Axios

Salesforce's offer to lead Hugging Face's Series D round didn't come with the highest valuation, Axios has learned, but the software giant managed to edge out several high-profile investors to seal the deal.

Why it matters: The current artificial intelligence boom has led to competition among venture capitalists, startups and tech giants racing to stay ahead in what many view as "the next technological shift."

Voice actors for video games may be following TV and movie actors to the picket line.

Driving the news: SAG-AFTRA, the union that has a contract with leading gaming companies for actors who do voice or performance acting for video games, called for a strike Friday, citing lack of progress in renegotiating a contract that expired last November.

An increasing number of recommendation apps are popping up to serve niche audiences.

Why it matters: Groups of friends — driven by the fear of missing out on the best of the best — are flocking to siloed apps and services for advice on what to consume.

Cybersecurity professionals heading out for Labor Day weekend can't rest too easy: Ransomware hackers love to strike while they're away.

Why it matters: Only the most cyber-aware companies typically have tools in place to monitor their networks for suspicious activity 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Stock-trading app Robinhood on Friday said it paid nearly $606 million to repurchase shares held by an affiliate of jailed crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried.

Why it matters: Robinhood shares jumped on the news, as it became the latest company to disentangle from the former FTX CEO.

"Doomsday" seed vaults are becoming an increasingly popular tool in the race to insure global crop and agricultural production against the damaging impacts of climate change.

Why it matters: In an era of simultaneous climate disasters, long-term solutions that bolster the future of food supply are gaining momentum among governments, scientists and small-scale farmers.

"Hi, mom. Hi, dad." The face in the video was mine, and the voice was mine, too. But I hadn't spoken the words my parents heard.

What's happening: The video was the product of a company named HeyGen, which allows anyone to create a personal "deepfake" — an AI-generated video double capable of reciting virtually anything you type into a text field.