tech:

taffy

SweetLabs Raises $13 Million

SweetLabs, a privately held company funded by Google VenturesIntel CapitalO’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners has raised $13 million in Series C funding led by Intel Capital. Existing investors Google Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners also participated in the round.

Sweetlabs is the company behind the Pokki app platform and OpenCandy network. The OpenCandy Software Network powers user-friendly software recommendations in Windows installers. OpenCandy has powered over 400 million desktop app installs since the product launched in 2008, according to the company. Pokki,  a platform launched in June 2011 enables Web developers to create connected desktop applications using standard Web languages like HTML 5.

SweetLabs will primarily use the funds to invest in the growth of Pokki, said the company in a statement.

E-say

Marc Yi (Managing director, Intel Capital): Pokki has the potential to reinvent the PC experience and help unify an ecosystem where users interact with rich, always-on apps across all their platforms and devices.

Darrius Thompson (CEO and co-founder, SweetLabs): This investment from Intel Capital will help us achieve our goal of empowering developers to reach the largest, yet ironically most underserved, channel for applications—the PC.

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.