Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

As AI models increasingly become commoditized, startups are racing to build the software layer that sits on top of them. One interesting entrant into this space is Osaurus, an open source, Apple-only LLM server that lets users move between different local AI models, either locally or in the cloud, while keeping their files and tools all on their own hardware. Osaurus evolved out of the idea for a desktop AI companion, Dinoki, which Osaurus co-founder Terence Pae described as a sort of “AI-powered Clippy.” Dinoki’s customers had asked him why they should buy the app if they still had to…

Stockholm has become one of Europe’s hottest startup hubs, producing fast-growing AI companies like Lovable, Legora, and Sana Labs. Loading audio narration… Yet, Paul Graham says ambitious founders should still go to Silicon Valley.”Should I go there?” the Y Combinator cofounder asked during a speech to founders in Sweden last month that was released on video on Wednesday. “Yes, you should. You can go there for a bit and then come back, but you should at least go.”Graham’s message landed at a moment when Stockholm’s startup ecosystem is attracting increasing attention from investors and founders. According to global data intelligence…

Jensen Huang is known for many things: leading the world’s most valuable company, his trademark leather jacket, and his love of street food. Loading audio narration… The Nvidia CEO was spotted eating noodles on a Beijing sidewalk on Friday after accompanying President Donald Trump on his state visit to China.”It’s so good,” Huang told a crowd of onlookers while tucking into the fried bean sauce noodles.One clip of the moment shared on X racked up more than a million views by early Friday morning.Huang was part of a delegation of business leaders — including Elon Musk, Tim Cook, and Larry…

Bill Ackman is betting big on Microsoft’s success in the AI era. Loading audio narration… Billionaire investor Ackman said on Friday that his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, has taken a position in Microsoft, saying he has been following the company for many years and that it now has a “highly compelling valuation.”Ackman introduced the Microsoft stake in an X post, saying his team has “found occasional opportunities to acquire some of the most dominant long-term compounding franchises at attractive valuations.”He gave Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta as examples in recent years.As two of the largest forces in equity markets…

Software engineering roles aren’t going away anytime soon — but they are converging. Loading audio narration… At least that’s the case at the Big Four firm EY, according to Dan Diasio, global consulting AI leader. Diasio said software engineers are able to accomplish and build a lot more quickly than they were previously.The shift has pushed the consulting giant to move beyond traditional software engineering lifecycles and toward product development lifecycles. That means training engineers to operate more like end-to-end product builders rather than pure coders.Diasio told Business Insider that roles that were once split across data engineering, software engineering,…

AI is forcing the consulting industry to reinvent itself.The biggest firms are racing to weave the technology into nearly every facet of their businesses — from how consultants execute client projects to how employees are trained, promoted, and measured.McKinsey, BCG, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC, and IBM Consulting are all now hiring more technical talent, building AI tools and AI agents, and pushing staff to use them in their day-to-day work.Business Insider has closely covered how the consulting industry is changing. See our stories below on how AI is reshaping the work, and the firms and startups leading the shift.How the…

Silicon Valley’s hottest livestream this week is a humanoid robot clocking in for a warehouse shift. Loading audio narration… It began Wednesday, when Figure AI CEO Brett Adcock set out to prove to skeptics that his robots could complete an eight-hour stretch of autonomous labor. Within hours, Figure AI had a film crew at its San Jose headquarters and was streaming a humanoid doing one of the dullest tasks imaginable: sorting packages.The internet was captivated. Millions tuned in to watch the robot pick up small packages and place them on a conveyor belt with the barcode facing down. Two humanoids…

The deals may be flowing, but the founders are on ice. Loading audio narration… Billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper backed Tesla, Skype, and Twitch. The early investments made him billions and boosted the VC firm he founded, Draper Associates. He recently looked for his next big deal in an unusual place: an ice bath.”I took 52 pitches in 52 minutes at below 40 degrees,” Draper wrote on X on Wednesday. “Welcome to my office.”Draper also included a photo of the ice bath. Four people sat around the cold tub, looking directly at Draper. Floating chunks of ice surrounded them.In an…

Nine California jurors are now deliberating over the future of OpenAI, the world-leading artificial intelligence lab. While the trial exploring Elon Musk’s case against OpenAI’s other cofounders and Microsoft has covered territory ranging from the breakup of the founders in 2018 to Altman’s firing and rehiring in 2023, the jurors will be considering a set of fairly narrow questions. Breach of charitable trust — essentially, did OpenAI and cofounders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman violate a specific agreement with Musk to use his donations to OpenAI for a specific, charitable purpose and not general use by the non-profit? Unjust enrichment — did…

California could deliver a big blow to already reeling SaaS and software companies. Loading audio narration… On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed expanding the state sales tax to ensure it covers digital prewritten software. Newsom, whose term ends in January, said he had been “slow” to recognize that consumers were paying a 7.25% sales tax when they buy software in a store but not when they buy it online.”As someone who lives near a Best Buy, I’m at Best Buy often,” Newsom told reporters during a news conference. “And I’m paying sales tax on a lot of this prewritten software.…