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Independently, generative artificial intelligence and low-code software are two highly sought-after technologies. But experts say that together, the two harmonize in a way that accelerates innovation beyond the status quo. 

Low-code development allows people to build applications with minimal need for hard code, instead using visual tools and other models to develop. While the intersection of low-code and AI feels natural, it’s crucial to consider nuances like data integrity and security to ensure a meaningful integration.

Microsoft’s Low-Code Signals 2023 report says 87% of chief innovation officers and IT professionals believe “increased AI and automation embedded into low-code platforms would help them better use the full set of capabilities.” 

According to Dinesh Varadharajan, CPO at low-code/no-code work platform Kissflow, the convergence of AI and low-code enables systems to manage the work rather than humans having to work for the systems. 

Additionally, rather than the AI revolution replacing low-code, Varadharajan said, “One doesn’t replace the other, but the power of two is going to bring a lot of possibilities.”

Varadharajan notes that as AI and low-code technology come together, the development gap closes. Low-code software increases the accessibility of development across organizations (often to so-called citizen developers) while generative AI increases organizational efficiency and congruence.

Faster innovation

According to Jim Rose, CEO of an automation platform for software delivery teams called CircleCI, these large language models that serve as the foundation of generative AI platforms will ultimately be able to change the language of low-code. Rather than building an app or website through a visual design format, Rose said, “What you’ll be able to do is query the models themselves and say, for example, ‘I need an easy-to-manage e-commerce shop to sell vintage shoes.'”

Rose agrees that the technology has not quite reached this point, in part because “you have to know how to talk” to generative AI to get what you’re looking for. Kissflow’s Varadharajan says he can see AI taking over task management within a year, and perhaps intersecting with low-code in a more meaningful way not long after.

Governance and innovation go hand in hand

Like anything involving AI, there are plenty of nuances that business leaders must take into account for successful implementation and iteration of AI-powered low-code.

Don Schuerman, CTO of enterprise software company Pega prioritizes what he calls “a responsible and ethical AI framework.”

This includes the need for transparency. In other words, can you explain how and why AI is making a particular decision? Without that clarity, he says, companies can end up with a system that fails to serve end users in a fair and responsible way.

This melds with the need for bias testing, he added. “There are latent biases embedded in our society, which means there are latent biases embedded in our data,” he said. “That means AI will pick up those biases unless we are explicitly testing and protecting against them.”

Schuerman is a proponent of “keeping the human in the loop,” not only for checking errors and making changes, but also to consider what machine learning algorithms have not yet mastered: customer empathy. By prioritizing customer empathy, organizations can maintain systems and recommend products and services actually relevant to the end user.

For Varadharajan, the biggest challenge he foresees with the convergence of AI and low-code is change management. Enterprise users, in particular, are used to working in a certain way, he says, which could make them the last segment to adopt the AI-powered low-code shift.

Whatever risks a company is dealing with, maintaining the governance layer is what will help leaders keep up with AI as it evolves. “Even now, we are still grappling with the possibilities of what generative AI can do,” Varadharajan said. “As humans, we will also evolve. We will figure out ways to manage the risk.”

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Google agrees to pay Texas $1.4 billion data privacy settlement

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Google agrees to pay Texas .4 billion data privacy settlement

A Google corporate logo hangs above the entrance to the company’s office at St. John’s Terminal in New York City on March 11, 2025.

Gary Hershorn | Corbis News | Getty Images

Google agreed to pay nearly $1.4 billion to the state of Texas to settle allegations of violating the data privacy rights of state residents, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Friday.

Paxton sued Google in 2022 for allegedly unlawfully tracking and collecting the private data of users.

The attorney general said the settlement, which covers allegations in two separate lawsuits against the search engine and app giant, dwarfed all past settlements by other states with Google for similar data privacy violations.

Google’s settlement comes nearly 10 months after Paxton obtained a $1.4 billion settlement for Texas from Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to resolve claims of unauthorized use of biometric data by users of those popular social media platforms.

“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” Paxton said in a statement on Friday.

“For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won,” said Paxton.

“This $1.375 billion settlement is a major win for Texans’ privacy and tells companies that they will pay for abusing our trust.”

Google spokesman Jose Castaneda said the company did not admit any wrongdoing or liability in the settlement, which involves allegations related to the Chrome browser’s incognito setting, disclosures related to location history on the Google Maps app, and biometric claims related to Google Photo.

Castaneda said Google does not have to make any changes to products in connection with the settlement and that all of the policy changes that the company made in connection with the allegations were previously announced or implemented.

“This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed,” Castaneda said.

“We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services.”

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Virtual chronic care company Omada Health files for IPO

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Virtual chronic care company Omada Health files for IPO

Omada Health smart devices in use.

Courtesy: Omada Health

Virtual care company Omada Health filed for an IPO on Friday, the latest digital health company that’s signaled its intent to hit the public markets despite a turbulent economy.

Founded in 2012, Omada offers virtual care programs to support patients with chronic conditions like prediabetes, diabetes and hypertension. The company describes its approach as a “between-visit care model” that is complementary to the broader health-care ecosystem, according to its prospectus.

Revenue increased 57% in the first quarter to $55 million, up from $35.1 million during the same period last year, the filing said. The San Francisco-based company generated $169.8 million in revenue during 2024, up 38% from $122.8 million the previous year.

Omada’s net loss narrowed to $9.4 million during its first quarter from $19 million during the same period last year. It reported a net loss of $47.1 million in 2024, compared to a $67.5 million net loss during 2023.

The IPO market has been largely dormant across the tech sector for the past three years, and within digital health, it’s been almost completely dead. After President Donald Trump announced a sweeping tariff policy that plunged U.S. markets into turmoil last month, taking a company public is an even riskier endeavor. Online lender Klarna delayed its long-anticipated IPO, as did ticket marketplace StubHub.

But Omada Health isn’t the first digital health company to file for its public market debut this year. Virtual physical therapy startup Hinge Health filed its prospectus in March, and provided an update with its first-quarter earnings on Monday, a signal to investors that it’s looking to forge ahead.

Omada contracts with employers, and the company said it works with more than 2,000 customers and supports 679,000 members as of March 31. More than 156 million Americans suffer from at least one chronic condition, so there is a significant market opportunity, according to the company’s filing.

In 2022, Omada announced a $192 million funding round that pushed its valuation above $1 billion. U.S. Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and Fidelity’s FMR LLC are the largest outside shareholders in the company, each owning between 9% and 10% of the stock.

“To our prospective shareholders, thank you for learning more about Omada. I invite you join our journey,” Omada co-founder and CEO Sean Duffy said in the filing. “In front of us is a unique chance to build a promising and successful business while truly changing lives.”

WATCH: The IPO market is likely to pick up near Labor Day, says FirstMark’s Rick Heitzmann

The IPO market is likely to pick up near Labor Day, says FirstMark's Rick Heitzmann

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Google would need to shift up to 2,000 employees for antitrust remedies, search head says

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Google would need to shift up to 2,000 employees for antitrust remedies, search head says

Liz Reid, vice president, search, Google speaks during an event in New Delhi on December 19, 2022.

Sajjad Hussain | AFP | Getty Images

Testimony in Google‘s antitrust search remedies trial that wrapped hearings Friday shows how the company is calculating possible changes proposed by the Department of Justice.

Google head of search Liz Reid testified in court Tuesday that the company would need to divert between 1,000 and 2,000 employees, roughly 20% of Google’s search organization, to carry out some of the proposed remedies, a source with knowledge of the proceedings confirmed.

The testimony comes during the final days of the remedies trial, which will determine what penalties should be taken against Google after a judge last year ruled the company has held an illegal monopoly in its core market of internet search.

The DOJ, which filed the original antitrust suit and proposed remedies, asked the judge to force Google to share its data used for generating search results, such as click data. It also asked for the company to remove the use of “compelled syndication,” which refers to the practice of making certain deals with companies to ensure its search engine remains the default choice in browsers and smartphones. 

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Google pays Apple billions of dollars per year to be the default search engine on iPhones. It’s lucrative for Apple and a valuable way for Google to get more search volume and users.

Apple’s SVP of Services Eddy Cue testified Wednesday that Apple chooses to feature Google because it’s “the best search engine.”

The DOJ also proposed the company divest its Chrome browser but that was not included in Reid’s initial calculation, the source confirmed.

Reid on Tuesday said Google’s proprietary “Knowledge Graph” database, which it uses to surface search results, contains more than 500 billion facts, according to the source, and that Google has invested more than $20 billion in engineering costs and content acquisition over more than a decade.

“People ask Google questions they wouldn’t ask anyone else,” she said, according to the source.

Reid echoed Google’s argument that sharing its data would create privacy risks, the source confirmed.

Closing arguments for the search remedies trial will take place May 29th and 30th, followed by the judge’s decision expected in August.

The company faces a separate remedies trial for its advertising tech business, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 22.

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