By Prakhar Srivastava and Krystal Hu Dec 16 (Reuters) - Databricks said on Tuesday that it has raised more than $4 billion at a valuation of $134 billion, the latest example of investors betting big ​on companies benefiting from the broader adoption of artificial intelligence. The Series L funding round for Databricks, which ‌provides a software platform that helps firms manage large amounts of data and build their own AI models, came less than six ‌months after its previous round at a valuation of $100 ...

VANCOUVER, Wash. and NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Absci Corporation (Nasdaq: ABSI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing breakthrough therapeutics with generative AI, today announced the company will be participating in the upcoming 44th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, CA. Absci management is scheduled to present on Wednesday, January 14th at 3:45 p.m. Pacific Time (6:45 p.m. Eastern Time). Interested parties may access a live and archived webcast of ...

Revenue management technology provider LodgIQ has introduced a generative AI platform developed for hotel revenue management and business intelligence. According to the company, the new AI Wizard service is operational and available to the hospitality sector immediately. The platform offers a conversational interface that enables hotel teams to query property-level data in natural language rather than relying on manual report generation or static dashboards. The platform uses a multi-model AI architect ...

MCLEAN, Va., Dec. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acentra Health, a technology and health solutions company dedicated to accelerating better outcomes for its government and commercial healthcare clients and the populations they serve, today announced that it has been named to the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC)’s Tech100 list. Every year, the NVTC recognizes the region's most innovative tech companies, visionary executives, and trailblazing rising stars who are shaping the future of technology, dri ...

Company's total cash position expected to be approximately $70 million following closing ENGLEWOOD, CO / ACCESS Newswire / December 15, 2025 / Lightwave Logic, Inc. (NASDAQ:LWLG) (the "Company"), a technology platform company leveraging its proprietary electro-optic (EO) polymers to transmit data at higher speeds with less power in a small form factor, today announced the pricing of its underwritten public offering of 11,666,667 shares of common stock. The gross proceeds of the offering are $35 million, ...

站在2025年的尾声回望，中国人工智能领域正在经历一场范式转移。 如果说2023年是"百模大战"的草莽爆发期，2024年是技术路线的分化期，那么2025年无疑已进入了最为残酷也最为关键的"资本兑现期"。 随着生成式AI技术的祛魅与商业化落地的迫切需求，原本喧嚣的市场迅速冷却并固化。三只"独角兽"——智谱AI、MiniMax、月之暗面杀出重围，构成了 中国大模型赛道的第一梯队，并集体向港交所发起了最后的冲刺。 MiniMax 正凭借其在海外市场的强劲变现能力和独特的产品矩阵，成为冲击IPO的最强黑马，目标直指2026年1月。智谱AI 作为"清华系"的国家队代表， 虽放弃了科创板但迅速转向港股，试图以基础设施的姿态确立估值锚点 。而月之暗面，尽管凭借Kimi拿下了长文本领域的用户心智，却在算力成本与商 业化的夹缝中艰难平衡，IPO时间表相对靠后。 与此同时，一级市场的融资窗口正在关闭，投资人不再为单纯的"参数规模"买单，转而要求看到清晰的"单位经济模型"。IPO不仅是融资渠道，更是这些 独角兽在下一轮洗牌中生存的"免死金牌"。 三强争霸，各自表现如何？ 在三家竞逐者中，MiniMax是最为特殊，也最有可能率先撞线 ...

Summary of Key Points from the Conference Call Industry Overview - The conference focused on the semiconductor capital equipment industry, particularly highlighting strong demand for AI-related products across various companies involved in this sector [1] Company-Specific Insights HOYA - **Demand and Growth**: HOYA expects over 10% growth in HDD glass substrates due to high visibility in nearline-related demand, despite supply chain constraints [2] - **Operational Adjustments**: The company plans to ramp up operations in Laos to meet current demand [2] - **EUV Blanks**: HOYA is experiencing a steady flow of EUV blank orders, anticipating stable annual growth of over 10%, driven by expanding demand for GPUs and ASICs due to generative AI [3] Advantest - **Current Demand**: Advantest reported firm demand for both SoC testers and memory testers, with current-generation GPUs driving the strength in SoC testers and HBM4 driving memory testers [4] - **Production Capacity**: The company is actively expanding production capacity and has strategically procured components to avoid bottlenecks [4] - **Future Demand**: Management expects demand for ASIC testers to ramp up as early as Q4 FY3/26, with a significant scale anticipated due to the need for test data accumulation [5] Tokyo Electron - **Market Outlook**: Tokyo Electron expects growth to outpace the wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) market, particularly in CY26, with double-digit growth in DRAM continuing into CY27 [9] - **Earnings Drivers**: The company highlighted opportunities in gas chemical etching for the 2nm logic process and cryogenic etching in 3D-NAND as key drivers for earnings growth [10] Additional Insights - **Investment Ratings**: - HOYA is rated as a "Buy" with a target price of ¥26,500 based on a sum-of-the-parts valuation [11] - Advantest is rated "Neutral" with a target price of ¥18,000, influenced by fluctuations in customer capex and market share [11] - Tokyo Electron is also rated "Buy" with a target price of ¥38,000, with risks including prolonged inventory adjustments and export restrictions [11] Risks and Considerations - **Market Risks**: The semiconductor industry faces risks such as fluctuations in customer capex appetite, changes in competitive landscapes, and potential shifts in interest rates [11] - **Operational Risks**: Companies are navigating supply chain constraints and the need for strategic procurement to maintain production capacity [4][5] This summary encapsulates the key points discussed during the conference call, providing insights into the semiconductor capital equipment industry and specific company performances and expectations.

In Brief Disney’s three-year licensing partnership with OpenAI includes just one of exclusivity, Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC. The company signed the partnership with OpenAI last week that will bring its iconic characters to the AI firm’s Sora video generator. Once that exclusive year is up, Disney is free to sign similar deals with other AI companies.The deal gives OpenAI a high-profile content partner, allowing users to draw on more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars to create ...

Nvidia continues to expand its footprint in open source AI on two fronts: an acquisition and a new model release.The semiconductor giant announced Monday it acquired SchedMD, the leading developer of popular open source workload management system Slurm. Nvidia said the company will continue to operate the program, which is designed for high-performance computing and AI, as an open source, vendor-neutral software. Slurm was originally launched in 2002 and SchedMD was founded in 2010 by the lead Slurm develo ...

LIVERMORE, Calif., Dec. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ: FORM), a leading semiconductor test and measurement supplier, announced today the acquisition of Keystone Photonics, a pioneer in optical probing technology for silicon photonics (SiPh) and co-packaged optics (CPO) wafer testing. These technologies are key for next-generation data centers powering AI and high-performance computing – accelerating data communications to handle massive information loads with dramatically lower power ...