Maxwell Zeff / Wired:
OpenAI backs an Illinois bill shielding AI labs from liability even for “critical harms,” like 100+ deaths or $1B+ damage, if safety reports were published  —  The ChatGPT-maker testified in favor of an Illinois bill that would limit when AI labs can be held liable—even in cases where their products cause “critical harm.”

Financial Times:
Sources: Alibaba appointed Cloud CTO Zhou Jingren to lead its AI unit after a pivot from open source to monetizable “MaaS” models led to Qwen exec departures  —  Move may affect a global developer community that relies on Qwen models from the Chinese company

Anna Tong / Forbes:
AfterQuery, which sells coding and finance training data to AI labs, says it raised a $30M Series A at a $300M valuation, and has hit a $100M+ annual run rate  —  AfterQuery, which raised $30 million several months ago, competes with data labeling companies like Mercor to sell training data …

Seth Joseph / Forbes:
Luminai, an AI-native platform for automating administrative healthcare workflows, raised a $38M Series B led by Peak XV, bringing its total funding to $60M  —  Cleveland, Ohio, USA - June 17, 2017: Daytime view of Cleveland Clinic main campus entrance reflecting pool near University Circle

Joe Rossignol / MacRumors:
Apple is closing its Towson, Maryland store, the first US location where retail employees unionized; the union says it is “outraged” and exploring legal options  —  Apple today announced it will be permanently closing three retail stores in the U.S. in June, including Apple Trumbull in Trumbull …