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Cylance, fighting malicious hackers with AI, hits 1B valuation after raising 100M
"If you can't beat them, join them" may not sound like the most encouraging pitch for a cybersecurity company, but a startup called Cylance has created an artificial intelligence-powered brain that essentially does just that, and it has taken off -- raising 100 million in a Series D round of funding and catapulting itself into the so-called'unicorn' club of companies with 1 billion valuations. The Series D round of funding was led by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Insight Venture Partners, along with existing investors (unnamed which but previous backers include strategics like Capital One, Dell Ventures, DFJ, Fairhaven, Khosla, KKR and Ten Eleven). It takes the total raised to over 177 million. Cylance is not disclosing its valuation but a reliable source close to the company says it's in the neighborhood of 1 billion -- a figure also reported by the FT. Founded and led by Stuart McClure, a serial entrepreneur and former CTO of Intel's McAfee, Cylance's system is part of the rising wave of companies -- including biggies like IBM's Watson and Google's Brain -- that use machine learning and AI to build services that replicate or enhance human thinking to solve more complex problems that might be too challenging or cost prohibitive for a person (or even an army of people) to solve.
Apple App Store to undergo complete overhaul, with ads and subscriptions for games
Nasa has announced that it has found evidence of flowing water on Mars. Scientists have long speculated that Recurring Slope Lineae -- or dark patches -- on Mars were made up of briny water but the new findings prove that those patches are caused by liquid water, which it has established by finding hydrated salts. Several hundred camped outside the London store in Covent Garden. The 6s will have new features like a vastly improved camera and a pressure-sensitive "3D Touch" display
Has YOUR Twitter account been hacked? 32 million passwords are on sell on the dark web just a weeks after LinkedIn data breach
It might be time to consider changing your Twitter password. According to LeakedSource, a site that keeps a database of leaked login credentials, 32,888,300 Twitter usernames and passwords have been hacked and put up for sale on the dark web. The details were most likely obtained through individual malware attacks, instead of an attack on the social media site itself, according to the website. According to LeakedSource, a site that keeps a database of leaked login credentials, 32,888,300 Twitter usernames and passwords have been hacked and put up for sale on the dark web. The words malware, comes from a combination of the words'malicious' and'software'.
Can YOU beat a computer at chess? Interactive tool lets you play against an AI and see exactly what its thinking
Artificial intelligence has shown what it can do when facing off against humans in ancient board games, with Deep Blue and Alpha Go already proving their worth on the world stage. While computers playing chess is nothing new, a new online version of the ancient game lifts the veil of AI to let players see what the AI is thinking. You make your move and then see the computer comes to life, calculating thousands of possible counter moves – but if you are terrible at chess to begin with, it probably won't help you much. Thinking Machine 6 is the latest in a line of AI-based concept art, with the third version a permanent installation at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Created by computer scientist and artist Martin Wattenberg and Marek Walczak, the last three versions have been taken online, with contributions from Johanna Kindvall and Fernanda Viégas.
RoBattle is a modular, autonomous combat robot
Israel Aerospace Industries' (IAI) new combat robot has a wide variety of applications. The machine called RoBattle can be used as an advance guard, as a decoy or for surveillance missions. Because it uses a system that the manufacturer calls modular "robotic kit" made up of several components: vehicle control, navigation, RT mapping and autonomy, sensors and mission payloads. Since it has a modular design, the company can swap in parts depending on what a particular mission needs. For instance, it could either use wheels or tracks, and its payload could be anything from robotic arms and sensors/radars to remote-controlled weapons.
Spotify Plots Path to Profit with Machine Learning Tactics
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Spotify is a household name, with more paying users than any other music-streaming service in the world. But it doesn't make a penny. Those 30 million paid subscribers help it rake in almost half the revenues in the global industry. But most of the money goes to record labels and artists, while the privately owned Swedish company faces growing competition from Apple with its deep pockets and massive iPhone user base. To reduce its dependence on labels and stand apart from rivals, Spotify is broadening beyond its music library.
Customer tracking and AI robots top Domino's digital innovations list
Tracking consumers in real-time, zero-click ordering and delivering pizzas via artificially intelligent robots are just some of the latest innovations underway at Domino's. The pizza retailer today launched the first in a proposed series of tech innovation events, under the brand'Abacus', showcasing the way digital and technology is being harnessed by the business. Ten innovations were detailed, some of which will be available from next week, while others will be rolled out over the coming 12-24 months.All stemmed from the theme'time is the enemy of food' and showed the power of harnessing data analytics not only for operational process improvements, but also for tailoring customer experiences and interaction. The first of these is On-Time Cooking, an extension of the GPS Driver Tracker capabilities Domino's has been providing for the last 10 years aimed at shortening the time between cooking a pizza and when customers pick up their order. Domino's A/NZ managing director, Don Meij, said that until now, stores haven't known exactly when a customer will arrive, running the risk of pizzas sitting on the rack for 10 or 20 minutes longer than they should.
Exponential Finance: Financial Advice In the Age of AI and Long Life
Ric Edelman is one the top financial advisors in the US. His firm, Edelman Financial Services, has 41 offices across the country. And he thinks, all things constant, most financial advisors as we've known them won't be around much longer. At Exponential Finance, Edelman said, "I firmly believe that in the next ten years, half of all the financial advisors in this country will be gone." Edelman spoke on a panel with fellow advisor, Bill Bachrach, chairman and CEO of Bachrach & Associates. Technology, they said, doesn't spell the end of financial advisors, but it does mean they'll need to adapt significantly if they're to survive.
Machine learning is the new Big Data #HPEdiscover
You can almost hear the whooshing sound as the technology industry is sprinting to the marketplace with new solutions to help the enterprise garner useful and intelligent insights from their data. Analytics, Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) delivered in a simplistic form is what companies are demanding. To meet this mandate, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (HPE) has developed Haven OnDemand, which offers the latest technology in a simplified platform for developers. Jeff Veis, VP of Big Data Platform Solutions, HP Software, at HPE, spoke to John Furrier and Dave Vellante, cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, during HPE Discover 2016 Las Vegas to discuss Big Data and the needs of the enterprise. Furrier began the interview by asking Veis about the driving force behind the need for machine learning.
BMW hires AI, machine learning experts for R&D
MUNICH (Reuters) – BMW is overhauling its research and development activities to focus on self-driving cars, board member Klaus Froehlich told Reuters, a move which includes a revamp of its "i" sub-brand of carbon-fibre based electric vehicles. The company is updating its zero-emission vehicles after a lackluster response to its only fully battery-powered car, the i3, which recorded only 25,000 sales last year. By contrast, Tesla already has more than 370,000 orders for its Model 3. To help improve sales, BMW is increasing the battery range of its i3 city vehicle by 50 percent this year. Its next full-fledged new electric car model is not due until 2021, but the Bavarian auto maker is also planning to build a new version of its i3 electric car to be released by 2018, a source familiar with the matter said. "It is a sportier brother for the i3," said the source, who declined to be named.