Microsoft's AI-powered cloud business, Azure, grew 29% in the last quarter, below what most analysts were looking for — and a slowdown from the 31% growth seen in the previous period.
Why it matters: Microsoft's results are the latest test for Big Tech around AI monetization.
Warren Buffett is cashing in on his big Bank of America bet.
Why it matters: The Oracle of Omaha's investment decisions, via Berkshire Hathaway's vast portfolio, are widely followed and often mimicked.
Between the lines: Berkshire sold BofA shares for nine straight business days through Monday for more than $3 billion, according to a series of SECfilings.
Berkshire sold the shares for a range of $41.20–$44.07 from July 17 through July 29.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel doesn't have confidence that social media companies will be as open as they were in 2020 to removing posts containing disinformation.
Why it matters: The 2024 U.S. elections have already been a ripe target for foreign-based disinformation, and AI tools are likely to exacerbate the wave of purposefully false information that circulates online about candidates and the voting process.
For the second time in less than two weeks, Starbucks' mobile ordering system went down Tuesday due to a "third-party system outage," the company confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: The coffee giant, which has been ramping up discounts in recent weeks to promote affordability, has a buy-one-get-one promotion Tuesday for its loyalty members.
Federal prosecutors have charged Nader Al-Naji, a crypto entrepreneur, with fraud connected to BitClout, a crypto project for making digital tokens out of the Twitter (now X) likeness of celebrities and other users.
Why it matters: This is the latest venture-backed crypto endeavor to end in criminal charges.
Spirit Airlines is introducing premium service for the first time, the famously low-cost carrier announced Tuesday.
Why it matters: Spirit's new offerings are yet another acknowledgement by budget airlines that there's money to be made in higher fares with more creature comforts.
Edgar Bronfman Jr., former Warner Music chair and heir to the Seagram alcohol fortune, is still in talks with bankers about a possible bid for Paramount's parent, National Amusements Inc., sources told Axios.
Why it matters: Paramount struck a deal with Skydance Media and RedBird Capital Partners on July 7. The deal includes a 45-day "go-shop" provision, which means a superior bid remains possible.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has notified the court that it intends to amend its complaint regarding several listed third-party tokens in its case against the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance.
Why it matters: The idea that most cryptocurrencies represent "unregistered securities" under U.S. law has been central to the agency's campaign against the cryptocurrency industry.
A startup from Resy and Eater co-founder Ben Leventhal is now aiming to make end-of-meal check requests a relic of the past, while also generating valuable data and potentially boosting loyalty for restaurants.
Why it matters: Restaurants are generally in better shape now than during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they're still hunting for anything that can boost their often razor-thin margins.
U.S. charities are facing a problem: Their donations are overwhelmingly coming from rich Americans. Casting a wide net doesn't reap the rewards it used to; instead, nonprofits have to concentrate on maximizing the amount they're given by a small number of bigger donors.
Why it matters: Those rich Americans are giving increasingly from DAFs — donor-advised funds that make it easy to optimize tax deductions.
Why it matters: With the union vote hotly contested expect to see more explicitly pro-worker policy ideas — or at least sloganeering — coming from both sides of the aisle.
Vista Outdoor canceled the shareholder vote on its $2.15 billion deal to sell its ammunition division to a Czech arms company, and said the company will now seek strategic alternatives.
Why it matters: The move is the latest twist in a nearly two-year drama, and puts the entire company back in play as a rival bidder looms in the background.
New AI search products from OpenAI and other industry leaders are forcing news companies to rethink possible deals with AI firms that need news content to answer real-time queries about current events.
The big picture: Negotiations between the tech and news industries over AI have mostly focused on providing data for the broad training of large language models (LLMs) — but now, deal talks are shifting to address narrower use cases, where news publishers may have more leverage.
Nvidia unveiled several new real-world examples of generative AI at work on Monday afternoon during SIGGRAPH, a major computer graphics technologies conference.
Driving the news: CEO Jensen Huang in Denver described the role that Nvidia plays in driving AI development beyond its chips and hardware — including through its Nvidia Inference Microservices (NIM) platform.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees big potential in AI's ability to help people — especially creators — do more, not less.
Why it matters: His vision of helping people digitally simulate their personalities and businesses online stands in contrast to the fear of generative AI's potential to destroy livelihoods.
Former President Trump's campaign has spent about $12 million on ads to run in the major swing states until Aug. 12, according to data from tracking firm AdImpact.
Why it matters: It's the Trump campaign's first major ad buy since Vice President Kamala Harris effectively became the Democratic presidential nominee.
