Outtake, an AI‑driven cybersecurity startup that automates the detection and takedown of digital identity fraud, has closed a $40 million Series B round. The round was led by Iconiq’s Murali Joshi and featured angels including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora, Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, Anduril co‑founder Trae Stephens, former OpenAI VP Bob McGrew, Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch, and former AT&T CEO John Donovan. Founded in 2023 by former Palantir engineer Alex Dhillon, Outtake counts OpenAI, Pershing Square, AppLovin and federal agencies among its customers and reports rapid revenue and customer growth. Read more →

Brands are increasingly turning to AI‑generated video commercials because they are cheap, fast and endlessly adaptable. While marketers tout benefits such as perfect consistency and freedom from human error, viewers often react with suspicion, describing the synthetic spokespeople as uncanny and untrustworthy. The tension between efficiency and authenticity is prompting a debate over how AI should support, rather than replace, human storytelling in advertising. Read more →

Vodafone is experimenting with an AI-generated character that appears as a German‑speaking woman in a red hoodie to promote its high‑speed home internet services. The AI figure has been featured in multiple TikTok videos posted on the company’s official account, collectively drawing over  2 million views, and the clips have also run as ads on X. Vodafone says the test is part of broader advertising experiments, emphasizing the growing role of AI in everyday marketing. Industry observers note that such AI spokespeople raise questions about transparency, brand safety and consumer trust. Read more →

Vodafone is experimenting with an AI-generated character that appears as a German‑speaking woman in a red hoodie to promote its high‑speed home internet services. The AI figure has been featured in multiple TikTok videos posted on the company’s official account, collectively drawing over  2 million views, and the clips have also run as ads on X. Vodafone says the test is part of broader advertising experiments, emphasizing the growing role of AI in everyday marketing. Industry observers note that such AI spokespeople raise questions about transparency, brand safety and consumer trust. Read more →

Vodafone is experimenting with an AI-generated character that appears as a German‑speaking woman in a red hoodie to promote its high‑speed home internet services. The AI figure has been featured in multiple TikTok videos posted on the company’s official account, collectively drawing over  2 million views, and the clips have also run as ads on X. Vodafone says the test is part of broader advertising experiments, emphasizing the growing role of AI in everyday marketing. Industry observers note that such AI spokespeople raise questions about transparency, brand safety and consumer trust. Read more →

Vodafone is experimenting with an AI-generated character that appears as a German‑speaking woman in a red hoodie to promote its high‑speed home internet services. The AI figure has been featured in multiple TikTok videos posted on the company’s official account, collectively drawing over  2 million views, and the clips have also run as ads on X. Vodafone says the test is part of broader advertising experiments, emphasizing the growing role of AI in everyday marketing. Industry observers note that such AI spokespeople raise questions about transparency, brand safety and consumer trust. Read more →

Vodafone is experimenting with an AI-generated character that appears as a German‑speaking woman in a red hoodie to promote its high‑speed home internet services. The AI figure has been featured in multiple TikTok videos posted on the company’s official account, collectively drawing over  2 million views, and the clips have also run as ads on X. Vodafone says the test is part of broader advertising experiments, emphasizing the growing role of AI in everyday marketing. Industry observers note that such AI spokespeople raise questions about transparency, brand safety and consumer trust. Read more →

Elon Musk disclosed that X will allow marketers to pay for their products and services to appear within answers generated by the Grok AI chatbot. The move follows Musk’s claim that Grok is now the most accurate AI and that advertising can help fund the expensive GPU infrastructure required to run it. Musk suggested that ads could be context‑specific, appearing when a user asks for a solution that matches the advertised offering. He also hinted at future features such as in‑app checkout and automated ad targeting, while acknowledging past concerns about brand safety on the platform. Read more →