Adobe Surges as AI Optimism Fuels Annual Revenue Forecast

Figurines are seen in front of the Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. (Reuters)
Figurines are seen in front of the Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. (Reuters)
TT
20

Adobe Surges as AI Optimism Fuels Annual Revenue Forecast

Figurines are seen in front of the Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. (Reuters)
Figurines are seen in front of the Adobe logo in this illustration taken June 13, 2022. (Reuters)

Adobe shares soared 16% on Friday, putting the Photoshop-maker on track for its best day in more than four years, after the company raised its annual revenue forecast as more customers turned to its AI-powered editing tools.

The forecast allayed investor fears that Adobe, a major player in the market for editing tools for photos and videos, could lose customers to AI startups such as Dall-E maker OpenAI that allow users to generate images with simple text prompts, Reuters reported.

"Generative artificial intelligence adoption should help drive growth over the next several quarters," Morningstar analysts said in a note.

Results showed Adobe's AI efforts, including the Firefly image-generating software it rolled out last year, were paying off, with senior executive David Wadhwani saying existing users were moving to higher-priced plans to gain access to Firefly.

At $528.81, the company's shares hit their highest level since March 14, and if the gains hold, Adobe was set to add more than $30 billion to its market value.

Its shares have lost about 23% of their value this year, compared with a nearly 14% gain for the S&P 500 index.

The company raised the midpoint of its fiscal 2024 revenue forecast to $21.45 billion on Thursday, compared with its prior midpoint of $21.40 billion.

It reported $3.91 billion as revenue from its digital media business, which made up about 74% of its total second-quarter revenue of $5.31 billion. Analysts had expected total sales of $5.29 billion.



Trump Says He’ll Keep Extending TikTok Shutdown Deadline

The US flag and the TikTok logo seen through broken glass are seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2025. (Reuters)
The US flag and the TikTok logo seen through broken glass are seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Trump Says He’ll Keep Extending TikTok Shutdown Deadline

The US flag and the TikTok logo seen through broken glass are seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2025. (Reuters)
The US flag and the TikTok logo seen through broken glass are seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2025. (Reuters)

President Donald Trump is calling national security and privacy concerns related to TikTok and its Chinese parent company “highly overrated” and said Friday he'll keep extending the deadline for the popular video-sharing platform until there's a buyer.

Congress approved a US ban on TikTok unless its parent company, ByteDance, sold its controlling stake. But Trump has so far extended the deadline three times during his second term with the next one coming up on Sept. 17.

“We’re gonna watch the security concerns,” Trump told reporters, but added, “We have buyers, American-buyers,” and “until the complexity of things work out, we just extend a little bit longer.”

The first extension was through an executive order on Jan. 20, his first day in office, after the platform went dark briefly when a national ban — approved by Congress and upheld by the US Supreme Court — took effect. The second was in April, when White House officials believed they were nearing a deal to spin off TikTok into a new company with US ownership that fell apart after China backed out following Trump’s tariff announcement.

His comments follow the White House starting a TikTok account this week.

“I used TikTok in the campaign,” Trump said.

“I’m a fan of TikTok,” he said. “My kids like TikTok. Young people love TikTok. If we could keep it going.”

As the extensions continue, it appears less and less likely that TikTok will be banned in the US any time soon. The decision to keep TikTok alive through an executive order has received some scrutiny, but the administration has not faced a legal challenge in court — unlike many of Trump’s other executive orders.

Americans are even more closely divided on what to do about TikTok than they were two years ago.

A recent Pew Research Center survey found that about one-third of Americans said they supported a TikTok ban, down from 50% in March 2023. Roughly one-third said they would oppose a ban, and a similar percentage said they weren’t sure.

Among those who said they supported banning the social media platform, about 8 in 10 cited concerns over users’ data security being at risk as a major factor in their decision, according to the report.


OpenAI to Launch First India Office in New Delhi This Year 

The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
TT
20

OpenAI to Launch First India Office in New Delhi This Year 

The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)
The OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. (Reuters)

ChatGPT parent OpenAI will open its first India office in New Delhi later this year, deepening its push in its second-largest market by user numbers.

OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft, has been established as a legal entity in India and has begun hiring a local team, the company said in a statement shared with Reuters on Friday.

India is a critical market for ChatGPT, where it launched its cheapest yet monthly plan at $4.60 just this week, targeting the nearly one billion internet users in the world's most populous nation.

OpenAI faces legal challenges in India, with news outlets and book publishers accusing the firm of using their content without permission to help train ChatGPT. The company has denied any wrongdoing.

"Opening our first office and building a local team is an important first step in our commitment to make advanced AI more accessible across the country and to build AI for India, and with India," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in the statement.

The company faces strong competition in India from rivals like Google's Gemini and AI startup Perplexity, both of which have launched offerings that make their advanced plans free for many users in the market.

India has the largest population of student users on ChatGPT, and weekly active users here have quadrupled in the past year, OpenAI said in newly shared market data on Friday.


Google to Provide Gemini AI Tools to US Government

Google is providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools to the US government as CEO Sundar Pichai makes a priority of promoting the internet giant's technology over that of rivals. Camille Cohen / AFP
Google is providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools to the US government as CEO Sundar Pichai makes a priority of promoting the internet giant's technology over that of rivals. Camille Cohen / AFP
TT
20

Google to Provide Gemini AI Tools to US Government

Google is providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools to the US government as CEO Sundar Pichai makes a priority of promoting the internet giant's technology over that of rivals. Camille Cohen / AFP
Google is providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools to the US government as CEO Sundar Pichai makes a priority of promoting the internet giant's technology over that of rivals. Camille Cohen / AFP

Google will provide its Gemini artificial intelligence tools to US federal agencies practically free, the government announced Thursday.

A suite of AI and cloud computing services called "Gemini for Government" from Google is intended to speed the adoption of the technology across the US government, the General Services Administration (GSA) said in a joint statement.

"Gemini for Government gives federal agencies access to our full stack approach to AI innovation," added Google chief executive Sundar Pichai.

"So they can deliver on their important missions."

AI tools being provided include generation of video, images, or ideas as well as digital "agents" capable of independently tending to complex tasks, said AFP.

US agencies will pay a scant fee of less than a dollar for the AI tools, building on a previous agreement that saw Google Workspace software provided to the government at a major price discount, according to the GSA.

"Federal agencies can now significantly transform their operations by using the tools in Gemini for Government," said GSA acting administrator Michael Rigas.

The deal comes just weeks after Google rival OpenAI said it was letting the US government use a version of ChatGPT designed for businesses for a year for just $1.

"By giving government employees access to powerful, secure AI tools, we can help them solve problems for more people, faster," OpenAI said in a blog post announcing the alliance.

Earlier this year, the US Department of Defense awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to put generative AI to work for the military.

OpenAI planned to show how cutting-edge AI can improve administrative operations, such as how service members get health care, and also has cyber defense applications, the startup said in a post.