Salesforce has signed a definitive agreement to acquire m3ter, a London-based metering and rating platform built for consumption-based billing. The deal will integrate m3ter’s infrastructure natively into Agentforce Revenue Management, giving Salesforce customers the ability to launch, track, and bill usage-based and outcome-based pricing models without leaving the platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition reflects a structural shift in how software companies charge for their products. Traditional per-seat subscriptions made sense when humans were the primary users, but AI agents that perform work autonomously create a billing problem: if one agent replaces ten employees, selling ten licences no longer works. Salesforce itself has been navigating this tension, moving Agentforce to a consumption model built on Flex Credits where each agent action costs roughly $0.10.

m3ter was founded in 2020 by Griffin Parry and John Griffin, who previously co-founded GameSparks, a cloud services company acquired by Amazon in 2017. The pair spent three years at AWS after the acquisition, where they saw first-hand how Amazon’s usage-based billing infrastructure worked at scale. They left to build m3ter as a standalone metering layer that could sit between a product and its billing system.

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The platform ingests product usage data in near real time, applies configurable pricing rules, and outputs billable charges to whatever CRM, ERP, or invoicing system a company uses. m3ter raised $17.5 million in seed funding from Union Square Ventures, Insight Partners, and Kindred Capital in 2022, followed by a $14 million Series A led by Notion Capital in 2023. Its customers include Paddle, Onfido, and Sift.

“We founded m3ter to solve the hardest problems in usage-based pricing,” Parry said. “Joining Salesforce allows us to bring our high-scale mediation and rating capabilities to the world’s largest enterprise install base.” The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of Salesforce’s fiscal year 2027, subject to customary closing conditions.

m3ter is the latest in a series of acquisitions Salesforce has made to assemble the infrastructure for its AI agent strategy. The company acquired Contentful earlier this month for a native content layer, completed an $8 billion deal for Informatica in late 2025 for data integration, and bought Momentum, Qualified, and Cimulate for conversation intelligence, AI sales engagement, and digital experience simulation respectively.

The pattern is clear: Salesforce is buying the components it needs to make Agentforce a complete platform rather than a feature bolted onto its existing CRM. m3ter fills the monetisation gap, the infrastructure required to actually charge customers for what AI agents do. Without native metering, enterprises running consumption-based models have to stitch together third-party billing tools or build custom integrations, a problem that becomes harder as pricing models grow more complex.

Whether this translates into revenue growth is the question investors are watching. Salesforce reported $11.13 billion in revenue for fiscal Q1 2027, up 13% year on year, and Agentforce reached $1.2 billion in annual recurring revenue. The stock fell roughly 1.7% on the day of the m3ter announcement, sitting closer to its 52-week low of $163.52 than its high of $276.80.

Investors want proof that consumption-based AI revenue can scale fast enough to offset the structural threat to seat-based licensing. A billing infrastructure acquisition is a bet on plumbing rather than a growth catalyst, and the market priced it accordingly.

For m3ter, the outcome is a fast exit for a company that raised just $31.5 million in total funding. For Salesforce, it is another piece in a stack that now spans data (Informatica), content (Contentful), agents (Agentforce), and billing (m3ter). The question is whether enterprises will consolidate on that stack or continue assembling their own from best-of-breed vendors, a choice that the shift to consumption pricing makes more consequential with every agent deployed.

As part of the all-cash deal, Kneat will become a privately held company when the transaction is completed.

Kneat Solutions, a Limerick-founded software company that is listed in Toronto, Canada, has entered into a definitive agreement with US private equity group Thoma Bravo that will see the organisation acquired for C$650m.  

Established in 2007 by co-founders Eddie Ryan, Brian Ahearne and Kevin Fitzgerald, Kneat is an enterprise software company that develops digital validation platforms for use in highly regulated industries such as the life sciences and healthcare spaces. The organisation has a presence in Toronto, Limerick and Pennsylvania, US. 

As laid out in the takeover conditions, holders of the outstanding shares at Kneat will receive C$6.50 per share, representing a premium of approximately 40pc to the closing price for the shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange in early May and 20pc to the closing price in early June. Once finalised, Kneat will operate as a privately held company. 

According to Kneat, following the closure of the all-cash transaction, Thoma Bravo intends to accelerate Kneat’s goal of enabling regulated companies to be confident in the development, manufacturing and delivery of safe and high-quality products.

“We are thrilled to partner with Thoma Bravo, who we are confident will help us accelerate our mission and our position as the leader in digital validation and quality process automation for life sciences at an exciting time for the industry,” said Ryan, who is also CEO of Kneat. 

“As we begin to leverage our critical position in validation to enable customers to expand their use of our platform to adjacent areas, having the sector expertise, strategic alignment and resources of Thoma Bravo behind us will be a powerful catalyst.”

Adam Solomon, a partner at Thoma Bravo, said: “In today’s increasingly complex regulatory environment, more customers are looking to Kneat to provide them with greater control, efficiency and real-time visibility across mission-critical compliance workflows. We are confident we can apply our operational expertise and deep experience working with market-leading software companies to accelerate Kneat’s growth.”

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Emad Dlala, a top executive at EV-maker Lucid Motors, has left the company just months after being promoted to a leading role, TechCrunch has learned.

Dlala’s exit is the first major executive departure since Lucid Motors selected Silvio Napoli as its new CEO in April. Napoli joined Lucid after spending a career in various leadership positions at escalator and elevator company Schindler Group. He formally started in the CEO role just last week.

In a statment to TechCrunch, Lucid Motors confirmed Dlala’s departure and said the company is “transforming its organization to accelerate innovation and strengthen execution under CEO Silvio Napoli.”

As part of that transformation, Lucid Motors said that Vivek Attaluri, the company’s vice president of vehicle engineering, and Marc Solsona Palomar, its vice president of software, will now report directly to Napoli. 

“Emad Dlala has elected to leave the company to pursue other opportunities. We thank Emad for his many contributions over the years and wish him continued success in his future endeavors. Lucid remains focused on streamlining our organization and processes to fully leverage the strength of our team and will communicate further actions soon,” the company said in a statement.

Dlala declined to comment.

Dlala had been with Lucid Motors for more than a decade, making him one of the company’s longest-serving employees and executives. Over the last five years, he was both Lucid Motors’ vice president and senior vice president of the company’s powertrain team.

In November, he was elevated to a role overseeing all of “Engineering and Digital” at the same time that Lucid Motors parted ways with its long-time chief engineer Eric Bach. Bach has since sued Lucid Motors for wrongful termination — though that lawsuit was recently stayed pending arbitration, according to federal court records.

The company have been in flux in the months since. Lucid Motors laid off 12% of its workforce in February, as TechCrunch first reported. It then completed its search for a new CEO after spending a year trying to replace Peter Rawlinson, who suddenly departed in early 2025.

The departure of Dlala comes just a few months ahead of the launch of Lucid Motors’ first mass-market vehicle built on its mid-sized platform, called Cosmos. This EV is supposed to start below $50,000 and finally give the Saudi-owned company a chance at delivering a more affordable, widely-adopted car.

This next-generation EV is also now a cornerstone of Lucid’s deal to provide robotaxis to Uber. Lucid Motors has agreed to develop robotaxis with autonomous vehicle company Nuro, starting with its Gravity SUV. The self-driving Gravity is supposed to hit the road in San Francisco by the end of this year.

Why we like it: Dr. Christopher Tolmie, DDS, MBA, of PDS Health, recommends this whitening toothpaste, saying, “Instead of peroxide, it uses nano‑hydroxyapatite, the same calcium‑phosphate crystal your enamel is made of, to lift surface stains. Healthier enamel means fewer bacterial highways into the rest of your body.”

Tolmie also cites a 2021 randomized clinical trial that found that 10 % hydroxyapatite protects against cavities as well as fluoride. “It polishes stains while filling micro‑cracks, smoothing, whitening and reducing sensitivity,” adds Tolmie. “Expect a gentle 1-2‑shade lift in 2-4 weeks, versus a 3-8-shade jump in a single professional visit.”

Dr. Yenile Pinto, DDS, founder of Deering Dental, also recommends this toothpaste for stronger, healthier enamel. “It strikes a great balance between cosmetic whitening and true functional benefit,” she says.

“To me, the ideal whitening toothpaste helps remineralize enamel, balance pH and support your oral microbiome,” Pinto explains. “Nano-hydroxyapatite does just that, and as it rebuilds the tooth’s surface, it naturally reduces transparency and helps teeth appear whiter without irritation or long-term damage. By smoothing and strengthening the outer layer, it also increases the tooth’s ability to reflect light, making your smile appear not only whiter, but more brilliant and vibrant.”

Who is it best for: This toothpaste is best for “clean‑label and fluoride‑averse seekers, kids, pregnant patients or anyone wanting everyday whitening without the high sensitivity side effect risk,” states Tolmie.

Pinto also recommends this toothpaste to patients with mild sensitivity, early enamel erosion or a history of cavities.

Who should not get it: Tolmie doesn’t recommend this whitening toothpaste to heavy smokers, people with tetracycline stains or those who want a fast multi‑shade change. For patients who want the latter, he states that they will need custom trays or in‑office bleaching.

“I don’t recommend using whitening toothpastes or even gentler ones every single day long-term,” adds Pinto. “Most contain a slight abrasive (often hydrated silica or baking soda), which is generally safe in moderation but can wear enamel over time if overused.”

Enforcement of Europe’s Digital Markets Act means Apple can’t launch the system safely within the EU, the company said.

Apple’s new AI interface ‘Siri AI’ will not be available to EU users of its phones, tablets and smart watches when the company launches its new operating systems for the devices later this year.

The company said that due to restrictions set out and enforceable by Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), it could not safely integrate Siri AI into iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and watchOS 27 running on European iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches.

Apple said that solutions for a compliant integration of Siri AI for European users – which could also support other, rival virtual assistants in a safe manner – that it proposed to the EU over “the past several months” had not been accepted.

“We’re deeply disappointed that our EU users won’t have Siri AI on iPhone or iPad when we share our new software releases later this year,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice-president of software engineering.

“Our hope is to eventually bring Siri AI to the EU, and we will continue to engage with EU regulators on a path forward. However, their refusal to engage constructively on solutions that preserve privacy and security means we do not currently have a timeline for Siri AI’s availability on iOS and iPadOS in the EU.”

The disagreement centres on what Apple said is Europe’s “extreme interpretation of the DMA” that would require the company to give any rival virtual assistant “direct access to users’ private data – and the ability to directly control other installed applications – as soon as Siri AI is made available in the EU, without the essential protections necessary to keep users and their data safe”.

Apple demonstrated the newly redesigned AI interface at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference yesterday (8 June), but said “clear dangers to EU users” and “regulators’ failure to acknowledge these risks” would lock out its availability in the bloc.

The company said, however, that EU users of its computers and mixed reality headsets will be able to access Siri AI on macOS 27 and visionOS 27, respectively.

Forrester vice-president and principal analyst Dipanjan Chatterjee described the new, updated AI integration as “a far more capable, context-aware, conversational assistant”, but said its success would “hinge on delivering the new Siri experience quickly, and ensuring it works as promised for iPhone users at scale”.

Apple has previously advocated that the EU get rid of the DMA, claiming that the antitrust legislation is “forcing” the company to make “concerning changes” to how it delivers its services to European users.

Passed in 2022, the DMA aims to crack down on anticompetitive behaviour from Big Tech companies and level the online digital market space.

Last summer, Apple changed its App Store policies for EU users in an effort to comply with the DMA.

In April, the company announced plans for a leadership transition from Tim Cook to John Ternus, shortly before reporting its “best March quarter ever” with revenue of $111.2bn.

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If you are an American of a certain age, you know the Soviet Union launched the first satellite, Sputnik, beating the United States to orbit. You might even remember ham radio operators tuning into the satellites beeping. But you probably haven’t heard much about the team that built the vehicle, the problems they had, or the clever design choices they made. [Hoog] has a video that details the birth of Sputnik. You can see the video below.

The original plan was to launch a massive space lab, but it proved too ambitious. Keep in mind that in the late 1950s, you didn’t have tiny computers, high-density power sources, or advanced materials, and no one really knew what to expect in the Earth orbit environment. Even the viability of radio from the ground to orbit wasn’t a given. But Sputnik’s 1-watt transmitter did the job.

The event was part of the International Geophysical Year, but despite the agreement of international cooperation, the backdrop of the Cold War made politicians in the United States incite fear among Americans that the “Reds” were able to fly something over the United States both undetected and unopposed. Secretly, the US was pleased, as it wanted to fly spy satellites over the USSR, and this paved the way, since it could hardly complain if the US did the same thing the Soviets had already done.

The whole thing started the space race, which eventually led to the moon landings. It seems impossible that Sputnik was only 69 years ago. That means 70 years ago, there were no manmade satellites orbiting the Earth.

Watching the video, we’d hoped for more details about the internals but there just wasn’t time. However, we’ve covered that before (the main link is dead, but the detail links are still very interesting). The IGY was, for the most part, a great international cooperation, although few of its accomplishments are as memorable as Sputnik.

Google just made its budget AI subscription plan a lot more budget-friendly, bringing a price war that’s been brewing in emerging markets squarely to American consumers.

The company announced Monday that it is cutting the monthly price of Google AI Plus from $7.99 to $4.99 — while doubling the storage included at that tier, from 200 gigabytes to 400 gigabytes.

Vikas Kansal, product lead for Gemini AI subscriptions, said on X that the storage updates would roll out to users over the next several days.

Google AI Plus launched in January as the most affordable paid AI subscription in the U.S. market, aimed at individual users and students rather than enterprise customers. Apparently that wasn’t cheap enough.

It includes a decent feature set, too, including video generation via Omni Flash; the creative studio Google Flow; and NotebookLM, Google’s AI research assistant. For heavier users, Google also offers AI Pro and AI Ultra at higher price points and usage limits.

The price cut is worth indexing on for reasons beyond Google’s own product roadmap. Subscription pricing hasn’t yet been a key battleground among AI providers in the U.S. But that’s changing in real time, suggests Chi-Hua Chien, co-founder and managing partner at consumer-focused venture firm Goodwater Capital; he sees Monday’s announcement as the next salvo in the commoditization era for AI infrastructure, pointing to Google’s structural advantages — vertical integration, distribution, the ability to bundle — as precisely the kind of force that’s likely to erode margins for purer-play AI providers over time.

The historical parallel he reaches for is instructive. “If you look at the web era, the infrastructure companies were Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Northern Telecom, Lucent, Akamai, Equinix,” he told TechCrunch. “A lot of those companies survived for a period of time but aren’t worth a lot today.” The reason, he said, is that during every big tech shift — from PC to web to mobile — the infrastructure players “get commoditized very aggressively because the end customer doesn’t think, ‘Ooh, are my bits moving on Cisco networking equipment?’ They’re just thinking, ‘How do I move my bits as cheaply as possible?’”

It’s not news that this was coming — foundation model companies have always known that raw AI capability would eventually become a commodity, and that applications and distribution would be what separates winners from also-rans. What Chien is saying is that “eventually” is coming sooner than later.

“My prediction for a lot of these infrastructure companies — and when I say infrastructure, I mean an OpenAI or an Anthropic, or the backend components, energy, chips, hosting — there will be a period of time when these companies are valuable,” he said. “But over time, you will see them get increasingly commoditized.”

It’s certainly something that a bigger pool of investors will be pondering soon. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have filed confidentially to go public, and their ability to command premium valuations may soon be tested by exactly the kind of price competition Chien is describing.

That competition has been building for nearly a year in markets like India, one of the fastest-growing AI user bases in the world. OpenAI drew first blood there in August of last year, launching ChatGPT Go at roughly $4.60 a month — a fraction of its standard $20 Plus plan. Google followed in December with a sub-$5 AI Plus plan of its own for Indian users.

Monday’s announcement suggests the same logic that drove those emerging-market moves — undercut, bundle, and capture users before rivals do — has now crossed over to the U.S. market.

Anthropic, notably, hasn’t followed. Unlike OpenAI and Google, it has yet to introduce localized pricing for India or a budget tier anywhere, a move that may become harder to avoid as its rivals keep slashing prices.

China’s core AI industry – which boasts more than 6,200 companies – was valued at nearly $174bn in 2025.

China is planning to spend around $295bn – or 2trn yuan – over the next five years to build data centres across the country, Bloomberg has reported, citing sources close to the matter.

The build-out could represent China’s most aggressive plan yet to secure the future of its AI industry, the publication reported.

The idea is for a resilient Chinese AI industry with an interconnected data centre network and a reduced reliance on foreign technology from companies such as Nvidia and AMD. China also plans to integrate its power grid with the project, the sources said.

The funds set aside for the project, however, pale in comparison to the likes of Meta, which has a planned capital expenditure of as much as $145bn for this year alone, or Alphabet, which has set aside up to $190bn for 2026. Much of this spending has been earmarked for AI or compute-related investments.

The government spend, though, doesn’t account for private AI investment in China, which amounted to around $12.4bn in 2025.

Recent reports suggested that Chinese AI darling DeepSeek is nearing a $7.4bn raise backed by the likes of Tencent, Contemporary Amperex and the $8bn, state-backed National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund.

Meanwhile, Alibaba led a $293m funding round into ShengShu Technology, a Beijing-based start-up behind the Vidu AI video-generation tool.

China’s core AI industry – which boasts more than 6,200 companies – was valued at nearly $174bn in 2025, according to a government statement from March, while the market research firm International Data Corporation placed the Chinese AI market at some $63bn at the end of 2025, with estimates expecting it to cross the $200bn mark by 2029.

Bloomberg also reported that key Chinese state agencies, including the National Development and Reform Commission, are in early discussions to create a blueprint for a network of interconnected computing hubs across the country. Details of the early-stage discussions could change, the sources added.

The funds are reportedly expected to materialise via sovereign debt, including long-term government bonds and state funds meant for investment in strategic industries, as well as bank loans and private capital.

The plan forms a key part of the “six networks” programme announced earlier this year, which plans the build-out of computing, water, communication, urban underground pipe and logistics networks, and power grids, said Bloomberg sources.

Local suppliers, including Huawei, are to be tapped for at least 80pc of the required technology, such as AI chips, while state-run corporations such as China Mobile and China Telecom are expected to manage a majority of the data centres.

China is aggressive in its protection of home-grown technology. According to rules, state authorities need to approve the export of certain key technologies, including AI.

Earlier this year, the country took action against Meta over its acquisition of the Chinese-founded AI company Manus, demanding that the US tech giant undo the deal and restore Manus’s Chinese assets to their original state.

Meanwhile, the US government last month moved to close a loophole that could have been aiding companies to export advanced US-made chips to subsidiaries of Chinese companies located outside China.

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Garmin is expanding JL Audio’s custom-install speaker lineup with the new Pavilion Thin-line Subwoofers, a compact in-wall and in-ceiling series designed to deliver stronger bass without eating up floor space. Built around 8-inch drivers and promoted under the slogan “Powerful bass in any space,” the new models are aimed at homeowners, integrators, and outdoor entertainment spaces where traditional subwoofers are either too bulky, too visible, or just plain awkward.

The pitch is simple: high-performance JL Audio bass, a slimmer form factor, and flexible installation for indoor and outdoor systems where clean design matters almost as much as impact.

Slimmer Design, Lower Distortion, Bigger Installation Flexibility

JL Audio’s Pavilion Thin-line Subwoofers use the company’s DMA-optimized motor and suspension design to support long, linear excursion with lower distortion. The goal is tighter, cleaner bass from a compact driver platform that can still deliver meaningful output in space-constrained installations.

The design also incorporates JL Audio’s Concentric Tube Suspension technology, which helps reduce mounting depth without giving up the control and excursion needed for high-performance bass. That matters for in-wall and in-ceiling applications, where available space is often limited and traditional subwoofer enclosures are not always practical.

Easy Installation

The JL Audio Pavilion Thin-line Subwoofers are optimized for in-wall or in-ceiling installation, featuring a shallow 3.8-inch mounting depth and infinite baffle construction that allows for seamless placement without requiring a dedicated enclosure.

A dog-leg mounting system provides users with the flexibility to install the subwoofers in a variety of materials and locations, indoors or outdoors, without needing a backplate.

Pavilion speakers are built to last and deliver strong sound by using marine-grade materials specifically constructed to withstand harsh environments. They meet or exceed ASTM standards for salt-fog and UV exposure, giving listeners added peace of mind when installing them outdoors.

External Design Features

Homeowners can choose from several design options. The flush-mount speaker grille is available in square or round shapes, with white or black finishes that can also be painted to better match a home’s décor.

The ultra-thin, fine-mesh grille attaches magnetically and matches the look of JL Audio’s Pavilion outdoor in-ceiling speakers. New construction brackets are also available to help prepare mounting locations during the framing and drywall stages of a new home build or renovation.

Engineered for practical use indoors or outdoors, the subwoofers carry an IPX5 rating for protection against water exposure, adding another layer of durability for covered outdoor installations.

Specifications

The Bottom Line

JL Audio’s Pavilion Thin-line Subwoofers are built for homeowners and custom installers who want real bass without giving up floor space or visual cleanliness. The shallow 3.8-inch mounting depth, infinite baffle design, marine-grade construction, IPX5 rating, and paintable magnetic grilles make them more flexible than a conventional subwoofer, especially for whole-home audio, home theater, and covered outdoor spaces. Just don’t treat placement like hanging a picture frame. Once you start cutting into walls or ceilings, “oops” gets expensive fast.

Price & Availability

JL Audio Pavilion thin-line subwoofers are available in square and round form factors in the choice of black and white finish options, priced at $1,000 each at JL Audio.

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