Explainer

Can Google Keep Up With the AI Buildout?

Google's parent company, Alphabet, just reported a blowout third quarter, smashing revenue expectations and hitting a symbolic milestone of over $100 billion in quarterly sales for the first time. Its Cloud division grew a staggering 34%, fueled by insatiable demand for its AI services. But behind these triumphant

Why Couldn't OpenAI Remain a Non-Profit?

OpenAI, the company that ignited the global AI revolution, just completed a complex corporate restructuring, giving its key backer, Microsoft, a massive 27% stake worth an estimated $135 billion. The deal officially transforms the ChatGPT maker from its quirky, non-profit-controlled origins into a more conventional for-profit entity, clearing the path

Why Is Nvidia Partnering With Palantir to Run Supply Chain Business?

Nvidia just announced a major partnership with Palantir Technologies, the data analytics firm famous for its secretive work with defense and intelligence agencies. The deal will deeply integrate Nvidia's AI chips and software into Palantir's platform to help large corporations tackle brutally complex problems like global

Is Meta's AI Strategy Visionary or Just Another Expensive Gamble?

Meta's stock tumbled after it reported third-quarter earnings this week. While a surprise $16 billion one-time tax charge pummeled its reported profit, the real source of Wall Street's anxiety was a single phrase from CEO Mark Zuckerberg: a plan to "aggressively front-load building capacity"

Why Is Nvidia Unifying Classical and Quantum Computing?

Nvidia, a company that has publicly voiced skepticism about the near-term viability of quantum computing, just unveiled a new system called NVQLink, designed to connect its AI supercomputers directly to quantum processors. In his keynote at the GTC conference in Washington D.C., CEO Jensen Huang described the new technology

Why Is Meta Selling Its AI Factories Before They're Even Built?

Meta recently struck a record-breaking $27 billion deal with asset manager Blue Owl Capital to fund its massive Hyperion AI data center in Louisiana. But this was no ordinary investment. In the largest private-capital deal in history, Meta is effectively selling off 80% of its flagship project, contributing its own

Why Is Qualcomm Buying a Company That Sells $50 Circuit Boards?

Qualcomm just announced its acquisition of Arduino, an Italian company beloved by hobbyists, students, and robotics labs for its inexpensive, open-source circuit boards. On the surface, the deal seems bizarre—a multi-billion dollar corporation buying a company whose products are famous for prototyping and tinkering. But this move is far

Why Is China Telling Its Companies Not to Buy Nvidia's Chips?

One of the stranger moments in the US-China tech war happened this week. After months of intense lobbying and a controversial policy reversal, the Trump administration gave Nvidia the green light to resume selling its H20 artificial intelligence chips to China. For a moment, it looked like a win for

Why Is the US Government Taking a Cut of Nvidia's China Sales?

The US-China chip war has entered a strange and unprecedented new phase. In a highly unusual arrangement, the Trump administration has brokered a deal where American tech giants Nvidia and AMD will pay the US government 15% of their revenue from all advanced AI chip sales to China. The move,

Is AI Actually Bad for Business? A Look at Duolingo's Margins

Shares of Duolingo soared this week after the popular education app raised its annual sales forecast, signaling strong demand for its subscription services. But buried beneath the bullish revenue outlook is a more complicated and cautionary tale about the real-world economics of artificial intelligence. Even as sales grew, the company&
Is AI Actually Bad for Business? A Look at Duolingo's Margins