Meta shares soared nearly 9% Wednesday on a report that the company is wading into the business of selling cloud computing services and access to AI models.
Why it matters: The booming AI economy has triggered insatiable demand for data processing power, enriching the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe must have a dreaded sense of deja vu: His company's most important product to date — the mass-market R2 — is launching amid yet another supply squeeze, this time for critical memory chips.
Four years ago, a global chip shortage threatened the launch of Rivian's first electric truck, the R1.
Why it matters: There's tons of demand for the $50,000 R2, which is getting rave reviews from automotive journalists. But if Rivian can't build a lot of them, the company will face an existential crisis.
The Trump administration is rapidly rewriting the federal auto safety rulebook for an autonomous future. Its latest move: getting rid of brake pedals in robotaxis.
Why it matters: Decades-old safety standards on the books today were written for cars with human drivers.
As autonomous vehicles proliferate, President Trump — who once called them "crazy" — is rushing to create new rules to accommodate them.
Many of the assumptions that underpinned forecasts for the Federal Reserve, inflation, hiring, trade and growth have been upended in just six months, forcing policymakers and investors to rewrite their playbooks.
Why it matters: The rapid shifts suggest structural forces — from AI to geopolitics to changing labor supply — are playing a much larger role in the economy than they have in decades.
It leaves policymakers, businesses and investors with less confidence about what comes next in the second half of the year and beyond.
Bending Spoons, an Italian holding company that buys and seeks to revitalize digital businesses, raised $1.7 billion in its IPO and will list Wednesday on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol "BSP."
Why it matters: AOL is part of a public company again. So is Eventbrite. And Vimeo. And a bunch of other legacy tech brands.
PlayStation announced Wednesday that physical game discs will be a thing of the past by 2028.
Why it matters: Sony's move signals a decisive shift toward digital distribution at a time when gaming companies of all sizes are looking for ways to cut costs.
Semiconductor stocks have been enjoying their greatest rally ever.
Why it matters: It's another proofpoint driving investors and analysts alike to an inescapable conclusion: The AI build-out is almost certainly the biggest investment boom in American history.
The value of Japan's currency just hit its weakest level against the dollar since 1986.
Why it matters: A few market forces are colliding here: higher energy prices from the Iran war, concerns that Japan's central bank is behind the curve on raising interest rates and pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar.
The big picture: Overall higherinflation, combined with tariffs that have hit smaller wedding vendors harder, has jacked up the cost of getting hitched.
Dominion Dynamics raised $100 million and plans to use the money to mature its command-and-control suite, AuraNet, as well as its robo-wingman, Scout.
Why it matters: The startup, based in Ottawa and founded by former Anduril Industries executive Eliot Pence, is billing the Series A as the largest "in the history of Canadian defense."
A new UN-backed commission will bring top tech executives and heads of state to the same table to forge global solutions for AI, per an announcement shared exclusively with Axios.
Why it matters: As global AI regulation grows more splintered, this initiative is an attempt to connect the executives building advanced AI with a group of global politicians.
Why it matters: What was once a private gesture between partners or parents is becoming a paid service — a sign of how many Americans are seeking human touch and connection amid growing loneliness and isolation.
Bending Spoons, a holding company for legacy tech brands like AOL and Eventbrite, priced its initial public offering at $29 on Tuesday night, above the previously planned range.
The big picture: TheMilan-based company is pitching itself as an acquisition machine, not just an AI-powered software business.
The Trump administration lifted export controls on Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 AI model Tuesday evening, with access returning to customers Wednesday, Anthropic said.
Why it matters: The move, eagerly awaited by AI developers, restores public access to the company's powerful Mythos-class model that had been pulled for security reasons 18 days ago.
