Bort Image Credits: Ron Albers / Getty Images #TechCrunch #technews #startups #founders #venturecapitalists #fundraising

🔥 The Super Bowl was packed with AI-focused commercials from major players like OpenAI, Meta, Salesforce, and GoDaddy. Did any of these AI-driven ads stand out to you? 🤔 🎥 via @openai, @meta, @salesforce, @godaddy #ai #artificialintelligence #aitools #aihacks #chatgpt #tech #technology

The founder and CEO of IPO-bound fintech Klarna took to X to once again explain why his company ditched Salesforce’s flagship CRM product about a year ago in favor of its own homegrown AI system. But this time, Sebastian Siemiatkowski emphasized that he doesn’t think others will — or should — follow his lead. “I don’t think it is the end of Salesforce; might be the opposite,” he wrote. The news that Klarna had developed its own in-house AI system based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT and that it dropped its contract for Salesforce CRM went viral in September. This came after Siemiatkowski spoke about dropping Salesforce during an investor call and discussed how its homegrown ChatGPT-powered customer service bot led to replacing 700 full-time contract employees and a savings of approximately $40 million annually. Read Siemiatkowski's thoughts on Salesforce at the link in the bio 👆 Article by Julie Bort Image Credits: Noam Galai / Getty Images #TechCrunch #technews #artificialintelligence #startup #Klarna #Salesforce

HP has officially acquired the assets of Humane Inc., the company behind the AI Pin, for $116 million. This acquisition includes most of Humane’s employees and its software platform. However, Humane’s AI Pin, once promoted as a smartphone alternative, is being discontinued. The company’s founders and former Apple engineers, Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, will join HP to work on AI integration across its product lineup, including PCs and printers. Tuan Tran, president of technology and innovation at HP, stated that Humane’s AI platform, Cosmos, will help create a more intelligent ecosystem across HP devices. Humane’s AI Pin, introduced in 2023, aimed to replace smartphones with a screen-free, voice-activated wearable. Despite raising $230 million from investors like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, the device flopped upon its April 2024 release. As part of the shutdown, Humane has halted new purchases of the AI Pin. Existing devices will stop functioning on February 28, with all customer data permanently deleted. Follow us (👉@artificialintelligenceee) for everything latest from the AI world. #ai #humanepin #hp #aidevice

Salesforce announced it will stop hiring software engineers in 2025, marking the first major tech company to eliminate engineering recruitment due to AI advances. The company's AI system, Agentforce, has increased engineering productivity by 30%, making additional hires unnecessary.⁠ ⁠ This move follows recent workforce changes at Salesforce, including 700 layoffs in January 2024.⁠ ⁠ The decision signals a transformation in tech industry hiring practices. While engineering positions freeze, Salesforce's AI-driven approach demonstrates how automation reshapes traditional roles. The company's Atlas Reasoning Engine, combining multiple AI models, now handles tasks previously requiring human engineers.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff believes today’s executives are the last to manage entirely human workforces. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he stated that companies will now oversee both human and AI-driven digital workers. This shift isn’t just speculation—it’s already happening. AI-driven automation is becoming a key part of operations, from customer service bots to advanced decision-making tools. A World Economic Forum survey revealed that 41% of companies plan to downsize by 2030 due to AI automation. Follow us (👉@artificialintelligenceee) for everything latest from the AI world. Credits: World Economic Forum | YouTube #ai #salesforce #marcbenioff #aiautomation