Tesla today released an earnings report that made shares soar -- and Wall Street analysts scratch their heads. Earnings came out to $2.90 a share versus expected losses of close to 20 cents per share. The company's net income, $311.5 million, is a far cry from its losses of $619.4 million this time last year. And quarterly revenue topped that of a year ago by more than 70 percent. This was Tesla's third-ever profitable quarter, as well as CEO Elon Musk's last full quarter, for the time being, as chairman of the company he founded 15 years ago.

Accenture has acquired a financial services firm that specializes in using artificial intelligence and robotic process automation in corporate and commercial lending, the company said Wednesday. TargetST8 Consulting, which was founded in 2013, focuses exclusively on the financial markets, serving banks and investment firms in the U.S. and Europe, Accenture said. TargetST8 provides customers with digital lending solutions that include deploying artificial intelligence and robotic process automation, according to Accenture. "TargetST8 consultants are known for their deep expertise, innovative digital solutions and outstanding project delivery--particularly in their implementation of Finastra's Loan IQ solution," said Alan McIntyre, who leads Accenture's banking practice globally. "The addition of TargetST8 will enhance our ability to help our commercial and corporate lending clients improve their processes and transform their businesses."

The semiconductor industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in technology. Information provided by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) reveals that global sales of semiconductors reached $40.16 billion for the month of August 2018, which was a 14.9% year-on-year increase compared to August 2017. Market research consultant Stratistics MRC has also stated that many semiconductor companies have started to adopt IoT to drive new revenue and growth models. A report from Accenture too supports the fact that the semiconductor industry is the most bullish one when it comes to integrate blockchain within their industry and the impact of AI. Syed Alam, who leads Accenture's semiconductor practice, says: "Throughout the industry's complex supply chain, blockchain simplifies business operations leveraging semiconductor chips and related technologies. "This faster traceability will improve companies' business operations and accelerate delivery of their products to market - while enabling them to do so at lower costs.

As robotics technologies have advanced significantly in the past few years, robots for enterprise markets are becoming more affordable, productive, and smarter than ever before. According to a new report from Tractica, this trend is resulting in a significant increase in the number of enterprises within the agriculture, construction, warehousing and logistics, telepresence, customer service, and other sectors willing to invest in robots to cut costs and increase profits, while trusting robots to solve business challenges and productivity gaps. Tractica forecasts that worldwide shipments of enterprise robots will grow from approximately 83,000 units in 2016 to 1.2 million units annually by 2022, increasing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 57% during that period. Global revenue for the enterprise robotics market will increase from $5.9 billion in 2016 to $67.9 billion in 2022. "Just as robotics has transformed manufacturing and heavy industry in recent years, robots are beginning to impact enterprise work processes, with innovative and effective solutions being introduced with increased frequency," says research analyst Manoj Sahi.

Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX) is sitting on a massive opportunity thanks to the growing demand for its chips in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The chipmaker controls the majority of the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) market -- chips that are finding traction in AI applications -- by successfully keeping rival Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) at bay on the back of solid product development moves. But AI is just one of the reasons why you should consider Xilinx for your portfolio. The chipmaker pays a dividend that's well above the tech sector's average yield of 1.11%, and it has been increasing every year since 2011. But with Intel breathing down its neck, will Xilinx be able to sustain the growth of its dividend?

Microsoft today announced it has acquired Lobe, creator of a platform for building custom deep learning models using a visual interface that requires no code or technical understanding of AI. Lobe, a platform that can understand hand gestures, read handwriting, and hear music, will continue to develop as a standalone service, according to the company's website. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. People have only started to utilize the full potential of AI, Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott said today in a blog post announcing the acquisition. "This in large part is because AI development and building deep learning models are slow and complex processes even for experienced data scientists and developers. To date, many people have been at a disadvantage when it comes to accessing AI, and we're committed to changing that," he said.

Disruption today is constant, and it's changing the way the world works. Some trends catch on for a short time but then fade from our attention, while others are so profound that they transform every aspect of our world and how we work and live in it. As we head into 2019, here are five technology megatrends that I believe will disrupt every industry over the next five years. Advancements in microprocessor technology, the sheer abundance and explosive growth of data, and improvements in algorithms have caused the artificial intelligence (AI) market to explode in recent years as industries are leveraging AI as a key tool for improving quality, increasing speed and driving revenue growth. From imaging and diagnostics in health care to demand planning in retail, it's now commonplace to hear terms like deep learning, computer vision and natural language processing bandied about in mainstream business.

While the media is full of stories of retail woe, actual year-on-year retail sales are up in the UK. What does Artificial Intelligence (AI) add to this picture? It could help UK retailers reduce stock inventory by £23 billion. Or grow sales 30% faster. Or increase gross profit margins by 50%.

Forter, a company that uses machine learning to detect and prevent fraud in online retail transactions, announced today that it has raised $50 million in a series D funding round led by March Capital Partners, bringing its total financing to $100 million. Salesforce Ventures joined the round, along with previous investors including Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Global online retail sales amounted to more than $2 trillion in 2017, and this number is projected to reach more than $4.5 billion by 2021. But as online retail grows, so does online fraud. Account takeover attacks are on the rise, as are high-volume automated "bot" attacks and so-called policy attacks like coupon abuse.

Netradyne, an artificial intelligence startup founded by two former Qualcomm executives, has raised $21 million in new funding Thursday to push forward the company's technology for commercial fleets. The new round of cash was led by Microsoft's corporate venture arm, M12, along with Reliance Industries, and Point72 Ventures. Reliance, based in India, previously invested $16 million in Netradyne's Series A. The San Diego company, founded in 2015, makes a sophisticated monitoring technology that can keep an eye on commercial vehicle fleets while on the road. The startup's small device mounts behind a rear-view mirror and acts as a computerized command center to capture 360-degree video of a vehicle's surroundings. The tool uses Netradyne's AI software to figure out if drivers are operating safely or not, picking up things like tailgating, speeding and getting in accidents.