The biggest enterprise technology M&A deals of the year (so far)
Science & Technology

The biggest enterprise technology M&A deals of the year (so far)

Mergers and acquisitions across the technology industry are going strong in 2025, as private equity firms look for outlets for capital accumulated while uncertainties around the many national elections held in 2024 resolve. That’s the view of analysts at Wolters Kluwer’s CT Corporation. Other factors favoring an increase in deal-making in 2025, they say, include lower interest rates in the US and Europe, and a favorable regulatory environment. Despite the Trump administration’s bonfire of the regulators, some watchdogs still have teeth, though: One big deal from 2024, HPE’s $14 billion bid for Juniper Networks, which eventually closed in July, was halted by the US Department of Justice just a few days after Trump took office and didn’t clear that hurdle until the last days of June. While that deal ran into concerns about industry concentration, that’s not typically...
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FBI headquarters fight stymies spending bill in Senate
Science & Technology

FBI headquarters fight stymies spending bill in Senate

Plans for the Senate Appropriations Committee to approve a Justice Department funding bill collapsed on Thursday amid a Republican revolt over an amendment about where to put the new FBI headquarters. Senate appropriators scattered from the meeting with no clear path forward on how to approve the broader fiscal 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill, a measure that had bipartisan support before friction over the amendment tanked its chances of being approved this week. “Regrettably, I have to report that it was not possible in this amount of time to reach an agreement,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the head of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Democrats and Republicans fought on an amendment related to a Trump administration announcement changing the location of the new FBI headquarters from Greenbelt, Md., to...
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Meta reportedly closes deal to buy AI voice replicator PlayAI
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Meta reportedly closes deal to buy AI voice replicator PlayAI

Meta has finalized the agreement to purchase Play AI, a startup based in California providing users with an AI voice cloning tool, according to Bloomberg. The news organization says the "entire PlayAI team" is joining Meta next week, based on the internal memo it has seen. After joining the company, the team will be working under Johan Schalkwyk, who used to oversee speech AI research for Google and who was also a recent hire from another voice AI startup. PlayAI's tool can clone a user's voice and can generate new human-like voices, which can be used on websites, apps and phones. Meta reportedly noted in its memo that the PlayAI team's work is a "great match" for its own work and roadmap across various products, including Meta AI, its AI Characters and its wearables. The company...
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