Good morning! Poppi to be acquired by PepsiCo for almost $2 billion, Forever 21’s U.S. operator files for bankruptcy, and Sara Hooker talks AI language accessibility.
– AI accessibility. Language is an incredibly powerful tool—but not all languages are represented equally in technology. Cohere for AI is tackling this disparity, focusing on making AI accessible to more languages. “I think people forget—we can build the best model in the world, but what matters is how people feel about it and whether it works for them,” Sara Hooker, head of Cohere for AI, tells Fortune’s Sharon Goldman. Their conversation is the second in a series of profiles of women in tech for Fortune.
Cohere for AI, the nonprofit research lab of $5.5 billion AI company Cohere, has been among the first to offer AI models for languages like Korean and Swahili. And through an initiative that the organization launched two years ago, 3,000 researchers from all around the world collaborated with Cohere for AI on multilingual AI research. “From the beginning, we doubled the number of languages that were covered by generative AI,” Hooker says. This accessibility is the company’s “North Star.”
Hooker’s interest in languages stems from her upbringing. She and her family moved around a lot—Mozambique, Eswatini, Kenya, and Liberia—and so she was exposed to a lot of languages. “There’s this really powerful idea that when you speak in the language of someone, you really connect with their heart, not their head,” she shares.
She didn’t always intend to work in AI, though: “I didn’t set out wanting to do artificial intelligence, but I had always wanted to work on interesting problems,” Hooker says. After roles at Udemy and Google Brain and after working with Geoffrey Hinton and Samy Bengio—big names in the AI space—she was asked by the Cohere cofounders to lead its new research lab.
“We chose a problem which was critically underserved, but now everyone else is scrambling to catch up,” says Hooker. Read Sharon’s full story here.
Nina Ajemian
nina.ajemian@fortune.com
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Poppi purchase. After rumors of a deal, PepsiCo officially agreed to acquire Allison Ellsworth’s prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $1.95 billion. Wall Street Journal
- Nothing lasts forever. Fast fashion company Forever 21, with CEO Winnie Park, will be permanently closing all of its U.S. locations after its U.S. operator filed for bankruptcy for the second time, citing foreign competition and rising costs among its challenges. The company was a leader in the youth clothing retail space, peaking in sales at $4 billion in 2015. NBC
- Banking on Tan. Tan Su Shan, who will become DBS’s first female CEO at the end of the month, wants to expand the bank’s presence beyond Singapore, saying there’s “a lot of opportunity to industrialize DBS’s one-bank proposition.” Tan also sees AI models as “game changers” for DBS. Bloomberg
- Basketball bets. Sports betting platform BetMGM Sportsbook brought in 35% more money in bets this season on women’s college basketball and 39% more female bettors. Plus, since the 2022-23 season—with Caitlin Clark playing for Iowa—BetMGM says it saw an increase of 587% of money bet on women’s college basketball. AP
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Loyal, which provides patient engagement solutions, named Nanette Oddo CEO. Previously, she was president and CEO of Truveris.
Nutrition care provider Culina Health appointed Jane Mentz as COO. She was previously COO at Calibrate.
Helport AI, a customer communication AI company, named Amy Fong interim CFO. She is currently the company’s president and director.
Vision Hospitality Group, a hotel developer, named Mary Beth Cutshall chief growth officer. Most recently, she was managing partner and founder of Amara Capital Group.
Professional services firm WSP appointed Paula Fitzpatrick as U.S. SVP and regional executive for Texas and Louisiana. Most recently, she was CEO of C2O Americas.
Helios Technologies, a hydraulics and electronics technology developer, appointed Laura Dempsey Brown as chair of its board of directors; she has served on the company’s board since 2020. Previously, she was SVP, communications and investor relations at W.W. Grainger.
ON MY RADAR
This economist sees slowing growth and multiple rate cuts ahead Barron’s
Female celebrities are making millions on OnlyFans. Will they regret it? Wall Street Journal
On Severance, a brutal tale of female self-loathing New York Times
PARTING WORDS
“We all have power. But there are barriers in society that often keep women from using our full power. Our job is to help remove those barriers.”
— Melinda French Gates on funding women through Pivotal Ventures
