Axios Closer

September 22, 2025
Monday β .
Today's newsletter is 625 words, a 2.5-minute read.
π The dashboard: The S&P 500 closed up 0.4%.
π₯ Today's stock spotlight: Oracle stock rose 6.2% after a CEO shakeup and a reported role securing TikTok's U.S. algorithm.
1 big thing: AI power play
Nvidia is investing up to $100 billion in OpenAI, creating a powerful alliance in the ballooning AI economy.
- π€ Characterized by Nvidia as a "strategic partnership," the deal will help OpenAI build and deploy at least 10 gigawatts of AI data centers.
π Follow the money: It also effectively provides the company behind ChatGPT β already a big Nvidia customer β with funding that it can use to purchase more Nvidia products.
- π° OpenAI expects to spend more than $100 billion on Nvidia chips over the course of the build out, FT reported, citing a person familiar with the deal.
Zoom in: The agreement calls for the $4 trillion chip giant to deliver the funds in stages as gigawatts are deployed.
- The first phase of systems will come online in the second half of 2026 using Nvidia's next-generation Vera Rubin chips, the chipmaker said.
Between the lines: Nvidia said the companies plan to work together to "co-optimize their roadmaps."
- For OpenAI, the deal marks another move to expand its roster of allies beyond its relationship with early backer Microsoft.
- Nvidia described the deal as complementary to OpenAI's ties with Microsoft and other collaborators, including AI data software giant Oracle, SoftBank and Stargate.
Market impact: Nvidia investors liked what they heard, with shares closing today up 4%.
2. Kenvue hits back at Trump admin
Kenvue, the Johnson & Johnson spinoff that sells Tylenol, is defending the medicine's safety profile as it comes under attack from the Trump administration.
- β οΈ Catch up quick: President Trump and his top health officials, including Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., drew a link between autism and the use of Tylenol during pregnancy at a White House event this afternoon, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim reported.
- The mention of a connection revives a medical controversy over the use of Tylenol's active ingredient, acetaminophen, early in a pregnancy.
π£οΈ Kenvue, in a statement, said: "We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers."
The impact: The over-the-counter drug is a critical product for Kenvue, anchoring the company's "self-care" segment, which brings in about 42% of its total revenue.
- The company's shares closed down 7.5% today before the White House event, and are down more than 20% in the last month amid the heightened scrutiny over Tylenol.
3. π 1 big number: 4,500%
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has sold its last remaining shares of Chinese EV maker BYD, according to a new public filing.
Zoom in: Buffett's late friend and colleague Charlie Munger had recommended the stock.
- π Let's just say it turned into a productive investment: The stock rose more than 4,500% in the 15 years since Berkshire bought it, according to Bloomberg.
4. Other happenings
π‘ Residential real estate brokerage Compass agreed to buy rival Anywhere Real Estate, whose brands include Century 21 and Coldwell Banker. (Axios)
π Pfizer has agreed to acquire obesity medicine company Metsera in a deal potentially worth up to $7.3 billion. The obesity market remains among the hottest and most lucrative biotech sectors. (Axios Pro)
βοΈ Spirit Airlines is planning to furlough one-third of its flight attendants as the bankrupt airline steps up its effort to "rightsize" its workforce as it cuts capacity. (WSJ)
5. Nike's Skims collab is here
Nike's long-anticipated collaboration with Kim Kardashian's Skims is finally set to debut this week, Axios Jason Lalljee writes.
- πThe activewear collection's debut is good news for Nike, whose shares have experienced a rollercoaster ride this year, thanks at least in part to turmoil from Trump's trade war.
- π€ It's also a feather in the cap for Skims, which is one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, per Inc., and was last valued at $4 billion in 2023.
What's next: Nike announced today that it would release three core collections for NikeSkims on Friday: Matte, Shine and Airy, which will be updated seasonally.
ποΈ On this day in 1985, the first Farm Aid music concert was held in Champaign, Illinois. Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp organized it after Nelson heard a suggestion from Bob Dylan, made on stage two months earlier. The first event raised $7 million for American farmers.
Today's newsletter was edited by Pete Gannon and copy edited by Carlos Cunha.
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