AI Industry Booms with $144M in Funding and $86B in Investments

Recent developments in the AI industry have seen significant investments and advancements. Qevlar AI has raised $14 million in funding to enhance security operations centers with agentic AI, while Arena AI has secured $30 million to develop its AI platform for hardware testing and optimization. Shopify has declared an 'AI First' strategy, emphasizing AI fluency as a foundational hiring criterion. Meanwhile, mobile operators are expected to invest over $86 billion in AI solutions by 2029, driven by the push for 'zero-touch' network operations. Other notable developments include the use of AI in conservation efforts, such as identifying and monitoring flapper skate individuals, and the application of AI in various industries, including sales, commerce, and game development.

Qevlar AI raises $14M

Qevlar AI has raised $14 million in funding to supercharge security operations centers with agentic AI. The company's autonomous investigation API enables rapid analysis of potential incidents, executing investigation tasks in under a minute. Qevlar AI aims to solve the critical issue of security teams being overwhelmed by workload. The funding will be used to accelerate the company's mission to advance SOC team productivity.

Qevlar AI secures $10M

Qevlar AI has secured an additional $10 million in funding, bringing total investor commitments to $14 million. The company's autonomous investigation API enables rapid analysis of potential incidents, executing investigation tasks in under a minute. Qevlar AI aims to solve the critical issue of security teams being overwhelmed by workload. The funding will be used to accelerate the company's mission to advance SOC team productivity.

Qevlar AI raises $14M

Qevlar AI has raised $14 million in funding to supercharge security operations centers with agentic AI. The company's autonomous investigation API enables rapid analysis of potential incidents, executing investigation tasks in under a minute. Qevlar AI aims to solve the critical issue of security teams being overwhelmed by workload. The funding will be used to accelerate the company's mission to advance SOC team productivity.

Agentic AI in SOC

Agentic AI is transforming security operations centers by automating triage and investigation. It evaluates every alert as it arrives, reducing dwell time and surfacing the right threats faster than human teams. Agentic AI conducts structured investigations, removing the need to choose between speed and depth. It also closes gaps by investigating everything and ranking results based on actual risk.

Qevlar AI raises €9M

Qevlar AI has raised €9 million to supercharge security operations centers with agentic AI. The company's autonomous investigation API enables rapid analysis of potential incidents, executing investigation tasks in under a minute. Qevlar AI aims to solve the critical issue of security teams being overwhelmed by workload. The funding will be used to accelerate the company's mission to advance SOC team productivity.

C3.ai stock down 58%

C3.ai's stock has fallen by 58% despite the company's rapid revenue growth. The company's costs and expenses far exceed its revenue, and its largest client has given no indication of renewing its partnership. C3.ai's financial difficulties and uncertain relationship with its largest client make it a risky investment.

SoundHound AI stock down 68%

SoundHound AI's stock has retreated 68% despite the company's strong growth. The stock's valuation has become cheaper, and the company has a solid customer base and potential revenue pipeline. SoundHound AI provides conversational AI voice solutions and has completed two acquisitions to expand its reach.

Shopify's AI strategy

Shopify has declared AI First, treating AI fluency as a foundational hiring criterion. The company's memo emphasizes AI as integral infrastructure, and its AI-first innovation strategy aims to accelerate concepts to reality. Shopify's AI strategy has 10 key takeaways, including AI as a baseline expectation and AI agents as teammates.

Shopify's AI strategy

Shopify has declared AI First, treating AI fluency as a foundational hiring criterion. The company's memo emphasizes AI as integral infrastructure, and its AI-first innovation strategy aims to accelerate concepts to reality. Shopify's AI strategy has 10 key takeaways, including AI as a baseline expectation and AI agents as teammates.

John Carmack defends AI

John Carmack has defended Microsoft's generative Quake II demo against criticism, calling it 'impressive research work'. Carmack positioned AI as the latest in a long history of technological advancements that have transformed game development. He acknowledged that AI might generate complete games from simple prompts, but dedicated teams of passionate developers will still create better games.

Taiwan says China using AI

Taiwan has accused China of using generative artificial intelligence to ramp up disinformation against the island. Taiwan's National Security Bureau detected over half a million pieces of 'controversial messages' on social media platforms, mostly seen on Facebook and TikTok. China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment.

ServiceNow buying Logik.ai

ServiceNow has announced it will acquire Logik.ai, an industry leader in AI-based Configure, Price, Quote solutions. The acquisition will expand ServiceNow's growing CRM footprint and empower sales organizations to close deals faster. Logik.ai's capabilities will drive new levels of performance in sales and commerce for customers.

AI Trailblazers Power 100

ADWEEK's inaugural AI Trailblazers Power 100 highlights the people at the forefront of the technological leap in artificial intelligence. The list includes scientists, digital advertising pioneers, and other innovators who are building the infrastructure of the future. The AI Trailblazers platform aims to shape the future of artificial intelligence.

AI helps flapper skate

Researchers at the Scottish Association for Marine Science have partnered with NatureScot to launch Rate A Skate, an AI-powered neural network for identifying and monitoring flapper skate individuals. The project aims to improve marine protections and conservation efforts for the critically endangered species. Citizens can participate by submitting photographic data.

Arena AI raises $30M

Arena AI has raised $30 million in early-stage funding to scale the development of Atlas, its AI platform for hardware testing and optimization. Atlas is an AI hardware engineer that assists with design, testing, and optimization. The funding will be used to deploy Atlas across customers and further develop underlying models and agentic capabilities.

Operator AI spend to top $86B

Mobile operators are expected to invest over $86 billion in AI solutions by 2029, driven by the industry's push for 'zero-touch' network operations. Agentic AI is a key driver of this shift, enabling autonomous systems to make and execute decisions independently. The technology is expected to support operators in launching new enterprise and consumer services.

Key Takeaways

["Qevlar AI has raised $14 million in funding to supercharge security operations centers with agentic AI.\n * Arena AI has raised $30 million to develop its AI platform for hardware testing and optimization.\n * Shopify has declared an 'AI First' strategy, emphasizing AI fluency as a foundational hiring criterion.\n * Mobile operators are expected to invest over $86 billion in AI solutions by 2029.\n * Agentic AI is a key driver of the shift towards 'zero-touch' network operations.\n * AI is being used in conservation efforts, such as identifying and monitoring flapper skate individuals.\n * ServiceNow is acquiring Logik.ai to expand its CRM footprint and empower sales organizations.\n * AI is being applied in various industries, including sales, commerce, and game development.\n * Taiwan has accused China of using generative artificial intelligence to ramp up disinformation against the island.\n * ADWEEK's AI Trailblazers Power 100 highlights the people at the forefront of the technological leap in artificial intelligence."]

Sources

Qevlar AI Agentic AI Security Operations Center Autonomous Investigation API AI in Security AI Funding