Our eyes were on Google Cloud Next last week, as the hyperscaler announced new ARM chips, lots of partnerships, and of course wall-to-wall AI. Google’s Vertex AI Agent Builder allows no-code deployment of agents, Google Vids targets video editing, and the search giant is leaning into Retrieval-Augmented Generation or RAG.
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0:40 – BREAKING: The Futurum Group Acquires Techstrong Group
We have some breaking news about our own company this morning! The Futurum Group just announced that it is acquiring Techstrong Group, producers of Techstrong TV, DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, and more. We expect that Gestalt IT will become part of their tech media offerings, expanding our reach and viewership! Want to catch the Rundown on your smart TV or see us live at an event? It sounds like it’s going to happen!
Read More: Exclusive: The Futurum Group to acquire TechStrong
2:23 – Commvault Acquires Appranix
Commvault is enhancing its capabilities in cloud resiliency by acquiring Appranix, a startup specializing in cloud application recovery. Founded in 2016 by Govind Rangasamy and based in Boston, Appranix software quickly restores applications disrupted by outages or cyberattacks, leveraging cloud storage and advanced services. With this acquisition, Commvault aims to merge its risk management and recovery tools with Appranix’s cloud-native rebuild technologies, broadening its offerings to include both data and application resiliency.
Read More: Commvault acquires Appranix for recovery automation
4:53 – IBM Invests in $150 Million Fundin Round for Cohesity
Cohesity has closed their lastest funding round, Series F, which was led by IBM. The round totalled $150 million and included other investors like Nvidia. This brings Cohesity’s total funding to $850 million. This comes after the blockbuster news that Cohesity was acquiring the data protection side of Veritas. IBM has partnered with Cohesity on the cyber resilience platform, integrating CyberDefender into IBM Storage Defender.
Read More: IBM Invests in Cohesity for Series F Financing of $150 Million
7:20 – Meta Introduces New Chips for AI Hyperscalers
Meta is ready to build their next big chip. A year after the announcement of the Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA), the parent company of Facebook said they are nearing completion of the successor. The chip doubles the compute and memory bandwidth of the first version and is set to power models that drive ranking and recommendations on the various platforms under Meta’s dominion.
Read More: Meta’s new silicon shows a growing trend for AI hyperscalers
10:08 – Zscaler Acquiring Airgap
Zscaler is continuing to build out their zero trust offerings with news they are acquiring AirGap. The startup, founded in 2019, uses an agentless architecture to isolate devices and apply polices based on context and identity. AirGap is reported to be integrated into the Zscaler SD-WAN solution. Terms of the deal were not announced but AirGap did have a Series A funding round in 2022 valued at $13 million. This is the second acquisition from Zscaler this year.
Read More: Zscaler To Acquire Network Segmentation Startup Airgap
12:51 – SK hynix Gets Packaging and Samsung Gets Their Share
SK hynix recently announced plans to construct an advanced memory packaging facility in West Lafayette, Indiana. Valued at $3.87 billion, this is the first packaging facility in the United States for the memory giant, and is expected to be up and running in 2028. In another story, Samsung is set to receive their own CHIPS Act funding, supporting advanced chip manufacturing in Texas. With up to $6.4 billion in funding, this matches TSMC but trails behind Intel in government manufacturing support.
Read More: SK hynix to Build $3.87 Billion Memory Packaging Fab in the U.S. for HBM4 and Beyond
Read More: Samsung electronics to receive up to $6.4 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act
17:13 – VMware’s Perpetual License Support Extended
The ongoing saga of VMware and Broadcom has a new aspect this week. After months of informing customers that VMware licensing was too complex and not well integrated, which meant big changes toward subscription licensing, Hock Tan has offered a new option. VMware by Broadcom has announced they will be offering support extensions to some customers that came up for renewal during the changeover and are having issues adjusting to the subscription model. Also of note is that VMware announced they will be offering zero-day security patches for supported versions of vSphere even if support contacts have lapsed. The announcement from the company comes on the same day that European anti-trust regulators are reportedly asking questions about the new licensing model.
Read More: Broadcom throws VMware customers on perpetual licenses a lifeline
21:32 – Google Cloud Next
Our eyes were on Google Cloud Next last week, as the hyperscaler announced new ARM chips, lots of partnerships, and of course wall-to-wall AI. Google’s Vertex AI Agent Builder allows no-code deployment of agents, Google Vids targets video editing, and the search giant is leaning into Retrieval-Augmented Generation or RAG.
Dynatrace and Google Cloud have announced a go-to-market partnership to bring advanced AI analytics and automation to enterprise customers. The companies claim they will accelerate digital transformation by integrating cutting-edge AI capabilities into cloud-native environments, streamlining operations and enhancing organizational agility. The partnership is all about cloud-based observability and security, a topic we’re hearing a lot about these days.
Dynatrace and Google Cloud have announced a go-to-market partnership to bring advanced AI analytics and automation to enterprise customers. The companies claim they will accelerate digital transformation by integrating cutting-edge AI capabilities into cloud-native environments, streamlining operations and enhancing organizational agility. The partnership is all about cloud-based observability and security, a topic we’re hearing a lot about these days.
Read More on The Futurum Group: Google Cloud Next: My Four Key Takeaways by Keith Kirkpatrick
Read More: Google unveils custom Arm-based chips, following similar efforts at rivals Amazon and Microsoft
Read More: Introducing Google Axion Processors, our new Arm-based CPUs
Read More: Dynatrace and Google Cloud Unite for AI Analytics and Automation
33:25 – The Weeks Ahead
Mobile Field Day 11 – May 15 – 16
AppDev Field Day 1 – May 29 – 30
The Six Five Summit – June 11 – 13
Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day are now part of The Futurum Group.
The Gestalt IT Rundown is your look at the IT news of the week. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.
