AI is transforming industries, but the data centers powering it require more energy and water than ever.

At the break, join Christoph Beck, chairman and CEO of EcoLab, for insights on using water effectively

while safeguarding this critical resource for future generations.

Here's your afternoon, TNB Tech Minute, for Wednesday, January 7th.

I'm Julie Chang for the Wall Street Journal.

We exclusively report that Anthropic is raising $10 billion in a new funding round that would nearly

double its valuation from four months ago. According to people familiar with the matter,

the new financing will be led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund and Koto management.

The AI startup's valuation is at $350 billion before the new investment.

The round is expected to close in the coming weeks and the total amount of the deal could change.

Character AI and Google have agreed to settle several lawsuits with families of teenagers who killed or harmed

themselves after interacting with the startup's chatbot. The lawsuits filed in states, including

Florida, Colorado, Texas, and New York alleged negligence and harm. According to court documents

made public yesterday and today, the companies and families are working on settlement terms.

The tech companies and lawyers for the families either didn't immediately respond to request

for comment or decline to comment. Character AI is a role-playing app that lets users create

and chat with AI characters, Google licensed characters technology in 2024.

Finally, Eli Lilly is in advanced talks to acquire biotech

Ventex biosciences for around $1 billion. People familiar with the matter say a deal for Ventex

could come as soon as today. Ventix specializes in developing pills that can treat inflammatory

diseases. If Ventix's experimental pills pan out, they would add to

Lily's portfolio of treatments for autoimmune conditions as well as for obesity and related disorders.

...