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Glean Reaches $7.2 Billion Valuation Amid AI Investment Surge

AI search startup Glean announced on Tuesday that it has reached a valuation of $7.2 billion following its latest funding round — the company’s third capital raise in under two years. This represents a valuation increase of nearly 57% since its previous round in September, where its value had already more than doubled in just over six months, highlighting continued strong investor demand for AI-driven companies.

The Palo Alto-based enterprise AI firm secured $150 million in this latest round, led by asset management firm Wellington Management. As public markets remain uncertain, many startups like Glean are choosing to remain private longer, raising significant late-stage funding. According to Michael Ashley Schulman, partner at Running Point Capital Advisors, “Founders avoid the volatility of public markets and employees receive secondary-market liquidity via structured rounds.”

Founded in 2019 by former Google search engineers, Glean has surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue in its last fiscal year. The company develops AI-powered search tools and large language models that provide businesses with personalized query responses, aiming to optimize enterprise productivity and internal information management.

Glean’s 72x valuation multiple on revenue is considered aggressive, but Schulman noted that investors are receiving “early access to a franchise,” particularly given that the company is currently cash-flow positive.

Earlier this year, Glean introduced its Glean Agents platform, which enables businesses to automate various operations through AI. The company expects the platform to facilitate 1 billion agent actions by the end of 2025. Industry leaders have pointed to AI-based agents as one of the most transformative applications of artificial intelligence. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has also highlighted how AI agents could disrupt the long-dominant software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model.

The AI sector continues to attract robust global investment as enterprises and governments pursue artificial intelligence for diverse use cases such as drug discovery, infrastructure management, and productivity enhancement.

Microsoft Launches Magnetic-UI, an Open-Source Agentic Web Interface for Performing Online Tasks

Microsoft Unveils Magentic-UI, an Open-Source Agentic Web Interface for Task Automation

Microsoft introduced a new agentic web interface called Magentic-UI during its Build 2025 conference on Monday. This innovative tool is designed as a “human-centred web agent” that collaborates closely with users to accomplish complex tasks online. Unlike typical autonomous agents, Magentic-UI provides full transparency by displaying the actions it takes in a dedicated side panel, allowing users to track progress in real time. As part of Microsoft’s commitment to openness, the tool is available as open-source software on GitHub and hosted on the Azure AI Foundry Labs platform.

Magentic-UI represents Microsoft’s first foray into a computer-use agent capable of navigating the web and performing intricate activities. In a detailed blog post, the company explained that the system functions as a network of specialized AI agents working together—similar in concept to OpenAI’s Operator or Anthropic’s Computer Use agents. These agents operate within a virtual machine environment, enabling them to browse websites, interact with web apps, and execute tasks such as booking restaurant reservations or making online purchases.

A standout feature of Magentic-UI is its “human-centric” design philosophy. Users can intervene at any time to adjust the AI’s plan, pause its actions, provide natural language feedback, or even take manual control of the web browser. Before executing any irreversible actions—like placing orders or adding items to a shopping cart—the system prompts the user for explicit approval, offering the option to modify commands. Additionally, the AI can learn from past interactions, using that knowledge to improve the efficiency and accuracy of future tasks.

Under the hood, Magentic-UI is powered by Microsoft’s Magentic-One agentic system, which orchestrates the collaboration of four distinct AI agents. The lead Orchestrator agent coordinates the overall task planning and communicates directly with the user to incorporate feedback. The WebSurfer agent controls a web browser, enabling it to perform clicks, typing, scrolling, and multi-step navigation required to complete assigned tasks. Together, these agents form a powerful, transparent, and adaptive tool designed to revolutionize how users interact with web-based environments.

Intuit Lifts Forecasts on Strong Tax Season and AI Momentum

Intuit raised its fourth-quarter and full-year guidance after strong demand during the U.S. tax season and growing interest in its AI-powered financial tools, sending shares up over 8% in extended trading.

The company, known for TurboTax, Credit Karma, and QuickBooks, saw a 15% year-over-year increase in third-quarter revenue to $7.75 billion, beating analysts’ estimates. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose to $11.65, also topping consensus expectations of $10.91.

AI Push and Product Revamp

Intuit is preparing to launch a suite of AI agents designed to act on behalf of users, with deployment in the QuickBooks portfolio planned in the coming weeks. CFO Sandeep Aujla confirmed a revamped product lineup featuring AI agents such as “accounting” or “finance” specialists, which users will be able to purchase as add-ons to their standard plans.

“There’s going to be a new lineup, and as part of that, we will have price changes,” Aujla told Reuters.

Q4 and Annual Outlook Raised

  • Q4 Revenue Forecast: $3.72B–$3.76B (vs. $3.51B estimate)

  • Q4 Adjusted EPS: $2.63–$2.68 (vs. $2.59 estimate)

  • Full-Year Revenue Growth: ~15% (up from 12–13%)

Intuit now expects stronger growth driven by product innovation and the expansion of AI-driven tools across its offerings.

TurboTax Trends

TurboTax performance saw a strategic shift this year:

  • Paying TurboTax Online Units: Expected to rise 6%

  • Free Filings: Expected to fall by 2 million to 8 million users, as Intuit shifted focus to paid and assisted options

This reflects Intuit’s strategy to monetize more of its user base while maintaining leadership in the tax prep market.