Elon Musk-led consortium bids $97 billion to buy OpenAI

PEX Network’s weekly bulletin rounds up the latest industry vendor news including product releases/updates, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships and leadership changes.

This week includes:

• Musk-led consortium bids to buy ChatGPT creator OpenAI
• GitHub introduces agentic workflows, increased automation to streamline coding
• Accenture expands OPEX capabilities in manufacturing and supply chains
• Celonis joins Women in Process Mining to inspire future process workforce
• Rockwell Automation reports first quarter 2025 results
• Jitterbit announces new AI NLP capabilities in Harmony platform
• iGrafx’s Christie Lindstrom named among Top 50 Women Leaders in Software

Musk-led consortium bids to buy ChatGPT creator OpenAI

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, rejected a US$97.4 billion bid from a consortium of investors led by US special government employee and business owner Elon Musk to take over the firm. Musk’s attorney, Marc Toberoff, confirmed he submitted the bid for “all assets” of the technology company to its board on Monday, reported the BBC. Altman posted on Musk’s social media platform X “no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.”

The offer is the latest twist in an ongoing legal battle between Musk and Altman and while there are questions marks regarding the seriousness of Musk’s offer, OpenAI’s board will have a say on the company’s future. OpenAI – the maker of ChatGPT – was valued at $157 billion in its latest funding round in October last year, with talks over a further funding round reportedly now valuing it at $300 billion.

OpenAI recently launched a new AI tool designed to assist professionals with complex research tasks in fields like finance, science and policy. Called “deep research,” the AI agent is available with ChatGPT Pro for up to 100 queries per month and competes with similar services from companies like Google, which recently debuted a feature with the same name.

Watch thought leader Doug Shannon discuss the impact of AI on intelligent automation

GitHub introduces agentic workflows, increased automation to streamline coding

Developer platform GitHub announced a wave of new features and enhancements to GitHub Copilot to streamline coding tasks based on an organization’s specific ways of working. These includes agentic capabilities for implementing changes across multiple files, suggestions to automatically predict and execute logical edits and the ability to store and share tailored instructions for Copilot directly in the editor, according to a press release.

GitHub also unveiled a first look at a new autonomous SWE agent and announced the general availability of Copilot Edits, availability of Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash and OpenAI’s o3-mini for Copilot Chat and Edits as well as enterprise support for Copilot Workspace.

“Developer teams will soon be joined by teams of intelligent, increasingly advanced AI agents that act as peer-programmers for everyday tasks,” said Thomas Dohmke, CEO of GitHub. “With today’s launch of GitHub Copilot agent mode, developers can generate, refactor and deploy code across the files of any organisation’s codebase with a single prompt command. Organisations who empower their developers to work with these agents will exist in another spectrum of productivity entirely.”

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Accenture expands OPEX capabilities in manufacturing and supply chains

Accenture agreed to acquire Staufen AG, a Germany-based management consulting firm, to expand its capabilities to drive OPEX in manufacturing and supply chains. The move will benefit clients in discrete manufacturing industries including automotive, aerospace and defense, industrial goods and medical equipment in particular, according to a press release.

Staufen will be the latest in a series of strategic investments Accenture has made to enhance its supply chain and operations capabilities including Joshua Tree Group and On Process Technology in the US, Camelot Management Consultants in Germany and Flo Group in the Netherlands.

“Manufacturers must continuously improve their entire value chains to stay competitive,” commented Matthias Hégelé, Accenture’s supply chain and operations lead for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

“The acquisition of Staufen aligns with our strategy to reinvent supply chains and manufacturing for clients. We will combine Staufen’s proven expertise in OPEX and value chain transformation with our capabilities in digital technologies, such as AI, generative AI, digital twins and supply chain and manufacturing software platforms, to help clients transform their core value chains, improving efficiency and productivity, supporting sustainable practices and building resilient, autonomous systems.”

Watch Pradheep Kileti, director at National Grid, reflect on balancing operations and innovation

Celonis joins Women in Process Mining to inspire future process workforce

Process intelligence vendor Celonis is collaborating with Women in Process Mining to introduce young girls in Germany to the world of process management. On Girls’Day, an initiative aimed at inspiring female school students in grades 5-10 to explore careers in STEM and other fields where women are traditionally underrepresented, the pair will host a free event where attendees can to slip into the role of a management consultant to improve the processes at “Pizzeria Mamma Mia.” They will also learn about various career fields in the areas of data science, IT and management consulting.

Watch Leona Holzbecher, psychologist, organizational developer and thought leader, discuss accountability in process management

Rockwell Automation reports first quarter 2025 results

Rockwell Automation released its financial results for Q1 2025. Orders were up 10 percent year over year and mid-single digits sequentially. Sales dropped by US$1,881 million, down 8.4 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Organic sales decreased 7.6 percent and currency translation decreased sales by 0.9 points.

Total segment operating earnings were $321 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, down 10 percent, while total segment operating margin was 17.1 percent compared to 17.3 percent a year ago. The decrease in segment operating margin was primarily due to lower sales volume partially offset by the benefits from cost reduction and margin expansion actions, Rockwell Automation stated.

Cash flow generated by operating activities was $364 million, compared to $33 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Increases in cash flow provided by operating activities were primarily due to no payout of incentive compensation in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 related to fiscal 2024 performance, the vendor added.

“Q1 margins and EPS came in well above our expectations this quarter, reflecting some early benefits of Rockwell’s renewed focus on OPEX and cost discipline,” commented Blake Moret, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation. “We continue to deliver on our cost reduction and margin expansion projects we outlined last year. From a demand perspective, we are encouraged by better-than-expected order performance in the quarter with sequential growth across all regions and business segments.”

Register for All Access: Intelligent Automation 2025

Jitterbit announces new AI NLP capabilities in Harmony platform

Business transformation company Jitterbit announced new AI-infused capabilities within the Harmony platform, advancing AI from low-code development to natural language processing (NLP). The integration of AI NLP makes it easier for users to automate applications and workflows by reducing the time and effort required to develop applications, manage APIs and integrate complex enterprise systems, according to a press release.

“With Jitterbit’s new AI capabilities, organizations can now gain a holistic view of their data, powered by enterprise systems that are fully automated from end to end, driving smarter decisions and accelerating business outcomes in a controlled way,” said Antonio Cisternino, chief information officer (CIO) and professor of computer science at the University of Pisa.

New features include:

• AI-infused app builder assistant designed to create new applications and manage and modify existing ones using natural language.
• AI-infused API manager enabling users to create APIs using an AI assistant to simplify API development and accelerate time to value.
• AskJB AI assistant that provides real-time answers, guidance and information.

Watch Tyrone Smith Jr, program faculty member/adjunct associate professor at University of Southern California (USC) and founding member of Society of People Analytics (SPA), explore building trust in AI

iGrafx’s Christie Lindstrom named among Top 50 Women Leaders in Software

Process intelligence and management vendor iGrafx announced that its chief marketing officer (CMO) Christie Lindstrom has been recognized as one of the top women leaders in software by The Software Report. “With over 15 years of leadership and marketing expertise, Christie has played a pivotal role in shaping iGrafx’s global go-to-market strategy and driving awareness for our cutting-edge solutions,” the firm stated. Her passion for empowering enterprises with innovative technology is unmatched and this recognition is a testament to her impact in the industry, it added.

READ MORE PEX VENDOR NEWS

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