WEBVTT - TikTok's Bill and SpaceX’s Starship 0:00:02.600 --> 0:00:07.320 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. 0:00:09.560 --> 0:00:12.360 From the heart where Innovation, money and power. 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:17.200 Collie in Silicon Valley, Nbon This is Bloomberg Technology with 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:19.239 Caroline Hyde and Ed loud Love. 0:00:32.760 --> 0:00:35.559 I'm Caroline Hyde at Rumbouge's world headquarters in New York. 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:39.000 And I'm Ed Lovelow in San Francisco. This is Bloomberg Technology. 0:00:39.080 --> 0:00:42.400 Coming up, we'll have full coverage of TikTok from what 0:00:42.440 --> 0:00:44.600 we can expect in the Senate, who wants to buy it, 0:00:44.960 --> 0:00:47.600 and the response from China, and of course the impact 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:49.000 on those content creators. 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:49.960 We've got you covered. 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:55.920 Plus Starship goes further and faster, but SpaceX loses the 0:00:56.000 --> 0:01:01.279 vessel during re entry, an unprecedented technology breakthrough for Musk's company. 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:03.240 Details to come, and we get to check in on 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:05.800 the tech earnings, sit down with the CFO of UiPath, 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:09.400 and push ahead to Adobe's results after the Bell Rumble. 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:11.480 Is one of the names to the downside, the sort 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:14.679 of more conservative social platform backed by Peter Teel. But 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:17.240 as you know, Caro, it's been absolutely soaring in recent 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:20.319 days after its CEO said, hey, we could talk with 0:01:20.400 --> 0:01:24.880 TikTok about a cloud partnership about looking at TikTok's US operations. 0:01:25.160 --> 0:01:28.200 There's no hard catalyst today, but it's interesting to look 0:01:28.240 --> 0:01:30.680 at different moves, and if anything, some of the names 0:01:30.680 --> 0:01:33.480 that saw significant gains in more recent days have kind 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:35.319 of pulled back a little bit because I think we 0:01:35.360 --> 0:01:36.760 still have quite a lot to work out when it 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:37.920 comes to TikTok. 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:40.560 Indeed, and we've got a lot to dissect in terms 0:01:40.600 --> 0:01:43.640 of the reactions coming from the business itself, from. 0:01:43.480 --> 0:01:44.600 Key diplomats as well. 0:01:44.640 --> 0:01:47.800 Just following the House passing that divestal ban TikTok, Bill Head, 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:51.040 or the top American diplomat in China, hit out at 0:01:51.040 --> 0:01:53.800 Beijing's objection to a potential ban on the social media 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:56.240 platform in the US. Just take a listen to the 0:01:56.240 --> 0:01:59.360 comments coming from the US ambassador to China. 0:02:00.120 --> 0:02:02.840 Number of complaints from the government here in Beijing this 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:06.280 week about the American debate on TikTok. I find it 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:11.080 supremely ironic because government officials here are using the X 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:14.280 platform to criticize the United States. They don't give their 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:18.200 own citizens the right to use X, to use Instagram, 0:02:18.400 --> 0:02:21.680 to use Facebook, to have access of Google, and so 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:25.400 it is ironic. Indeed, that the government here is complaining 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:27.680 about a process when they shut down access for one 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:31.320 point four billion Chinese to all these platforms. 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:35.079 Meanwhile, we've got to get up to speed with what's 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:37.880 happening here in the US. Down Flatley has more following 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:40.919 the story, of course closely. And the key question now 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:46.400 is does the startling numbers of support in the House 0:02:46.560 --> 0:02:47.520 really carry. 0:02:47.280 --> 0:02:48.840 Over to what we might see in the Senate? 0:02:50.360 --> 0:02:52.520 Yeah, I mean, I think that's the question of the day. 0:02:53.160 --> 0:02:57.040 You know, the Senate is known for working certainly slower, 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:59.720 more slowly than the House, and I think that you're 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.440 going to have a variety of opinions over there. There's 0:03:02.440 --> 0:03:04.640 one hundred senators and they're each going to have their opinion, 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:08.120 as Mike Gallagher, who is the author of the House 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:12.720 bill said yesterday, So there's a few different paths forward. 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:14.840 One that could go very quickly and a couple that 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:17.760 would take a little bit longer. It's looking likely that 0:03:17.800 --> 0:03:20.320 they'll take sort of the longer, more deliberative path. And 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:22.799 if that happens, it's kind of a question of does 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:25.400 the interest stay there? Where are we two or three 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:27.800 weeks from now. What's happening in the world is this 0:03:27.880 --> 0:03:30.400 still top of mind for people, so you know, it's 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:32.320 still a lot of tape to play out in terms. 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:36.480 Of that, Dan, is there a clear party line on 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:38.960 this bill, like a Republican attitude towards it and a 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:42.000 Democrat attitude towards it that we can carry through to 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:46.360 the Senate or has there been basically a bipartisan approach 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:46.760 to this. 0:03:48.720 --> 0:03:51.920 Yeah, I think there's no real clear party line. I mean, 0:03:52.600 --> 0:03:56.120 it's sort of very similar to the National Defense Authorization Act, 0:03:56.160 --> 0:03:59.680 the big defense bill that passes almost every year, does 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:03.160 pass every year without fail here where you have a 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:05.440 lot of these sort of more moderate Democrats, a lot 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:08.600 of the sort hawkish Republicans, which is really the majority 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:12.000 of both chambers when you get down to it, supporting it, 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:15.840 passing those types of bills, and then you have the 0:04:15.840 --> 0:04:19.599 progressives and the more libertarians or conservatives who are against it, 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:21.240 which is a smaller number. If you just look at 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:23.719 the House vote, I mean, three fifty two to sixty 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:25.839 five really kind of tells you where you are in 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:28.760 the House. In the Senate, I've heard numbers like seventy 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:31.480 of the one hundred Senators would support this, So that 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:33.080 gives you a sense of where we are there. 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:36.920 I think it's worth reminding that we're seeing a pushback 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:41.560 more broadly of the US government having foreign ownership of 0:04:41.680 --> 0:04:45.240 key companies or indeed access to its own population. We 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:47.320 just have to see what's happening with US Steel and 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:50.240 nip On Steel as well. With your expertise when it 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:55.560 comes to national security, Dan, will this be the focus 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:58.440 of lawmakers that this is a national security concern or 0:04:58.440 --> 0:05:00.440 are they actually going to go more towards well, who 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:03.920 does this ultimately make more powerful US technology companies? 0:05:05.279 --> 0:05:09.360 Well, you certainly hear some concern about that, especially along 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:12.039 antitrust grounds, like who would buy this? Would it be 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:14.800 a meta, would it be somebody else? Would there be 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:18.600 challenges to that? And you also hear questions about, you know, 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:20.840 is this the right thing to do? 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:22.119 Does this really meet the moment? 0:05:22.160 --> 0:05:25.360 Does it address the national security concerns while preserving the 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:28.080 ability of folks to continue to exercise their First Amendment 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:31.839 rights and their right to free speech. You know, the 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:34.200 bills authors say that this is not a band, it's 0:05:34.240 --> 0:05:37.839 designed to force ByteDance to divest TikTok. But when you 0:05:37.880 --> 0:05:40.960 talk about a six month timeline to implement a divestment. 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:42.799 That's where you get some people who are a little 0:05:42.800 --> 0:05:45.719 nervous that that may not be enough time to actually 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:48.760 pull together a sale and that would in the end 0:05:48.880 --> 0:05:51.160 lead to a band. So you know that all remains 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:51.640 to be seen. 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:54.640 Bloom bet Dan Flatley has been a busy twenty four 0:05:54.680 --> 0:05:56.480 hours to say for you out in Washington, d C. 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:57.320 Thank you. 0:05:57.440 --> 0:05:59.640 Let's keep going with the TikTok story and talk more 0:05:59.640 --> 0:06:03.279 about the implications of what is a divest or band 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:06.960 bill and the potential antitrust issues around that. Let's bring 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:10.039 in an academic studying the intersection of emerging technology and 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:13.760 the law, Jennifer Huddleston, a Technology policy research fellow at 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:19.200 the Cato Institute. Simple question, would the United States let 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:24.240 a large technology company based in this country by TikTok's 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:27.120 US operations if they choose to divest. 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:29.599 It's an interesting question. 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:32.040 This whole issue is coming up at a time where 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:36.560 technology acquisitions have been under increasing scrutiny, and particularly in 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:39.640 the social media market. When we look at popular social 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:43.920 media apps like Facebook, some have really asked questions about concentration. 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:47.240 Here you have what has become an immensely popular app 0:06:47.279 --> 0:06:51.320 providing yet another option for short term video that users 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:53.960 have chosen because they feel like it's the right platform 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:57.200 for their choices when it comes to expression. If we 0:06:57.279 --> 0:07:00.640 did get to the point where it was sell or ban, 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:03.240 you have the question of would the company is looking 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:06.720 to buy it face further anti trust scrutiny, particularly from 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:11.400 the Federal Trade Commission, around a potential acquisition of TikTok, 0:07:11.800 --> 0:07:13.720 or in the alternative, if it were to get to 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:16.200 a ban point, what does that do for the over 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:19.000 all social media market? 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:19.560 Jennifer. 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:24.640 Twenty four hours ago, FCC Commissioner car joined Bloomberg Television 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:27.520 and he gave his opinion that it doesn't have to 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:32.480 be a US company that buys TikTok's US operations. It 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:35.360 could be from another country, so long as it's not China. 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:37.880 Is that a feasible thing to your mind? 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:42.160 There are very specific requirements around the devestment that they 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:48.480 have to assuage concerns about certain foreign adversaries being linked. 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:50.440 To the company in question. 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:54.240 So that would depend on how the administration looked at 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:56.520 something like that and whether or not they felt that 0:07:56.520 --> 0:08:00.480 that was necessary or that that sufficiently met the concerns, 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:02.720 as well as the question again of when we look 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:06.360 at particularly if we're considering another technology company that might 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:10.520 have the expertise to continue the popular TikTok product as 0:08:10.560 --> 0:08:15.120 it is, are there really companies in areas like Europe 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:17.080 that have that expertise Right now. 0:08:17.440 --> 0:08:20.400 I'm going to go really basic Jennifer for a moment. 0:08:20.680 --> 0:08:23.280 Is it a good idea to separates it from its 0:08:23.320 --> 0:08:24.000 China's ownership? 0:08:24.000 --> 0:08:26.880 From real perspective, there have been a lot of questions 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:29.960 raised about potential national security concerns and a lot of 0:08:30.040 --> 0:08:33.480 different questions around national security that have been brought up. 0:08:33.800 --> 0:08:36.840 Some are concerned about the potential access to data and 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:40.720 there may be one set of restrictions that could resolve that, 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:44.240 as well as concerns about if the data practice has changed, 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:46.880 do you still have problems with the ability to buy 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:50.040 that same data on Americans from data brokers. The other 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:53.840 issue that's been brought up often is questions about the algorithm, 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:56.760 and that really starts to get into questions of speech, 0:08:57.280 --> 0:08:59.240 not only from the point of view of what could 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:03.720 this mean for government, the US government getting into the 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:07.320 speech of social media platforms more generally, but also what 0:09:07.360 --> 0:09:10.160 does this mean for the broader speech context when it 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:13.800 comes to traditions around the First Amendment and Americans' ability 0:09:13.800 --> 0:09:14.960 to access speech. 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:19.120 I'm kind of this has been done in India, but 0:09:19.280 --> 0:09:22.880 before it was nearly as successful as it currently see 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:24.640 TikTok being successful here in the US. 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:27.560 How technically do we do this? 0:09:28.280 --> 0:09:30.600 I think that's a really important question because it also 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:33.880 goes to who does the onus for enforcing this ban, 0:09:34.000 --> 0:09:37.400 for ensuring compliance with what could be a ban actually 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:42.000 fall on. The bill in question focuses on the distribution, maintenance, 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:45.960 and updating of covered apps or websites. So when you 0:09:46.000 --> 0:09:48.360 think about that, what that actually may mean is that 0:09:48.400 --> 0:09:52.080 it falls to places like app stores or web hosts 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:55.120 to ensure that these products are removed. Many of those 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:58.760 companies are American companies, So again we have questions of 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:02.240 what impact would such a piece of legislation have on 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:04.160 Americans and American companies. 0:10:05.240 --> 0:10:08.079 Almost feels like there's more questions than answers, But thank 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:11.360 you for answering ours today. Cato Institute Technology Policy Research 0:10:11.360 --> 0:10:14.720 Fellow Jennifer Huddleston in while coming up, we've got to 0:10:14.720 --> 0:10:16.320 get back to space BASEDX launchers. 0:10:16.360 --> 0:10:18.800 It's Starship rocket to near orbit in space. 0:10:19.400 --> 0:10:21.439 We've got all the details and you're fresh on the 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:23.160 back of reporting on that. But what else are you 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:23.600 looking at? 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:24.400 Yeah? 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:27.040 Back down here on Earth, I'm taking a look at Adobe. 0:10:27.080 --> 0:10:30.080 So the stocks up two tens percent reporting after hours. 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:32.560 They're on track for their third straight quarter of double 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:36.840 digit sales growth. Boring, But the story is about Firefly AI. 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:39.480 You look at like all of the startups working on 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.360 a texted image platform and a text to video. Has 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:44.920 Adobe got some response to that? That's what the street's 0:10:44.920 --> 0:11:23.160 worried about the world of AI. This is Bloomberg Technology. 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:12.560 There. 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:18.559 It is SpaceX launching its colossal Starship rocket and system 0:11:18.640 --> 0:11:22.800 in its third major test flight. The spacecraft lifted off 0:11:22.800 --> 0:11:27.599 earlier this morning from the company's launch shit in Bokachka, Texas. 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:30.800 Simply put, the story is that Starship went further, and 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:34.720 it went faster, and it pushed the boundaries of space 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:39.000 launch systems and technology, but it was lost later while 0:11:39.040 --> 0:11:39.719 returning to Earth. 0:11:39.800 --> 0:11:41.120 Let's go out to Texas to. 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:47.080 Bloomberg's space correspondent Lauren Grush explain what has happened this 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:50.240 morning with SpaceX's Starship, Right, Well. 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:52.960 I think you just said it there earlier ed they 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:56.040 got even farther than they ever have before. It's very 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:59.240 clear that SpaceX is making progress when it comes to 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:03.280 the development starship. This flight lasted about an hour, which 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:07.000 was kind of the planned flight time. Earlier flights lasted 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:11.199 just a few minutes before the vehicle exploded. No explosions 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:14.040 this time, and they achieved a number of amazing feeds 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:15.120 that they haven't before. 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:17.080 They were able to reach. 0:12:16.960 --> 0:12:21.040 Near orbit, reach space, nearly lap the Earth. 0:12:21.320 --> 0:12:25.280 Unfortunately, the vehicle did seem to burn up or be. 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:29.079 Lost during re entry into Earth's atmosphere, but they got 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:30.560 wriven farther than. 0:12:30.400 --> 0:12:32.880 They'd ever planned or ever expected before. 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:35.520 So let's show images of the re entry. 0:12:35.559 --> 0:12:38.400 And there's an important technology point here, which is that 0:12:39.000 --> 0:12:42.280 SpaceX was able to maintain the camera images that you're 0:12:42.320 --> 0:12:46.320 seeing now because it had Starlin on board, and as 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:49.520 it went from an altitude of say one hundred kilometers downwards, 0:12:50.000 --> 0:12:53.280 it was bouncing the signal off so many Starling satellites 0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:56.800 in orbit, Lauren, to maintain that kind of high fidelity connection. 0:12:57.360 --> 0:12:59.559 This is what I want to put the question to you, though, 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:02.559 to quote one of the pre eminent space minds, buzz 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:06.840 light Year, is that flying or is it just falling 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:07.520 with style? 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:10.160 Well, the way. 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:11.960 That they set up this flight is it was always 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:14.760 going to come down no matter what. It never was 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:17.400 intended to reach a full orbit. It was always going 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:19.839 to be suborbitable, so. 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:22.559 Gravity was always going to bring it down at some point. 0:13:22.720 --> 0:13:24.360 What they were hoping to see is if they could 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:27.280 bring it back to Earth intact, and so they were 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:29.760 kind of hoping that it would stay in one piece 0:13:29.800 --> 0:13:31.679 and splash down in the Indian Ocean. 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:33.560 It looks like that did not happen. 0:13:34.480 --> 0:13:37.439 They'd lost signal at the all from all of their 0:13:37.480 --> 0:13:40.679 different inputs at the same time, which indicates it probably 0:13:40.720 --> 0:13:43.320 burned up, probably was destroyed in some way. 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.680 So yes, it was falling with style, but that was 0:13:46.720 --> 0:13:50.480 always the plan. But it did fly before that happened. 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:55.040 Ed Ludlow and his six Espresso shots to the rescue, 0:13:56.000 --> 0:13:57.600 as he might have said too. 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:00.839 I'm interested, Lauren, ultimately, like we. 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:03.079 All potentially going to mass we all. 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.200 Ordering with a NASA contract to go to the Moon. 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:07.280 Where does this put SpaceX? 0:14:08.240 --> 0:14:08.440 Right? 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:10.480 So with each of these flights they learn a little 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.120 bit more than last time, So I would say they're 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:15.800 incrementally farther along than they were before. 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:18.480 I mean, reaching near orbit was a huge achievement. 0:14:18.679 --> 0:14:20.400 They're going to need to be able to do that 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:22.520 if they want to launch satellites. 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:22.720 From the vehicle. 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.640 But there's still quite a long laundry list of things 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:26.920 that they need to achieve. 0:14:26.640 --> 0:14:29.600 In order for this vehicle to be a deep space vehicle. 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:34.280 For instance, they need to demonstrate transferring super cold propellants 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:36.440 between the tanks in the vehicle. 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:39.320 They did have that demonstration on this flight. 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:41.280 They were trying to see if they could transfer those 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:44.960 propellants while in space. We aren't sure how that went, 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:48.960 but they seem to have conducted the experiment, so we'll 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:50.800 be eager to learn about how that went. 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:53.200 And then they also have to come up with life 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:54.680 support systems. 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:57.440 Demonstrate that it can land on other worlds like the Moon. 0:14:57.960 --> 0:15:00.480 There's a long way to go, but this give some 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:02.400 confidence that they're removing high direction. 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:07.720 Lauren Grash busy morning. We appreciate it so much. You 0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:10.080 tour a dream team with all the quotes. 0:15:18.680 --> 0:15:19.920 Okay, it's signed for Talking Tech. 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:22.720 And in the news, soft Bank is weighing a potential 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:26.120 investment in one of Europe's hottest AI companies, Mistral. The 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:29.400 Japanese tech giant has expressed interest in backing the French 0:15:29.480 --> 0:15:33.440 artificial intelligence startup the next time that it raises funds. 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:37.080 According to sources, any deal can potentially value Mistral and 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:38.640 more than two billion. 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:39.680 US dollars plus. 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:43.080 Fintech giant Klana will begin allowing users in the UK 0:15:43.560 --> 0:15:47.000 to make payments directly from their bank accounts in an 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:50.360 effort to reduce its reliance on both Visa and MasterCard. Initially, 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.240 the move will help Clana cut costs, and longer term 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:56.360 the product will help it create a stronger alternative to 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:59.760 the payment giants networks and finding. Amazon has pledged to 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:04.440 make fixes to its advertising operation after mistakenly charging online 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:08.880 merchants to promote product shoppers actually couldn't purchase. The problem 0:16:09.000 --> 0:16:11.360 came to light when a seller discovered he was being 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:15.800 charged thousands of dollars to advertised merchandise in California, even 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:19.120 though he'd stopped selling those products there. After Bloomberg described 0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:22.080 the small business owners experience, the company acknowledged that he 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:25.760 and other sellers paid for missdirected advertisements, and it was 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:27.800 working to fix the problem. 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:31.000 Caroline, let's go to a key name to be watching 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:32.560 today's shares of automation. 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:34.760 Software company UiPath. They're actually trading a bit lower. 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.520 That's after its first quarter revenue outlook seemed. 0:16:37.200 --> 0:16:39.000 To come a little bit short of some expectations on 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:39.400 the street. 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:42.040 But that said, the company reported fourth quarter results they 0:16:42.160 --> 0:16:45.400 really beat those expectations and it's received several analyst upgrades 0:16:45.400 --> 0:16:47.320 on the back of the results. So let's dig into 0:16:47.840 --> 0:16:50.280 where we're likely to see some transparency going forward now 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:53.160 than the CFO of UiPath, Asheene Gutter, it was great 0:16:53.160 --> 0:16:54.680 to have you here, and Sheen, thank you for joining. 0:16:54.720 --> 0:16:55.880 Thanks for having me Caroline. 0:16:55.960 --> 0:16:58.360 So let's just first of all tackle some of the 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:02.400 forecast and dip in net retention rates soft subscription sales 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:05.240 is what BlueBag Intelligence calls out, JP Morgan saying. 0:17:05.040 --> 0:17:06.080 Look, maybe there's some. 0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:09.040 Macro pressures here that still need to be reworked repositioning. 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:12.000 When can we get clarity on how that macro pressure 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:12.360 is coming. 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:15.040 Yeah, Look, I think we've talked about the macro environment 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:18.000 being relatively stable in the sense that it continues to 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:21.120 be variable. We have different pockets that have strength. Our 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:24.439 enterprise businessing is incredibly strong. If you look at our 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:27.439 customers growing greater than a million dollars. They're up thirty 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:29.800 one percent in the fourth quarter, and we look at 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:31.480 that as a real sign of strength in terms of 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.200 enterprise spending. That said, the lower end of the market 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:37.760 that's where we see volatility, and so overall we look 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:40.919 at a very positive environment for AI and automation and 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:44.040 the transformative effects of our platform. That's why we actually 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:47.000 raise total year estimates for the total for the coming 0:17:47.080 --> 0:17:49.639 year by close to thirty million dollars. 0:17:49.920 --> 0:17:52.200 Let's talk about convincing that lower end of the market 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:53.960 that this is the right investment at the right time 0:17:53.960 --> 0:17:57.200 despite those macro pressures. I mean, JP Morgan seeing meaningful 0:17:57.240 --> 0:18:00.840 reacceleration ar our growth and I'm sure because if the 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:04.679 AI promise and realization, what are you doing differently in 0:18:04.720 --> 0:18:05.880 your automation software? 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:07.200 Yeah, I think multiple things. 0:18:07.240 --> 0:18:09.919 One is, we've had several great product releases that are 0:18:09.920 --> 0:18:11.840 out there. If you look at the AI trends that 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:14.280 have been there, We've been actually investing for the last 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:18.240 five years. So things like Autopilot, which enables natural language 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:22.240 to allow developers to create automations faster, that's being released 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:24.399 that's going to go into production and being priced in 0:18:24.440 --> 0:18:26.879 the summertime for us. When you look at areas like 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:30.399 intelligent document processing, this isn't just seeing a document, this 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:34.159 is processing, understanding and processing the billions of documents that 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:38.080 exist in governments and enterprises. That is meaningfully scaling now 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.560 with our customers. So when we look at those trends, 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:43.080 when we look at the C level conversations that we're having, 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.400 they're no longer talking about digital transformation, They're talking about 0:18:46.440 --> 0:18:47.320 AI transformation. 0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:47.879 Right. 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:51.160 They need business automation platforms, and that's where we come 0:18:51.200 --> 0:18:52.040 in and that's where. 0:18:51.920 --> 0:18:55.400 We're valid It's in the last eighteen months has been 0:18:55.440 --> 0:19:00.320 about a romantic discussion around generative AI, in particular wreck 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:02.199 to consume a focused chatbots. 0:19:02.600 --> 0:19:03.439 But a lot of people I. 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:06.360 Speak to it now just coming to the honest reflection 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:09.639 that where AI is most present and useful is an 0:19:09.680 --> 0:19:12.600 automation you do large scale, end to end. But I 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:14.880 wonder if you've kind of feel like you got left 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:18.360 behind in all of the chat around AI when it's 0:19:18.400 --> 0:19:21.280 actually the tools you're working on that everyone's now saying, oh, 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:22.440 that's actually quite useful. 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:25.960 No, actually, it's the opposite. From my perspective, to be 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:27.800 candid with you, if you go back to February of 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:31.520 last year, there was discussions that said, hey, is UiPath, 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:34.679 you know, is it really an AI company? You fast forward, 0:19:35.160 --> 0:19:37.879 you know through last year we had thousands of customers, 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:41.520 tens of thousands really looking and understanding US sea level 0:19:41.560 --> 0:19:44.399 executives attending our AI summit. And when you look at 0:19:44.440 --> 0:19:47.400 analysts notes today, I think one of the analysts even 0:19:47.440 --> 0:19:51.240 say that UiPath is AI that works. So the romantic 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:55.080 notions of AI are great. We're excited about the macro trends. 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:57.880 We're investing not just for the next year, but what's 0:19:57.960 --> 0:19:59.800 possible over the next ten years. 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:01.439 But it's practical today. 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:04.800 And so when you look at our revenue AI and 0:20:04.840 --> 0:20:07.879 the areas that our platform can drive growth that is 0:20:07.920 --> 0:20:10.520 already taken route, it is practical right now. 0:20:11.119 --> 0:20:13.359 I've certainly been the beat of Kathy Wood on some 0:20:13.400 --> 0:20:16.160 other names in the AI space, ypath key one of them. 0:20:16.160 --> 0:20:18.040 CFO. Actually can't go to a great to some time 0:20:18.040 --> 0:20:18.959 with your post roundings. 0:20:20.880 --> 0:20:28.560 Thanks hi everyone the show here. 0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:31.320