Microsoft (MSFT) is taking the fight to Salesforce (CRM) by launching a new set of artificial intelligence tools for sending emails, managing records and doing other repetitive tasks. The software giant says it will launch ten autonomous agents that can complete sales, customer support and accounting tasks.
Microsoft vs. Salesforce
The AI tools that Microsoft is launching are more like smartphone apps that can act autonomously and others with a worker. They are designed to complete tasks like researching and sorting sales leads and updating customer tickets. The new AI-powered tools should be available starting in December and early next year.
The unveiling of the new AI tools comes against the backdrop of Microsoft investing billions of dollars in OpenAI. The collaboration has enabled the software giant to infuse various software with generative AI, generating text and images and displaying them with humanlike reasoning. The new tools come on the software giant confirmed one of its artificial intelligence presidents, Sebastien Bubeck, is leaving to join OpenAI.
Microsoft has been concentrating on AI features that need user input since early 2023. One notable example is Copilot, which the company has integrated into Word, Outlook, and other products. With the launch, Microsoft has set sights on Salesforce, which launched agents that can handle tasks like customer service without human supervision. Agentforce is Salesforce’s new AI-powered agent that will be available for about $2.
Perplexity $500M Raise
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI Inc. has set sights on Google by developing a search product. The startup is in early discussions to raise $500 million from investors at a roughly $9 billion valuation. The company’s prior value of $3 billion from a funding round earlier this year could be tripled by the new valuation, which considers the amount it would raise.
In addition to the free and paid versions of its search tool, Perplexity provides a number of other services. In addition to introducing new features for searches related to finance, such as stock prices and company earnings data, it recently launched a product that enables organizations to search internal files in addition to the internet.
Blackwell Chip Production
Production of Nvidia’s (NVDA) advanced artificial intelligence chip Blackwell is on track. Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL), one of the most prominent vendors of server computers, will start shipping devices with the new chip that has faced production challenges in recent months.
According to Arthur Lewis, president of Dell’s infrastructure unit, AI-focused servers with Blackwell chips will be shipped to a select group of customers next month and made widely available at the start of 2025. The industry and investors have been closely monitoring the introduction of Nvidia’s most recent generation of cutting-edge semiconductors, which are preferred for AI.
Engineering issues caused the chip production to be delayed earlier this year. In August, Colette Kress, the Chief Financial Officer of Nvidia, stated that the company had changed to increase the Blackwell chip’s production yields and that the manufacturing pace was on schedule.
Dell’s primary goal is to grow its business by offering powerful servers for artificial intelligence applications. The company has debuted a new range of servers and other infrastructure items as it looks for opportunities amid the artificial intelligence frenzy.
