Nature-based carbon removal startup Chestnut Carbon has raised $160 million in Series B financing, the company told TechCrunch. The startup buys marginal and degraded farmland, plants them with native trees, and harvests the resulting carbon credits.Carbon credits have become a hot commodity, especially among tech companies looking to offset skyrocketing emissions caused in part by the breakneck expansion of data centers serving cloud and AI customers.The new round included investment from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Cloverlay, and DBL Partners along with unnamed university endowments, family offices, funds of funds, and other institutional investors.For Chestnut Carbon, the $160 million is actually a somewhat modest sum. When the company was founded, private equity firm Kimmeridge capitalized it by pledging up to $200 million. The firm typically invests in oil and gas companies, but managing partner Ben Dell saw an opportunity to stake a claim in the growing carbon credit market.To make it happen, he acquired Forest Carbon Works, a startup founded by Kyle Holland that helped families manage their forests to sell carbon credits. Holland continued with Chestnut, where hes currently chief product officer.With Chestnut, the team expanded their focus to include projects developed by the company, not just managing existing forests.Chestnut currently owns more than 35,000 acres of marginal and degraded farmland and pasture in the southeastern United States. Part of the goal of the fundraise is to grow Chestnuts holdings significantly. The startup is hoping to expand its carbon credit capacity to 100 million metric tons by 2030, which will require hundreds of thousands of acres to be transformed back into forests.Last month, Chestnut made a down payment on that target with the sale of 7 million carbon credits to Microsoft. (One carbon credit is worth one metric ton of carbon.) The 25-year deal will help Chestnut rehabilitate 60,000 acres in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Chestnut uses Gold Standard to certify its carbon credits for 100 years.The new funding round should help the startup dramatically expand its operations. While theres plenty of demand for high-quality carbon credits today, Chestnuts goal of 100 million metric tons represents a fraction of a percent of annual carbon emissions, which hit 37.4 billion metric tons in 2023, according to the IEA.Still, if Chestnut can secure its foothold in the carbon credit market, afforestation and reforestation hold great potential to rein in the effects of climate warming pollution.A study in 2019 found that the world can support 2.2 billion acres more forest than it has today. Once those forests matured, they would hold 205 billion metric tons of carbon, or about a quarter of the carbon currently in the atmosphere.

A long stalled bid to beef up European Union rules around online tracking technologies and put penalties on a similar footing to the blocs data protection framework, GDPR, which allows for fines of up to 4% of annual turnover for breaches has been withdrawn by the Commission after co-legislators failed to reach agreement over the plan.The original proposal to update the ePrivacy Directive, and turn it into a fully fledged Pan-EU regulation, dates back to 2017 so the writing has been on the wall for considerable time. But on Wednesday the effort is officially dead as the Commission has included the ePrivacy Regulation in a list of legislative initiatives that are being withdrawn, via its 2025 work program giving as a reason: No foreseeable agreement. The EU also writes that: The proposal is outdated in view of some recent legislation in both the technological and the legislative landscape.The move to withdraw the proposal for a regulation concerning the respect for private life and the protection of personal data in electronic communications, as the documents official title reads, is hardly surprising given how many years the effort has been stalled. The file attracted intense lobbying from both tech giants and telcos whose businesses would fall in scope. Back in 2021 documents unsealed via a U.S. antitrust lawsuit suggested that Googles attempts to lobby against the file had included attempts to mobilize other tech giants to join in efforts to delay and, ultimately as has happened now derail the reform. While a Politico report from 2020 named ecommerce giant Amazon as also involved in efforts to weaken support among EU co-legislators for the proposal. The dominance of behavioral advertising business models that rely on tracking and profiling web users to monetize peoples attention raised the commercial stakes for any reform of EU ePrivacy rules especially a proposal to underscore the need for entities to obtain affirmative consent from consumers to snoop on them. And which could even, potentially, have given legal teeth to do-not-track if parliamentarians efforts in this direction had prevailed. Had that come to pass the ePrivacy Regulation could have flipped the script and made online privacy convenient for European consumers, instead of the current dysfunctional web reality where commercial actors with tracking-based business models do their utmost to make it really difficult for consumers to protect their information when they use the internet.While the Commissions proposal to replace the ePrivacy Directive with a modernized Regulation has now been withdrawn the blocs existing e-Privacy rules remain in force. And its worth noting that several tech giants have faced sanctions for breaches of this regime in recent years. Both Google and Amazon, for example, faced fines for breaching cookie consent rules with Frances data protection authority, the CNIL, hitting Google with a penalty of around $120 million in December 2020 and another of around $170 million in January 2022 for failing to obtain proper consent for dropping tracking cookies. Amazon was also stung with a cookie consent fine of around $42 million from the CNIL at the end of 2020. Others facing penalties have included Facebook (aka Meta) and TikTok. Discussing the demise of the ePrivacy Regulation proposal, Dr Lukasz Olejnik, an independent researcher and consultant who has tracked the policy area for a number of years, told TechCrunch: Ending this trainwreck is a good move. The writing was on the wall long ago; this was a funeral in slow motion.As well as being the target of intense industry lobbying, Olejnik believes the proposals chances of reaching a compromise between legislators in the European Parliament and the Council was scuppered by bad timing in the wake of the bloc passing its flagship update to data protection rules, the GDPR, he suggests there was a surge in scaremongering about expanding privacy rule-making. The unwarranted GDPR scare killed it, and the current climate for hostility towards regulations is not a good time to edit any data protection related files, which could severely backfire, even significantly weaken the GDPR.A source inside the Commission, who weve granted anonymity to as they were not authorized to speak to the press on the topic, had a similar analysis. [Commissioners Viviane] Reding and [Neelie] Kroes should have done ePrivacy and GDPR together The momentum was lost when everyone was exhausted at the end of the GDPR negotiations, they told us.At the same time our source suggested that the original proposal was not well conceived dubbing it a relic of the days when there were just telcos. The flaw is that telcos and big surveillance tech are completely different beasts, they said, adding: If GDPR cant tame the billionaires why would ePrivacy? The issue is business models, market power and police efforts to kill E2EE [end-to-end encryption].So what happens next when it comes to regulating online tracking in the EU? Theres likely to be increased uncertainty and more wiggle room for technologists to evolve their approaches to claim they sit outside an increasingly dated ePrivacy rulebook. As new technologies are developed and put to use, they will stay out of the radar, Olejnik suggests. The GDPR is unable to cover it all, and the need to reinterpret the old ePrivacy Directive has its limits too. So we should expect interpretations and guidance from the ECJ [European Court of Justice], which will build the legal acquis and perhaps sooner or later someone will come up with a revamp.Tech priorities in EUs 2025 work planMeanwhile the Commission has plenty of other tech-focused legislative work to keep it busy this year after its leadership reboot and a switch of gears that foregrounds competitiveness, with an explicit goal of fostering economic growth through support for tech innovations like AI that looks set to more closely align with private sector interests.Its 2025 work program includes a plan for an Innovation Act, slated as coming later in the mandate, that will aim to support startups, scale-ups and innovative companies to invest and operate in the single market through a process of simplifying applicable rules and working towards a 28th legal regime [i.e. rather than 27 different ones apiece for each EU Member State]. The Commission says it wants this reform to simplify applicable rules and reduce the cost of failure, including any relevant aspects of corporate law, insolvency, labour and tax law.Another focus is on boosting biotech with the EU writing that it wants to use European life sciences to drive innovation in biotechnology, pool resources, break regulatory barriers, tap into the full potential of data andartificial intelligence, and boost deployment.Support for high capacity digital infrastructure is also part of the plan, with a Digital Networks Act planned that the EU says will create opportunities for crossborder network operation and service provision, enhance industry competitiveness and improve spectrum coordination.Also planned is a Cloud and AI Development Act, which the Commission wants to boost access to data in a bid to accelerate homegrown AI. There will also be an AI Continent Action Plan, dealing with efforts to marshal resources and skills under the EUs existing AI Factories scheme that aims to fire up competitive AI ecosystems in Europe; as well as an Apply AI strategy, as the bloc seeks to push forward adoption of AI by industries and organizations of all stripes. The work program also lists an EU Quantum Strategy thats set to be followed by a Quantum Act targeting what the EU dubs a critical and strategic sector. The strategy will contribute to building our own capacities to research and develop quantum technologies, and produce devices and systems based on them, it notes. A Space Act is also slated as incoming, along with efforts to better protecting undersea comms infrastructure at a time when accidents or sabotage appear to be an increasing risk for the regions undersea cables. When it comes to consumer protection the EU 2025 work plan offers thinner pickings. The Commission mentioned that its next Consumer Agenda 2025-2030 will include a new action plan on consumers in the single market ensuring a balanced approach that protects consumers without overburdening companies with red tape but the phrasing suggests its priorities have skewed towards business interests, in the drive to fire up economic growth, with consumers interests having to be balanced against that overarching imperative.On the hot button topic of online disinformation/misinformation the EU workplan reiterates that it will be coming with a Democracy Shield. This initiative will aim to tackle the evolving nature of threats to our democracy and electoral processes including by stepping up engagement with civil society organisations.

The Visual Effects Society has just revealed the winners of the 23rd VES Awards. Congratulations to all the artists and teams whose exceptional work continues to push the boundaries of visual effects. Your creativity truly lights up the industry!OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATUREKingdom of the Planet of the ApesErik WinquistJulia NeighlyPaul StoryDanielle ImmermanRodney BurkeOUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURECivil WarDavid SimpsonMichelle RoseFreddy SalazarChris ZehJ.D. SchwalmOUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATUREThe Wild RobotChris SandersJeff HermannJeff BudsbergJakob Hjort JensenOUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODESh?gun; AnjinMichael CliettMelody MeadPhilip EngstrmEd BruceCameron WaldbauerOUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODEThe Penguin; BlissJohnny HanMichelle RoseGoran PavlesEd BruceDevin MaggioOUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECTStar Wars OutlawsStephen HawesLionel Le DainBenedikt PodlesniggAndi-Bogdan DraghiciOUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIALCoca-Cola; The HeroesGreg McKneallyAntonia VlastoRyan KnowlesFabrice FiteniOUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECTD23; Real-Time RocketEvan GoldbergAlyssa FinleyJason BrenemanAlice TaylorOUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATUREBetter Man; Robbie WilliamsMilton RamirezAndrea MerloSeoungseok Charlie KimEteuati TemaOUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATUREThe Wild Robot; RozFabio LigniniYukinori InagakiOwen DemersHyun HuhOUTSTANDING CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECTRonja the Robbers Daughter; Vildvittran the Queen HarpyNicklas AnderssonDavid AllanGustav hrenNiklas WallnOUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATUREDune: Part Two; The Arrakeen BasinDaniel RheinDaniel Anton FernandezMarc James AustinChristopher AnciaumeOUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATUREThe Wild Robot; The ForestJohn WakeHe Jung ParkWoojin ChoiShane GladingOUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECTSh?gun; OsakaManuel MartinezPhil HanniganKeith MaloneFrancesco CorvinoOUTSTANDING CG CINEMATOGRAPHYDune: Part Two; ArrakisGreig FraserXin Steve GuoSandra MurtaBen WiggsOUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECTAlien: Romulus; Renaissance Space StationWaldemar BartkowiakTrevor WideMatt MiddletonBen ShearmanOUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATUREDune: Part Two; Atomic Explosions and WormridingNicholas PapworthSandy la TourelleLisa NolanChristopher PhillipsOUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATUREThe Wild RobotDerek CheungMichael LosureDavid ChowNyoung KimOUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, GAME CINEMATIC, OR REAL-TIME PROJECTSh?gun; Broken to the Fist; LandslideDominic TiedekenHeinrich LweCharles GuertonTimmy LundinOUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATUREDune: Part Two; Wormriding, Geidi Prime, and the Final BattleChristopher RickardFrancesco DellAnnaPaul ChapmanRyan WingOUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODEThe Penguin; After HoursJonas StuckenbrockKaren ChengEugene BondarMiky GirnOUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIALCoca-Cola; The HeroesRyan KnowlesAlex GabucciJack PowellDan YargiciOUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECTThe Penguin; Safe GunsDevin MaggioJohnny HanCory CandrilliAlexandre ProdhommeEMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARDHere; Neural Performance ToolsetJo PlaeteOriel FrigoTomas KoutskyMatteo Olivieri-DanceyOUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECTPittura(entry from ARTFX Schools of Digital Arts, France)Adam LauriolTitouan LassreRmi VivenzaHellos Marre Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025

A director of the Stirling Prize-winning practice Witherford Watson Mann Architects, William Mann is the second member of this years juryWilliam Mann is a director of Witherford Watson Mann Architects (WWM), an award-winning practice noted for their work with existing buildings.Based in London, WWMs work focuses on the physical continuity of buildings through the social evolution of cities and institutions. Their projects of transformation include the Stirling Prize-winning Astley Castle, a house built from within the ruins of a 12th-century castle; a new theatre for Nevill Holt Opera within a 17th-century stable block; and the transformation of the Courtauld Institute of Art at Somerset House.WWM is a thinking practice, collaborating with artists, writers and sociologists as well as engineers and contractors. Mann himself has contributed chapters to a number of architectural journals and books, and written for Casabella, Drawing Matter and Archis on the sometimes awkward relations of buildings to cities and old to new. His writing in The Architectural Review includes a Retrospective on Belgian architects Robbrecht en Daem and a reflective essay on drawing in the design process: sketching lets you think with the handbrake off, he writes.Enter the AR New into Old awards today: deadline 7 MarchA view of WWMs Stirling Prize-winning Astley Castle. The practice has been lauded for its inventive yet sensitive transformations of existing buildingsCredit:Hlne BinetAs the need for sustainable alternatives to building anew becomes increasingly urgent, the AR New into Old awards celebrate the creative ways buildings are adapted and remodelled to welcome new contemporary uses. Launched in 2017, the awards recognise the imaginative appropriation of existing structures, from innovative insertions to ambitious adaptations, that offer buildings a new lease of life.For more information and to enter the AR New into Old awards, please clickhere.Deadline: 7 March 20252025-02-12AR Editors Share 2025

Built in 1857 at the prominent intersection of Boylston and Tremont streets in Boston, the Hotel Pelham is said to have been the first apartment building of its type in America. Seen as a high-end apartment building, not like the slum-like tenements in New York and elsewhere in Boston, the units were like French-flats for medium-term renters, rather than short-term stays. The Hotel Pelham was developed by Dr. John Homer Dix, a doctor who took a keen interest in providing healthy accomodations for city-folk. The Hotel Pelham was designed by architect Alfred Stone, as an early example of the Second Empire style, with a French Mansard roof and stone facades. Just about a decade after the building was completed, Tremont Street (which runs along the side of the building) was set to be widened. This work would require the partial (and likely full) demolition of the Pelham Hotel. Rather than see his building face the wrecking ball, Dr. Dix, in 1869, had the Hotel Pelham slid off its foundation, and moved westward thirty feet to accommodate the expanded Tremont Street. This incredible feat of engineering was undertaken by John S. Blair, with architect Nathaniel Bradlee overseeing updates to the facades and interiors. The building would survive a gas main explosion in 1897, but succumbed to redevelopment during WWI, when the building was demolished for the present building on the site, the Little Building.

The Little Building sits prominently at the busy corner of Boylston and Tremont streets overlooking the Boston Common. Like the Colonial Theater next door, the Little Building was designed by architect Clarence Blackall and named after its developer and owner, John Mason Little. Blackall designed the Little Building in the Neo-Gothic style with a steel frame and a two-story Tudor-arched entrance on Boylston Street. The original facade was granite and cast stone, and the floors were made from reinforced concrete. The building replaced the Hotel Pelham which occupied the site since the 1850s. After being completed in 1917, the Little Building was considered significant enough that it was featured inAmerican ArchitectandBuilding News, highlighting many architectural details inside and out. The Little Building was advertised as a City Under One Roof with 600 offices, dozens of shops, a post office, restaurants, and connections to the nearby subway and theaters. Emerson College purchased the Little Building in March 1994 for $5 million and converted the building to dormitories. After years of deteriorating masonry, Emerson College hired Elkus Manfredi Architects to oversee a full renovation of the building, including a sweepingfacade restoration and the insertion of three glazed elevations between street-facing light wells. The new Little Building is a splendid re-imagining of a historic building, showing how old buildings can be renovated to meet contemporary uses through well intentioned design and care.

Published February 12, 2025 6:00am EST close How to delete multiple text messages on a Mac and iPad Apple provides ways to manage your messages more efficiently. Are you overwhelmed by the sheer volume of text messages cluttering your Mac or iPad? You're not alone.Many users find themselves endlessly scrolling through conversations, searching for important information or simply trying to declutter their digital space.Fortunately, Apple has provided ways to manage your messages more efficiently. Let's dive into how you can delete multiple messages on both your Mac and iPad, helping you regain control of your messaging app.Here are steps to bulk delete text messages on aniPhone or anAndroid. Mac and iPad (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Deleting entire conversations from various people on a MacIf you're using a Mac, follow these steps to delete multiple messages at once:Launch theMessages app on your Mac Steps to delete entire conversations on a Mac (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Hold down theCommand (Cmd) key and click oneach text message you want to remove. This allows you to select multiple messages simultaneouslyOnce you've selected all the desired messages, clickConversation in the upper leftScroll down and clickDelete Conversations Steps to delete entire conversations on a Mac (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)If prompted, confirm the deletion by clickingDelete Steps to delete entire conversations on a Mac (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Deleting multiple text messages within a conversation on a MacIf you're using a Mac, follow these steps to delete multiple messages within a conversation at once:Launch theMessages app on your Mac Steps to delete multiple text messages within a conversation on a Mac (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Open theconversation containing the messages you want to deleteHold down the Command (Cmd) key and click on each message you want to remove. The messages will turn adark gray color. This allows you to select multiple messages simultaneouslyOnce you've selected all the desired messages, press theDelete key on your keyboard Steps to delete multiple text messages within a conversation on a Mac (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)If prompted, confirm the deletion by clickingDelete Steps to delete multiple text messages within a conversation on a Mac (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)This method is particularly useful when you need to remove several messages from a lengthy conversation without deleting the entire thread.Deleting entire conversations from various people on iPadOpen theMessages app on your iPad Steps to delete entire conversations from various people on iPad (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)In themain conversation list, find theconversations you want to deleteTap Edit in the top-left cornerWHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? Steps to delete entire conversations from various people on iPad (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Click Select Messages Steps to delete entire conversations from various people on iPad (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Tap the checkbox next to each conversation you want to deleteTap theDelete button in the bottom-right corner Steps to delete entire conversations from various people on iPad (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Confirm the deletion when prompted by clicking Delete Steps to delete entire conversations from various people on iPad (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Deleting multiple messages within a conversation on an iPadOpen theMessages app on your iPadTap theconversation containing the messages you want to deleteTouch and hold amessage bubble until the context menu appearsTapMore... from the menuSelect multiple messages by tapping the checkboxes next to each message bubbleTap theTrash icon (bottom-left corner) after selecting your messagesConfirm the deletion when promptedHow to set up automatic message deletion on a MacTo prevent future clutter, consider setting up automatic message deletion:On your Mac, openMessagesGo to MessagesClick SettingsTapGeneralClick theKeep messages pop-up menu and choose a time frame (30 days or one year)GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE Steps to set up automatic message deletion on a Mac (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)This setting will automatically remove older messages, keeping your conversations manageable.Note: Deleting messages from your Mac does not delete them from other Apple devices unless you have Messages in iCloud enabled. To check if Messages in iCloud is enabled on your Mac:Go to MessagesClick Settings (or Preferences)Tap iMessage and see if Messages in iCloud is enabledKurt's key takeawaysManaging message clutter can feel like a never-ending battle. While these tips won't magically solve all your digital chaos, they'll definitely help you take back control of your Messages app. A little effort now means less scrolling and more breathing room later. And hey, who doesn't love a clean, organized digital space that doesn't make you want to pull your hair out? Just remember, your messages are meant to connect you, not stress you out.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPTell us the most frustrating digital communication challenge you have and how we might be able to help. Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurts free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

CEO testifies on federal agencies as lawmakers clash on MuskAxon Enterprise CEO Rick Smith testified that federal agencies like the FTC engage in regulatory overreach and that their power ...DeepSeek, data privacy on lawmakers' radarU.S. lawmakers are taking steps to ban DeepSeek from government devices, which should signal to enterprises the inherent risks of...RFI vs. RFP vs. RFQ: How they differ and which is best for youRFIs, RFPs and RFQs all help software buying teams gather different information, and teams usually only send out one or two. ...

At Saudi Arabias Leap 2025 event in February, the kingdom announced huge investment in artificial intelligence (AI), while the conference element of the show majored heavily in key questions about AI. These ranged from the next steps, such as getting business value from enterprise AI, to challenges in developing agentic AI, as well as the more distant future in robotics and causal AI.Also addressed was the need to focus on how AI will change society and how to ensure it is a force for good rather than one that undermines social coherence.Yaser Al-Onaizan, CEO of the National Center for AI in the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), focused on agentic AI as the next step, as in AI that works on our behalf.The large language models [LLMs] understand how language is constructed, the sequences that people generate, he said. But the promise of AI is that it will be in everything we do and touch every day. But it needs to be invisible. It cannot be in your face it should be listening to you, understanding you and doing things based on your opinion, without you even asking sometimes.So, for example, you can interact with a model and instead of just giving you information about flights, it can go on and reserve flights or make a hotel reservation for you.But, said Al-Onaizan, the challenge is for AI to work on humans behalf and to get things right, to understand common sense, so that decisions made autonomously fit with whats practical for those on whose behalf it works.Meanwhile, Lamia Youseff, founder of Jazz Computing, is an industry thought leader in AI and cloud, with a CV that includes Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Apple, and academic research institutions including Stanford, MIT and UCSB.She says we can see AI in several phases and inflection points:Enterprise AI for which big data led the way by gathering huge amounts of data together for analysis. Enterprise AI introduces optimisations and has brought a tsunami of new products and services.Agentic AI the next step for the next two years will bring agents that work on our behalf, taking commands, conversing with LLMs, breaking commands into steps and taking actions.Robotics and humanoids which will require great innovation in communications and machine understanding of human language to combine LLMs and robotics, such as in driverless cars, and critically, with the ability to interact in a 3D world.Causal AI where AI can predict incredibly complex real-world events, such as stock market fluctuations.Elsewhere, speakers focused on how to gain business value from AI. This included Aiden Gomez, CEO of Canadian company Cohere, which specialises in use of LLMs in enterprises.His focus is on making LLMs useful for enterprises by helping build an application stack that makes use of them.You have to be technical, you need to be a developer, to be able to build something on top of this model to create value on the other side, he said.Challenges include being able to lower barriers so AI can integrate with internal systems, and security where AI moves out of the proof-of-concept phase and touches the most sensitive customer data.The biggest thing the enterprise world needs is good solutions that can plug in and go, he said. The barrier is for enterprises to adopt AI securely, which means completely private deployments. Then we can start to shift the work that humans are doing onto these models. To succeed, they need to be able to use the systems that humans today use to get their job done and integrate generative AI with the internal software and systems.Gomez added: When people were just testing out the technology, the security piece wasnt so important, because they werent putting mission-critical data into those systems. Now, were moving out of the proof-of-concept phase and were going into production, and these models are touching the most sensitive customer data, so security is front of mind.He, too, pointed to agentic AI as the next stage and the challenges that need to be solved. The first is the use of reasoning models and the second is learning from experience.Just think about what reasoning is, said Gomez. What happens now is you can ask the model whats 1+1, or you can ask it to prove Fermats last theorem, and the model would spend the same amount of time answering both of those questions, which makes no sense.With reasoning, you can spend different amounts of energy on different difficulties and problems. So now we can approach things dramatically more efficiently, but more effectively. Thats a major unlock for agentic AI. You want agents to be able to think through problems and really reason about it, he added.The second thing is learning from experience. So, with a human, when you tell them, You did something wrong. Heres how to fix it, they remember that and they learn forever not to make that same mistake. When models have that capability to learn from experience with the user it will unlock the ability to teach your own model just by interacting with it.Finally, Lambert Hogenhout, chief of data, analytics and emerging technologies at the United Nations, warned of the dangers of AI to human society if we are passive in our approach to it. In other words, AI has the capacity to undermine human agency and even be a force that can work against us if uncontrolled.In his view, the key risks posed by AI include threats to:Autonomy in which AI makes you more competent, almost perfect, but means you are thereafter forced to interact with AI to be the person it makes you.Identity in which AI even has the capability to build a replica of someones personality if it has enough information about the person. It takes identity theft to a new level.Purpose where if AI replaces many jobs, what is left for humans, and how do we make sure we focus on what humans are good at, such as cooperation and creativity?Happiness and connection to society its very important for humans to feel happy and connected to society. If that is undermined, there will be problems.AI is giving us lots of ways to improve our business and our private life, said Hogenhout. But in the long term, say 20 years, I think nobody predicted what the world is going to look like 20 years from now.Some people have a very positive view, where the robots do the work and we can spend our days playing golf or watching interesting movies. But the dystopian view says we will lose our purpose in life, and for humans it is going to become quite miserable, except for a few AI billionaires.Hogenhout pointed to how smartphones have changed everything and how AI is likely to do the same.First, he spoke about the issue of autonomy.Ive always wanted to be funnier when I respond to messages from my friends. Ive wanted to be more eloquent when I write emails to my boss. And you know, I can with the help of AI. But it means I rely on AI for every communication, and when everybody does that, when everybody is perfect, can you afford not to use it, to be the only non-augmented human? Were going to be forced to augment ourselves with AI.And on identity, Hogenhout talked about how AI has the potential to comprehensively clone a human beings personality.What if somebody takes everything Ive ever written emails, posts, everything and it knows how to respond like me? But there are actually companies doing that already.Theres an app called Hereafter thats meant for elderly people. Your grandfather, for example, can be interviewed and information added about his life. Then, once grandpa dies, on your phone there is grandpas voice and you can ask him things like whats happening with the Super Bowl or a football match and it responds exactly like Grandpa would have.That forces the question, said Hogenhout, of what distinguishes us if it is so easy to replicate identity down to the level of voice, of opinions? At the moment, were too passive. Were just waiting for the next amazing AI system to come out. Were not thinking about how this is going to affect our lives Lambert Hogenhout, United NationsFinally, Hogenhout looked at purpose.The meaning in our lives comes from the work we do, but its already clear a lot of jobs are going to be replaced. Its true, we do dumb stuff a lot of the time, but we have incredible skills and abilities, he said.What makes us quite unique as a species is our creativity. Theres also this sense of not accepting reality as it is. But, were not just innovators. I think were very good at cooperating. Theres a reason that were all together here at this conference, because we want to learn from each other. These connections are very important in society.Its important for us to take decisions and to feel fulfilment. We want to make sure AI increases living connections, that we are not eliminated, that it makes a good society. A society where a number of people are excluded is not going to work. It will create problems, added Hogenhout.His conclusion is that AI will change us in big ways but we need to ensure we act intentionally. Otherwise, the potential to lock large swathes of humanity out of a core whose lives are augmented by AI will lead to a broken society, from which problems will result.At the moment, I think were too passive. Were just waiting for the next amazing AI system to come out. Were not thinking ahead, thinking about how this is going to affect our lives.Read more about the future of AI and agentic AISalesforces agentic AI platform to transform business automation: CRM giants Agentforce lets organisations build and deploy autonomous agents to automate business processes through advanced learning and data integration.AI is meant to free up time and yet, somehow, its stealing it: Realising the liberatory potential of artificial intelligence requires a culture shift that places people before profits and productivity.

Galeanu Mihai/Getty ImagesWhat if I told you that the biggest winner in this AI arms race isn't OpenAI, Meta, Google or even DeepSeek?This company is quietly winning, and nobody's talking about it. Also:From zero to millions? How regular people are cashing in on AIAnd when I say winning, I don't mean hype."One day, a magical company will change the world and revolutionize AI blah blah blah"Nah!!!This ain't hypothetical.They're getting paid. Today. Money in the bank. Not "potentially" winning. They are already winning.But they're chilling in the cut like peroxide.And I know what you're thinking. It ain't Nvidia, either. When I say zero hype, I MEAN ZERO. It's giving diamond in the rough vibes.Also:5 ways AI can help with your taxes - and 10 major mistakes to avoidThe wildest part is they have been around for 20+ years and only now started making real money.In this article, we're gonna break it all down:Who this unlikely AI winner isHow this happenedHow you can take advantageBuckle up. This is gonna be a good one. Like a Martin Scorsese movie, I PROMISE YOU you won't see this plot twist coming.Quick introTo understand how I discovered this juggernaut hiding in plain sight, first, you need to know who I am and what I do for a living.My name is Lester, but feel free to call me Les. I'm a founder with a successful exit under my belt. These days, I'm the exec chair for a group of ecom brands, but at my core, I'm an award-winning performance marketer.Also:AI isn't the next big thing - here's what isNeedless to say, data and insights are my jam. We operate more like a data company than an ecom brand. Our secret sauce? Pairing data and insights with ideas that generate revenue.If you're into data-driven business, marketing insights, and strategies, check out my free newsletter, No Fluff Just Facts. I break down what's working in business with no fluff, just marketing insights and trends that matter.But enough about me. Understanding the AI landscapeBefore I jump into the who, I need to bring you up to speed.I know I need to come out with it, but this context is critical for you to spot the next trend on your own.As you know, there is so much hype and speculation about AI that DeepSeek made an announcement and the market crashed by trillions of dollars. Yes, trillion with a T. There is no denying that AI is here and will play a role in our future, but how do you identify the real from the fake?Also:3 lucrative side hustles you can start right now with OpenAI's Sora video generatorHere's how I think about it.Who got rich during the gold rush? The guy selling the shovel.Who got rich during the dot-com bubble? The telecom companies.See the pattern? When investing, whether financially or allocating resources, I prefer to bet on the industry rather than a single company. This is especially true in the early stages when success depends on many factors aligning.So, with that mindset, I started thinking: If we're betting on AI as an industry, who wins? Where's the opportunity?To grasp why this sleeper company is winning, you must first understand how AI is shaping up behind the scenes.Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use)Right now, AI is in a hyper-growth phase. It's more like the early days of the dot-com boom: money flying everywhere, but very few companies are actually making money.At the core of AI, there are three key players:The Model Builders --OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic. These are the companies building massive AI models. They need a considerable amount of data and computing power, meaning they are currently spending way more than they're making.The Infrastructure Providers Nvidia, AWS, Microsoft Azure. These companies sell the computing power, cloud storage, and GPUs that AI models desperately need. They're making money, but they're not the whole story.The Data Owners This is where things get interesting. AI models need training data to get smarter. The problem? Most of the internet's data is free and unstructured.Using the gold rush as our blueprint, we see the real opportunities fall into two categories: Infrastructure and Data Owners.I immediately ruled out Nvidia. Why? Too obvious. Besides, I'm not looking for a stock pick; I'm looking for opportunities from which I can benefit.With that in mind, what I discovered was mind-blowing.This company: Doesn't have to build AI models even though they probably could. Doesn't have to sell GPUs. All they have to do is license the data they already have.So, who is this winner no one is talking about?Reddit. The big winnerYup. That Reddit. I told you this was a Martin Scorsese plot twist.If you're unfamiliar with Reddit, it is a social media platform and discussion site where users share content, discuss topics, and vote on posts. It's often called "The Front Page of the Internet."Founded in 2005 by Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman, it was initially meant to be a food-ordering app called My Mobile Menu.Good call pivoting to social media, lol. Also: 5 ways AI can help with your taxes - and 10 major mistakes to avoidHere is why they are winning AI models need human-generated content for training. Reddit just so happens to have one of the largest human conversation datasets in the world.What makes this so valuable is the quality of the conversations. The internet is full of junk, but Reddit's discussions are real, unfiltered, and human. Unlike algorithm-driven platforms, this is raw, natural interaction, which is precisely what AI needs to understand human behavior.Reddit is the shovel of this AI revolution. In May 2024, Reddit signed a deal with OpenAI to sell access to its data, which led to its first profitable quarter ever in Q3 2024, with 68% revenue growth to $348.4 million and a net income of $29.9 million.In the last six months, Reddit's stock is up 236% at the time of writing.Also: Reddit's latest AI update makes finding the answers you want much easierThe revenue growth comes from ads and data licensing, with AI companies paying top dollar for Reddit's content.Needless to say, I'm bullish on Reddit. The opportunity!Reddit has become crucial for AI development, and no one else comes close to having this level of rich, human-generated data. It's seen as the last town square for free human conversation.Here is your opportunity. While it's evident that Reddit is worth watching in the stock market (not financial advice), its newfound profitability means it will likely invest more in the platform to improve user experience, add new features, and scale its reach.But here is what I find really interesting.Also: Cerebras CEO on DeepSeek: Every time computing gets cheaper, the market gets biggerIn 2019, Reddit had 430 million monthly active users. By the end of 2024, that number hit 1.21 billion. This is significant because this is a mature platform, not a startup. This kind of growth at this stage is meaningful and something to pay attention to.I'm totally speculating here, but this growth ultimately comes from users craving real human connections.No bots. No algorithm force-feeding them content they don't want. It's authentic human interaction.This is where I see an opportunity to market your product or service.Wherever people gather, there's potential to connect with the right audience. Now that Reddit is profitable, it's likely to invest in the platform, potentially making it a bigger contender in the digital marketing space alongside Meta and Google.Also: The work tasks people use Claude AI for most, according to AnthropicThat said, Reddit's community isn't like any other. You neeeeeeeeedddddddddd to be authentic or you are going to get cooked.Focus on providing value, and don't try to be too salesy. Find ways to add to the conversation rather than take.Here is a link to some Reddit case studiesso you can get a feel of what works. My two centsI'll leave you with this.We should keep an eye on Reddit from a stock performance perspective and as a potential new traffic source to reduce dependence on Meta and Google. The real opportunity isn't just in AI or any one platform but in how we adapt as things shift. Platforms come and go, algorithms change, and tech keeps evolving, but the goal is always to reach the right people in a way that actually matters.By the way, if you want more data-driven business insights like this, sign up for my free newsletter, No Fluff Just Facts. I share what's working, the latest trends, and the occasional pep talk to keep you inspired. If this sounds like your jam, click here to sign up; it's totally free. Hope this helps. I'm rooting for you.Featured