Before ChatGPT, there was IBM Watson.

The supercomputer became the pop-culture face of an earlier generation of AI when it beat out two of the most successful Jeopardy! contestants in 2011. Big Blue then hailed the know-it-all question-and-answer robot as a game-changer for all sorts of business applications, from healthcare to digital advertising.

But while the Watson brand remains a part of many of IBM’s B2B software and consulting offerings, the company’s record has been decidedly mixed when it comes to delivering on the promises made around its AI’s transformative potential.

This week, IBM announced a refresh for Watson that will place it in the midst of another AI hype wave: A new AI platform called WatsonX that aims to give business clients a toolkit to build their own generative AI models, including services for data storage, model training, and documentation.

As IBM seeks to embark on this new chapter, we decided to take a look back at how it got here.

Keep reading here.—PK

You’ve heard of SaaS, but how about CaaS? That’s right: Compliance as a service has entered the chat, and it’s gonna make waves in the security and privacy world. Streamlined compliance? Sounds like a dream.

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Venture capitalists at Bessemer Venture Partners, on an offsite in Montana earlier this year, decided to drop $1 billion on AI startups.

Who hasn’t spent a bit more than they bargained for while on vacation?

“Literally the No. 1 topic that every single partner at the firm was talking about was AI in their respective verticals and categories,” Bessemer partner Talia Goldberg told Tech Brew. “It was pretty striking because at Bessemer, it’s pretty rare that we all agree on anything.”

Bessemer hasn’t actually spent the sum yet, but it announced this week that it’s committed to doing so out of its currently available funds. The venture firm—which has existed for more than a century and whose portfolio companies have included Pinterest, Shopify, and LinkedIn—used the announcement to telegraph to AI-native startup founders how serious it is about the technology’s potential.

Even as the overall VC market tanks amid economic uncertainty that’s hit the tech industry especially hard, firms like Bessemer continue to find money for startups based around the latest advances in language- and image-generating AI.

Keep reading here.—PK

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

I partner with software C-suites, founders, and investors to streamline hiring mission-critical employees who enhance company culture using my proprietary Quantum Hires System.

What’s your favorite emerging tech project you’ve worked on?

My favorite project I’ve worked on was standing up a data team to build out internal data infrastructure from scratch for a large global enterprise manufacturing company.

What emerging tech are you most optimistic about? Least? And why?

Blockchain, but not because of crypto or NFTs; I see so many applications for the technology to evolve the way businesses and consumers interact moving forward.

What’s the best piece of tech-related media you’ve read/watched/listened to?

Morning Brew and Crunchbase.

One thing we can’t guess from your LinkedIn profile?

My hobbies include obstacle-course races, golf, and kayak fishing.

What do you think about when you’re not thinking about tech?

My focus outside of work is my three children, ages 12, 15, and 17. They keep me pretty busy!

Stat: 56%. That’s how much of the smartphone market share was controlled by the Apple Watch in 2022, according to Counterpoint Research. That number could tick up if the rumors surrounding the newest Apple Watch prove true, Tech Brew’s Jordan McDonald wrote.

Quote: “You want the librarian to really understand you…But most of the time, when you go to the library, your goal is for them to help you with something, not to be your friend.”—Liz Reid, Google’s VP of search, in The Verge about how Google is incorporating AI features into search.

Read: The surprising synergy between acupuncture and AI (Wired)

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Catch up on the top Tech Brew stories from the past few editions:

• Apple’s legal tussle over talent and trade secrets takes on new meaning in the AI era
• Google’s Bard chatbot was never meant to replace search, but a new generative AI experience just might
• SpaceX’s Starship failure set off a chain reaction of regulatory response