Reuters parent has $8 billion to spend

Thomson Reuters has an $8 billion war chest to spend on acquisitions and investments in artificial intelligence, according to chief executive Steve Hasker in an interview with the Financial Times.

Daniel Thomas and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson of the FT report, “Hasker was clear, however: ‘Reuters is not for sale. Reuters is an integral part of our portfolio.’

“He said that its Reuters news bureaus also had access to its AI tech, and could already use an AI tool that helped create ideas for stories. ‘I’ve been here for four-and-a-bit years and we have worked really hard to make these parts of the business work together. It’s early days but the evidence is growing that there’s some really interesting benefits to be shared.’

“Hasker said the group had looked at whether to create a paywall for the news service — with rivals such as Bloomberg charging high subscriptions for access to their data and journalism — but he added for now it was focused on serving LSEG, its largest customer, and agency customers.”

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