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Art by Mike Sullivan

The Creative Dealmaking Behind Meta’s $30 Billion Data Center Financing

By Miles Kruppa · Oct 28, 2025 6:00am PDT · 2 comments

It took a year and some financial acrobatics, but Meta Platforms and a small army of bankers and lawyers were able to secure funding for a $27 billion data center project without doing any immediate damage to the company’s finances. A private letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission helped seal the deal. ... It took a year and some financial acrobatics, but Meta Platforms and a small army of bankers...

Photo of Palmer Luckey by Getty Images. Art by Mike Sullivan.

Anduril Is a Hot Ticket Despite Burning More Than $800 Million in Cash

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 27, 2025 6:00am PDT

Defense tech company Anduril expects to burn through $800 million to $900 million in cash this year in an aggressive bid to win giant Pentagon contracts. Investors big and small are unperturbed, lining up to back the fast-growing seller of drones, missiles and border surveillance towers. The company appears to be the most coveted stock in the... Defense tech company Anduril expects to burn through $800 million to $900 million in cash this...

SoftBank's Masayoshi Son (left) and OpenAI's Sam Altman. Photo by Getty Images

SoftBank Greenlights Remaining $22.5 Billion of OpenAI Investment

By Sri Muppidi · Oct 25, 2025 1:19pm PDT · 1 comment

SoftBank has taken the next step to complete its gargantuan $30 billion investment in OpenAI. The Japanese conglomerate’s board has approved a second installment of $22.5 billion on that investment, as long as the artificial intelligence startup completes a corporate restructuring that would pay the way for an eventual public offering, according... SoftBank has taken the next step to complete its gargantuan $30 billion investment in OpenAI. The...

Photo via Getty

Google Investigates Weekslong Security Breach Involving Contractor

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Erin Woo · Oct 25, 2025 11:12am PDT · 2 comments

Photo via Getty

Google Investigates Weekslong Security Breach Involving Contractor

By Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Erin Woo · Oct 25, 2025 11:12am PDT · 2 comments

Google is investigating a breach of its security systems involving a contractor who took almost 2,000 screenshots and sensitive internal files, including information related to Google’s Play store systems and guardrails, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The contractor sent the images to an unidentified outsider, the person... Google is investigating a breach of its security systems involving a contractor who took almost...

Rodrigo Liang, Co-founder & CEO, SambaNova Systems. Getty Images.

AI Chip Startup SambaNova Explores Sale After Stalled Fundraising

By Valida Pau · Oct 25, 2025 7:34am PDT · 2 comments

Artificial intelligence chip startup SambaNova Systems is exploring a sale, after it struggled to complete a fundraising round, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The Palo Alto, Calif., startup was last valued at $5 billion in 2021. SambaNova and other AI chip startups have had difficulty growing sales in the face of... Artificial intelligence chip startup SambaNova Systems is exploring a sale, after it struggled to...

Art by Clark Miller. Photo of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman by Getty Images

OpenAI Moves to Generate AI Music in Potential Rivalry With Startup Suno

By Sri Muppidi and Erin Woo · Oct 24, 2025 2:22pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI recently made a splash with artificial intelligence that generates short videos from text prompts—say, a scene from “Lord of the Rings” but with Gen Z characters, or Pokémon’s Pikachu as “The Godfather.” Now the company has set its sights on doing the same thing with music. OpenAI staff have been taking steps to develop AI... OpenAI recently made a splash with artificial intelligence that generates short videos from text...

Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Anjney Midha. Photy by Getty Images.

Andreessen Horowitz General Partner Midha to Establish Compute Firm

By Katie Roof · Oct 24, 2025 12:52pm PDT · 1 comment

Andreessen Horowitz’s artificial intelligence chip hunter is setting out on his own. Anjney Midha—an Andreessen general partner who helped the firm’s startups gain access to highly sought-after graphics processing units—told the firm’s staff on Friday that he was setting up an outside venture called AMP to “provide compute and... Andreessen Horowitz’s artificial intelligence chip hunter is setting out on his own. Anjney...

SoftBank CEO, Masayoshi Son. Getty Images

SoftBank Hunts for Humanoid Robot Startups

By Rocket Drew · Oct 23, 2025 11:11am PDT · 2 comments

SoftBank CEO, Masayoshi Son. Getty Images

SoftBank Hunts for Humanoid Robot Startups

By Rocket Drew · Oct 23, 2025 11:11am PDT · 2 comments

SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has long predicted a future where robots would outnumber people and take over many jobs from humans. But some of SoftBank’s bets in robotics over the past 10 years, such as robot companion Pepper, have not panned out. Now the company is renewing its robot ambitions—particularly in robots that resemble humans. Late... SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son has long predicted a future where robots would outnumber people and take...

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images

Could Apple and Musk’s SpaceX Finally Do a Satellite Deal?

By Aaron Tilley and Wayne Ma · Oct 23, 2025 6:30am PDT · 1 comment

A few years ago, Elon Musk pitched Apple unsuccessfully on the idea of his company, SpaceX, providing satellite connectivity to iPhones. There are tantalizing hints that such a deal could be back on the table. In recent months, in anticipation of a possible future arrangement with Apple, SpaceX has added support in its new satellite designs for... A few years ago, Elon Musk pitched Apple unsuccessfully on the idea of his company, SpaceX,...

Photo by Getty Images

TikTok Empowers Chinese Executives in Management Revamp

By Juro Osawa · Oct 23, 2025 5:52am PDT · 1 comment

TikTok is implementing drastic leadership changes that pull the video app closer to the orbit of its parent ByteDance, just as Washington and Beijing are on the cusp of reaching a deal over the app’s future in the U.S. TikTok’s global content and distribution partnership teams, both led by Western executives, will be moved under Fiona Zhi, a ... TikTok is implementing drastic leadership changes that pull the video app closer to the orbit of...

Photo by Getty.

Adobe Discussed $3 Billion Acquisition of AI Video Startup Synthesia

By Katie Roof · Oct 22, 2025 2:10pm PDT

Adobe in recent months held talks with Synthesia, a London-based maker of artificial intelligence software that generates video avatars of people, to buy the startup for about $3 billion, a premium from the startup’s $2.1 billion valuation in a January financing, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. Synthesia and ... Adobe in recent months held talks with Synthesia, a London-based maker of artificial...

Getty Images.

TikTok Shop’s New Ad Policy Risks Alienating Merchants

By Ann Gehan · Oct 22, 2025 6:00am PDT

Getty Images.

TikTok Shop’s New Ad Policy Risks Alienating Merchants

By Ann Gehan · Oct 22, 2025 6:00am PDT

As TikTok readies itself for the expected sale of its U.S. business to a new venture controlled by American investors, the company is trying to boost its commerce business, TikTok Shop. But the measures it has taken risk alienating merchants who sell on the shopping service. TikTok Shop in recent weeks has begun pushing its sellers to switch to... As TikTok readies itself for the expected sale of its U.S. business to a new venture controlled...

Getty Images

AI Enigma: Search Traffic Drops to Sites, but Revenue Doesn’t—Yet

By Catherine Perloff · Oct 21, 2025 6:00am PDT

In the past year, Mexican hotel chain Tafer Hotels & Resorts has seen traffic to its website fall 25%. Despite that, Tafer’s revenue is up year over year, according to Max Gomez Montejo, chief digital marketing officer at the hotel chain. Tafer isn’t alone. A growing number of companies say their websites are losing traffic, thanks to how... In the past year, Mexican hotel chain Tafer Hotels & Resorts has seen traffic to its website...

Sakana AI CEO David Ha. AP Images.

OpenAI’s Japanese Rival Sakana in Talks to Raise Capital at $2.5 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Juro Osawa and Katie Roof · Oct 20, 2025 8:57pm PDT

Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based developer of artificial intelligence, is in talks with U.S. and Japanese investors to raise $100 million at a valuation of $2.5 billion, up 66% from a financing a year ago, according to two people involved in the discussions. The funding talks come months after CEO David Ha said publicly that the company would operate... Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based developer of artificial intelligence, is in talks with U.S. and Japanese...

Oracle Chair Larry Ellison. Image via Getty

Oracle Assures Investors on AI Cloud Margins as It Struggles to Profit From Older Nvidia Chips

By Anissa Gardizy · Oct 16, 2025 2:15pm PDT · 1 comment

Oracle on Thursday sought to reassure investors that its business of renting out servers packed with Nvidia chips to OpenAI, Meta and other artificial intelligence developers will become far more profitable as revenue surges. Oracle co-CEO Clay Magouyrk told financial analysts Thursday that the company’s AI data center business, which is mostly... Oracle on Thursday sought to reassure investors that its business of renting out servers packed...

Left to right: Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Amy Hood, OpenAI's Sam Altman. Art: Shane Burke. Photos: Getty

Why Microsoft Let OpenAI Play the Field

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 16, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Left to right: Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Amy Hood, OpenAI's Sam Altman. Art: Shane Burke. Photos: Getty

Why Microsoft Let OpenAI Play the Field

By Aaron Holmes · Oct 16, 2025 6:00am PDT · 4 comments

Over the past three years, as OpenAI swelled from a tiny research lab into the world’s most valuable startup, one company has captured nearly all of its billions of dollars in annual spending on the servers needed to power OpenAI’s artificial intelligence: Microsoft. In recent months, though, OpenAI announced megadeals with several Microsoft... Over the past three years, as OpenAI swelled from a tiny research lab into the world’s most...

Art by Mike Sullivan

Anthropic Gets Ready to Go Startup Shopping

By Valida Pau and Sri Muppidi · Oct 15, 2025 6:00am PDT

OpenAI has spent roughly $6.4 billion in stock to buy three startups over the last 16 months, while its smaller rival Anthropic has done barely any deals. But Anthropic, recently valued at $170 billion in a funding round, told investment bankers in recent weeks that it is getting ready to move off the sidelines and do more acquisitions,... OpenAI has spent roughly $6.4 billion in stock to buy three startups over the last 16 months,...

Together AI CEO Vipul Ved Prakash. Photo via Getty

The Race to Rent Out Nvidia Chips in the Cloud Intensifies

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Wayne Ma, Miles Kruppa and Katie Roof · Oct 14, 2025 6:00am PDT

Demand for Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips has spawned half a dozen multibillion-dollar cloud providers that buy the chips, install them in data centers and rent them out to OpenAI and other AI developers. Another upstart, Together AI, is now joining the race among these neoclouds, which compete against traditional cloud providers such as... Demand for Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips has spawned half a dozen multibillion-dollar...

OpenAI's Sam Altman, left, and SoftBank's Masayoshi Son. Images via Getty.

OpenAI Is Working With SoftBank’s Arm on AI Chip Effort

By Qianer Liu and Anissa Gardizy · Oct 13, 2025 3:16pm PDT · 3 comments

OpenAI’s development of its own artificial intelligence chip could end up benefiting SoftBank, one of its biggest shareholders, which is also helping the ChatGPT maker develop and finance its ambitious data center plan. OpenAI is talking with SoftBank’s Arm subsidiary about using an Arm-designed central processing unit with OpenAI’s AI... OpenAI’s development of its own artificial intelligence chip could end up benefiting...

Art by Mike Sullivan

How Amazon Product Listings Are Evolving as AI Changes Search

By Catherine Perloff and Ann Gehan · Oct 10, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

Art by Mike Sullivan

How Amazon Product Listings Are Evolving as AI Changes Search

By Catherine Perloff and Ann Gehan · Oct 10, 2025 6:00am PDT · 1 comment

When ecommerce consultant David Khandrius had to help a client who sold baby strollers write a product listing for Amazon’s website in the past, he typically tried to jam as many words into the listing as possible to ensure Amazon’s search algorithm would capture it. That might result in a convoluted title for a listing, like “travel stroller... When ecommerce consultant David Khandrius had to help a client who sold baby strollers write a...