Moderna Ebola Trial Tests a Vaccine Gap Exposed by Congo Outbreak

Moderna has begun the first human trial of its experimental vaccine against Bundibugyo virus disease at a moment when the Democratic Republic of Congo is facing one of the fastest-growing Ebola outbreaks ever recorded. The trial is significant because the strain driving the outbreak has no licensed vaccine specifically approved against it, leaving health authorities…

Alibaba’s Qwen Revenue Plan Tests the Economics of Open AI

Alibaba’s reported plan to seek revenue-sharing agreements from major commercial users of its next open-weight artificial intelligence model marks an important change in the economics of open AI. The company appears to be trying to preserve the rapid adoption created by freely available model weights while capturing part of the commercial value generated by businesses…

Airbnb’s AI Bet Turns Rising Costs Into a Growth Strategy

Airbnb’s decision to spend substantially more on artificial intelligence reflects a shift in the company’s technology strategy from experimentation to aggressive deployment. Chief Executive Brian Chesky has argued that the returns from artificial intelligence now outweigh the cost of running increasingly sophisticated systems, with the technology helping the company attract bookings, improve host tools, accelerate…