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Jianpu Technology Inc. Reports First Half Year 2024 Unaudited Financial Results

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BEIJING, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Jianpu Technology Inc. (“Jianpu,” or the “Company”) (OTCQB: AIJTY), a leading open financial technology platform in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the first half year ended June 30, 2024.

First Half Year 2024 Operational and Financial Highlights:

Total revenues were RMB429.2 million (US$59.1 million) in the first half of 2024, decreasing by 25.3% from RMB574.9 million in the same period of 2023.Income from operations was RMB8.5 million (US$1.2 million) in the first half of 2024, compared with loss from operations of RMB34.2 million in the same period of 2023. The turnaround from an operation loss to an operation income can be attributed to the Company’s continuous focus on businesses optimization and commitment to efficiency improvements.Net income was RMB28.9 million (US$4.0 million) in the first half of 2024, turning from net loss of RMB21.7 million into profit on a year-over-year basis. Net income margin was 6.7% in the first half year of 2024, compared with net loss margin of 3.8% in the same period of 2023.

First Half Year 2024 Financial Results

Total revenues decreased by 25.3% to RMB429.2 million (US$59.1 million) in the first half of 2024 from RMB574.9 million in the same period of 2023.

Revenues from recommendation services decreased by 22.8% to RMB289.7 million (US$39.9 million) in the first half of 2024 from RMB375.2 million in the same period of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the decrease in revenues from recommendation services for credit cards as a result of the lower marketing budget of credit card issuers, partially offset by the increase in revenues from recommendation services for loans caused by the increase in the number of loan applications.

Revenues from digital intelligence as a service[1] decreased by 26.4% to RMB37.3 million (US$5.1 million) in the first half of 2024 from RMB50.7 million in the same period of 2023, primarily due to a gradual shift of the Company’s business model towards cooperation with licensed credit reporting agencies starting from the second half of 2023. Through the cooperation, which is mandated by the relevant PRC regulation, the Company, together with the licensed credit reporting agencies, provides digital intelligence as a service[1] to the financial institutions and share the economic interests accordingly. The decline was also partially due to the deconsolidation of Newsky Wisdom Treasure (Beijing) Co., Ltd, or Newsky Wisdom, in the second quarter of 2023.

Revenues from marketing and other services decreased by 31.4% to RMB102.2 million (US$14.1 million) in the first half of 2024 from RMB149.0 million in the same period of 2023, primarily due to the decreases of the insurance brokerage services and marketing solutions and services provided to telecommunication services providers.

Cost of promotion and acquisition decreased by 38.5% to RMB247.0 million (US$34.0 million) in the first half of 2024 from RMB401.5 million in the same period of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the decreases in revenues from recommendation services for credit cards and those from marketing and other services, and to a lesser extent, the improvement in operational efficiency resulting from the strategic optimization of business structure.    

Cost of operation decreased by 26.8% to RMB28.1 million (US$3.9 million) in the first half of 2024 from RMB38.4 million in the same period of 2023. The decrease was primarily attributable to the decrease in data acquisition costs related to the Company’s digital intelligence as a service[1] during its shift of business model, as well as the decrease in software development and maintenance costs due to the deconsolidation of Newsky Wisdom[2], partially offset by the increase in call center outsourcing costs.

Sales and marketing expenses were RMB64.4 million (US$8.9 million) in the first half of 2024, remaining relatively stable compared to those of RMB64.7 million in the same period of 2023.

Research and development expenses decreased by 25.6% to RMB37.0 million (US$5.1 million) in the first half of 2024 from RMB49.7 million in the same period of 2023, primarily due to the decrease in payroll expenses resulting from the Company’s continued efforts in cost optimization.

General and administrative expenses decreased by 19.5% to RMB44.2 million (US$6.1 million) in the first half of 2024, compared with RMB54.9 million in the same period of 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the decreases in professional fees and allowance for credit losses.

Income from operations was RMB8.5 million (US$1.2 million) in the first half of 2024, compared with a loss from operations of RMB34.2 million in the same period of 2023. Operating income margin was 2.0% in the first half of 2024, compared with a operating loss margin of 5.9% in the same period of 2023. The turnaround from an operation loss to an operation income can be attributed to the Company’s continuous focus on businesses optimization and commitment to efficiency improvements.

Others, net increased by 42.7% to RMB14.7 million (US$2.0 million) in the first half of 2024 from RMB10.3 million in the same period of 2023. The Company recognized a net investment gain of RMB7.8 million from the investment in Conflux Global and other crypto assets, as well as an investment gain of RMB5.9 million resulting from the termination of a non-controlling investment[2] in the first half of 2024; while the Company recognized an investment gain of RMB7.1 million resulting from the deconsolidation of Newsky Wisdom[2] in the same period of 2023.

Net income was RMB28.9 million (US$4.0 million) in the first half of 2024 compared with a net loss of RMB21.7 million in the same period of 2023. Net income margin was 6.7% in the first half of 2024, compared with a net loss margin of 3.8% in the same period of 2023.

Non-GAAP adjusted net income[3], which excluded share-based compensation expenses and investment gain of disposal of subsidiaries and equity investment, was RMB24.3 million (US$3.3 million) in the first half of 2024, compared with a Non-GAAP adjusted net loss[3] of RMB26.7 million in the same period of 2023. Non-GAAP adjusted net income margin[3] was 5.7% in the first half of 2024 compared with a Non-GAAP adjusted net loss margin[3] of 4.6% in the same period of 2023.

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA[4], which excluded share-based compensation expenses, investment gain of disposal of subsidiaries and equity investment, depreciation and amortization, interest income and expenses, and income tax benefits/(expenses) from net income/(loss), for the first half of 2024 was an income of RMB20.6 million (US$2.8 million), compared with a loss of RMB26.7 million in the same period of 2023.

As of June 30, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, time deposits and restricted cash and time deposits of RMB660.1 million (US$90.8 million) and working capital of approximately RMB362.8 million (US$49.9 million). Compared to those as of December 31, 2023, cash and cash equivalents, time deposits and restricted cash and time deposits decreased by RMB29.6 million.

Share Repurchase Program

As previously disclosed, the Company had been authorized to establish a share repurchase program in January 2024, under which the Company may repurchase up to US$3 million of its American depositary shares (“ADSs”) or Class A ordinary shares over the next 12 months. As of August 21, 2024, the Company had repurchased an aggregate of 448,192 of its ADSs and 40,631,775 of its Class A ordinary shares for a total cost of approximately US$1.5 million, including 284,147 ADSs (representing 5,682,940 Class A ordinary shares) and 40,537,205 Class A ordinary shares repurchased from Lightspeed China Partners I, L.P. and Lightspeed China Partners I-A, L.P.

Subsequent Event

In July 2024, the Group entered into a share transfer agreement with a third party. According to the share transfer agreement, the Group will transfer 100% of  the shares of Shanghai Anguo Insurance Brokerage Co., Ltd., or Anguo, which is an insurance brokage company that the Group acquired in December 2019, to the third party. Anguo held less than 10% of the Group’s total assets as of December 31, 2023 and June 30, 2024, and contributed less than 10% of the Group’s revenue for both the year ended December 31, 2023 and the six months ended June 30, 2024. The transaction is expected to be completed in fiscal year 2024.

About Jianpu Technology Inc.

Jianpu Technology Inc. operates a leading open financial technology platform, under Rong360 brand, connecting users with an extensive spectrum of financial products and other products and services. By leveraging cutting-edge digital technology, the Company offers intelligent and comprehensive search and recommendation results in a seamless, efficient, and secure manner to meet the needs of its diverse audience. The Company also enables financial and non-financial partners to enhance their efficiency and competitiveness by offering digital intelligence as a service, including data- and analytical-based risk management, intelligent marketing, and other integrated solutions and services. As the Company expands into FinTech+ ecosystem and broadens its global footprint, it will continue to underscore its dedication to innovation and solidify its influence in the space of financial technology and digital transformation. For more information, please visit http://ir.jianpu.ai.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company uses adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income/(loss), each a Non-GAAP financial measure, in evaluating its operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes.

The Company believes that adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income/(loss) help identify underlying trends in its business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of the expenses and gains that the Company include in income/(loss) from operations and net income/(loss). The Company believes that adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income/(loss) provide useful information about its operating results, enhance the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by its management in its financial and operational decision-making.

Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income/(loss) should not be considered in isolation or construed as alternatives to net income/(loss) or any other measure of performance or as indicators of the Company’s operating performance. Investors are encouraged to review the historical Non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income/(loss) presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measures differently, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures to the Company’s data. The Company encourages investors and others to review its financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.

Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA before share-based compensation expenses and investment gain of disposal of subsidiaries and equity investment. EBITDA represents net income/(loss) before interest income and expenses, income tax benefits/(expenses) from net income/(loss), and depreciation and amortization.

Adjusted net income/(loss) represents net income/(loss) before share-based compensation expenses and investment gain of disposal of subsidiaries and equity investment.

For more information on this Non-GAAP financial measure, please see the table captioned “Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP and Non-GAAP results” set forth at the end of this document.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: the Company’s goals and strategies; the Company’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the Company’s expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, its solutions and services; the Company’s expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with users, financial service providers and other parties it collaborates with; trends, competition and regulatory policies relating to the industries the Company operates in; general economic and business conditions globally and in China; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the SEC. All information provided in this document and in the attachments is as of the date of this document, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Jianpu Technology Inc.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands)

As of December 31,

As of June 30,

2023

2024

RMB

RMB

US$

ASSETS

Current assets:

    Cash and cash equivalents

344,569

312,946

43,063

    Time deposits

31,949

32,148

4,424

    Restricted time deposits

278,359

280,092

38,542

    Accounts receivable, net (including amounts billed
through related party of nil and RMB951 as of December
31, 2023 and June 30, 2024, respectively)

161,821

141,699

19,498

    Amount due from related parties

155

2,651

365

    Prepayments and other current assets

40,209

56,054

7,713

Total current assets

857,062

825,590

113,605

Non-current assets:

    Property and equipment, net

11,747

10,432

1,435

    Intangible assets, net

17,162

30,959

4,260

    Restricted cash and time deposits

34,846

34,924

4,806

    Other non-current assets

10,984

24,731

3,403

Total non-current assets

74,739

101,046

13,904

Total assets

931,801

926,636

127,509

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:

    Short-term borrowings

236,212

227,193

31,263

    Accounts payable (including amounts billed through
related party of RMB3,253 and RMB801 as of December
31, 2023 and June 30, 2024, respectively)

106,461

100,915

13,886

    Advances from customers

46,142

49,420

6,800

    Tax payable

10,304

11,030

1,518

    Amount due to related parties

10,623

5,039

693

    Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

89,541

69,144

9,515

Total current liabilities

499,283

462,741

63,675

Non-current liabilities:

    Deferred tax liabilities

3,405

3,205

441

    Other non-current liabilities

11,683

11,173

1,537

Total non-current liabilities

15,088

14,378

1,978

Total liabilities

514,371

477,119

65,653

Shareholders’ equity:

    Ordinary shares

286

286

39

    Treasury stock, at cost

(72,939)

(71,906)

(9,895)

    Additional paid-in capital

1,891,045

1,890,328

260,118

    Accumulated losses

(1,450,925)

(1,421,821)

(195,649)

    Statutory reserves

2,027

2,027

279

    Accumulated other comprehensive income

47,407

50,162

6,903

Total Jianpu’s shareholders’ equity

416,901

449,076

61,795

    Noncontrolling interests

529

441

61

Total shareholders’ equity

417,430

449,517

61,856

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

931,801

926,636

127,509

 

 

Jianpu Technology Inc.
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income/(Loss) 

(In thousands
except for number of shares and per
share data)

For the Six Months Ended June 30,

2023

2024

RMB

RMB

US$

Revenues:

Recommendation services [a]

375,172

289,741

39,870

Digital intelligence as a service[1] [b]

50,740

37,300

5,133

Marketing and other services

149,009

102,156

14,057

Total revenues

574,921

429,197

59,060

Costs and expenses:

Cost of promotion and acquisition [c]

(401,498)

(247,044)

(33,994)

Cost of operation [d]

(38,353)

(28,122)

(3,870)

Total cost of services

(439,851)

(275,166)

(37,864)

Sales and marketing expenses

(64,690)

(64,366)

(8,857)

Research and development expenses [e]

(49,700)

(37,033)

(5,096)

General and administrative expenses

(54,879)

(44,166)

(6,077)

Income/(Loss) from operations

(34,199)

8,466

1,166

Net interest income

2,034

6,275

863

Others, net

10,295

14,724

2,026

Income/(loss) before income tax

(21,870)

29,465

4,055

Income tax benefits/(expense)

162

(524)

(72)

Net income/(loss)

(21,708)

28,941

3,983

Less: net loss attributable to
  noncontrolling interests

(512)

(163)

(22)

Net income/(loss) attributable to
  Jianpu’s shareholders

(21,196)

29,104

4,005

Other comprehensive income

Foreign currency translation adjustments

20,018

2,829

389

Total other comprehensive income

20,018

2,829

389

Total comprehensive income/(loss)

(1,690)

31,770

4,372

Less: total comprehensive loss
  attributable to noncontrolling interests

(538)

(87)

(12)

Total comprehensive income/(loss)
  attributable to Jianpu’s shareholders

(1,152)

31,857

4,384

Net income/(loss) per share
  attributable to Jianpu’s shareholders

Basic

(0.05)

0.07

0.01

Diluted

(0.05)

0.07

0.01

Net income/(loss) per ADS attributable
  to Jianpu’s shareholders

Basic

(1.00)

1.38

0.19

Diluted

(1.00)

1.34

0.18

Weighted average number of shares

Basic

424,521,907

422,748,795

422,748,795

Diluted

424,521,907

435,934,033

435,934,033

[a] Including revenues from related party of RMB709 and RMB186 for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2024, respectively.

[b] Including revenues from related party of RMB1,628 and RMB22 for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2024, respectively.

[c] Including cost of promotion and acquisition from related party of RMB8 and RMB819 for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2024 respectively.

[d] Including cost of operation from related party of RMB471 and RMB493 for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2024, respectively.

[e] Including expenses from related party of RMB256 and RMB38 for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2024, respectively.

 

 

Jianpu Technology Inc.
Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results

 (In thousands)

For the Six Months Ended June 30,

2023

2024

RMB

RMB

US$

Net income/(loss)

(21,708)

28,941

3,983

Add: Share-based compensation
  expenses

2,086

1,165

160

Investment gain of disposal of
subsidiaries and equity investment[2]

(7,057)

(5,850)

(805)

Non-GAAP adjusted net income
/(loss)[3] 

(26,679)

24,256

3,338

Add: Depreciation and amortization

2,216

2,050

282

Net interest income

(2,034)

(6,275)

(863)

Income tax expenses/(benefits)

(162)

524

72

Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA[4]

(26,659)

20,555

2,829

 

[1] Starting from the first half of 2024, the Company updated the description of its revenue stream “big data and system-based risk management services” to “digital intelligence as a service” to provide more relevant and clear information. It also updated the revenue description in comparative periods to conform to the current classification.

[2] In May 2023, the Group (Jianpu, its subsidiaries, and VIEs together are referred to as the “Group”) entered into a share transfer agreement with the founder and minority shareholder of Newsky Wisdom, which is one of the subsidiaries of the Group before the completion of the share transfer. During the second quarter of 2023, according to the share transfer agreement, the Group transferred 35.5% shares to the founder of Newsky Wisdom and consequently became a minority shareholder of Newsky Wisdom, and the Group no longer has control over Newsky Wisdom. The investment gain of RMB7.1 million was recognized in the second quarter of 2023 accordingly. In August 2023, the Group entered into a share transfer agreement with a third-party buyer to sell its remaining 15% equity interests in Newsky Wisdom. During the fourth quarter of 2023, the transaction was completed. The investment gain of RMB5.5 million was recognized accordingly.

In January 2024, the Company, together with other shareholders of an investee company, entered into an investment termination agreement with the investee company, according to which the company’s investment into the investee company was terminated and the investee company would pay the Company US$0.8 million as compensation for such termination.  The compensation was fully paid to the Company in January 2024. The investment had been fully impaired by the Company in the year 2022, and therefore, the termination led to an investment gain of US$0.8 million in January 2024.

[3] Non-GAAP adjusted net income/(loss) represents net income/(loss) before share-based compensation expenses and investment gain of disposal of subsidiaries and equity investment. See “Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results” at the end of this document for more details about Non-GAAP adjusted net income/(loss). Non-GAAP adjusted net income/(loss) margin equals Non-GAAP adjusted net income/(loss) divided by total revenues.

[4] Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA before share-based compensation expenses, investment gain of disposal of subsidiaries and equity investment. EBITDA represents net income/(loss) before interest income and expenses, income tax benefits/(expenses) from net income/(loss), and depreciation and amortization. See “Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results” for more details.

 

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SOURCE Jianpu Technology Inc.

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U.S. Quartz Workers: Strong Safeguard Remedies Needed to Save 100,000 American Manufacturing Jobs

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WASHINGTON, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Quartz Manufacturers Alliance for America (QMAA) released a powerful video featuring quartz manufacturing workers from across the country calling for free and fair trade policies to save 100,000 American jobs. QMAA, a coalition of leading U.S.-based quartz slab manufacturers, are calling for strong safeguard remedies after the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) found a huge flood of foreign imports had caused tremendous injury to the domestic quartz industry.

QMAA members are urging the Trump Administration to build on the ITC’s strong recommendation and address this major flood of quartz imports with a Tariff of 50% and a Reshoring Import Cap of 141 million square feet on imported quartz surface products. This will ensure a reshoring of the good-paying U.S. quartz manufacturing jobs stolen by companies who cheat U.S. trade law, distort competition and are decimating U.S. quartz manufacturing. Together, these trade remedies will provide the relief necessary to save the 100,000 jobs supported by the U.S. quartz industry.

The video features workers from LX Hausys, Guidoni USA and Cambria Company and is available here:
Save 100,000 American Quartz Jobs

Quotes from QMAA Quartz Manufacturing Workers
“This facility used to be a Husqvarna plant. Husqvarna closed down due to cheap foreign imports. There were over 1,000 people working here and all of a sudden…I’m worried I may see the same thing take place again.”
-Raymond Mack, Production Operator, Guidoni USA, Helena-McRae, GA

“Foreign countries, mainly China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, have been circumventing and cheating the American market. We believe in the industry. We believe in the American working power. We just want to level the playing field, make it fair for everyone and everyone will benefit.”
– Daniel Vas de Melo SA, Business Development Manager, Guidoni USA, McRae-Helena, GA

“In order for us to continue to compete, we need a strong Tariff and Import Cap on imported quartz surfaces. That will ensure we can play on an even playing field. That’s all we’re asking for. I would hate to see cheap, imported quartz have a negative impact on families such as mine and the other families that we employ here.”
– Mike Morici, Vice President – LX Hausys, Adairsville, GA

“The surge of foreign imports has shocked the U.S. economy, and the market for surfaces. It’s taken prices down to unsustainably low levels for any domestic supplier. The result of that is we’re not producing as much as we should, we can’t hire as many people as we would like to, and we can’t grow our business in the way that we and our peers in the U.S. want to grow.”
– Andrew Eich, President and Chief Operating Officer, Cambria

“As these foreign imports flood the market, we lose the ability to create and sustain jobs that ensure good paying conditions for manufacturing workers. There will be over 100,000 jobs that have the strong potential to go away.”
– Jack Sundry, SVP Core and Lexus – Cambria, Southern Minnesota

Background
In September 2025, QMAA filed a Global Safeguard petition with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) under Section 201 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974. The ITC’s thorough investigation found serious injury to the domestic industry caused by a massive import surge designed to undercut American businesses. Quartz imports have surged by 78.3% within the past five years, leading to a nearly 20% decline in domestic production, factory closures and major job reductions.

A final safeguard decision from the United States Trade Representative is expected by Aug. 1, 2026.

About the Quartz Manufacturing Alliance for America:
QMAA is a coalition of U.S.-based, American quartz slab manufacturing factories, united with other industry leaders to support and strengthen the American quartz industry. QMAA is committed to ensuring a free and fair, competitive marketplace born of free enterprise that provides the opportunity to compete on a level playing field for American quartz slab manufacturing factories and their valued workers. We also believe this effort will have a positive impact throughout the entire quartz surfacing industry, including to the strong benefit of American stone fabrication shops and upstream suppliers of quartz minerals and resin. Learn more at: https://www.qmaa.org/

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SOURCE Quartz Manufacturing Alliance of America

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Databricks and Microsoft expand partnership to help enterprises bring business context to enterprise AI

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Databricks and Microsoft extend strategic partnership through the 2030s to scale enterprise AIDatabricks deepens its bet on Azure, growing its use of Azure Databricks to run its own core business operations and analytics, while both companies advance native integration across the Microsoft stack, including Databricks Genie and Microsoft 365Databricks increases its use of Microsoft Azure Cobalt to improve performance and efficiency

REDMOND, Wash. and SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Microsoft Corp. and Databricks on Wednesday announced an expansion of their decade-long strategic partnership, extending into the 2030s. Databricks will deepen its use of Azure Databricks to run core business operations and build its unified lakehouse, while leveraging Azure Cobalt, Microsoft’s next-generation Arm-based infrastructure, to improve performance and efficiency. Microsoft will also continue integrating Databricks Data and AI platform across its products, bringing capabilities like Genie, Databricks’ AI co-worker, directly into customer workflows. Together, the companies are helping enterprises build AI grounded in their own business context with the cost efficiency, control and choice needed to scale successfully.

Enterprises want AI that understands their customers, products, operations, metrics and business processes, all while running securely where work happens. Yet, most still struggle to connect AI to trusted business knowledge, govern models and agents consistently, and control costs. Microsoft and Databricks are helping customers close that gap: 

“For nearly a decade, Databricks and Microsoft have helped enterprises innovate with data and AI,” said Ali Ghodsi, Co‑Founder and CEO of Databricks. “Today, our partnership is stronger than ever. With Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway deeply integrated across Microsoft’s products, we’re helping enterprises unify their data and ground AI in business knowledge. This lets customers get the full benefits of agents and models while controlling costs and ensuring governance.”

“The next generation of AI will be defined by how effectively organizations turn their unique knowledge into intelligence,” said Judson Althoff, CEO, Microsoft Commercial Business. “Microsoft and Databricks are helping customers connect data, AI and business context to accelerate decision-making and drive measurable impact. With Databricks deepening its investment in Azure Databricks and Azure Cobalt-powered infrastructure, customers will benefit from greater performance, efficiency and scale for their most demanding workloads. Databricks’ decision to run its own core business operations on Azure Databricks also gives customers confidence in a platform proven at enterprise scale.”

Databricks runs core business operations on Azure Databricks 

As part of this latest deal, Databricks deepens its commitment to Azure, running its own core business operations and analytics on Azure Databricks, using the very platform it delivers to customers at scale.

Advancing performance with Azure Cobalt

Databricks will also expand its use of Azure Cobalt, Microsoft’s next-generation Arm-based infrastructure, to improve performance and efficiency for agentic and data-intensive workloads. Databricks currently uses Cobalt 100 and plans to adopt Cobalt 200, which delivers up to 50% better performance and includes memory encryption enabled by default.

Deep integrations for Databricks Genie and Unity AI Gateway with Microsoft product stack

By combining the Databricks Data + AI Platform with Azure’s global scale, customers can accelerate AI transformation while maintaining control and reliability. As a native Azure service, Azure Databricks makes its AI capabilities available directly within customers’ existing Microsoft environment, grounding and operating agents on enterprise data with Genie and Genie Ontology, and governing models, agents and cost through Unity AI Gateway. Deeply integrated across the Microsoft ecosystem spanning Microsoft Entra, Azure Data Lake Storage, Azure security, Microsoft OneLake, Power BI, Microsoft Purview, Microsoft Foundry, Power Platform, Microsoft 365, Teams and Copilot, these capabilities bring governed, real-time data and AI into business workflows, giving organizations the context, control, choice and cost efficiency needed to drive impact.

Continued investment is evident from our recent announcements with Databricks at Data + AI Summit in June.

Customer impact with Azure Databricks

The deepened collaboration strengthens support for joint customers running data, analytics and AI workloads on Azure Databricks, delivering improved performance, security, AI governance and enterprise readiness. Thousands of customers, including Banco Bradesco, the Cincinnati Reds, Electrolux, SMBC and Unilever, already use Azure Databricks to run critical workloads and scale AI with confidence.

Read more on the proven business value of the Databricks and Microsoft partnership on the Microsoft Azure blog.

About Databricks

Databricks is the Data and AI company. More than 20,000 organizations worldwide — including AT&T, Bayer, BMW Group, HSBC, T-Mobile, Unilever, and 70% of the Fortune 500 — rely on Databricks Data + AI Platform to build and scale data and AI apps, analytics and agents. Headquartered in San Francisco with 30+ offices around the globe, Databricks offers a unified platform that includes Genie, Lakebase, Agent Bricks, Lakeflow, Lakehouse, and Unity Catalog. To learn more, follow Databricks on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

 

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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.

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Harness and Kong Expand Strategic Partnership to Deliver Comprehensive API and AI Security

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Joint solution extends proven API gateway security to the AI era — with automated AI discovery and runtime AI protection

SAN FRANCISCO, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Harness, the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, and Kong Inc., a leading developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, today announced an expansion of their strategic partnership to address the growing security challenges posed by AI-driven architectures, autonomous agents, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) deployments.

According to The State of AI-Native Application Security 2025 report, as enterprises race to deploy AI at scale, 62% have no visibility into where LLMs are in use across their environment, and 74% say AI sprawl will outpace API sprawl when it comes to risk — making embedded, infrastructure-level security more critical than ever. And companies are now deploying agents into their operations at an exponentially increasing rate, making it a necessity to protect the agents themselves and the systems interacting with those agents.

The two companies are extending their joint solution from Kong API Gateway to also include Kong AI Gateway, bringing Harness’s AI security intelligence directly into the AI infrastructure layer and enabling enterprises to discover, monitor, and protect every agent, AI asset, LLM-powered service, and MCP-connected workflow that traverses it.

A Proven Foundation: Harness and Kong API Gateway

Harness and Kong have been jointly trusted by enterprises to deliver best-in-class API security for years. The existing Harness and Kong API Gateway integration provides:

Comprehensive API traffic visibility and behavioral analysis across all Kong-managed servicesReal-time detection and blocking of API threats, including OWASP API Security Top 10 risks, credential stuffing attacks, and business logic abuseContinuous sensitive data tracking to identify PII exposure and regulatory riskZero-friction deployment alongside existing Kong configurations

This new offering of the AI Gateway solution applies the same level of security depth to AI infrastructure, ensuring that security teams are not left behind as their organizations adopt AI and agentic operations.

“Our partnership with Harness has given joint customers production-grade API security that works with the way they build, not against it,” said Ken Kim, Senior Vice President, Business Development at Kong Inc. “Extending to include Kong AI Gateway is a natural next step. The same enterprises are now moving AI into production through our gateway and need the same depth of visibility and control they’ve come to rely on for their APIs for all AI traffic types including LLM, MCP, and A2A. That’s exactly what this delivers and is crucial for organizations scaling in the agentic era.”

The New Frontier: Kong AI Gateway and Harness AI Security

As enterprises accelerate AI adoption, the attack surface has fundamentally shifted. AI agents, LLM-powered microservices, and MCP-enabled integrations introduce new vectors that traditional security tools were not designed to address. Unlike traditional software, AI agents are non-deterministic — the same agent can behave differently on consecutive runs, making it impossible to secure them the way you’d secure a static API. The new Harness and Kong AI Gateway integration directly tackles these challenges across two critical domains: AI discovery and AI protection.

AI Discovery
Harness automatically inventories every AI asset, API, MCP server, tool, prompt, and resource routed through Kong AI Gateway — providing security teams with a continuously updated catalog of their AI attack surface. No manual documentation. No blind spots.

AI Protection
Harness applies behavioral analysis and anomaly detection to AI traffic in real time, identifying prompt injection attacks, data exfiltration through AI responses, jailbreaking, malicious code in prompts, and other AI-specific threats. Enterprises gain the same depth of observability and protection for their agents and AI workloads that they already rely on for traditional APIs, with full prompt and response details available for incident investigation and inline policy enforcement through Kong AI Gateway.

“Shadow AI has become the defining security blind spot for enterprises today. Traditional tools were built for static code and predictable systems, not for adaptive AI models, agent-to-agent communication, and MCP-connected workflows that evolve continuously,” said Rahul Sood, GM of Application Security at Harness. “This integration of Harness AI Security with Kong puts security intelligence directly into the connectivity layer where AI traffic flows. Joint customers now have the visibility and control they need to move fast without losing sight of what’s happening across their AI infrastructure.”

Availability

The Harness and Kong API Gateway integration is generally available today for all joint customers. The Kong AI Gateway integration, including AI Discovery and AI Protection, is also generally available now. Joint customers can contact their account team or request a demo.

About Harness
Harness is the AI Software Delivery Platform™ company, enabling engineering teams to build, test, and deliver software faster and more securely. Powered by Harness AI and the Software Delivery Knowledge Graph, the platform brings intelligent automation to every stage of the software delivery lifecycle after code — removing toil and freeing developers from manual, repetitive work. Companies like United Airlines, Morningstar, and Choice Hotels use Harness to accelerate releases by up to 75%, cut cloud costs by 60%, and achieve 10x efficiency across DevOps. Based in San Francisco, Harness is backed by Goldman Sachs, Menlo Ventures, IVP, Unusual Ventures, and Citi Ventures.

About Kong

Kong Inc., a leading developer of API and AI connectivity technologies, is building the connectivity layer of AI. Trusted by the Fortune 500® and AI-native startups alike, Kong’s unified API and AI platform enables organizations to secure, manage, accelerate, govern, and monetize the flow of intelligence across APIs and AI traffic — on any model, any cloud. For more information, visit www.konghq.com.

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SOURCE Harness

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