Das joined last September with the swagger of a 20-year tech vet\u2014stints running Amazon<\/a> AI Services and CEO\u2019ing OptumLabs and Swan AI Studios\u2014to lead Lululemon\u2019s \u201cnext phase\u201d of AI strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n He\u2019s now out the door seemingly before that phase really got moving.<\/p>\n Das\u2019 departure also coincides awkwardly with former Lululemon tech chief Julie Averill\u2019s torching of the \u201cChief AI Officer\u201d title concept in a viral New York Times op-ed<\/a>, arguing companies are slapping \u201cAI\u201d on job titles as a substitute for an actual strategy.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what else happened in tech today.<\/p>\n Want to send thoughts or suggestions to\u00a0Fortune Tech?\u00a0Drop a line\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Executive shake-up continues at OpenAI OpenAI is replacing chief revenue officer Denise Dresser<\/a>, who is leaving<\/a> less than a year into the role, with Dali Rajic<\/a>, the former president and COO of Wiz. <\/p>\n Dresser, the former CEO of Slack, is the latest senior executive leaving the ChatGPT maker in recent weeks. Earlier this week, Brad Lightcap, who served as COO for four years, announced that he was leaving. And in July, Fidji Simo, <\/a>said she was stepping back from her role as OpenAI’s “CEO of AGI deployment” to focus on her health.\u00a0<\/p>\n The reshuffle comes as OpenAI works towards a highly anticipated IPO, expected sometime next year, and as competition between OpenAI and Anthropic heats up. Rajic now takes over OpenAI’s sales organization at a pivotal moment for the company’s revenue push. \u2014Lily Mae Lazarus<\/p>\n Microsoft moves toward “one Copilot”<\/p>\n Microsoft has started merging<\/a> its consumer and enterprise Copilot apps this week, rolling out a unified experience to a small subset of users as the first step toward a long-planned “super app.”<\/a>\u00a0Some consumer features are getting cut in the process\u2014Copilot Podcasts, Group Chat, and Deep Research all disappear starting Aug. 18\u2014and the Microsoft 365 app is being rebranded as “Microsoft Copilot.”<\/p>\n This is the opening move in a project Fortune first reported in May.<\/a><\/p>\n CEO Satya Nadella confirmed the plan<\/a> on Microsoft’s July earnings call, saying the company would bring Copilot’s chat, Cowork, and Autopilot experiences together this quarter as it races to keep pace with Anthropic and OpenAI. \u2014Sebastian Herrera<\/p>\n Apple doubles down on Texas manufacturing<\/p>\n Apple opened its new advanced manufacturing center<\/a> in Houston, Texas this week, a 20,000-square-foot training facility offering free courses to small and medium-sized businesses on smart manufacturing techniques like machine-learning-driven quality control. CEO Tim Cook said the company has invested “hundreds of millions of dollars” into the Houston facility in under nine months, standing up a factory that has already shipped its first AI servers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The site will also begin producing the Mac mini later this year<\/a>, marking the first time that product has been made in the U.S.<\/p>\n The opening drew a heavy political presence<\/a>, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, underscoring the facility’s role in Apple’s broader $600 billion U.S. investment pledge<\/a> made last year. \u2014Lily Mae Lazarus<\/p>\n More tech<\/p>\n \u2014Databricks raised $5 billion at a $190 billion valuation<\/a> in a strategic round led by Coatue.<\/p>\n \u2014Chinese AI startup DeepSeek plans a \u201csignificant\u201d price hike<\/a> across its API services, reversing its ultra-low-cost positioning finance.<\/p>\n \u2014IBM struck a strategic partnership with OpenAI<\/a> to co-sell industry-specific AI solutions and bake OpenAI models deeper into IBM\u2019s enterprise stack.<\/p>\n \u2014A new case study on Chinese media and AI<\/a> finds that state-controlled news in training data nudges models toward more pro\u2013Chinese government answers on sensitive topics.<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2278967313-e1786657208430.jpg\"\/)
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