tech:

taffy

Sony, XPrize Launch Robotics Competition

After_Earth

Sony Pictures Entertainment, Overbrook Entertainment, and Xprize will launch a robotics competition celebrating the release of After Earth, in theaters May 31.

In Phase 1 of the challenge, teams will create a 2-3 minute video essay on space exploration, and ten teams will be selected to move forward to Phase 2 of the contest. In Phase 2, the teams from the previous phase will receive a Lego Mindstorms kit  and a Sony Handycam camcorder to design and build a Nova Prime landscape (playfield), upon which their robots will complete a series of mission tasks.

[Image courtesy: Sony]

Just in

Vercel raises $250M

San Francisco-based Vercel, a frontend cloud platform provider, has secured $250 million in Series E funding, bringing the company's valuation to $3.25 billion.

Worky raises $6M (Mexico)

Mexico City-based Worky, a provider of HR and payroll software solutions for Mexican companies, has closed a $6 million Series A financing round.

Amazon announces $1.31B investment in France

Amazon has announced a new investment of about $1.31 billion (€1.2 billion) in France, which the company says will lead to the creation of over 3,000 permanent jobs in the country.

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky to step down — CNBC

Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon’s cloud computing business, will step down from his role next month. Matt Garman, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Amazon Web Services, will succeed Mr. Selipsky after he exits the company June 3, writes Annie Palmer. 

Palo Alto Networks, Accenture expand alliance to offer generative AI services

Palo Alto Networks and Accenture have announced the expansion of their strategic alliance to provide new offerings that combine Palo Alto Networks' Precision AI technology with Accenture's secure generative AI services.