Cisco's Acquisition of Splunk: Strengthening Cloud Security

💼 Cisco makes a $28 billion deal to acquire Splunk, filling a gap in its security portfolio.

🔍 Splunk is a data search and security tool that allows users to search through their data for performance management and security purposes.

🔄 The acquisition is strategic for Cisco and will close in 9-12 months, with the CEO of Splunk joining the team.

📊 Splunk's acquisition by Cisco creates a relative competitor in the observability space, with Cisco's huge reach allowing them to penetrate a large market.

💼 M&A can disrupt the business being bought and potentially benefit competitors, like Data Dog, who are considered leaders in cloud observability.

💸 The IPO market is experiencing mixed results, with some companies seeing strong pops while others face challenges due to the current macro environment.

📈 The stock market is expected to decline due to hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve.

🎯 Many companies are planning to raise capital in 2020 and 2021, either privately or in the public markets.

🏢 Long-term investors play a crucial role in stabilizing IPOs by providing demand and reducing volatility.

⚡️ Microsoft is integrating AI across its products and has moved quickly in the field due to its investment in OpenAI.

💰 Microsoft will not directly charge for certain areas of generative AI in order to gain market share, but they will charge for the 365 CoPilot.

🌍 There is a call for countries to regulate artificial intelligence to mitigate risks and ensure positive change.

🌍 AI has a global impact and countries across the world are discussing the risks and issues.

💻 The UK is actively involved in the AI race with companies like Cambridge One and NVIDIA.

🤝 The UK engages with platform providers and chip suppliers to address its AI needs and increase computer capacity.

Duckbilled combines the best of humans and AI to provide efficient and scalable personal assistance.

Duckbilled is setting itself apart by offering a digital assistant that leverages AI and human input for valuable and innovative services.

Duckbilled has a subscription price of $99 a month and aims to serve a mass market of users who need affordable personal assistance.

🔑 The funding will accelerate the roadmap of leveraging AI to serve the mass-market and ensure everyone has access to it.

📚 Authors are suing AI for copyright infringement, advocating for authors to benefit from AI technology.

💼 Negotiations between writers and movie studios regarding the Hollywood strike are ongoing.

📰 Rupert Murdoch is stepping down and handing over responsibilities to his son Lachlan in News Corp.

💰 Private credit is expected to perform well over the next 12 months due to active management and tighter documents.