Latest Tech News

95% of business applications of AI have failed. Here's why

MirageC/Moment via Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways: Just 5% of enterprise customers are profiting from generative AI. A bottom-up versus top-down approach can improve implementation success. AI companies are making big promises in a bubble, most of which are unfulfilled. Investment in generative AI may be booming, but most individual businesses using it have yet to see the payoff. In fact, a new MIT study found that 95% of enterprise

Outdated IT help desks are holding businesses back - but there is a solution

Muhammet Camdereli/iStock/Getty Images Plus Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome and Chromium browsers. ZDNET's key takeaways Aging help desk systems hinder remote support and IT fixes. Cloud-based help desks cut costs, ease complexity, boost IT. 28% of businesses are automating IT and help desk services. Along with aging help desk systems, businesses face a number of challenges when it comes to building more responsive support capabilities. Data breaches remain a h

The Global Car Reckoning Is Here. Far Too Many Auto Companies Don’t Have a Plan

On a drab, overcast March day in Amsterdam in 2022, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares took off his face mask and strode onto a makeshift stage to confidently explain to a crowd of journalists and analysts how the company that had recently unified brands as diverse as Fiat, Peugeot, Maserati, Ram, and Opel was going rewrite the rules of the car industry. His tie sat slightly askew and his greying hair needed a trim, the picture of a man far too focused on applying dynamic capitalistic principles to a

Kyte, which billed itself as the ‘best competitor to Hertz,’ shuts down

Rental car startup Kyte has shut down nearly one year after slashing staff and exiting most of its cities in the United States. The company sold its customer list to Turo in July, and then turned right around and entered into a form of receivership in California, according to a notice that went out to Kyte creditors. Kyte fell behind on some of its loans earlier this year, according to the notice. That caused the company’s top lender to repossess and liquidate Kyte’s vehicle fleet. Kyte’s boar

These CFOs are devoting 25% of their AI budgets to agentic AI

AlexSecret/Getty Images ZDNET's key takeaways 34% of global CFOs have adopted an aggressive AI investment strategy. 61% embrace AI agents and digital labor in order to autonomously perform tasks. CFOs are dedicating a quarter of their AI budgets to agentic AI More than 9 out of 10 (96%) of chief financial officers (CFOs) have an aggressive AI strategy, compared to only 3% in 2020, according to a global survey of 261 CFOs conducted by Salesforce Research. There is a strong shift from cautiou

What Trump's Nvidia and AMD China deal means for the world

In this article NVDA AMD Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch now Nvidia and AMD have agreed to share some of their revenue from sales to China with the U.S. government, according to several reports, sparking debate about whether the move could impact the chip giants' business and whether Washington might seek out similar deals. In exchange for 15% of revenues from the chip sales, the two semiconductor firms will receive export licenses to sell Nvidia's H20 and AMD's MI308 ch

5 ways business leaders can transform workplace culture - and it starts by listening

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET's key takeaways The best business leaders ensure people have a platform to air views. Employees need to feel their opinions are heard and valued. Reach out to customers and partners for their sentiments. Great managers don't just talk a good game; they also deliver results -- and great outcomes are often tied to an ability to listen to people effectively. Harvard Business Review suggests that leaders who listen well create company cultures where people fe

How AI-enabled autonomous business will change the way you work forever

Siro Rodenas Cortes/Getty Images ZDNET's key takeaways Self-learning and self-improving technology will transform enterprise activities. From augmented leadership to machines as customers, analyst Gartner identifies key trends. While true autonomous business is a long way off, smart business leaders are preparing now. The future of your business is autonomous. While there's a lot of debate right now about the augmentation or replacement of workers with artificial intelligence, the organizat

Exit Tax: Leave Germany before your business gets big

Here’s an interesting take on Germany’s exit tax, which I have written about before: Leave Germany before your business gets big. What do I mean by that? I mean that once you’re a business owner in Germany and your business has reached a certain size, you are essentially barred from ever moving out of the country again. Crazy, right? I think it’s also pretty crazy that no one really talks about this. This is, quite literally, erecting a “Berlin Wall” around German entrepreneurs, forcing them

Is the Xperia line dead? Sony clarifies the future of its smartphones

It’s no secret that Sony Xperia smartphones aren’t the best-selling phones, nor are they the top choice for Android flagships . Sony built a loyal niche of fans who buy its Xperia phones, but the market beyond them doesn’t pick up on the phones with as much enthusiasm. When the company’s latest flagship, the Xperia 1 VII, began dying and disappearing across markets , many presumed that the end was near for Sony’s Xperia line of phones. Sony is laying rest to those fears, indicating it is around,

Trump’s endless new tariffs are threatening businesses — and you

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a new wave of tariffs are taking effect today. As Trump has ratcheted up pressure on foreign imports over the last few months, some Americans might not have noticed a marked difference in what they’re spending, especially as huge tax hikes have been announced and then delayed or cut back. Trump’s perpetually changing tariff deadlines and rates led a Financial Times columnist to coin the phrase “TACO trade,” short for “Trump Always Chickens Out.” But expe

Opendoor tanks after earnings as CEO thanks new investors for 'increased visibility'

With Opendoor shares up almost fivefold since the beginning of July and trading volumes hitting record levels, CEO Carrie Wheeler thanked investors for their "enthusiasm" on Tuesday's earnings call. "I want to acknowledge the great deal of interest in Opendoor lately and that we're grateful for it," Wheeler said, even as the stock sank more than 20% after hours. "We appreciate your enthusiasm for what we're building, and we're listening intently to your feedback." Prior to its recent surge, Op

From tickets to brochures: Google Messages just stepped up with PDF support over RCS

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority TL;DR Google has enabled PDF file sharing via rich cards in RCS Business Messaging through Google Messages. This addition enhances business-to-user communication by allowing flight tickets, passes, and documents to be sent through RCS, eliminating the need for email or other apps. However, the potential for an increase in spam remains a concern. PDF support has launched initially in India with a 100MiB attachment limit. Instant messaging apps took texting

Did Craigslist decimate newspapers? Legend meets reality

This article is part of The Poynter 50, a series reflecting on 50 moments and people that shaped journalism over the past half-century — and continue to influence its future. As Poynter celebrates its 50th anniversary, we examine how the media landscape has evolved and what it means for the next era of news. The decline of newspaper print classifieds and the ripple effects that gutted newsrooms began, by many accounts, in 1995. That’s when Craig Newmark invented Craigslist, the homely but oh-so

Upwork is buying its way into corporate staffing beyond freelancers

Upwork, a platform that connects companies with freelancers, announced two acquisitions to help build out a new stand-alone enterprise-focused business that could expand its market reach. The San Francisco-based company announced it has acquired Bubty, a workforce management platform, and has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ascen, a global compliance and EOR (employer of record) company, ahead of its second-quarter earnings call on August 6. Upwork will integrate these two companies i

Breath Work, Biohacking, and Cryotherapy: New Buzzwords for Modern Business Travelers

Peptide cocktails, plasma exchange therapy, infrared sauna sessions, and methylene blue drips. These are just a few of the biohacks that keep Peter Phillips feeling invincible. For the past three years, the 53-year-old tech executive has worked with doctors at Extension Health, a longevity clinic in New York City, to craft a blueprint to help him combat the declines that come with age. “I’m on the cusp of immortality,” he says. Every six weeks, he pops into the clinic for a full body reboot tha

Companies Find Potential Way to Avoid Trump Tariffs and Keep Prices Low

Donald Trump’s tariff regime has been scoffed at by business leaders and world economists (Larry Summers, for instance, called it both “crazy” and “dumb”), but the White House hasn’t backed down from its highly unconventional program. The tariffs, which are taxing American businesses on their imports, are reportedly generating billions of dollars in revenue for the federal government on a month-to-month basis. Many businesses aren’t happy about it, however, and now several lawsuits are threateni

Former Google Exec Warns That If You Have a Good Job Now, You Should Be Terrified of AI

As CEOs continue to boast about laying off thousands while spending tens of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure, some execs are worried about getting the axe themselves. During a podcast appearance this week, Google's former chief business officer, Mo Gawdat, warned that AI could be poised to wipe out white-collar jobs, including cushy gigs like software developers and CEOs. Unsurprisingly, Gawdat had his own AI startup to plug as well, a three-person operation dedicated to providing a Re

Breathwork, Biohacking, and Cryotherapy: New Buzzwords for Modern Business Travelers

Peptide cocktails, plasma exchange therapy, infrared sauna sessions, and methylene blue drips. These are just a few of the biohacks that keep Peter Phillips feeling invincible. For the past three years, the 53-year-old tech executive has worked with doctors at Extension Health, a longevity clinic in New York City, to craft a blueprint to help him combat the declines that come with age. “I’m on the cusp of immortality,” he says. Every six weeks, he pops into the clinic for a full body reboot tha

Former Google Exec Warns That If You Have a Good Job Now, You Should Be Very Concerned

As CEOs continue to boast about laying off thousands while spending tens of billions of dollars on AI infrastructure, some execs are worried about getting the axe themselves. During a podcast appearance this week, Google's former chief business officer, Mo Gawdat, warned that AI could be poised to wipe out white-collar jobs, including cushy gigs like software developers and CEOs. Unsurprisingly, Gawdat had his own AI startup to plug as well, a three-person operation dedicated to providing a Re

16 Golden Rules That Business Travelers Swear By

Business travelers are made, not born. And almost everyone who travels frequently for work can list off at least a few things they wish they’d known when they first got into the game. It's not all obvious—like the importance of committing to a points and miles program early on; these programs literally exist because of you, dear business travelers—and some is nuanced and only learnable with time, like finding a hotel that feels like home and lets you leave a suit in the closet. To gather the ru

The Business Traveler of Today Is Changing—and So Is Their Flight Map

“Most of my work starts in Lagos, but it doesn’t stay there for long,” says Anita Ashiru. She’s one of the sole production designers working in Nigeria, where her team builds multi-scale sets and stage designs for the country’s booming Afrobeats industry. Requests often come at a whim for work; Ashiru might be called abroad by the likes of frequent collaborator Davido, a Nigerian-American singer-songwriter who frequently shoots music videos in South Africa. Ashiru’s job is one that largely didn

What to Know About Traveling to China for Business

Amid growing tensions and an escalating trade war between the United States and China, international business travelers may be understandably wary about traveling to the Chinese mainland. The US Department of State currently has a Level 2 travel advisory for China, instructing visitors to “exercise increased caution” because of the “arbitrary enforcement of local laws.” The reality on the ground is more complicated. While there have been instances of detention of US nationals, exit bans, and ra

Daily insights on business use cases with VB Daily If you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI. Subscribe Now Read our Privacy Policy Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here. An error occured.

Lenovo ThinkPad X9-14 Aura Edition review: A solid business laptop with some quirks

Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products . Step aside, old boy. The ThinkPad X9-14 Aura Edition is making me forget all about the ThinkPad X1 Carbon, the most renowned business laptop for over a decade. Of course, Lenovo isn’t doing away with the X1 Carbon, but the X9 series certainly seems like the company’s experimental proje

Uzbekistan’s first unicorn, Uzum, leaps to a $1.5B valuation

At a time when the world feels increasingly divided between East and West, Uzbekistan has emerged as a rare middle ground, as the Central Asian nation’s homegrown unicorn, Uzum, has raised $65.5 million in a new funding round co-led by China’s Tencent and the New York- and London-based VR Capital, with participation from U.S.-based FinSight Capital. The all-equity round brings the Tashkent-headquartered startup’s post-money valuation to approximately $1.5 billion — a nearly 30% jump from the $1

Amazon shuts down Wondery podcast studio, cuts 110 jobs

In Brief Amazon is shutting down its Wondery podcast studio, acquired in late 2020, and cutting 110 jobs as part of a broad reorganization of its audio business, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The company plans to move existing Wondery series under its Audible banner or to a new ‘creator services’ team, which will house personality-driven shows, such as Jason and Travis Kelce’s podcast. “The podcast landscape has evolved significantly over the past few years,” Steve Boom, Amazon’s

5 ways to successfully integrate AI agents into your workplace

Techa Tungateja / Getty Images ZDNET's key takeaways Using AIs effectively means focusing on guidance and governance. You'll also need to ensure you train up talent to manage your AI agents. Track and trace outcomes to create the perfect tech-enabled work assistant. It's not unusual to hear business leaders discuss AI being used to augment rather than replace staff, but what does that new working relationship mean in practice? Also: AI's biggest impact on your workforce is still to come -

Microsoft Needs to Make Affordable 5G Surface Laptops a Reality

Microsoft didn’t launch its 2025 lineup of Surface devices with a 5G option. Instead, it waited a few months for interest to die down enough to release its business-end version with a starting price nearly twice that of the one built for the average joe. It shows that if users want a laptop that can connect to the internet without relying on spotty public or Starbucks Wi-Fi, they need to pay through the nose. Hopefully Microsoft’s new tech will get cheaper later, though only if laptop makers rec

Dark patterns

What to look out for when shopping online Hidden costs Hidden costs are extra costs you only find out about towards the end of your purchase, or which are made less obvious. They include pre-selected extras you may not want and add-ons presented so you feel you have to buy them. Some hidden costs are even sneakier, such as a pre-selected free trial period for a service that renews automatically if you don’t cancel before it ends - charging your card for an ongoing membership. Trick questions