Curated Intel from the Talent Tech Industry
September 23-29, 2024:
• Creating a behemoth or a very big bubble: OpenAI closes in on largest VC round of all time;
• Blocking LLM developers’ big steal: Cloudflare announces AI bot blocking with one click;
• Launching an AI-first solution: SmartRecruiters announces V3.0 and Winston, an ‘AI companion’;
• Keeping the wallet open: Mercer predicts steady 2025 salary budget growth in ‘normal’ market;
• Using what isn’t yours: Zuckerberg can be deposed in AI copyright lawsuit filed by authors.
PLUS
The TAtech Leadership Summit on Recruitment Marketing is designed for HR/TA leaders and senior professionals at enterprise employers and their counterparts among TA solution providers. To be held at the newly renovated Le Méridien Tampa, The Courthouse, the conference opens with a welcome reception on the evening of February 26 and then runs all day February 27. The agenda is still in development, but the focus will be on showcasing the latest technology and most innovative practices for moving to full-funnel recruitment marketing. Seating is limited at the conference venue, so register today to make sure you have a spot.
OpenAI closes in on largest VC round of all time
OpenAI is expected raise around $6.5 billion at a $150 billion pre-money valuation, while also turning down billions of oversubscribed dollars, as first reported by Bloomberg. Why it matters: This would be the largest venture capital round of all time, topping the $6 billion raised earlier this year by Elon Musk's xAI. OpenAI previously scored $10 billion from Microsoft, but that was a multi-year, corporate deal that included more cloud credits than cash. For context: $150 billion is what the entire U.S. venture capital market had under management in 1999, which fueled the internet bubble. $6.5 billion is the amount raised just 10 years ago (2014) by all startups in New York, Texas, and Florida combined.
Cloudflare Announces AI Bot Blocking with One Click
In the news: Cloudflare announced new tools that allow websites on its network to stop unrestricted AI scraping while also helping content creators identify which content is most scanned by bots, allowing them to eventually charge for access. Cloudflare is also creating a marketplace for sites to negotiate content deals based on more detailed AI audits. These tools will enable content creators to understand how AI models use their content and decide whether to allow or block access. The rise of generative AI has complicated the value exchange for content creators. Bots no longer fall clearly into "good" or "bad" categories. AI bots, such as those used by large language models (LLMs), do not drive traffic like good bots, but are not malicious like bad bots, which creates a dilemma for site operators.
A New Era in Recruitment: SmartRecruiters 3.0 and the Future of Hiring
What lies ahead for our organization is not just another update or an incremental improvement. We’re not tweaking things here and there, but rather charting a bold new course. To us, this is a complete reimagination of what recruitment software should be. We’re moving beyond AI tools that just streamline tasks — our new AI-driven platform will think, adapt, and evolve right alongside your business. From the ground up, we’re rebuilding SmartRecruiters with AI at its very core. And this isn’t about simply making a recruiter’s job easier—it’s about fundamentally transforming how they work every single day. Our AI is no afterthought, no add-on. It will seamlessly integrate into the entire platform, becoming an intuitive, almost invisible presence that quietly guides recruiters through their workflows without missing a beat. Central to this new era is a character who will soon become synonymous with SmartRecruiters: Winston. More than just a feature, Winston represents the new face of recruitment technology. While details about Winston are being kept under wraps until the official launch in October, we can tell you this: Winston isn’t just an AI tool—he’s your new AI companion.
Labor market closer to pre-pandemic ‘normal’ — which could lead to steady 2025 salary budget growth, Mercer says
Data from consulting firm Mercer projects steady increases to organizational salary budgets in 2025 after a dip in budget growth between 2023 and 2024, analysts said during a Sept. 18 webinar. Actual budget growth for 2024 stood at 3.6% for total pay increases and 3.3% for merit increases, down from 4.1% and 3.8% in 2023, respectively. Mercer projected that 2025’s growth rates would equal those of 2024. Analysts said that a tight labor market persists even as hiring demand has cooled over the past year, contributing to the projected steady budget growth. Mercer’s figures differ from those released earlier this month by The Conference Board, which predicted a 3.9% increase for salary budgets in 2025 thanks to a shrinking labor supply.
Mark Zuckerberg faces deposition in AI copyright lawsuit from Sarah Silverman and other authors
U.S. District Judge Thomas Hixson rejected Meta’s bid to bar the deposition of Zuckerberg in a decision Tuesday, saying there is sufficient evidence to show he is the “principal decision maker” for the company's AI platforms. Meta had argued that Zuckerberg doesn’t have unique knowledge of the company’s AI operations and that the same information could be obtained from depositions with other employees. The authors have “submitted evidence of his specific involvement in the company’s AI initiatives,” as well as his “direct supervision of Meta’s AI products,” Hixson wrote in a Tuesday ruling. The class action lawsuit was filed last year in California federal court. The authors accuse Meta of illegally downloading digital copies of their books and using them — without consent or compensation — to train its AI platforms.
Reimagining Recruitment Marketing for a Challenging Labor Market
The TAtech Leadership Summit on Recruitment Marketing is designed for HR/TA leaders and senior professionals at enterprise employers and their counterparts among TA solution providers. To be held at the newly renovated Le Méridien Tampa, The Courthouse, the conference opens with a welcome reception on the evening of February 26 and then runs all day February 27. The agenda is still in development, but the focus will be on showcasing the latest technology and most innovative practices for moving to full-funnel recruitment marketing. It will address the latest research on the labor market and its implications for recruitment marketers and then explore the three legs of an effective recruitment marketing strategy: Attraction, Awareness, and Application & Hire. Seating is limited at the conference venue, so register today to make sure you have a spot.