In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology news:

  • Peak 10 adds a new data center in the Triangle
  • Artificial intelligence pioneer Marvin Minsky dies
  • EMC’s financials meet Wall Street expectations
  • AvidXchange adds a former Capital One president to its board

The details:

  • Peak 10 adds new data center

Charlotte-based data center and IT services provider Peak 10 has opened a third data center in the Triangle.

“Peak 10’s new Raleigh facility is contiguous to its two existing data centers and adds 30,000 square feet to the company’s local presence,” the company says.

“The new data center includes office space and a state-of-the-art Technical Assistance Center (TAC) designed for optimal customer support. Like all of Peak 10’s data centers, its newest facility is compliant with numerous regulatory requirements and industry standards, including HIPAA, PCI DSS and ISO 27001.”

  • Marvin Minsky, pioneer of artificial intelligence, dies

Marvin Minsky, a pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who saw parallels in the functioning of the human brain and computers, died Sunday at age 88.

The university said Minsky died Sunday at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. The cause of death was a cerebral hemorrhage.

Minsky viewed the brain as a machine whose functioning can be studied and replicated in a computer, and he considered how machines might be endowed with common sense.

Daniela Rus, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, said Minsky “helped create the vision of artificial intelligence as we know it today.”

Minsky joined MIT’s faculty in 1958, after earning degrees from Harvard and Princeton universities. It was at Princeton that Minsky met colleague John McCarthy, and in 1959 the pair founded the M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence Project, now known as MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. McCarthy is credited with coining the term “artificial intelligence.”

The New York Times reports the lab brought about the notion that digital information should be shared freely and was part of the original ARPAnet, the precursor to the Internet.

Minsky’s other accomplishments include inventing and building the first ultrahigh-resolution confocal microscope, an instrument used in the biological sciences. In 1969, he was awarded the prestigious Turing Award, computer science’s highest prize.

Minsky’s books include “The Society of Mind” and “The Emotion Machine.” He also advised iconic director Stanley Kubrick on his 1968 science-fiction classic “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Kubrick visited Minsky seeking to know whether he believed it was plausible that computers would be speaking by 2001, according to the New York Times.

Born in New York City, Minsky served in the Navy during World War II before studying mathematics at Harvard and Princeton.

Minsky is survived by his wife, Gloria Rudisch, a pediatrician; their three children; a sister and four grandchildren.

  • EMC meets 4Q profit forecasts

EMC Corp. (EMC) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $771 million.

The Hopkinton, Massachusetts-based company said it had profit of 39 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and restructuring costs, came to 65 cents per share.

The results met Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of 65 cents per share.

The maker of data-storage equipment posted revenue of $7.01 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Nine analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $7.09 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $1.99 billion, or $1.01 per share. Revenue was reported as $24.7 billion.

EMC shares have declined slightly more than 5 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has decreased almost 7 percent. The stock has fallen 14 percent in the last 12 months.

  • AxidXchange adds former Capital One president to board

Charlotte-based AvidXchange has added former Capital One president Nigel Morris to its board. Morris is currently managing partner of QED Investors.

The fintech company, a provider of Accounts Payable and Payment Automation, recently raised $225 million in capital.

“With our $225 million minority growth financing last fall and our aggressive hiring plans and corporate campus expansion, it is a pivotal time for our company to align with leadership that has thrived in high-growth environments that can help us to maximize our investment and continue to propel our growth exponentially and efficiently. What better time to welcome to our board a seasoned expert who focuses on high-growth companies,” said Michael Praeger, CEO and Co-Founder of AvidXchange.

“Nigel’s tremendous experience in scaling high growth fintech companies and helping build our team of human capital will blend perfectly with AvidXchange’s DNA and goals; the potential is endless.”.