Today, Google is launching a new investment program for early-stage startups working to broaden Google Assistant hardware or features. The new program provides financial resources, early access to Google features and tools, access to the Google Cloud Platform, and promotional support in efforts to bolster young companies. Google says its investment program will also support startups focussing on Google Assistant's use in travel, hospitality, or games industries. The startups will receive advice from Google engineers, product managers, and design experts who will guide the young companies through technical and product development. Google notes it's looking at creating new devices and ideas that use Google Assistant in fresh ways.

There are over 30,000 Alexa Skills available today, and the marketplace has added more than 6,800 since the beginning of the year -- more than 1,500 in April alone. The popularity of voice interfaces continues to grow among consumers. One reason for this is accessibility. Voice interfaces provide a natural platform for humans to interact with computers; even children can quickly learn how to interact with voice-enabled devices. My last article for VentureBeat, which looked at user behavior around Alexa devices, concluded that consumers are overwhelmingly happy with the devices and can already see them changing their behaviors.

You made it to right here, Saturday morning. This week, Nintendo faced a patent infringement investigation over its Switch, Sprint and T-Mobile announce they're together, and the notch rears its ugly head again. All it takes to get your stolen pooch back is an email to a CEO. Apparently, all you need to do to get a hold of Jeff Bezos though is have your puppy stolen by a delivery driver and guess the CEO's email address, according to CNBC. After UK resident Richard Guttfield's black miniature schnauzer was nicked following a dog food delivery, Amazon tracked the driver, an independent contractor, and found the dog at the thief's home.

Ever wondered how artificial intelligence (AI), today's most dynamic technology, could change the face of insurance, the world's most boring industry? The consulting giant put themselves in the shoes of a customer in 2030 to understand how the customer, their needs, and therefore businesses would be transformed by the arrival and adoption of AI. A customer will wake up, look at his schedule, and have his AI-powered personal assistant (PA) hail him an autonomous car. The customer can choose to drive the car by "selecting'active' mode" and have his PA choose a route and inform the auto-insurer and the chosen life-insurer, both of whom work on a "pay-as-you-live" model. If the insurer feels the chosen route is accident prone, it could inform the PA and either help the customer choose a safer route or stay the course but pay an increased premium.

Today (2017), we entrust all kinds of simple tasks to our virtual assistant, from setting our morning alarm call to timing how long it takes to boil an egg. Of course, this is little more than playing about. Even so, it is the start of the evolution in AI that will soon see companies offering significant added value to their customers. This will happen in six steps, each of which will result in ever-greater AI impact. The current Google interface was developed in the previous century.

Smart Gadgets like Alexa, Google Home, or Apple's Siri, can make life more efficient; but at what cost? IT Expert Vinne Schoenfelder, from Captech Consulting, is here to show us how to use these devices safely.

Fresh off of Windows 10's major April update, Microsoft is gearing up for its Build conference in Seattle Monday. The annual event, like Google I/O (which starts just one day later), is a celebration of the company's developer community. That means you can expect plenty of technical details and (gasp) on-stage coding during the two keynotes, which will be led by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and operating systems head Joe Belfiore. But of course, we'll also hear more about the company's broader goals for the next year, and we'll get a first look at new features for Windows, Office and the rest of its product line. Here's a brief glimpse at what we expect to see.

While driverless vehicles and personal assistants like Alexa are the innovations that steal the spotlight and get the most public attention, there isn't a day that goes by without news about how artificial intelligence will transform every aspect of our daily lives. Today, you can order a pizza through Echo while connecting it to your lights and thermostat, but the technology is still limited to specific users and use cases. By that, I don't mean to diminish its value though. After all, who am I not to agree after Andy Rubin, the Google veteran who built Android into the world's largest mobile operating system, is convinced that artificial intelligence is the next big thing? However, from the business perspective, in reality the advancement of technology gains an actual meaning when it applies to business use cases to create business value.

A few weeks ago, I attempted to sit through Samsung's live-streamed Galaxy S9 smartphone launch event. I nearly fell asleep at my desk. Or the relocated fingerprint sensor, which is exactly what it sounds like. I realize this is a first-world problem, but in the 11 years since the release of the iPhone, advances in personal technology have gone from breakthrough to, well, pretty broke. What--and where--is the next revolutionary product, the thing that rewrites the rules and alters our lives forever?

Google Assistant's latest trick is ordering movie tickets. It's a partnership with Fandango that enables the digital helper to assist you with movie night decisions. You can buy tickets with your voice, or you can ask for general showtimes in your area, along with finding out a movie's cast and maybe even watching a trailer. Google says picking assigned seats is pretty simple too. It was only a matter of time before Google brought Assistant into the movie mix.