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Or, founded over five decades ago, has seldom remained in the technological discourse since the AI wave commenced in 2022. This changed drastically with the striking of a colossal $300 billion (€253 billion) cloud computing pact with OpenAI this month, a deal that propelled Oracle’s co-founder and CTO, Larry Ellison, to the position of the world’s wealthiest individual, albeit momentarily.
Now poised to potentially join a consortium interested in acquiring TikTok’s US business, Oracle may play a pivotal role in preserving TikTok’s presence in America, as per media prognostics.
So, what precisely is Oracle, and why now its renewed prominence in social media and AI realms?
A Global Technology Behemoth
In 1977, Oracle’s inception came into fruition following Larry Ellison’s presentation of a paper on a “relational database management system” (RDBMS) to co-founders Bob Miller and Ed Oates; a concept capable of bridging multiple databases. Recognizing the untapped commercial potential of this technology, they embarked on launching Software Development Laboratories (SDL), with the Oracle database at its core, initially developed for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Equipped with Oracle databases, industry giants such as telecommunications provider AT&T, Deutsche Bank, health tech firm Munich Re, and automotive conglomerate Stellantis continue to thrive.
The Oracle database emerged in 1979 amidst a computing landscape dominated by colossal systems hindered by complex and inefficient software. Oracle’s impact was immediate; the need for computer-literate specialists was augmented by Oracle’s simplified data solutions, full-scale software applications, and synchronized computing, steering the company from 35 employees to a global titan};
Oracle’s pivot to cloud computing in subsequent years emulated this success, culminating in the launch of Fusion Cloud applications in 2011, indicative of the era’s burgeoning cloud computing trend.
The Current Relevance of Oracle
Apart from its foundational databases and cloud computing software, Oracle offers enterprise software and integrated hardware and software systems. Its shift towards cloud computing in the 2010s, involved establishing data centers, pivotal in powering the large language models for AI training.
“Oracle cloud infrastructure,” with its global footprint, asserts its utility for companies to run AI workloads akin to on-premise solutions, yet with scalable flexibility to conserve operational costs.
Oracle has fostered significant partnerships, including collaborations with Microsoft and a notable pact with TikTok, joining forces with OpenAI in a concerted effort to pioneer in AI infrastructure investment through the US Stargate Project, indicative of a strategic alignment towards future-proofing its technological dominance with a suite of AI-capable products launched thereafter.
