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“Jordan Hoffmann: Bridging the Gap between Microsoft AI and London – A Hub of Talent and Innovation”

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Microsoft has announced a new London hub for its recently unveiled consumer AI division. It will be fronted by Jordan Hoffmann, an AI scientist and engineer Microsoft recently picked up from high-profile AI startup Inflection AI, which Microsoft invested in last year. The news comes some three weeks after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled a new consumer AI division headed up by Inflection AI’s founders, which include Mustafa Suleyman — co-founder of Deepmind, the AI company Google acquired in 2014. At the time, Nadella said that “several members of the Inflection team” also joined Microsoft’s new AI unit (Bloomberg reported that most actually joined). In a blog post today, Suleyman calls Hoffmann an “exceptional AI scientist and engineer,” and with Suleyman himself reporting directly to Nadella in the U.S., Hoffmann will take charge of the new London unit.

“Rebranded and Revamped: The Resilience of Lordstown Motors against Foxconn”

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A decade ago, both Fisker Automotive and Coda sold themselves off to other buyers in their Chapter 11 restructurings. Now known as Nu Ride Inc., the reconstituted version of Lordstown Motors will also pursue “potential business combinations,” though it did not say what kinds of mergers it is seeking. It sold the former General Motors factory it once owned to Foxconn; the assets related to its electric pickup truck were snapped up by Lordstown founder Steve Burns. Lordstown Motors sued Foxconn in June 2023 when it initially filed for bankruptcy protection. Lordstown’s lawsuit has more or less been on hold while the Chapter 11 proceedings played out.