AI News Archive: May 19, 2026 — Part 23
Sourced from 500+ daily AI sources, scored by relevance.
- Google and Blackstone to Create New AI Cloud Company. The Stocks Are Rising.
Google and Blackstone to Create New AI Cloud Company. The Stocks Are Rising. Barron's
- Google opens TPUs to enterprises beyond its own cloud via Blackstone JV
Google Cloud and Blackstone have unveiled a new joint venture aimed at building a large-scale standalone cloud platform powered by Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), marking one of the company’s clearest moves yet to expand its AI infrastructure beyond the traditional boundaries of Google Cloud. The new company will offer “efficient data center capacity, operations, networking, and Google Cloud’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) as a compute-as-a-service offering,” Blackstone said in a statement . Under the agreement, Blackstone will commit an initial $5 billion in equity funding to the venture, with Google supplying hardware, software, and services. The companies said the new platform will provide enterprises “another option to access cloud TPUs in addition to using them through Google Cloud,” signaling a broader shift in how Google plans to commercialize its proprietary AI chips. The project is expected to deliver roughly 500 megawatts of data center capacity by 2027, the stateme
- Blackstone and Google form $5B joint cloud venture
The joint venture aims to bring 500 megawatts of computing capacity online by 2027 to meet accelerating demand for artificial intelligence workloads.
- Google, Blackstone to create AI cloud firm with in-house chips
Google, Blackstone to create AI cloud firm with in-house chips The Mercury News
- Workday to keep expanding Indian workforce, deepen AI investments, executive says
Workday plans to continue its rapid hiring in India. The company is increasing investments in artificial intelligence and opening new offices. India's skilled workforce and lower costs make it attractive for global capability centers. Workday's headcount in India has already doubled. AI is automating tasks for customers, speeding up processes significantly.
- Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
EU-META PLATFORMS/ANTITRUST (EXCLUSIVE):EXCLUSIVE-Meta offers AI rival chatbots limited free WhatsApp access, sources say
- Google DeepMind hires staff from Contextual AI in licensing deal, source says
Google DeepMind hires staff from Contextual AI in licensing deal, source says Reuters
- Analog Devices in Talks to Buy AI Power Chip Startup for $1.5 Billion
Analog Devices in Talks to Buy AI Power Chip Startup for $1.5 Billion The Information
- Analog Devices Near Deal to Buy AI Power Chip Startup for $1.5 Billion
Analog Devices Near Deal to Buy AI Power Chip Startup for $1.5 Billion The Information
- Analog Devices to spend $1.5B on semiconductor firm making chips for data centers
The acquisition of California-based Empower Semiconductor ranks among the largest deals involving a Massachusetts technology company so far this year.
- Healthcare AI firm Commure valued at $7 billion, raises $70 million
Commure, a healthcare AI platform, has achieved a significant milestone. The company announced a $7 billion valuation after raising $70 million in a funding round. General Catalyst led the investment, with participation from other major firms. Commure's agentic AI automates administrative tasks in healthcare. This technology is in high demand.
- AI company Commure banks $70M funding round, hits $7B valuation
Healthcare AI company Commure has banked $70 million in fresh funding, reaching a $7 billion valuation.
- Google to release smart glasses and add AI ‘agents’ to search engine
CEO Sundar Pichai says features powered by new Gemini model will close gap with Anthropic and OpenAI
- Samsung, Google unveil AI-powered smart glasses as digital eyewear emerges as next computing frontier
AI smart glasses released by Samsung Electronics and Google feature collaborations with Gentle Monster, left, and Warby Parker. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS] Samsung Electronics unveiled its first AI-powered smart glasses made in partnership with Google on Tuesday, joining the race among tech companies to develop the next major computing platform after smartphones. The companies introduced two smart glasses models based on Android XR, Google’s smart glasses and wearable device platform, during Google’s annual developer conference, Google I/O 2026, held in Mountain View, California, on Tuesday. Related Article Driver under investigation for crashing car through glass wall, into indoor swimming pool KAIST tech startup becomes first in Korea to get investment from Nvidia Through the looking glass: AI turns theater dialogue into floating subtitles The unveiling marked the first time the companies revealed actual product designs after announcing plans last December to collaborate with global eyewea
- Samsung's 'Intelligent Eyewear' glasses just launched at Google I/O, and they're coming this fall
Samsung's 'Intelligent Eyewear' glasses just launched at Google I/O, and they're coming this fall Tom's Guide
- Google's First AI Smart Glasses Launching This Fall With iPhone Support
Google today said that its first "intelligent eyewear" product is set to launch this fall. It is teaming up with Samsung and eyewear manufacturers Gentle Monster and Warby Parker to launch new AI audio glasses. The glasses will run Android XR, which is Google's platform for smart glasses and AR/VR headsets. There are cameras, speakers, and microphones in the glasses, but there is no display in the lenses. Google previewed two of the designs coming from Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, though there will be other options. Google says the two companies will have "full collections" available when the glasses launch. The glasses support Gemini AI, with Gemini integrated into all of the available features. Users will be able to say "Hey Google" or tap the side of the frame to bring up Gemini, and Google says the AI can do the following: Gives information about what the wearer sees, like reviews for a restaurant nearby, the name of a cloud formation, or details on a confusing parking sign. Of
- Google I/O primer: Alphabet's AI showcase is its chance to wow Wall Street
After a 140% stock surge and a sweeping Wall Street reset, Google’s developer conference has to prove the AI story is more than a market narrative.
- Book on truth in the age of AI contains quotes made up by AI
The author of a nonfiction book about the effects of artificial intelligence on truth acknowledged that he had included numerous made-up or misattributed quotes concocted by AI.
- Book About AI’s Effects on the “Future of Truth” Found to Contain Slew of AI-Hallucinated Quotations
Poetic, really. The post Book About AI’s Effects on the “Future of Truth” Found to Contain Slew of AI-Hallucinated Quotations appeared first on Futurism .
- Lexroom to build legal AI for civil law Europe with $50M Series B
Milan-basedlegal AI company Lexroom has raised $50 million in a Series B funding round ledby Left Lane Capital, with participation from Base10 Partners, Eurazeo, AcurioVentures, Entourage and View Dif...
- Perplexity Pro users claim usage limits have been drastically cut (Updated: Statement)
Multiple Reddit threads complain about silently reduced usage limits for queries using advanced AI models.
- Google’s AI strategy is finally coming into focus
In a major salvo in the AI race, Google announced on Tuesday a slew of new and updated products at its I/O developer conference. These ranged from tools that deploy personal AI agents, to code generators, search tools, and a new “world model” for generating physically accurate videos. Taken together, the releases paint a picture of Google’s current strategy for bringing artificial intelligence to consumers and businesses. It’s a strategy that effectively leverages the company’s vast information infrastructure, built up through search, in ways that give it clear advantages over newer AI companies. New models Google DeepMind ’s newest models are bigger and smarter, deeply multimodal, and tuned for taking action. Many of the new products and features announced at I/O are powered by the new Gemini 3.5 Flash model. Google says the model is optimized for speed and efficiency, is four times faster than other frontier models, and costs between one-half and one-third the price of comparable mod
- Here’s how we used AI to find gambling ads in televised sports
Here’s how we used AI to find gambling ads in televised sports The Washington Post
- Trump’s AI Regulation Pivot: What It Means for Tech
Trump’s AI Regulation Pivot: What It Means for Tech Built In
- Pizza Hut’s AI Store Control System Is Such a Disaster That It’s Wasted $100 Million, Lawsuit Alleges
Mamma mia, that's a lotta money. The post Pizza Hut’s AI Store Control System Is Such a Disaster That It’s Wasted $100 Million, Lawsuit Alleges appeared first on Futurism .
- Frustrated franchisee sues Pizza Hut over crappy kitchen AI
The Hut stands accused of breaching its franchise agreement by forcing 'algorithmic behaviors that slowed production and delivery' on restaurants, leading to $100M in losses one group wants back
- AI flub leads to a graduation ceremony debacle — and an apology
AI flub leads to a graduation ceremony debacle — and an apology Business Insider
- Generational rejection of AI? Why are university students booing big tech at graduation ceremonies?
Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, and two other speakers have been jeered by students at three US universities
- Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements
Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements Toronto Star
- Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements
Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements AP News
- Students keep booing AI at graduation speeches this year
It’s graduation season, and that means commencement speakers are offering up their best advice for how to live a happy, healthy, and successful life. But instead of being met with welcoming smiles and engaged head nods, one topic is being met with anger and boos— AI . In a series of recent incidents, listeners have balked as commencement speakers have either told them to embrace artificial intelligence, or have otherwise mentioned the ever-expanding technology in a speech. It happened when Gloria Caulfield, vice president of strategic alliances for the Orlando-based company Tavistock, began telling the graduating class at the University of Central Florida’s College of Arts and Humanities and its Nicholson School of Communication and Media that the “rise of artificial intelligence is the next industrial revolution.” Instantly, the crowd erupted into boos that made the speaker take a pause. “Okay, I struck a chord! May I finish?” Caulfield said in surprise. Fast Company reached out to UC
- The students booing AI aren’t Luddites
It’s graduation week, which means the emissaries of the nation’s elite are now descending onto college campuses to deliver the much-discussed and, they hope, indelibly quotable college commencement address. These speeches are their own sort of literary genre. The celebrities, politicians, and titans of industry invited to give these keynotes must seem intelligent enough, but not bore—or worse, antagonize—their audience. Typically, this involves a speaker integrating a clever life story, select nuggets of eternal wisdom, a few trite asides to campus lore, and well-placed references to current affairs into one propulsive and affecting speech. The problem this year, however, is that the news of the day is artificial intelligence , and students just don’t want to hear it. In the past week or so, at least three graduation speakers have brought up artificial intelligence in their remarks, only to incur jeers from graduates. This includes Gloria Caulfield, a real estate developer who called A
- Students Boo and Jeer as AI Name-Reader Flops Spectacularly at College Graduation Ceremony
"That is a lesson learned for us." The post Students Boo and Jeer as AI Name-Reader Flops Spectacularly at College Graduation Ceremony appeared first on Futurism .
- Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements
Graduates are booing pep talks on AI at college commencements Boston Herald
- In Musk v. Altman trial, the entire AI industry lost
The biggest tech trial of the AI era — which ended anticlimactically Monday on procedural grounds — revealed a sector consumed by the same power struggles and profit motives its leaders once warned would corrupt artificial intelligence. Why it matters: The trial cemented a growing public fear about AI: that the people racing to control the world's most powerful technology are driven less by humanity-saving ideals than by money, power and personal rivalries. The big picture: OpenAI's founders originally positioned themselves as an alternative to Google DeepMind, fearing a single tech giant would monopolize transformative AI systems. But testimony and internal documents showed the organization's leaders quickly became consumed by power struggles. OpenAI executives worried in 2017 that Elon Musk "could become a dictator" and sent him an email with the subject line "honest thoughts." Musk responded saying "I've had enough" and later suggested the company be folded into Tesla. Among the cou
- The Big Four accounting firms are now hiring more AI specialists than accountants
The Big Four accounting and consulting firms — Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC — advertised more AI-related job postings than traditional auditing positions in 2025, according to a new analysis by the Financial Times . Nearly 7% of the firms’ job postings required AI expertise, compared to less than 2% in 2022 when OpenAI’s ChatGPT was launched . At the same time, auditing roles accounted for just under 3% of the postings last year. One of the firms also noted that a single job posting could, in some cases, apply to multiple positions. According to the Times , the hiring trend shows how quickly AI is transforming the consulting and auditing industries. At the same time, the industry is trying to adapt to the fact that AI could undercut the need for certain junior positions. Traditionally, consulting firms have been built on a “pyramid model” where many younger employees work under a smaller number of senior managers and partners. AI is now expected to automate parts of that workplace arran
- Cohere snaps up second German AI startup weeks after Aleph Alpha deal
Cohere snaps up second German AI startup weeks after Aleph Alpha deal
- Cohere acquires second company with German ties in Reliant AI
Acquisition is intended to accelerate entry into the healthcare sector. The post Cohere acquires second company with German ties in Reliant AI first appeared on BetaKit .
- Cohere buys biopharma analytics firm Reliant AI
Cohere buys biopharma analytics firm Reliant AI Toronto Star
- Cohere acquires Reliant AI, expanding presence in life sciences
Deal is second such transaction for Toronto-based Cohere this year after announcing merger with German AI company Aleph Alpha
- Italian AI LegalTech startup Lexroom raises €42.9 million Series B eight months after €16.2 million Series A
Lexroom, a Milan-based LegalTech startup focused on civil law jurisdictions, today announced a €42.9 million ($50 million) Series B round, eight months after the company’s €16.2 million ($19 million) Series A. This round brings its total capital raised to over €62.7 million ($73 million). The Series B round was led by Left Lane Capital, with […] The post Italian AI LegalTech startup Lexroom raises €42.9 million Series B eight months after €16.2 million Series A appeared first on EU-Startups .
- Stellantis expands AI manufacturing push with Accenture and NVIDIA
Stellantis’ partnership with Accenture and NVIDIA highlights a broader shift in the AI industry beyond chatbots and copilots toward industrial systems, digital twins and AI-driven manufacturing. The collaboration reflects growing enterprise interest in using simulation, real-time data and physical AI to build smarter, more adaptive manufacturing operations at scale.
- Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon's legal dispute with AI company Anthropic
Three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit didn't indicate how soon they would rule on Anthropic's appeal, but some of their questions and remarks hinted at how they might decide the case.
- Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon's legal dispute with AI company Anthropic
Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon's legal dispute with AI company Anthropic Toronto Star
- Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon's legal dispute with AI company Anthropic
Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon's legal dispute with AI company Anthropic San Francisco Chronicle
- Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon’s legal dispute with AI company Anthropic
A panel of appellate judges appears to be divided over a legal dispute between the Pentagon and Anthropic.
- Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon's legal dispute with AI company Anthropic
Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon's legal dispute with AI company Anthropic Houston Chronicle
- Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon’s legal dispute with AI company Anthropic
Appeals court judges appear to be divided over Pentagon’s legal dispute with AI company Anthropic Boston Herald
- Microsoft's biggest India data center on track to go live in mid-2026, executive says
Like rivals Alphabet and Amazon, Microsoft sees India as a potentially profitable market for AI thanks to its more than 1 billion internet users and deep tech talent.
- Perplexity Users Claim Their Usage Limit Was Significantly Reduced, Company Reportedly Responds
Several Perplexity users woke up last week to find their accounts’ usage significantly reduced. Sharing their frustrations online, these users highlighted that the rate limits were cut short to the point that their daily usage was getting exhausted in just a few queries. The list of impacted users includes those on the free tier and those paying for a subscription.