Welcome to the latest edition of the World of DaaS Roundup. This week, KPMG launches a new AI tool for cleaner data, McKinsey reveals why most AI pilots fail to scale, regulators take aim at algorithmic pricing, and the London Stock Exchange brings market data directly into ChatGPT. Plus, Apple’s entanglement with China, major data-sector M&A, and an innovative new way to protect and monetize datasets.
📰 NEWS AND READS
KPMG launches AI tool for cleaner data Financial News London
KPMG partnered with UK firm Aiimi to deploy a platform that automatically classifies, cleans, and removes redundant data to improve analytics and AI workflows.
LSEG integrates ChatGPT with market data Reuters
The London Stock Exchange Group will embed its financial data directly into ChatGPT, allowing credentialed users to query markets conversationally.
When algorithms set the price: states question data-driven fairness Reuters
A wave of new state laws is challenging algorithmic pricing models, as regulators ask whether AI is quietly rewriting the rules of the marketplace.
AI’s scaling problem McKinsey
McKinsey’s latest State of AI report reveals a paradox — nearly every company is experimenting with AI, but few are seeing enterprise-wide change.
🎧 THE LATEST WORLD OF DAAS PODCAST
how Apple and China built each other
Patrick McGee is the author of Apple in China, which was named one of the most notable books of the year by the New York Times and the Washington Post. The book is a deeply reported investigation into how Apple and China built each other over 25 years—and what that means for technology, supply chains, and geopolitics. Patrick has been a reporter with the Financial Times since 2013.
In this episode of World of DaaS, Patrick and Auren discuss:
Why Foxconn bet everything on Apple when others walked away
The organized crime networks that distributed iPhones across China
How Apple's supplier policies created competitors like Huawei
Apple's $275B commitment and why they can't leave China
“By teaching China how to make iPhones, Apple taught China how to make everything. That’s both its greatest achievement and its biggest vulnerability.”
🔥 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…
M&A Funding Roundup
S&P Global – Acquired With Intelligence for US$1.8 billion, to establish market-leading private markets data and analytics coverage.
RavenPack – Secured strategic investment from FT Ventures, strengthening its AI-powered financial-data platform with premium content from the Financial Times.
Marble Imaging – Raised €5.3 million (~US$5.7M) Seed funding, aiming to build a constellation of very-high-resolution Earth observation satellites and offer high-frequency EO data + analytics.
SAI360 – Acquired Plural Policy (undisclosed amount), to embed AI-driven regulatory-intelligence capabilities into its compliance and risk-management platform, helping customers anticipate and respond to fast-changing legislation and regulatory text.
Wayve – Acquired German data-quality startup Quality Match, enhancing its ability to create high-quality, auditable datasets for its embodied-AI self-driving platform.
🚀 MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: ALKEMI
AI has become the world’s largest consumer of data — but most data providers are still on the sidelines, forced to choose between protecting their IP or missing the opportunity. Alkemi DataLab offers a new path forward: an interactive, secure way for providers to publish AI-ready data samples that buyers can explore instantly through natural-language chat. Protect your IP, showcase your value, and unlock new revenue in the $4.4 trillion AI market.
DAAS DINNER IN SF
prompt: World of DaaS community meet in SF! Apply to become a member if you’d like to join the fun.
