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The Peugeot e-3008 electric car on display during a presentation at the Stellantis car factory in Sochaux, France.

Arnaud Finistre | AFP via Getty Images

PARIS, France — French car giant Peugeot told CNBC this week that it’s partnering with Vay, a German mobility startup, to integrate so-called “teledriving” tech — an alternative to autonomous cars — into its vehicles. 

The deal will see the two companies assess the use of Vay’s teledriving tech on “last-mile delivery” vans and smaller logistics vehicles, with a focus on business-to-business (B2B) customers. 

The idea is to recreate the journey a delivery vehicle typically takes from an order fulfillment center to households or businesses, similar to the widely-known model already offered by Amazon — only this time with remote-controlled cars.

The first pilot test drives of Vay’s technology with Peugeot vehicles are expected to take place this year. Peugeot is looking to include the tech in its E-3008 electric SUVs and some electric vans.

The partnership has been 18 months in the making, Justin Spratt, Vay’s chief business officer, told CNBC via emailed comments, adding that it selected Peugeot as its first OEM partner for integration of its teledriving tech due to its “innovative standing and wider customer demographic.”

Spratt said its deal with Peugeot will “showcase how delivery operations can be made more efficient — as vehicles can be delivered on demand, redistributed and taken to cleaning and charging — in a more cost-effective way.”

What is teledriving?

“Teledriven” vehicles are a little like massive remote-controlled cars — only they’re big enough to fit a person inside.

We believe it can drive large cost savings for all logistics companies, in particular ecommerce delivery. By decoupling drivers from the commercial vehicles at the distribution centres, it can reduce operational costs significantly. He added that Vay is also exploring the use of teledriving technology to address last-mile delivery through on-vehicle lockers linked to unique customer QR codes for pick-up.

Justin Spratt

Chief Business Officer, Vay

Vay is showing off its teledriving tech with Peugeot this week at the Viva Technology industry trade fair in Paris.  

“We believe it can drive large cost savings for all logistics companies, in particular ecommerce delivery,” Spratt told CNBC. “By decoupling drivers from the commercial vehicles at the distribution centres, it can reduce operational costs significantly.”

He added that Vay is also exploring the use of teledriving technology to address last-mile delivery through on-vehicle lockers linked to unique customer QR codes for pick-up.

Earlier this year, Vay announced the launch of a commercial teledriving service in Las Vegas, Nevada, enabling people to order cars to their location, which they can then drive themselves to their intended destination. 

Once a user is done with their trip, Vay’s teledriver can take over remotely and park the car, or drive it back to base. 

Vay has already conducted tests on public roads in Europe and the U.S. with remote drivers and no one behind the wheel. It is now working to get full regulatory approval for the tech on both sides of the Atlantic.

Founded in 2018 by tech entrepreneur Thomas von der Ohe, Vay has raised over $110 million in funding from investors including Kinnevik, Coatue, Eurazeo, Atomico, La Famiglia, and Creandum. 

Von der Ohe was formerly a technical program manager at Zoox, the self-driving car startup Amazon purchased for an undisclosed sum in 2020. 

Notably, Vay says its technology is designed in such a way that it can eventually support self-driving functionality, as it is collecting valuable data on the physical environment. The company says it doesn’t plan to introduce an autonomous driving product any time soon, but sees teledriving as more of a “bridge” between manual driving and self-driving cars.

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Adobe shares surge 15% for sharpest rally since 2020

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Adobe shares surge 15% for sharpest rally since 2020

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen speaks during an interview with CNBC on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on Feb. 20, 2024.

Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters

Adobe shares surged 15% on Friday, the biggest gain since March 2020, after the software maker reported earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates.

After the bell on Thursday, Adobe reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.48, topping the LSEG consensus estimate of $4.39 per share. Revenue increased 10% from a year earlier to $5.31 billion, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $5.29 billion.

CEO Shantanu Narayen attributed Adobe’s record revenue to its strong growth across Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Experience Cloud and its advancements in artificial intelligence.

“Our highly differentiated approach to AI and innovative product delivery are attracting an expanding universe of customers and providing more value to existing users,” Narayen said in a press release on Thursday.

New annualized recurring revenue for the Digital Media business, which includes Creative Cloud subscriptions, came in at $487 million, beating the StreetAccount consensus of $437.4 million.

Adobe’s results provide a contrast to what software investors have seen from many industry peers of late. Salesforce shares suffered their worst plunge since 2004 late last month after the cloud software vendor posted weaker-than-expected revenue and issued disappointing guidance. That same week, MongoDB, SentinelOneUiPath and Veeva all pulled down their full-year revenue forecasts.

However, there were positive signs in the sector this week. Oracle shares rallied after the database company announced cloud deals with Google and OpenAI, even as fourth-quarter results fell short of Wall Street expectations. CrowdStrike jumped on Monday following the announcement after the close last Friday that the cybersecurity company would be added to the S&P 500.

JMP analysts, who have the equivalent of a hold rating on Adobe, wrote in a note after the earnings report that the company’s results were uplifting despite a challenging economic environment and increased competition in design software.

“We like how Adobe is integrating AI functionality across its product portfolio,” the analysts wrote.

Meanwhile, analysts from Piper Sandler raised their revenue estimates slightly by $73 million for fiscal 2024 and by $71 million for 2025. 

“Customer reactions to recent innovations were encouraging, as increasing availability of AI-powered solutions are expected to drive further user acquisition” and better average revenue per user, wrote the Piper Sandler analysts, who recommend buying the stock.

Even after Friday’s rally, Adobe shares remain down 12% for the year. The stock closed at $525.31.

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Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen: People have been seeing a lot of spend in AI and infrastructure

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Google-backed Tempus AI pops by as much as 15% in Nasdaq stock market debut

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Google-backed Tempus AI pops by as much as 15% in Nasdaq stock market debut

Tempus AI CEO Eric Lefkofsky on going public: It's been an incredible journey

Tempus AI, a health-care diagnostics company that uses AI to interpret medical tests to help physicians provide more accurate treatment for their patients, rose by as much as 15% in its Nasdaq Stock Market trading debut on Friday, after going public under the ticker symbol “TEM.”

Tempus AI priced 11.1 million shares at $37 apiece on Thursday, at the top of its initial $35 to $37 target range. The company raised $410 million at an implied valuation of just over $6 billion. Its early gains, if they hold, would place the company at a valuation of roughly $7 billion.

Tempus believes that AI can help guide therapy selection and treatment decisions, in conjunction with the patient’s doctor. It generated total revenue of $531.8 million in 2023 and a net loss of $214.1 million.

“We’re on a really good trajectory,” Tempus AI CEO Eric Lefkofsky said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Friday morning before shares started trading. “As revenues have been growing quickly, we’re not investing all that gross profit dollar growth back into the business. We’re generating improved leverage every quarter,” he said, adding that he expects the company to be both cash flow and EBITDA positive within the next year.

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Tempus AI is applying some of the most heavily-funded technology concepts — artificial intelligence and data analysis — to building a better, more informed medical profession. The lack of diagnostic testing early in the Covid-19 outbreak was an example of how a system as mature as our health-care infrastructure can still be unprepared for the future.

The Chicago-based company said in its IPO filing, “we endeavor to unlock the true power of precision medicine by creating Intelligent Diagnostics through the practical application of artificial intelligence, or AI, in healthcare. Intelligent Diagnostics use AI, including generative AI, to make laboratory tests more accurate, tailored, and personal. We make tests intelligent by connecting laboratory results to a patient’s own clinical data, thereby personalizing the results.” 

The two-time CNBC Disruptor 50 company’s at-home testing kit was quickly rolled out during the pandemic, but the problem Tempus is attacking is not Covid-specific. The Tempus idea came to Lefkofsky, also known for co-founding Groupon, during frustration with the health-care system after his wife received a breast cancer diagnosis. Oncology is a primary focus and the company’s genomic tests are designed to understand tumors at the molecular level and tailor treatment to individuals.

Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Allen & Company were the lead underwriters for Tempus AI’s offering.

Investors include Google, Baillie Gifford, Franklin Templeton, NEA and T. Rowe Price, according to PitchBook data.

— CNBC’s Bob Pisani contributed to this reporting.

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Microsoft to delay launch of AI Recall tool due to security concerns

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Microsoft to delay launch of AI Recall tool due to security concerns

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks during the Microsoft Build conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on May 21, 2024.

Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images

Microsoft will no longer ship Recall, an artificial intelligence tool that tracks user activity, when the company releases the Copilot+ PC next week, it announced in a blog post on Thursday following concerns about privacy and security.

The company wrote that Recall will shift from being a “broadly available” tool to a preview feature available only through the Windows Insiders Program, or WIP, when the new computer is released on June 18. Microsoft plans to make the AI feature available on all Copilot+ PCs soon after they receive feedback through WIP.

“This decision is rooted in our commitment to providing a trusted, secure and robust experience for all customers,” Windows Corporate Vice President Pavan Davuluri wrote in the blog post.

Microsoft first introduced the Copilot+ PC on May 20 as a computer designed to run advanced AI programs, including Recall. Recall is an AI tool that regularly takes screenshots to create a record of activity, allowing users to search for their previous actions.

Recall became a source of controversy soon after it was announced. Industry experts have expressed concern over the potential for hackers to develop tools that can retrieve user information, including usernames and passwords.

In response to the backlash, Microsoft initially announced that the Recall feature would be turned off by default, requiring users to opt in. The company also implemented additional security protections, including an encrypted search database and a requirement that Recall users enroll in Windows Hello, which has users prove their identity through a PIN, fingerprint or facial recognition.

Microsoft’s decision to delay Recall follows heightened concerns around security as the AI field evolves rapidly. Last month, a U.S. government review board criticized the company’s handling of China’s breach of U.S. government officials’ email accounts.

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