Meta is firing 8,000 people. Microsoft is paying 8,750 to leave. Both are spending the savings on AI.
Meta is firing 8,000 people. Microsoft is paying 8,750 to leave. Both are spending the savings on AI.

Summary: Meta and Microsoft announced workforce reductions on the same day, April 23, affecting up to 23,000 positions combined. Meta is cutting 8,000 jobs (10% of staff) and cancelling 6,000 open roles effective May 20, while Microsoft launched its fi…

US government’s Intel stake jumps 300% to $36B after CHIPS Act grants were converted to equity under Trump
US government’s Intel stake jumps 300% to $36B after CHIPS Act grants were converted to equity under Trump

In short: The US government’s 9.9% stake in Intel, acquired for $8.9 billion last August by converting CHIPS Act grants and Secure Enclave funds into equity at $20.47/share, is now worth approximately $36 billion after Intel’s stock surged 20%+ on a ma…

High gas prices are not saving Tesla. They are just slowing the bleeding.
High gas prices are not saving Tesla. They are just slowing the bleeding.

Summary: US petrol prices passed $4/gallon for the first time in four years (+30% YoY), driven by the Iran conflict and Strait of Hormuz disruption. Tesla delivered 358,023 vehicles in Q1 2026, up 6% against a weak comparison quarter but missing estima…

White House accuses China of industrial-scale AI model distillation, commits to intelligence sharing with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google
White House accuses China of industrial-scale AI model distillation, commits to intelligence sharing with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google

Summary: The White House OSTP released a policy memo accusing China of “industrial-scale” distillation of US AI models, committing to share intelligence with US AI companies and explore accountability measures. OpenAI accused DeepSeek of distilling its…

The Pentagon just picked the companies that will put nuclear reactors on Air Force bases
The Pentagon just picked the companies that will put nuclear reactors on Air Force bases

Summary: The Pentagon has narrowed its Advanced Nuclear Power for Installations (ANPI) programme from eight companies to three, advancing microreactor deployment at Buckley Space Force Base (Colorado) and Malmstrom Air Force Base (Montana) by 2030. The…

Florida launches criminal investigation into OpenAI over ChatGPT’s alleged role in Florida State University shooting
Florida launches criminal investigation into OpenAI over ChatGPT’s alleged role in Florida State University shooting

Attorney General James Uthmeier said prosecutors reviewed chat logs showing ChatGPT advised the suspect on weapons, ammunition, and timing. The probe is the first criminal investigation into an AI company over an alleged role in a mass shooting in the …

Meta is installing tracking software on employees’ computers to capture mouse movements and keystrokes for AI agent training
Meta is installing tracking software on employees’ computers to capture mouse movements and keystrokes for AI agent training

The move, disclosed in an internal memo seen by Reuters, is framed as a way to teach AI agents how humans navigate software. Critics say it is workplace surveillance under a different name. Meta is installing new tracking software on US-based employees…

Trump says Anthropic Pentagon deal is ‘possible’, weeks after blacklisting the company as a national security risk
Trump says Anthropic Pentagon deal is ‘possible’, weeks after blacklisting the company as a national security risk

The US president told CNBC on Tuesday that Anthropic is ‘shaping up’ following a White House meeting last Friday at which the company’s CEO Dario Amodei discussed its Mythos AI model with Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent….

TikTok is making Americans want Chinese EVs they cannot buy, and tariffs were not designed for this
TikTok is making Americans want Chinese EVs they cannot buy, and tariffs were not designed for this

The United States imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to keep them out of the American market. TikTok and YouTube are making that strategy irrelevant. A survey of 9,000 potential EV buyers by AlixPartners found that 58% had seen Chinese E…

Meta has hired five founding members of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab in a systematic talent raid
Meta has hired five founding members of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab in a systematic talent raid

In summary: Meta has hired five founding members of Thinking Machines Lab, the AI startup built by former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, after she rejected a reported $1 billion acquisition offer. The most expensive individual hire, co-founder Andrew Tulloch,…