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		<title>Bay Area-based tech company announces shocking layoff of nearly a quarter of its workforce</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/bay-area-based-tech-company-announces-shocking-layoff-of-nearly-a-quarter-of-its-workforce/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2026 05:14:36 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>More pain for the Bay Area tech sector as another company announces layoffs — this time a staggering 23% of the workforce. The San Mateo action-based camera maker GoPro will let nearly a quarter of its workforce around the world go by the second quarter of 2026, according to a filing with the Securities and [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/bay-area-based-tech-company-announces-shocking-layoff-of-nearly-a-quarter-of-its-workforce/">Bay Area-based tech company announces shocking layoff of nearly a quarter of its workforce</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>More pain for the Bay Area tech sector as another company announces layoffs — this time a staggering 23% of the workforce.</p>
<p>The San Mateo action-based camera maker GoPro will let nearly a quarter of its workforce around the world go by the second quarter of 2026, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange commission.</p>
<p>The company, which first launched its camera line in the early 2000s, plans to cut some 145 jobs globally, representing 23% of the company’s ending first quarter head count of 631 employees, per the filing.</p>
<p>The San Mateo-based action camera company GoPro is slashing jobs. <span class="credit">Getty Images</span></p>
<p>The cuts are expected to be completed by the end of the year, the filing read.</p>
<p>The move comes after GoPro’s Board of Directors approved a restructuring plan on April 7 to “reduce operating costs and drive stronger operating leverage.”</p>
<p>“Restructuring Plan is expected to cost the tech company between $11.5 million and $15 million. The costs include one time benefits payouts to those “affected employees, including but not limited to severance payments and healthcare benefits,” the filing noted.</p>
<p>The cuts are expected to effect some 145 jobs globally. <span class="credit">Bloomberg via Getty Images</span></p>
<p>An article in November 2025, noted that GoPro sales had declined by nearly 37% year over year.</p>
<p>Despite the drop, CEO Nicolas Woodman put a positive spin on the way things stood at the time.</p>
<p>“Q3 marked a meaningful step forward in our strategy to diversify, grow, and restore profitability to GoPro’s business,” Woodman said. “We successfully launched three new TAM-expanding hardware products — our MAX2 360 camera, LIT HERO camera and Fluid Pro AI gimbal — alongside several new software offerings. We expect to return to revenue growth and profitability beginning Q4 2025 and in 2026.”</p>
<p>The cuts are expected to slash nearly a quarter of the company’s workforce. <span class="credit">Getty Images/iStockphoto</span></p>
<p>Several people commented on a Reddit Post about the job cuts.</p>
<p>“Another round of layoffs (not to be confused with the previous layoffs, this is new). This is a brutal time to be laid off, I hope they land on their feet,” one person wrote. “This is 100% on Nick Woodman. He should have been laid off years ago.”</p>
<p>Another added, “Might be a good move for them, everyone laying off, thousands of employees, they just following the trend. For investors it sounds appealing.”</p>
<p>“Salaries cut off, new cameras + new processor at NBA Show -&gt; Their stock will probably jump a lot on the next few weeks. So with this changes + new revenue if the launch is a success, might  actually save them as a company.”</p>
<p>A November 2025 report said sales were down year over year. <span class="credit">Vladimir Razgulyaev – stock.adobe.com</span></p>
<p>On Tuesday, it was announced that some 700 workers at another Bay Area tech company, Oracle, would be out of work by June statewide. </p>
<p>The statewide tally along with another nearly 500 firings in Seattle, is part of the software maker’s recently announced bloodbath that is reportedly in the thousands of jobs.</p>
<p>Last month, a 6 a.m. email message was sent out to workers notifying fired employees that they were out. </p>
<p>The message from one of the world’s largest software companies, chaired by billionaire Larry Ellison, informed “thousands” of workers across the globe that March 31 would be their last day.</p>
<p>Two people familiar with the matter confirmed to CNBC that the layoffs involved thousands of jobs.</p>
<p>It’s the latest Bay Area tech company to gut its workforce globally. <span class="credit">Getty Images</span></p>
<p>Oracle told The California Post that it would decline comment when asked about how many jobs were being cut.</p>
<p>As of May 2025, the software company employed around 162,0000 full-time employees, according to its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.</p>
<p>The California Post reached out to GoPro for further comment.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/bay-area-based-tech-company-announces-shocking-layoff-of-nearly-a-quarter-of-its-workforce/">Bay Area-based tech company announces shocking layoff of nearly a quarter of its workforce</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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		<title>A closer look at Nvidia&#8217;s $20 billion bet on tech for a new AI chip</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/a-closer-look-at-nvidias-20-billion-bet-on-tech-for-a-new-ai-chip/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 15 Mar 2026 09:56:18 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/?p=13911</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>On the day before Christmas, when few stocks were stirring, a pricey and pivotal transaction jolted the AI computing race: Nvidia was spending a reported $20 billion to license technology from chip startup Groq and hire key employees, including its CEO, who previously helped Google create what&#8217;s become the leading alternative to Nvidia&#8217;s AI processors. [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/a-closer-look-at-nvidias-20-billion-bet-on-tech-for-a-new-ai-chip/">A closer look at Nvidia&#8217;s $20 billion bet on tech for a new AI chip</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p>
<p><span hidden="" aria-hidden="true" class="ArticleBody-extraData"><span hidden="" aria-hidden="true" class="ArticleBody-extraData"><span hidden="" aria-hidden="true" class="xyz-data">On the day before Christmas, when few stocks were stirring, a pricey and pivotal transaction jolted the AI computing race: Nvidia was spending a reported $20 billion to license technology from chip startup Groq and hire key employees, including its CEO, who previously helped Google create what&#8217;s become the leading alternative to Nvidia&#8217;s AI processors. In the months since, Nvidia&#8217;s offensive move has arguably flown under the radar, considering its competitive ramifications in the artificial intelligence gold rush. Perhaps it was lost in the Christmastime shuffle, or in the torrent of other deals and investments that have been flowing from the world&#8217;s most valuable company over the past year. That should change next week, when Nvidia holds its annual GTC event, called the GPU Technology Conference in its early days, in San Jose, California. The four-day gathering is a big deal in AI. It takes place at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, with Monday&#8217;s keynote address from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang held at the nearby SAP Center, where the NHL&#8217;s San Jose Sharks play — a venue befitting Jensen&#8217;s leather jacket-wearing, rock star-like status. Throughout the week, Nvidia plans to share at least some of its vision for incorporating Groq&#8217;s chip technology into its already-dominant AI computing ecosystem. &#8220;I&#8217;ve got some great ideas that I&#8217;d like to share with you at GTC,&#8221; Jensen said on the chipmaker&#8217;s late February earnings call. Those ideas figure to be among the notable developments at a conference that&#8217;s been dubbed the &#8220;Super Bowl of AI.&#8221; Nvidia is also expected to update us on its roadmap for its bread-and-butter graphics processing units (GPUs), including its next-generation Vera Rubin family. The main reason for the Groq intrigue: Nvidia is likely to harness Groq&#8217;s technology to build a brand-new chip targeting the daily use of AI models, a process known as inference, according to Wall Steet analysts. Inference is becoming a larger and more competitive part of the AI computing picture. Plus, it&#8217;s the source of revenue for Nvidia&#8217;s data center customers. Nvidia&#8217;s GPUs are the clear-cut performance leader in the training stage of AI computing, where the models are fed vast amounts of data to be prepared for real-world usage. Nvidia&#8217;s dominance in training fueled its meteoric ascent in recent years. The inference market, however, is much more crowded, as AI adoption goes mainstream and customers seek out cost-effective ways to meet the booming demand. Companies are essentially trying to get their hands on whatever kind of chips they can. Advanced Micro Devices , the distant No. 2 maker of GPUs, is finding some traction in inference, recently signing up Meta Platforms as a customer in a splashy partnership announcement . Meanwhile, the custom chips initiatives at large tech companies, including Meta, are generally seen as targeting the inference market. To be sure, Google&#8217;s in-house Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) are formidable challengers in both training and inference, and the newfound success of Google&#8217;s Gemini chatbot — built on TPUs — has elevated their reputation as Nvidia&#8217;s biggest threat. Google co-designs TPUs with Broadcom . Amazon has also touted its in-house Trainium chip&#8217;s capabilities in both tasks. Anthropic, the AI startup behind the Claude model, uses Trainium — though, in a reflection of the hunt for any-and-all-kinds of computing, Anthropic is also using TPUs and inked a deal with Nvidia in the fall. Another competitor to know: Cerebras, an AI startup preparing for an initial public offering. For the first time, Oracle co-CEO Clay Magouyrk earlier this week name-dropped Cerebras on its earnings call . Nvidia is no slouch in inference. While perhaps a bit outdated, Nvidia in 2024 disclosed that about 40% of its revenue was from inference. At last year&#8217;s GTC, Jensen told analysts that &#8220;the vast majority of the world&#8217;s inference is on Nvidia today.&#8221; And, on Nvidia&#8217;s most recent earnings call in late February, finance chief Colette Kress highlighted that industry publication SemiAnalysis recently &#8220;declared Nvidia inference king,&#8221; noting that its current generation Grace Blackwell GPUs offer massive performance improvements over its predecessor Hopper. Where Groq fits Nvidia evidently saw an opportunity to improve what it brings to the table on inference, otherwise it wouldn&#8217;t have shelled out a reported $20 billion for Groq&#8217;s technology and talent. Nvidia didn&#8217;t outright acquire the entire Groq company, perhaps to avoid antitrust scrutiny. The licensing deal is billed as non-exclusive, and Groq continues to operate an inference cloud service running on its specialized chips (also, in case there was any confusion, the company has no ties to the other Grok, Elon Musk&#8217;s AI chatbot). Some important people jumped to Nvidia in the deal, though. The most notable addition is Groq&#8217;s founder and now-ex CEO, Jonathan Ross. Before starting Groq in 2016, Ross was part of the Google team that developed the original TPU. Ross now holds the title of chief software architect at Nvidia. Groq developed and brought to market what it called an inference-focused LPU, short for Language Processing Units. In various podcast interviews over the years, Ross has made it clear that Groq didn&#8217;t bother trying to compete with Nvidia on training. Instead, he has said, Groq saw inference computing as the place where the startup could innovate and carve out a lane. So, Groq set out to develop a chip for running AI models that prioritizes speed and efficiency at a lower cost. A main reason why Nvidia&#8217;s GPUs are so good at training AI models is their ability to perform a massive amount of calculations at the same time, often called parallel processing. Keeping it simple, AI models work to identify patterns within a mountain of training data, and that requires doing a lot of math simultaneously — hence why a GPU is superior for AI training to a traditional computer processor (CPU), which executes tasks sequentially rather than in parallel. Now, another important trait of GPUs is their flexibility, driven in large part by Nvidia&#8217;s CUDA software program. Jensen has said that CUDA — short for compute unified device architecture — enables GPUs to perform across all different types of workloads, including inference. When an AI model is deployed for inference and receives a user&#8217;s prompt, the model basically refers back to all those learned patterns to determine what the most appropriate response should be, piece by piece (or token by token, in AI parlance). It is making the decision based on the probabilities in its training data. But fundamentally, there is a difference in training and inference computing, and what attributes of a chip are most desirable for each varies. Groq designed its chips to be really good at inference, and in particular, real-time tasks where speed is of the utmost importance. Groq&#8217;s LPUs use a type of short-term memory, known as SRAM, that is located directly on the chip&#8217;s engine, a driving force behind its speediness. GPUs, on the other hand, use a type of short-term memory called high-bandwidth memory or HBM, which is located right next to the GPU&#8217;s engine, not directly on it. The AI boom has created a supply crunch for HBM and set memory prices soaring. &#8220;GPUs are really great at training models. When somebody wants to train a model, I&#8217;m just like, &#8216;Just use GPUs. Don&#8217;t talk to us,'&#8221; Ross said in a podcast interview with wealth advisory firm Lumida in late 2023 . &#8220;But the big difference is, when you&#8217;re running one of these models — not training them, running them after they&#8217;ve already been made — you can&#8217;t produce the 100th word until you&#8217;ve produced the 99th,&#8221; he added. &#8220;So, there&#8217;s a sequential component to them that you just simply can&#8217;t get out of a GPU. &#8230; It&#8217;s how quickly you complete the computation, not just how many computations you can complete in parallel. And we do the computations much faster.&#8221; However, Ross has said he believes Nvidia&#8217;s bread-and-butter GPUs and Groq&#8217;s technology can complement each other. He made that clear in a separate interview on The Capital Markets podcast , dated February 2025, still many months before he left Groq for Nvidia. &#8220;We&#8217;re actually so crazy fast compared to GPUs that we&#8217;ve actually experimented a little bit with taking some portions of the model and running it on our LPUs and letting the rest run on GPU. And it actually speeds up and makes the GPU more economical. So, since people already have a bunch of GPUs they&#8217;ve deployed, one use case we&#8217;ve contemplated is selling some of our LPUs to, sort of, nitro boost those GPUs.&#8221; That comment really jumped out, as we came across this year-old interview, searching for additional insight into Groq and Ross. Hearing Ross say that long before he joined Nvidia made us even more intrigued to hear Jensen&#8217;s vision next week. There are a lot of possibilities for Groq-infused Nvidia hardware. Indeed, as AI advances, it makes sense that Nvidia would branch out into more specialized chips. History suggests that the more advanced a certain technology gets, the more specialization there is. Back on Nvidia&#8217;s February earnings call, Jensen indicated that he&#8217;s looking at Groq in a similar vein to Mellanox, the networking equipment provider that Nvidia acquired six years ago . &#8220;What we&#8217;ll do is we&#8217;ll extend our architecture with Groq as an accelerator in very much the ways that we extended Nvidia&#8217;s architecture with Mellanox,&#8221; Jensen said. That acquisition has aged like fine wine because Nvidia&#8217;s networking prowess is a crucial ingredient to its success in the AI boom, transforming it into a one-stop shop for AI computing rather than a simple chip designer. In its fiscal 2026 fourth quarter alone, Nvidia&#8217;s networking business generated around $11 billion in revenue — roughly the same as AMD&#8217;s overall revenue. Nvidia&#8217;s better-than-expected companywide revenue in Q4 surged 73% year over year to $68.13 billion. Less than three years ago, Nvidia&#8217;s networking revenue was pacing for roughly $10 billion for an entire 12-month period . Now, it&#8217;s $11 billion in just three months, exploding alongside its GPU revenue, too. Investors can only hope the Groq transaction ends up being anywhere near as successful as Mellanox. The journey to finding out starts next week. (Jim Cramer&#8217;s Charitable Trust is long NVDA, GOOGL, META, AVGO and AMZN. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust&#8217;s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.</span></span></span><span class="HighlightShare-hidden" style="top:0;left:0"/></p>
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		<title>Palantir tech gives West critical edge in Middle East: CEO Alex Karp</title>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Mar 2026 05:53:04 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Palantir CEO Alex Karp told CNBC on Thursday that artificial intelligence is giving the U.S. and its allies an edge in the escalating conflict in Iran and across the Middle East. &#8220;What makes America special right now is our lethal capabilities, our ability to fight war,&#8221; Karp said at Palantir&#8217;s AIPcon 9 in Maryland. He added that [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/palantir-tech-gives-west-critical-edge-in-middle-east-ceo-alex-karp/">Palantir tech gives West critical edge in Middle East: CEO Alex Karp</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="HighlightShare-hidden" style="top:0;left:0" /><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton" /><span /></p>
<p><span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1">Palantir<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> CEO Alex Karp told CNBC on Thursday that artificial intelligence is giving the U.S. and its allies an edge in the escalating conflict in Iran and across the Middle East.</p>
<p>&#8220;What makes America special right now is our lethal capabilities, our ability to fight war,&#8221; Karp said at Palantir&#8217;s AIPcon 9 in Maryland. He added that another major advantage is that &#8220;the AI revolution is uniquely American.&#8221;</p>
<p>Karp alluded to his company&#8217;s ability to link combat data between the U.S. and Middle East partners that were hit by Iranian airstrikes.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you were attacked and you needed to coordinate, you would have to have a coordinating function. There&#8217;s only one product that can actually do that for security,&#8221; Karp said, referencing Palantir&#8217;s platform.</p>
<p>Palantir&#8217;s Project Maven is a real-time AI surveillance capability that leverages satellite imagery. The platform was used with Anthropic&#8217;s Claude in the capture of Venezuela&#8217;s President Nicolás Maduro, according to the Wall Street Journal. </p>
<p>Karp declined to comment on whether Maven was used to kill Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint U.S.-Israel military operation two weeks ago.</p>
<p>&#8220;I have read that Palantir&#8217;s Project Maven is the core backbone of that,&#8221; he said, speaking generally about U.S. involvement in the Middle East. &#8220;And then I&#8217;ve also read that all the allies, Arab and non-Arab in the Middle East, may or may not be users of our platform as well, and that&#8217;s expanding rapidly.&#8221;</p>
<p>Experts and executives in the industry say AI is pushing the conflict to a new frontier. That was evident when Iran bombed three <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-4">Amazon<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> data centers in the Middle East last week.</p>
<p>U.S. data centers are increasingly seen as national security assets, hosting critical digital infrastructure used by governments and big companies.</p>
<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re evil, they&#8217;re not stupid,&#8221; Karp said. &#8220;Look who&#8217;s on the list, look who&#8217;s not. We&#8217;re in the middle of war. You would expect it to be a list of hardcore military companies. They are interested in the things they can&#8217;t produce.&#8221; </p>
<p>While Palantir may be best known for its defense technology, the company&#8217;s commercial business is booming. U.S. commercial revenue jumped 137% in the fourth quarter to $507 million. </p>
<p>Palantir shares are up 12% so far this month, while the Nasdaq is down about 1.6%. </p>
<p><strong>WATCH:</strong> Palantir&#8217;s Q4 earnings beat</p>
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		<title>Chinese tech companies progress remarkable</title>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Feb 2026 13:06:37 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>The progress of Chinese tech companies across the entire stack is &#8220;remarkable,&#8221; OpenAI&#8217;s Sam Altman told CNBC. Altman&#8217;s comments come as China races against the U.S. to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) — where AI matches human capabilities — and roll out the technology across society. The pace of technological advance in &#8220;many fields,&#8221; including [&#8230;]</p>
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<p>The progress of Chinese tech companies across the entire stack is &#8220;remarkable,&#8221; OpenAI&#8217;s Sam Altman told CNBC. </p>
<p>Altman&#8217;s comments come as China races against the U.S. to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) — where AI matches human capabilities — and roll out the technology across society.</p>
<p>The pace of technological advance in &#8220;many fields,&#8221; including AI, is &#8220;amazingly fast,&#8221; Altman said. In some areas Chinese tech companies are near the frontier, while in others they lag behind, he added.</p>
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<p>The country is moving to scale homegrown chipmakers that it hopes could eventually rival the likes of <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-3">Nvidia<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>, and AI companies are seeing big rallies on stock exchanges as investors double down on their potential. </p>
<p>Altman&#8217;s not the only tech leader paying attention to China. </p>
<p>American tech companies should &#8220;worry a little bit&#8221; about the subsidies their Chinese competitors receive from their government in the AI race, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-6">Microsoft<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> President Brad Smith told CNBC on Wednesday.</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">Finding revenue</h2>
<p>OpenAI has been moving to develop revenue streams as its looks to provide a path to profitability for investors that have ploughed around $70 billion into the company, according to deal-counting platform Dealroom. The company is looking to wrap up a $100 billion fundraising round, sources told CNBC.</p>
<p>Adverts within ChatGPT is one avenue the company is exploring. </p>
<p>&#8220;I think we still have some work to do to figure out the exact ad format that&#8217;s going to work best,&#8221; Altman said, adding that plans are in their early stages.</p>
<p>&#8220;The ads that I have personally liked the most in recent years from tech [companies] have been sort of Instagram style ads where you discover something new that you might really like and otherwise wouldn&#8217;t have known about,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think we&#8217;ve got a real opportunity to push in that direction with ads in ChatGPT.&#8221;</p>
<p>OpenAI is initially planning to test adverts in the U.S., but will eventually roll out to other markets, Altman said.</p>
<p>While conversations around OpenAI&#8217;s timelines on a path to profitability are swirling among market watchers, the company is still focused on growth right now, Altman told CNBC.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are growing at an extremely fast rate right now,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think as long as we can have reasonable unit economics, we should focus on continuing to grow faster and faster, and we&#8217;ll get profitable when we think we when we think it makes sense.&#8221;</p>
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		<title>Big Tech sees over $1 trillion wiped from stocks amid AI bubble fears</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/big-tech-sees-over-1-trillion-wiped-from-stocks-amid-ai-bubble-fears/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Feb 2026 12:37:42 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/?p=13031</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Big Tech companies have seen over $1 trillion wiped from their market cap over the past week, as fears over AI spending sparked a sell-off. Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, Meta, Amazon and Alphabet all saw their shares fall in the week up to market close on Thursday, as the companies&#8217; earnings reports signaled huge continued capex [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/big-tech-sees-over-1-trillion-wiped-from-stocks-amid-ai-bubble-fears/">Big Tech sees over $1 trillion wiped from stocks amid AI bubble fears</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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<p>Big Tech companies have seen over $1 trillion wiped from their market cap over the past week<strong>, </strong>as fears over AI spending sparked a sell-off.</p>
<p><span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1">Microsoft<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span>, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-2">Nvidia<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span>, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-3">Oracle<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span>, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-4">Meta<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span>, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-5">Amazon<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-6">Alphabet<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> all saw their shares fall in the week up to market close on Thursday, as the companies&#8217; earnings reports signaled huge continued capex spending from hyperscalers.</p>
<p>Amazon was down 7% in premarket trading on Friday. Alphabet was 0.7% lower, Meta was largely unchanged, while Oracle, Nvidia and Microsoft were up in the low single-digit percentages.</p>
<p>Plans to funnel $660 billion into AI this year were announced by Big Tech stocks, the Financial Times reported, a figure higher than the GDP of countries like the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Israel. </p>
<p>Shares of companies developing hardware for the AI buildout will likely encounter continued volatility as &#8220;sentiment contagion takes hold,&#8221; Paul Markham, investment director at GAM Investments, told CNBC.</p>
<p>&#8220;Questions over the extent of capex as a result of LLM build-outs, the eventual return on that, and the fear of eventual over-expansion of capacity will be persistent,&#8221; he added.</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">&#8216;Investors questioning every angle in AI race&#8217;</h2>
<p>Amazon was among the firms announcing<strong> </strong>the biggest capex spending plans this earnings season. </p>
<p>&#8220;The key focus of [Amazon&#8217;s] results was the capex guide of $200bn, up +56% on the year, ahead of market expectations and the highest amongst the hyperscalers,&#8221; Mamta Valechha, consumer discretionary analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said Friday morning, adding that the spend was predominantly for its cloud unit, AWS. </p>
<p>Stock Chart IconStock chart icon</p>
<p>Amazon shares over the past month</p>
<p>While management is confident of long-term returns on investment, the lack of visibility is not sitting well with investors, she added. &#8220;We have suddenly gone from the fear that you cannot be last, to investors questioning every single angle in this AI race.&#8221;</p>
<p><span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-8">Apple<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span>, on the other hand, which has faced pressure from Wall Street over its AI strategy and has previously committed far less on capex than other Big Tech firms, has seen its stock jump 7% since Monday on the back of what CEO Tim Cook described as &#8220;staggering&#8221; demand for the iPhone. </p>
<p>— CNBC&#8217;s Elsa Ohlen also contributed to this report.</p>
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		<title>Tech stocks rebound after Trump rules out military force in Greenland</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/tech-stocks-rebound-after-trump-rules-out-military-force-in-greenland/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 19:01:11 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on Jan. 21, 2026. Michael M. Santiago &#124; Getty Images News &#124; Getty Images Technology stocks bounced on Wednesday as President Donald Trump ruled out military force in Greenland, easing geopolitical fears that sparked a global sell off earlier in the [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/tech-stocks-rebound-after-trump-rules-out-military-force-in-greenland/">Tech stocks rebound after Trump rules out military force in Greenland</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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<p>Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on Jan. 21, 2026.</p>
<p>Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images News | Getty Images</p>
<p>Technology stocks bounced on Wednesday as President Donald Trump ruled out military force in Greenland, easing geopolitical fears that sparked a global sell off earlier in the week. </p>
<p>Chip stocks led the tech sector&#8217;s gain. <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-3">Intel<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> rallied 11%, while <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-4">Advanced Micro Devices<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-5">Arm Holdings<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> surged about 9% and 8%, respectively. <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-6">Micron Technology<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-7">Marvell Technology<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> rose at least 5% each.</p>
<p>Shares of tech companies sold off on Tuesday after Trump pledged new tariffs on eight countries that opposed a U.S. acquisition of Greenland as leaders convened in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum.</p>
<p>But Trump dialed down the rhetoric on Wednesday, ruling out military force. A potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, along with a takeover of Greenland, are among the agenda items for the president and his team while in Switzerland. </p>
<p>Elsewhere, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-12">Tesla<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-13">Nvidia<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> gained more than 2%, while <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-14">Meta Platforms<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> added about 1.5%. <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-15">Amazon<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span>, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-16">Salesforce<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-17">Apple<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> were up slightly.</p>
<p><strong>WATCH</strong>: President Trump: I won&#8217;t use force on Greenland</p>
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<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/tech-stocks-rebound-after-trump-rules-out-military-force-in-greenland/">Tech stocks rebound after Trump rules out military force in Greenland</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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		<title>Ford to offer eyes-off driving tech with $30,000 EV in 2028</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/ford-to-offer-eyes-off-driving-tech-with-30000-ev-in-2028/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2026 05:46:29 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Jim Farley, president and chief executive officer of Ford, speaks at the Ford Motor Co.&#8217;s Kentucky Truck Plant to launch the 2025 Ford Expedition, in Louisville, Kentucky, April 30, 2025. Carolyn Kaster &#124; AP Ford Motor plans to introduce eyes-off driving technology on an upcoming $30,000 all-electric vehicle in 2028, the Detroit automaker announced Wednesday. [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/ford-to-offer-eyes-off-driving-tech-with-30000-ev-in-2028/">Ford to offer eyes-off driving tech with $30,000 EV in 2028</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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<p>Jim Farley, president and chief executive officer of Ford, speaks at the Ford Motor Co.&#8217;s Kentucky Truck Plant to launch the 2025 Ford Expedition, in Louisville, Kentucky, April 30, 2025.</p>
<p>Carolyn Kaster | AP</p>
<p><span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1">Ford Motor<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> plans to introduce eyes-off driving technology on an upcoming $30,000 all-electric vehicle in 2028, the Detroit automaker announced Wednesday.</p>
<p>The target brings Ford into a race against competitors such as <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-2">Tesla<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span>, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-3">General Motors<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-4">Rivian Automotive<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> to develop and broadly launch such systems, which Wall Street views as a potential growth market to fully autonomous vehicles. </p>
<p>Ford&#8217;s plan is similar to those of other automakers, but the company notably plans to offer the new system on a mainstream EV first, rather than on a pricier model — defying typical technology rollouts in the automotive industry.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s part of what has evolved to be a broader technology strategy of putting our best and newest technology where the volume is and where the accessibility is,&#8221; Doug Field, Ford&#8217;s chief EV, digital and design officer, told CNBC during an interview.</p>
<p>The first vehicle to feature the new system is expected to be built on the company&#8217;s upcoming &#8220;Universal EV platform,&#8221; which Ford has said is capable of supporting a variety of vehicles. The first is a roughly $30,000 midsize pickup truck set to hit the market in 2027. </p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton" /><span /></p>
<p>Field, who joined Ford after stints with <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-6">Apple<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag" /></span></span></span> and Tesla, said the first vehicle with the eyes-off system will come at that starting price, but did not disclose if it would be the pickup truck.</p>
<p>Ford has said the next-generation EV platform reduces parts by 20% versus a typical vehicle, with 25% fewer fasteners, 40% fewer workstations in the plant and 15% faster assembly time.</p>
<p>Field announced the eyes-off system at the CES technology show in Las Vegas alongside other plans, including a new vehicle software architecture as well as a Ford-engineered artificial intelligence assistant. </p>
<p>GM in October announced similar plans, including an AI assistant and an eyes-off system expected to launch in 2028 on its electric Cadillac Escalade IQ. That vehicle currently starts at more than $127,000.</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">Skunkworks</h2>
<p>Ford, led by CEO Jim Farley, is under pressure to deliver on the new vehicle platform, known as UEV, and its supporting technologies, which largely fall under Field.</p>
<p>The company has wasted billions of dollars amid shifting EV strategies as well as quality and production issues in recent years.</p>
<p>Ford has significantly cut back its spending on EVs and has moved focus from large all-electric pickup trucks and SUVs to smaller, more affordable models through a special project, or &#8220;skunkworks,&#8221; team that created the UEV platform. Ford announced plans to invest about $5 billion in U.S. plants to produce the vehicles and the batteries to power them.</p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton" /><span /></p>
<p>Field referred to the skunkworks team as a &#8220;bet&#8221; over the last couple of years that has &#8220;started to build a tremendous amount of confidence&#8221; over the &#8220;last few months.&#8221; </p>
<p>He said Ford now has all of the critical software and supporting hardware it needs in-house for a new generation of technologically advanced vehicles to differentiate the automaker.</p>
<p>&#8220;One of the things we&#8217;re seeing is just how much faster our development process works on this product and this architecture compared to what we&#8217;ve done in the past,&#8221; Field said. &#8220;So, we have a lot of confidence in our ability to get this out.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ford last month said it expects to record about $19.5 billion in special items through 2027 related to such restructuring efforts and its pullback in EV investments.</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">Eyes-off driving</h2>
<p>Field said Ford&#8217;s planned eyes-off system, which the auto industry refers to as &#8220;Level 3 driving automation,&#8221; will utilize an array of sensors and in-house software development to lower costs compared to competitors. </p>
<p>Field declined to comment on the roadmap for expanding the new system to other vehicles, but said the goal is to commoditize the technology. </p>
<p>&#8220;The actual rollout schedule will be based on a lot of work we have to do on which customers need it in their applications, when, and which products are most ready for it now,&#8221; Field said. &#8220;It&#8217;ll take time to roll it out everywhere, but we&#8217;ll prioritize that based on where we will have the biggest impact on customers.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ford&#8217;s BlueCruise system displayed on the driver information cluster of an F-150 pickup truck.</p>
<p>Ford</p>
<p>SAE International, formerly known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, has characterized automated driving for vehicles from Level 0 to Level 5. The highest, Level 5, is a fully autonomous vehicle, with each stage from Level 0 adding more technologies and enabling human drivers to be more &#8220;out of the loop.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ford currently offers a Level 2 advanced driver assistance system, or ADAS, known as BlueCruise. While active, a vehicle can drive itself under certain circumstances without human intervention on divided highways, but drivers still need to pay attention to the roads and system in case of problems.  </p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">AI assistant, new vehicle &#8216;brain&#8217;</h2>
<p>Ford&#8217;s new AI assistant is expected to launch in early 2026 through its phone apps for Ford and Lincoln, followed by a native in-vehicle experience starting in 2027, the company said Wednesday. </p>
<p>Several other automakers also have announced plans for AI digital assistants, but Field said he believes Ford&#8217;s will offer unique capabilities specific to each car or truck by utilizing each vehicle&#8217;s unique identification number.</p>
<p>Ford said the AI assistant will be able to review a picture of a trailer to confirm whether a vehicle can properly tow it, for example, or assess how many bags of mulch the interior of a car or truck can hold. </p>
<p>&#8220;The AI companion is something we think we can make special for Ford, representative of what we&#8217;re trying to do on the customer experience side,&#8221; Field said.</p>
<p>Assisting in that better customer experience is expected to be an updated in-house software architecture that Ford&#8217;s calling an &#8220;integrated digital platform&#8221; that will debut with the UEV platform.</p>
<p>The company said the updated system will result in &#8220;a more unified &#8216;brain inside&#8217; the vehicle — a single, powerful module that unifies infotainment, ADAS, audio, and networking.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;For customers, that means a vehicle that feels more consistent, more reliable, and more capable year after year,&#8221; Field said in a blog post accompanying the CES announcements.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/ford-to-offer-eyes-off-driving-tech-with-30000-ev-in-2028/">Ford to offer eyes-off driving tech with $30,000 EV in 2028</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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		<title>The year AI tech giants, and billions in debt, began remaking America</title>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Jan 2026 04:05:35 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>The Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Kyle Grillot &#124; Bloomberg &#124; Getty Images West Texas dust, iron-tinged and orange-red, rides the wind and sticks like a film to everything you touch. It clings to skin and the inside of your mouth, a fine grit that turns every [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/the-year-ai-tech-giants-and-billions-in-debt-began-remaking-america/">The year AI tech giants, and billions in debt, began remaking America</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="HighlightShare-hidden" style="top:0;left:0"/></p>
<p>The Stargate AI data center in Abilene, Texas, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. </p>
<p>Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images</p>
<p>West Texas dust, iron-tinged and orange-red, rides the wind and sticks like a film to everything you touch. It clings to skin and the inside of your mouth, a fine grit that turns every breath into a reminder of where you are. This is the landscape where OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is orchestrating something called Stargate — a fast-expanding constellation of data centers, backed by partners including <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-3">Oracle<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-4">Nvidia<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>, and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-5">SoftBank<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>.</p>
<p>Six thousand workers&#8217; vehicles pour into the site each morning. Tires raise a constant veil of grit over a construction footprint the size of a small city — more people working this single campus than OpenAI employs across its entire payroll.</p>
<p>Rain comes in flashes. One minute the roads are powder; the next they&#8217;re mud — thick, adhesive, the kind that tugs at boots and gums up machinery. Then the storm moves on, the sun returns, and the surface hardens again, cracked and chalky, as if the place is trying to erase the evidence that water ever touched it.</p>
<p>And at dusk, the same conditions that make living there punishing turn the sky into a blaze. Shorter wavelengths fall away and reds and oranges remain. </p>
<p>&#8220;This is what it takes to deliver AI,&#8221; Altman told CNBC on site in September. &#8220;Unlike previous technological revolutions or previous versions of the internet, there&#8217;s so much infrastructure that&#8217;s required. And this is a small sample of it.&#8221;</p>
<p>A small sample: At roughly $50 billion per site, OpenAI&#8217;s Stargate projects add up to about $850 billion in spending — nearly half of the $2 trillion global AI infrastructure surge HSBC now forecasts. </p>
<p>The Abilene campus already has one data center online, with a second nearly complete. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC the site could ultimately scale past a gigawatt of capacity — enough electricity to power about 750,000 homes, roughly the size of Seattle and San Francisco combined.</p>
<p>&#8220;The shovels that are going in the ground here today, they&#8217;re really about compute that comes online in 2026,&#8221; she said in September. &#8220;That first Nvidia push will be for Vera Rubins, the new frontier accelerator chips. But then it&#8217;s about what gets built for &#8217;27, &#8217;28, and &#8217;29. What we see today is a massive compute crunch.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;We are growing faster than any business I&#8217;ve ever heard of before,&#8221; Altman said, squinting against the sun. &#8220;And we would be way bigger now if we had way more capacity.&#8221;</p>
<p>Land is cheap. Governments are willing. And the grid, for now, can be persuaded to bend.</p>
<p>Altman is not alone in building kingdoms.</p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton"/><span/></p>
<h3 class="ArticleBody-smallSubtitle"><strong>Zuckerberg&#8217;s Hyperion and Musk&#8217;s Colossus</strong></h3>
<p>In the flatlands of northeast Louisiana, where soybean fields once stretched to the horizon, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-7">Meta<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>&#8216;s Mark Zuckerberg is erecting a four-million-square-foot monument to artificial intelligence. He calls it Hyperion, after the Greek titan. When finished, it will consume more electricity than the city of New Orleans —<strong> </strong>and cover a footprint the size of lower Manhattan.</p>
<p>Across the Mississippi River, in West Memphis, Arkansas, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-11">Alphabet<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>&#8216;s Google has broken ground on what state officials are calling the largest private capital investment in state history — a multibillion dollar campus rising from 1,100 acres of scrubland. </p>
<p>Thirty minutes south, on the Tennessee side of the border, Elon Musk has already begun transforming the industrial wastelands of South Memphis. His supercomputer, Colossus, was built in 122 days inside a shuttered Electrolux factory. Now he&#8217;s constructing Colossus 2, aiming for a million GPUs — and just acquired a third building to expand the complex further. To power the site, Musk bought a shuttered Duke Energy power plant across the border in Southaven, Mississippi.</p>
<p>In southeast Wisconsin, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-18">Microsoft<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> is spending more than $7 billion<strong> </strong>on what CEO Satya Nadella calls &#8220;the world&#8217;s most powerful&#8221; AI data center — a facility that will house hundreds of thousands of Nvidia chips when it comes online in early 2026. And in rural Indiana, near Lake Michigan, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-22">Amazon<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> has transformed 1,200 acres of farmland into Project Rainier, an $11 billion facility running entirely on custom silicon, built exclusively to train AI models for a startup called Anthropic.</p>
<p>&#8220;Cornfields to data centers, almost overnight,&#8221; Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman told CNBC in Seattle in October.</p>
<p>This is the AI boom rendered in steel and gravel — a slow carving of the country into zones of power and compute. What they&#8217;re building is not infrastructure in any conventional sense. It is the physical manifestation of a belief — that intelligence itself can be manufactured at industrial scale, and that whoever builds the biggest factory wins.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is the largest market in the history of mankind,&#8221; said Sameer Dholakia, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. &#8220;This is larger than oil, because everyone on the planet needs intelligence.&#8221;</p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton"/><span/></p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">The money</h2>
<p>The sums involved have become difficult to comprehend.</p>
<p>The top five hyperscalers — including Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta — are on track to spend approximately $443 billion on capital expenditures this year. CreditSights projects that figure will climb to $602 billion in 2026 — a 36% year-over-year increase. Their analysts estimate that approximately 75% of that spending will go directly into AI infrastructure.</p>
<p>The current tech industry is among the most profitable in the history of the world, but not all of the companies necessarily have the cash on hand to cover the spend.</p>
<p>The debt raise has been staggering. Hyperscalers have added $121 billion in new debt this year — more than four times the average annual issuance over the previous five years, according to <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-26">Bank of America<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>. Over $90 billion of that came in just the past three months.<strong> </strong>Meta tapped the bond market for $30 billion. Alphabet raised $25 billion. Oracle just pulled off an $18 billion bond sale — and Citi says it now ranks as the largest issuer of investment-grade debt among non-financial U.S. companies.</p>
<p>Wall Street expects the pace of borrowing to accelerate. </p>
<p>Analysts at <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-31">Morgan Stanley<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-32">JPMorgan<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> estimate AI&#8217;s infrastructure push could drive up to $1.5 trillion in additional borrowing by tech companies in the coming years. <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-34">UBS<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> analysts forecast as much as $900 billion in new issuance coming in 2026 alone.</p>
<p>AWS site lead Josh Sallabedra with MacKenzie Sigalos</p>
<p>Katie Tarasov</p>
<p>&#8220;There is something inherently uncomfortable as a credit investor about the transformation of the sort we&#8217;re facing that is going to require an enormous amount of capital,&#8221; Daniel Sorid, head of U.S. investment grade credit strategy at <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-35">Citi<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>, told investors on a video call earlier this month.</p>
<p>You can see that discomfort in the derivatives market. </p>
<p>Credit-default swaps — insurance that pays out if a borrower can&#8217;t service its debt — have widened to multi-year highs for Oracle. Barclays and Morgan Stanley have told clients to buy protection, and in late October, a liquid CDS market tied to Meta began actively trading for the first time as investors rushed to hedge what&#8217;s becoming a hyperscaler debt boom.  </p>
<p>There&#8217;s precedent for debt-funded buildouts outrunning near-term demand. In the dot-com era, telecoms levered up to lay fiber fast. When conditions tightened, many had to restructure. The network survived — but the outcomes ranged from many early investors booking losses, to equity wipeouts.</p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton"/><span/></p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">OpenAI and the tangled web</h2>
<p>At the center of this infrastructure arms race sits OpenAI — and a web of interlocking deals that has reshaped the competitive landscape for AI.</p>
<p>In the span of just two months this fall, the company announced partnerships totaling roughly $1.4 trillion in headline commitments — a figure that prompted skeptics to warn of an AI bubble and raised basic questions about whether the power, land, and supply chains exist to match the ambition.</p>
<p>The deals came in rapid succession. </p>
<p>In September, OpenAI announced a $100 billion equity-and-supply agreement with Nvidia — the chip giant taking an ownership stake in OpenAI in exchange for 10 gigawatts of its next-generation systems. </p>
<p>In October, OpenAI teamed up with <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-39">AMD<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> to deploy its Instinct GPUs, with the agreement structured to potentially give OpenAI a 10% stake in the chipmaker. Days later, Broadcom agreed to supply 10 gigawatts of custom chips co-designed with OpenAI. And in November, OpenAI signed its first cloud contract with Amazon Web Services, further loosening Microsoft&#8217;s once exclusive grip.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have to do this,&#8221; OpenAI President Greg Brockman told CNBC in October, referring to the company&#8217;s scramble to secure the raw computing power behind its ambitions. &#8220;This is so core to our mission if we really want to be able to scale to reach all of humanity, this is what we have to do.&#8221;</p>
<p>Nvidia is effectively financing demand for its own chips, Oracle is building the sites, AMD and Broadcom are positioning as alternative suppliers, and OpenAI is<strong> </strong>anchoring the demand. Critics call it a circular economy: capital, capacity, and revenue all recycling through the same small set of players. It works as long as growth holds — but if demand slips or funding tightens, the stress can propagate fast through a web of shared exposures.</p>
<p>Already, Nvidia has cautioned investors there was &#8220;no assurance&#8221; it would enter a definitive agreement with OpenAI, or complete the investment on expected terms, a reminder that headline AI pacts often start as frameworks.</p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton"/><span/></p>
<p>Oracle&#8217;s view from the jobsite is simpler: the demand is real, diversified, and already spoken for.</p>
<p>&#8220;We see broad-based demand across a huge swath of the industry, so it&#8217;s not just from any one individual place,&#8221; Clay Magouyrk, Oracle&#8217;s newly elevated co-CEO, told CNBC in West Texas in September.<strong> </strong>&#8220;I don&#8217;t worry about a bubble, because I see committed demand for it.&#8221;</p>
<p>He described the appetite for compute as nearly limitless. &#8220;When I look at myself, when I look at my teams at Oracle, when I look at our customers, I see what looks like near-infinite demand for technology — if we can enable them to use it.&#8221;</p>
<p>At the DealBook Summit in December, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei described the &#8220;cone of uncertainty&#8221; — a mismatch between long lead times and a market that can change in a quarter. Data centers take 18 to 24 months to build, and chip orders are placed years in advance, even as demand forecasts keep shifting.</p>
<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t have $50 billion on you,&#8221; he said, so the financing often gets wrapped into partnerships with chipmakers or cloud providers, where &#8220;you can kind of pay as you go.&#8221;</p>
<p>Amodei insists Anthropic is trying to stay disciplined. &#8220;I think there are some players who are not managing that risk well,&#8221; he said, declining to share names.</p>
<h3 class="ArticleBody-smallSubtitle"><strong>The new gospel of scale</strong></h3>
<p>Critics question how much is firm, contracted demand versus aspirational headline math.</p>
<p>Gil Luria, who covers technology cycles at D.A. Davidson, points to Oracle as a test case. </p>
<p>&#8220;OpenAI made commitments that it&#8217;s highly unlikely they&#8217;ll be able to live up to,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Now they&#8217;re backtracking and saying these aren&#8217;t really commitments — these are frameworks. But talk to Oracle about that. Oracle thought they had a contract for $300 billion. They put that in their remaining performance obligations and made commitments to Wall Street based on that.&#8221; </p>
<p>Oracle stock dropped 23% in November — its worst month since 2001.</p>
<p>OpenAI&#8217;s Friar rejected the &#8220;circular economy&#8221; framing during the interview with CNBC in West Texas.</p>
<p>She compared it to the early days of the web. &#8220;When the internet was getting started, people kept feeling like, &#8216;Oh, we&#8217;re overbuilding, there&#8217;s too much.&#8217; And look where we are today, right? The internet is ubiquitous. AI is going to be like that.&#8221;</p>
<p>Friar said equity is too expensive, so OpenAI is preparing to take on debt for the first time to finance expansion. The company has reviewed more than 800 potential sites across North America — weighing land, substations, and transmission capacity. </p>
<p>And like much of the industry, OpenAI is looking at every viable power source — renewables, gas, and even nuclear — as utilities and tech companies chase always-on power that wind and solar can&#8217;t reliably provide themselves.</p>
<p>&#8220;The real bottleneck isn&#8217;t money,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s power.&#8221;</p>
<p>That demand isn&#8217;t fading. In late December, SoftBank&#8217;s Masayoshi Son agreed to pay $4 billion for DigitalBridge, a firm that invests in data centers. To fund the deal — and his $40 billion commitment to OpenAI — Son sold down SoftBank&#8217;s entire stake in Nvidia. He later told a forum in Tokyo that he &#8220;was crying&#8221; over having to sell the shares.</p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton"/><span/></p>
<p>The scarce asset now is energized real estate — and the ability to plug in at scale. Power like that is regulated and permitted, which means the buildout also depends on Washington. </p>
<p>OpenAI has lobbied the Trump administration to expand the CHIPS Act tax credit to cover AI data centers — though when its CFO floated the idea of a government &#8220;backstop&#8221; for infrastructure loans at a Wall Street Journal event in November, the backlash was swift enough that she walked it back within hours. Altman took to X to insist the company does not &#8220;have or want government guarantees.&#8221;</p>
<p>The companies aren&#8217;t waiting for Washington. They&#8217;re borrowing, building, and betting that the economics will catch up — because so far, every time they&#8217;ve scaled, the models have gotten better. That pattern is the industry&#8217;s founding conviction: more compute produces more capable systems. It&#8217;s why startups that have never turned a profit can still command valuations in the hundreds of billions.</p>
<p>The wager isn&#8217;t only that training ever-larger models will keep producing step-change intelligence. It&#8217;s that the payoff is now spilling out of the lab, as those models are put to work across the economy — answering customers, writing code, routing claims, drafting contracts, compressing weeks of work into hours. That&#8217;s inference: not training the model, but the everyday usage that turns models into products.</p>
<p>Inference is where the hype has to convert into margins, and it&#8217;s also where the compute bill never stops: each new user, workflow, or agent adds recurring demand, not a one-time training run. That&#8217;s why the buildout has started to look less like a moonshot and more like a utility race, with companies scrambling to secure the power and capacity to serve what they expect will be always-on intelligence.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have continued to be surprised, even as the people who pioneered this belief in scaling laws,&#8221; Daniela Amodei, Anthropic&#8217;s president and co-founder, told CNBC during a sitdown at the company&#8217;s headquarters in San Francisco.<strong> </strong>&#8220;Every year we&#8217;ve been like, &#8216;Well, this can&#8217;t possibly be the case that things will continue on the exponential,&#8217; and then every year, it has.&#8221;</p>
<p>Anthropic&#8217;s revenue has jumped tenfold, year-over-year, for the last three years. In 2025 alone, the startup&#8217;s valuation surged from $60 billion to a funding round currently underway that could put it north of $300 billion.</p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton"/><span/></p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">The reckoning</h2>
<p>Dario Amodei, Daniela&#8217;s brother, believes we are approaching something like &#8220;a country of geniuses in a datacenter&#8221; — AI systems that can perform at the level of Nobel laureates across every domain. He believes that threshold could come as soon as next year.</p>
<p>But he&#8217;s also sounding alarms.<strong> </strong></p>
<p>&#8220;Look at entry level consultants, lawyers, financial professionals, many of the white collar service industries, a lot of what they do, AI models are already quite good at without intervention,&#8221;<strong> </strong>he told 60 Minutes. &#8220;And my worry is that it&#8217;ll be broad, and it&#8217;ll be faster than what we&#8217;ve seen with previous technology.&#8221;</p>
<p>That belief is driving the industry&#8217;s spending binge — but skeptics worry the buildout becomes a debt-fueled overreach, ending in a familiar cleanup: bankruptcies, fire sales, and shareholders wiped out.</p>
<p>Matt Murphy, a venture capitalist at Menlo Ventures and an early Anthropic investor, frames it differently.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been in the venture business for 25 years,&#8221; Murphy said, &#8220;I&#8217;ve seen the cloud wave, the mobile wave, the semiconductor wave. This is the mother of all waves.&#8221;</p>
<p>Eerial shot of Open AI Stargate I (Abilene) </p>
<p>Courtesy: OpenAI</p>
<p>Stand back far enough and a new geography comes into focus. </p>
<p>Zuckerberg&#8217;s Hyperion. Musk&#8217;s Colossus. Altman&#8217;s Stargate. Amazon&#8217;s Rainier. Google&#8217;s archipelago of compute clusters. Each one a monument to a different vision of the future — and each one anchored to the same constraint: power. </p>
<p>Data centers are rising near plants and transmission lines, in places with cheap land, willing governments, and grids that can be pushed to expand. And the towns around them are now showing up in investor decks, earnings calls, and trillion-dollar projections.</p>
<p>Analysts tell CNBC the stakes are bigger than stock prices. Either this year marks the beginning of a transformation as profound as electrification and the internet, or it marks the peak of a bubble that future historians will study as a cautionary tale.</p>
<p>Altman hears the doubts — but he rejects the notion that the buildout has gone too far.</p>
<p>&#8220;People will get burned on overinvesting,&#8221; he told CNBC in September. &#8220;And people also get burned on underinvesting and not having enough capacity.&#8221; </p>
<p>&#8220;Smart people will get overexcited, and people will lose a lot of money. People will make a lot of money. But I am confident that long term, the value of this technology is going to be gigantic to society,&#8221; added Altman.</p>
<p>For now, the construction continues. The trucks kick up dust. The transformers hum. And across the American heartland, the factories of a new age take shape.</p>
<p><strong>WATCH: </strong>Microsoft sees 10x return on OpenAI stake after restructure</p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton"/><span/></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/the-year-ai-tech-giants-and-billions-in-debt-began-remaking-america/">The year AI tech giants, and billions in debt, began remaking America</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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		<title>Ro Khanna faces tech backlash over wealth tax</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/ro-khanna-faces-tech-backlash-over-wealth-tax/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:01:18 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna has embraced a wealth tax in his home state of California, and his longtime allies in Silicon Valley are now threatening to abandon him. California labor groups are trying to add a proposal for a statewide tax on billionaires to the November ballot. The proposal is causing a rift among Democrats [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/ro-khanna-faces-tech-backlash-over-wealth-tax/">Ro Khanna faces tech backlash over wealth tax</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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<p>Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna has embraced a wealth tax in his home state of California, and his longtime allies in Silicon Valley are now threatening to abandon him. </p>
<p>California labor groups are trying to add a proposal for a statewide tax on billionaires to the November ballot. The proposal is causing a rift among Democrats and enraging some in the tech community, who warn they will leave the state if the measure is adopted. </p>
<p>Khanna last week reacted to the potential exodus in a social media post, saying he echoes what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said with &#8220;sarcasm of economic royalists when they threatened to leave, &#8216;I will miss them very much.'&#8221;</p>
<p>The post prompted not only criticism from tech leaders but also calls for Khanna to be primaried. </p>
<p>&#8220;Ro has done a speed run alienating every moderate I know who has supported him. Including myself,&#8221; wrote Martin Casado, a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, in a post on X. &#8220;At least that makes voting him the f&#8212; out all the more gratifying.&#8221;  </p>
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<p>Garry Tan, CEO of startup accelerator Y Combinator, wrote it&#8217;s &#8220;Time to primary him.&#8221;</p>
<p>Associates of Andreessen Horowitz and Y Combinator are among the top donors to Khanna&#8217;s congressional campaign committee, according to recent campaign finance disclosures.</p>
<p>The proposed ballot measure, dubbed the 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, is being pushed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West labor union. If enacted, it would levy a one-time 5% tax on the assets of California billionaires to shore up an expected shortfall in the state&#8217;s health-care budget. </p>
<p>Should the measure garner enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, it will be up to California voters to decide whether to implement the tax, which would be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026. </p>
<p>A major reason that tech investors, executives and entrepreneurs are united in vocal opposition is the concern that the tax would apply to unrealized gains. That means that startup founders with a net worth of over $1 billion based on the paper value of their private stock would have to pay tax on their wealth even though it&#8217;s illiquid. </p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re absolutely going to have to figure out how our society adapts to a rapidly increasing wealth gap,&#8221; wrote Reddit co-founder and venture investor Alexis Ohanian, in a post on Sunday. &#8220;But the answer is definitely not taxing unrealized gains.&#8221;</p>
<p>Sarah Drory, a spokesperson for Rep. Khanna, told CNBC in a statement that the congressman is a &#8220;passionate supporter of technology and entrepreneurship,&#8221; noting that he co-wrote the CHIPS and Science Act, a federal program designed to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing.</p>
<p>Drory said that while Khanna supports a &#8220;modest wealth tax on billionaires to deal with staggering inequality and to make sure people have health care,&#8221; he also advocates &#8220;for commonsense workarounds for startup founders whose companies are not profitable and who have illiquid stock.&#8221;</p>
<p>California Governor Gavin Newsom attends the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), in Belem, Brazil, Nov. 11, 2025. </p>
<p>Adriano Machado | Reuters</p>
<p>Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is widely considered a contender for the presidency in 2028, opposes state-level billionaire taxes.</p>
<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t isolate yourself from the 49 [other states],&#8221; Newsom said at the New York Times Dealbook conference earlier this month. &#8220;You&#8217;ve gotta be pragmatic about it.&#8221;</p>
<p>But pressure is growing nationally for Democrats to back efforts to tax the wealthy, as polls repeatedly show wide support for the idea. A Pew Research Center poll earlier this year found that 58% of those surveyed support raising taxes on those making more than $400,000. Among the Democrats surveyed, 74% supported the higher taxes. </p>
<p>Republicans, meanwhile, have been making increasing inroads in Silicon Valley, home to a number of tech billionaires who have traditionally leaned Democratic. </p>
<p>Tech CEOs this year have flocked to the White House to curry the favor of President Donald Trump, who has placed tech leaders in roles within his administration. </p>
<p>Khanna carried California&#8217;s 17th Congressional District by more than 30 points in 2024. The deep-blue seat would be highly unlikely to flip to Republicans in 2026. </p>
<p>In a follow-up post on X, Khanna restated his support for a wealth tax. </p>
<p>&#8220;Yes, we need entrepreneurs to commercialize disruptive innovation,&#8221; Khanna said. &#8220;But the idea that they would not start companies to make billions, or take advantage of an innovation cluster, if there is a 1-2 percent tax on their staggering wealth defies common sense and economic theory.&#8221;</p>
<p>Vinod Khosla, the founder of Sun Microsystems and Khosla Ventures who boasts a net worth of about $12.6 billion according to Forbes, disagreed with Khanna and said the billionaires will leave the state. </p>
<p>&#8220;You are so wrong Ro,&#8221; Khosla said in a post on X. &#8220;Top prospects for generating wealth in the state will almost certainly leave the state. Every advisor would advise every enterprise that gets big momentum to have key people relocate to another state.&#8221; </p>
<p><strong>WATCH:</strong> Investors underestimating the AI revolution, analyst says</p>
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		<title>Visa says holiday spending rose 4.2% via AI, tech and apparel growth</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/visa-says-holiday-spending-rose-4-2-via-ai-tech-and-apparel-growth/</link>
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		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Dec 2025 08:55:05 +0000</pubDate>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>U.S. consumers showed resilience this holiday season, driving retail spending up 4.2% year over year, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by Visa. The report from Visa Consulting and Analytics indicated that despite lingering economic headwinds, shoppers were still spending, particularly on technology and personal goods. The findings tracked payments activity over a seven-week period [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/visa-says-holiday-spending-rose-4-2-via-ai-tech-and-apparel-growth/">Visa says holiday spending rose 4.2% via AI, tech and apparel growth</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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<p>U.S. consumers showed resilience this holiday season, driving retail spending up 4.2% year over year, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-3">Visa<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>.</p>
<p>The report from Visa Consulting and Analytics indicated that despite lingering economic headwinds, shoppers were still spending, particularly on technology and personal goods. </p>
<p>The findings tracked payments activity over a seven-week period beginning Nov. 1 using a subset of Visa payments network data in the U.S. and cover core retail categories, excluding spending on automotive, gasoline and restaurants. The figures are also not adjusted for inflation.</p>
<p>In-store shopping accounted for the bulk of holiday spending, capturing 73% of total retail payment volume during the period, while online purchases made up the remaining 27%. </p>
<p>However, e-commerce was the primary driver of growth, with online sales rising 7.8% compared with last year, reflecting continued demand for convenience and early-season promotions.</p>
<p>&#8220;The underlying surprise here &#8230; is that consumer spending is holding up reasonably well in light of softer consumer confidence than we had this time last year and a number of headwinds and concerns about inflation,&#8221; Michael Brown, principal U.S. economist at Visa, told CNBC.</p>
<p>Brown noted that the 2025 holiday season marked a distinct shift in consumer behavior, citing the growing influence of artificial intelligence in how shoppers find products and compare prices. </p>
<p>&#8220;We are seeing consumers use AI in a big way in comparison shopping and then helping to narrow down that perfect gift,&#8221; Brown said. &#8220;This is the first holiday shopping season where roughly half of the consumers in that survey responded that they are going to leverage AI for one of those two tasks.&#8221;</p>
<p>The breakdown of spending categories highlights a shift toward personal goods and convenience, and away from home renovation projects.</p>
<p>Electronics emerged as the season&#8217;s top-performing category, with sales climbing 5.8%. Visa attributed this jump to a refresh cycle driven by &#8220;high-performance devices in the AI era.&#8221;</p>
<p>Apparel and accessories also posted strong numbers, rising 5.3%. General merchandise stores — retailers that offer a &#8220;one-stop&#8221; experience — saw a 3.7% lift.</p>
<p>Conversely, the home improvement sector struggled during the holidays. Spending on building materials and garden equipment fell 1%, suggesting consumers prioritized gift-giving and gadgets over home maintenance as the year closed out. </p>
<p>Furniture and home furnishings remained essentially flat, eking out a 0.8% gain.</p>
<p>While the headline number is positive for the retail sector, the lack of inflation adjustment means the &#8220;real&#8221; volume growth will likely be more modest depending on the final Consumer Price Index readings for the period. </p>
<p>Currently, Brown said, real spending growth adjusted for inflation is still up about 2.2% this season. </p>
<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s not too bad in light of a lot of uncertainty this year,&#8221; Brown said. &#8220;The consumer is uncertain, they&#8217;re cautious, but they&#8217;re also smart about how they&#8217;re spending their money.&#8221;</p>
<p>Visa&#8217;s numbers also point to a disconnect between sentiment and action this season. </p>
<p>According to the CNBC All-America Economic Survey released last week, 41% of Americans said they planned to spend less for the holidays this year, 6 points higher than a year ago.</p>
<p>The CNBC survey found that the high cost of goods was emerging as a major factor in determining how much shoppers spend and where they spend, suggesting yearslong inflation and the rise in import goods prices from tariffs are being felt at checkout.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/visa-says-holiday-spending-rose-4-2-via-ai-tech-and-apparel-growth/">Visa says holiday spending rose 4.2% via AI, tech and apparel growth</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
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