Amazon Web Services expanded its partnership with enterprise application programming software firm SAP.
The collaboration is designed to make it easier for customers to adopt the RISE with SAP solution on AWS, according to a Wednesday (May 29) press release. The tie-up is also expected to enhance the performance and efficiency of SAP workloads running in the cloud and integrate generative artificial intelligence into an enterprise’s business-critical applications.
“AWS was the first cloud provider certified to support the SAP portfolio and today, thousands of enterprise companies run SAP solutions on AWS to get the most out of their mission-critical applications,” Matt Garman, incoming CEO at AWS, said in the release. “Now, AWS and SAP are making it faster and easier for companies to apply generative AI to their core business data to become more efficient, responsive and sustainable.”
The integration of generative AI models from Amazon Bedrock, such as the Anthropic Claude 3 model family and Amazon Titan, will let SAP customers access “high-performing” large language models and other foundation models to develop applications customized with their own data, per the release.
“With this integration, SAP customers may accelerate the adoption of generative AI and modernize key business processes built on SAP solutions,” the release said.
The innovations can be employed in “embedded use cases within RISE with SAP and the intelligent scenario lifecycle management functionality” as an integration component or side-by-side on SAP Business Technology Platform, according to the release.
SAP and AWS aim to expand the use of Bedrock capabilities in the generative AI hub for more embedded AI functionality within SAP’s portfolio of cloud solutions and applications across finance and product lifecycle management, the release said.
The announcement comes two weeks after Amazon named Garman CEO of AWS, replacing Adam Selipsky.
AWS is showing signs of a resurgence despite increased competition from services like Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Amazon’s latest earnings report showed the division’s sales climbing 17% year over year to $25 billion. Operating income increased to $9.4 billion, compared to $5.1 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
CEO Andy Jassy attributed the comeback to clients renewing their infrastructure modernization efforts and the rising appeal of AWS’ AI capabilities.
In his yearly letter to shareholders in April, Jassy reiterated Amazon’s commitment to enhancing the process for developers via the provision of foundational building blocks, known as primitives, through AWS.
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Massachusetts’ securities regulator is reportedly investigating Robinhood’s newly launched prediction-markets hub.
Secretary of State Bill Galvin told Reuters on Monday (March 24) that his office sent a subpoena to Robinhood seeking copies of the company’s marketing materials and information about how many of the company’s brokerage account users in the state have requested to trade college sports events contracts.
“This is just another gimmick from a company that’s very good at gimmicks to lure investors away from sound investing,” Galvin told Reuters, speaking of Robinhood’s prediction-markets hub.
The growing popularity of event contracts has drawn criticism from some who liken them to gambling, according to the report.
Galvin told Reuters, per the report, that he is concerned about linking an event that’s popular with young people to a brokerage account.
A Robinhood spokesperson said in a statement provided to Reuters that the events contracts it offers are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and offered through CFTC-registered entities.
“Prediction markets have become increasingly relevant for retail and institutional investors alike, and we’re proud to be one of the first platforms to offer these products to retail customers in a safe and regulated manner,” the statement said.
Robinhood announced March 17 that it added a prediction markets hub to its app, allowing users to trade on the outcomes of events.
The company said at the time in a press release that the first contracts, which started rolling out that day, covered what the upper bound of the target Fed funds rate would be in May and who would win the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments.
“We’re excited to offer our customers a new way to participate in the prediction markets and look forward to doing so in compliance with existing regulations,” JB Mackenzie, vice president and general manager of futures and international at Robinhood, said in the release.
In an earlier, separate case, Galvin said in January 2024 press release that Robinhood agreed to pay a $7.5 million fine and overhaul its digital engagement practices to settle a 2020 case he brought that accused the company of using gamification strategies to “attract and manipulate” customers.
The settlement also addressed issues having to do with a 2021 data breach, Galvin said in the Jan. 18, 2024, release.
