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Larry Ellison, chairman and co-founder of Oracle Corp., speaks during the Oracle OpenWorld 2017 conference in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017.

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Oracle on Monday announced it intends to join a new federally-backed medical network that will make it easier for clinics, hospitals and insurance companies to share patients’ data.

The network, called the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, or TEFCA, launched in December. Oracle, which acquired the medical records giant Cerner for $28 billion in 2022, is the latest major vendor to support TEFCA, joining its chief rival Epic Systems.

Oracle needs to be approved to join TEFCA, but its interest in doing so helps to bolster the nascent network’s credibility. It also suggests that TEFCA may succeed in ushering in a new standard for data-sharing practices across the health-care industry.

Sharing medical records between different hospitals, clinics and health-care organizations is a notoriously complex process. Health-care data is stored in a variety of formats across dozens of different vendors, making it difficult for doctors and other providers to easily access all the relevant data about their patients.

“This is just a natural next step,” Seema Verma, executive vice president and general manager of Oracle Health and Life Sciences, told CNBC in an interview. “We are not into information blocking. We don’t have that reputation.”

Oracle’s competitor, Epic, has long been accused of dragging its feet around interoperability efforts, and Oracle has not been afraid to call the company out. In a May blog post, Ken Glueck, executive vice president at Oracle, wrote, “Everyone in the industry understands that Epic’s CEO Judy Faulkner is the single biggest obstacle to EHR [electronic health record] interoperability.”

Epic did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Several companies and organizations have previously tried to streamline health-care information exchange, but TEFCA was designed to help bring all of these players together on a national scale. The network’s ultimate goal is to finally standardize the legal and technical requirements for sharing patients’ data.

The main groups that participate in health-data exchanges through TEFCA are called qualified health information networks, or QHINs. These networks volunteer to take part – they are not paid – and they have to go through a two-step approval process to ensure that they are eligible and have the necessary technical infrastructure. 

Oracle said Monday that it will begin the process to become a QHIN. Seven QHINs, including Epic, are live within TEFCA now.

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Tesla stock slips after report EV maker is halting Cybertruck and Model Y production

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Tesla stock slips after report EV maker is halting Cybertruck and Model Y production

A Tesla Cybertruck sits on a lot at a Tesla dealership on April 15, 2024 in Austin, Texas. 

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Tesla shares slid more than 2% Tuesday after a report that the electric vehicle maker was halting production of Cybertruck and Model Y models for a week in Austin, Texas.

The production stoppage begins June 30, Business Insider reported, citing a staff meeting where the announcement was made. The pause, which is for maintenance on production lines, would be the third such shutdown at the Austin facility in the past year, according to BI.

Tesla is tentatively launching the robotaxi in Austin on June 22, using Model Y vehicles equipped with a new version of the company’s “Full Self-Driving” technology.

CEO Elon Musk shared a video clip on X last week of a Model Y robotaxi on a road in Austin, adding to the buzz for the promised launch.

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CNBC has reached out to Tesla for comment on the reported pause.

Read the full BI story here.

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Reddit stock jumps after company rolls out new AI advertising tools

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Reddit stock jumps after company rolls out new AI advertising tools

Thomas Fuller | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Reddit shares popped about 5% after the social media company debuted new artificial intelligence-powered advertising tools.

The two new features, announced Monday in a post during the Cannes Lions festival, will help brands better leverage discussions on the platform. The company said the tools are powered by an engine called Reddit Community Intelligence that turns “posts and comments into structured intelligence.”

Reddit announced a “listening tool” called Reddit Insights, which shares real-time insights with marketers to help them identify trends and launch campaigns. The other tool, called Conversation Summary Add-ons, allows brands to show “positive” user content under their ads.

“These are tools for a new era of community marketing, one where brands can tap into Reddit’s authenticity and connect meaningfully with high-intent communities around the world,” the company wrote.

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The company said Publicis served as the exclusive alpha tester for Reddit Insights, while Lucid and Jackbox Games were among the early testers for Conversation Summary Add-Ons.

Companies across industries are betting on new ways to harness AI to improve advertising campaigns and better engage with users. These new tools are transforming the industry while also putting pressure on some advertising stalwarts.

The industry is also currently navigating a bumpy environment spurred by the trade war with China.

During the recent earnings season, many companies warned of sluggish advertising sales in certain regions due to a rocky macroeconomic environment. Recent developments, however, have suggested a cooling of tensions between the U.S. and China.

Last month, Reddit posted strong sales and upbeat guidance. The company has benefited from recent changes to Google search and internal site improvements, which include convincing logged-out users to open accounts. Logged-in accounts are more beneficial to advertisers.

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Spotify’s Daniel Ek leads $694 million investment in defense startup Helsing

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Spotify's Daniel Ek leads 4 million investment in defense startup Helsing

Helsing uses AI to analyze large amounts of sensor and weapons system data from the battlefield.

Pavlo Gonchar | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

European defense technology startup Helsing on Tuesday said that it’s raised 600 million euros ($693.6 million) in a bumper new round of funding.

The investment was led by Prima Materia, the venture capital firm founded by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and by Shakil Khan, an early investor in the popular music streaming app. Ek is also chairman of Helsing.

Existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Plural, General Catalyst and Saab also put money in, alongside new investors BDT & MSD Partners.

Defense and the technology behind it have become a hot area for investors lately, amid major global conflicts, including the Ukraine war to Israel-Gaza. Last week saw a further escalation of war in the Middle East as Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran.

In 2024, venture funding in Europe’s defense, security and resilience sector reached an all-time high of $5.2 billion, according to a recent report from the NATO Innovation Fund. The sector grew 30% in the past two years, outperforming the broader VC market, which saw a 45% decline over the same period.

Founded in 2021, Helsing sells software that uses artificial intelligence technology to analyze large amounts of sensor and weapons system data from the battlefield to inform military decisions in real time. Last year, the startup also began manufacturing its own line of military drones, called HX-2.

Helsing, which operates in the U.K., Germany and France, said it would use the fresh cash to invest in Europe’s “technological sovereignty” — which refers to attempts to onshore the development and production of critical technologies, such as AI.

“As Europe rapidly strengthens its defence capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical challenges, there is an urgent need for investments in advanced technologies that ensure its strategic autonomy and security readiness,” Ek said in a statement out Tuesday.

Helsing did not disclose its new valuation following the latest financing round, which is subject to “certain approvals,” according to a statement. The firm was previously valued at around 5 billion euros in a 450 million euro funding round led by General Catalyst last year.

90% of defense executives say the future will be dictated by software-defined products, says Accenture A&D Lead

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