IBM spins Jeopardy-dominating Watson robot into a billion dollar business group
Ever since it was unveiled four years ago, Watson has been the factotum of the robotics world, working a slew of gigs in hospitals, on Wall Street and the like. Now IBM's ready to give its supercomputer what may well be its toughest gig to date. The company is pumping $1 billion into its new Watson Business Group, which is "dedicated solely to the development and commercialization of cloud-delivered cognitive innovations." The division will be headquartered in Manhattan, focused on applying the computer's smarts to apps aimed at such diverse fields as healthcare, finance, travel, telecom and retail. Apparently the old 'bot hasn't quite settled on one gig after all.
