This Weekās Top 5 Stories in Technology
Gen AI & Vibe Coding Pushes Databricks Valuation to US$134bn
The rise of vibe coding and industry-wide Gen AI adoption is happening in a new world order where data is king.
In this era of data-intelligent applications, enterprises that capitalise on data are seeing stellar growth.
Leading this trend is Databricks, which is now raising US$4bn in series L investment taking the company valuation to a whooping US$134bn.
The data and AI company has raked in US$4.8bn revenue run-rate in Q3, spotting a growth rate north of 55% year over year.
Databricks’ AI products and Data Warehousing business each contributed more than US$1bn in revenue run-rate.
“Enterprises are rapidly reimagining how they build intelligent applications and the convergence of generative AI with new coding paradigms is opening the door to entirely new workloads,” says Ali Ghodsi, Co-Founder and CEO of Databricks.
“With this investment, we’re deepening our commitment to help every organisation innovate with AI on their own data.”
SAS Becomes Liverpool FC’s Official AI Partner
Liverpool Football Club has announced a global partnership with analytics leader SAS, naming the company as the club’s official AI marketing automation partner.
The multi-year deal unites two global powerhouses – one rooted in sporting excellence and the other in data-driven innovation – under a shared vision of performance, precision and continuous improvement.
The collaboration will see Liverpool FC integrate SAS Customer Intelligence 360 and SAS Viya into its operations, enabling the Premier League club to enhance marketing automation, streamline campaign management and strengthen decision-making through advanced analytics and AI.
Gartner: Who are the Global AI Vendor Race’s Front-Runners?
Competition is intensifying across every layer of the AI ecosystem thanks to the potential for massive economic gains, rapid technological innovation, increasing AI adoption and the strategic necessity for companies to gain a competitive edge.
Gartner has published its most comprehensive breakdown yet of the companies defining the pace and potential of the AI vendor landscape.
In new research examining nearly 30 AI technology segments, Gartner identifies what it calls the current ‘Companies to Beat’ – the organisations setting benchmarks across data infrastructure, model innovation, cybersecurity, enterprise solutions and industry-specific AI deployments.
“The Company to Beat is determined by a methodology based on, but not limited to, six key criteria that differentiate top vendors in the space: technical capabilities, customer implementations, potential customer base, business model, key partnerships, and the broader surrounding ecosystem,” says Anthony Bradley, Group Vice President at Gartner.
“An assessment is performed by teams of expert analysts who analyse Gartner market data and collaborate to establish Gartner’s opinions.
“Analysts consider a variety of data and information sources, including, but not limited to, interactions with end-users and vendors, peer review, public data, Gartner proprietary data and analysts’ own explorations on the market.
“As these fast-moving AI Vendor Races evolve, Gartner’s coverage, assessment, insights and advice on how to compete will evolve in concert and different vendors can become the Company to Beat.”
How Virgin Wines Uses Preferabli to Pick Your Perfect Wine
AI is uncorking a new era in wine marketing, pouring a generous vintage for those who say “wine is the answer, but was the question?”
Virgin Wines, one of the UK's largest consumer online wine retailers, has partnered with Preferabli to offer tailored recommendations that suit the tongue of wine lovers.
With the commitment to understand each customer’s unique taste, Preferabli – a leading AI-driven, product discovery and recommendation software – can guide consumers to wines they are most likely to enjoy.
“Our ambition is to create a shopping journey that feels personal, intelligent and uniquely supportive of each customer’s tastes,” says Danny Cooper, Chief Information and Digital Officer at Virgin Wines.
“Preferabli’s industry-leading, machine-learning technology enables Virgin Wines to deliver a more intuitive, relevant and confidence-building experience at every touchpoint.”
Meet ADAM, the Nvidia-Powered NHL Arena Bartender Robot
The hospitality sector is increasingly embracing robotics to ease persistent labour shortages, with rollouts now extending beyond kitchen automation into guest-facing roles.
A case in point is the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where hockey fans at Golden Knights games were served drinks by ADAM, a robotic bartender that demonstrates automation can manage more than just repetitive tasks.
ADAM – short for Automated Dual Arm Mixologist – is a real-world deployment of edge AI computing in hospitality settings.
Created by Las Vegas-based Richtech Robotics and built on Nvidia’s Isaac libraries, the system tackles staffing pressures while enabling what the company describes as distinctive customer interactions at the NHL venue.
“The hospitality industry faces significant labor challenges and ADAM is our answer to meeting those needs while elevating the customer experience,” says Matt Casella, former President of Richtech Robotics as of 2nd December this year.
“With Nvidia’s Isaac platform, we’ve developed a solution that’s scalable, consistent and frankly, creates memorable moments for fans.”
Before ADAM served its first drink at the arena, it spent substantial time training in a virtual bar.
Richtech used Nvidia Isaac Sim, a robotics simulation framework built on Nvidia Omniverse, to create a digital twin of ADAM’s workstation.
The simulated environment included cups, utensils and varied lighting conditions that could impact vision systems, enabling the robot to master real-world challenges before encountering them.
