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☆ Google-backed Anthropic raises $100 mln from South Korea's SK Telecom
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The logo of SK Telecom is pictured at the GSMA's 2023 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File PhotoSEOUL, Aug 14 (Reuters) - South Korea's largest telco SK Telecom (017670.KS) said it will invest $100 million in U.S. artificial intelligence firm Anthropic to strengthen its telecommunications-driven AI business. SK Telecom, which also made a smaller investment in May, said on Sunday that the two companies plan to jointly develop a global telecommunications-oriented multilingual large language model and build an AI platform. SK Telecom declined to reveal the size of its May investment or the size of its stake in Anthropic. In July, SK Telecom agreed with Deutsche Telekom, e& and Singapore Telecommunications to form an alliance to jointly develop telecommunications-driven AI businesses.

Persons: Nacho, Anthropic, Claude, OpenAI's, Joyce Lee, Sam Holmes Organizations: SK Telecom, Congress, REUTERS, telco SK Telecom, OpenAI, Google, Spark Capital, Deutsche Telekom, Singapore Telecommunications, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, SEOUL, KS, Anthropic

☆ Biden administration tells US Supreme Court to review social media laws
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Andrew Chung | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen prior to the start of the court's 2022-2023 term in Washington, U.S. September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File PhotoAug 14 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration urged the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a dispute over Republican-backed laws in Texas and Florida that would undercut efforts by social media companies to curb content deemed objectionable on their platforms. Florida is seeking to revive its law after a lower court ruled largely against it, while the industry groups are appealing a separate lower court decision upholding the Texas law, which the Supreme Court blocked at an earlier stage of the case. The companies have said that without editorial discretion their websites would be overrun with spam, bullying, extremism and hate speech. Texas' law forbids censoring users based on "viewpoint."

Persons: Kevin Lamarque, Joe Biden's, Andrew Chung, Sonali Paul Organizations: U.S, Supreme, REUTERS, Republican, Meta, Inc, Twitter, Justice Department, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Texas, Florida, New York

☆ San Francisco moves to center of robotaxi universe after California agency vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Cruise and Waymo have been running experimental services limited by times and geographic areas within San Francisco. The approval “marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco,” said Tekedra Mawakana, Waymo co-CEO, in a prepared statement. San Francisco is important as both a symbolic hub of tech and, with hundreds of AVs already in operation, the largest test lab for the experimental cars. The vehicles, with empty driver seats and self-turning steering wheels, have become a common sight around San Francisco. Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma advocated for a delayed vote noting the volume of public comment and her lingering concerns following evidence that the vehicles have obstructed emergency vehicles in San Francisco.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Waymo, Motors ’, John Reynolds, AVs, Cruise, ”, Tekedra Mawakana, Prashanthi Raman, Uber, Genevieve Shiroma, Greg Bensinger, Jamie Freed, Diane Craft Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Motors, California Public Utilities Commission, Transportation, Cruise, Locals, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Technologists, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, San Francisco's, Francisco

☆ GQG Partners adds Nvidia, Amazon, Apple in Q2
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A view of a Nvidia logo at their headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan May 31, 2023. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File PhotoNEW YORK, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Australia-listed investment firm GQG Partners added more shares of Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) in the second quarter, ending June with $5.9 billion invested in the chipmaker, according to regulatory filings on Friday. Shares in Nvidia are up roughly 180% year to date and reached $1 trillion in market capitalization, amid excitement over advancements in artificial intelligence. GQG held 13.9 million shares of Nvidia at the end of June, or 5.7 million more than it did on March 31. Reporting by Carolina Mandl in New York, editing by Deepa BabingtonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ann Wang, Rajiv Jain, GQG, Carolina Mandl, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, GQG Partners, Nvidia Corp, Nvidia, Reuters, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Carolina, Thomson Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, Australia, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, New York

☆ California agency approves San Francisco robotaxi expansion amid heavy opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In an aerial view, Waymo autonomous vehicles sit parked in a staging area on June 08, 2023 in San Francisco, California. Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesAlphabet Inc's Waymo and General Motors' Cruise can operate paid robotaxi services using unmanned self-driving vehicles throughout San Francisco, California state regulators voted on Thursday, in the face of vigorous pushback from city transportation, safety agencies and many residents. The move marks a critical step forward in regulating the robot cars, which Waymo, Cruise and others have been systematically rolling out in cities and states around the nation. San Francisco, however, is important as a both symbolic hub of tech and, with over 500 autonomous vehicles already in operation, it is the largest test lab for the experimental cars. The vehicles, with empty driver seats and self-turning steering wheels, have become a common sight around San Francisco.

Persons: Justin Sullivan, –, Cruise, Uber, Waymo Organizations: General Motors, California Public Utilities Commission, Locals Locations: San Francisco , California, San Francisco

☆ Wall Street ends flat, after pop from July inflation data fizzles
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( David French | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Stock prices started to sag from late-morning onwards, and bounced between positive and negative territory for much of the afternoon. He noted that while inflation has slowed, a look beyond the headline number revealed that core inflation remained sticky, and as traders parsed the data, the initial positive sentiment became more subdued. A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 26, 2023. On the earnings front, Walt Disney (DIS.N) rose 4.9% after beating Wall Street estimates for quarterly adjusted profit per share. The S&P 500 posted 18 new 52-week highs and 4 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 58 new highs and 159 new lows.

Persons: Gregg Abella, Mary Daly, Brendan McDermid, Walt Disney, Michael Kors, Tapestry's, Joe Biden, Bansari Mayur Kamdar, Johann M, David French, Shashwat Chauhan, Shubham Batra, Vinay Dwivedi, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Disney, Dow, Nasdaq, U.S . Federal, Investment Partners, Management, San Francisco Fed, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Nvidia Corp, Alphabet Inc, Microsoft, Dow Jones, Energy, Wall, Alibaba, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, China, Bengaluru, New York

☆ California agency to vote on San Francisco robotaxi expansion amid heavy opposition
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company's headquarters in San Francisco where it does most of its testing, in California, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Heather Somerville/File PhotoSAN FRANCISCO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Amid strenuous pushback from San Francisco officials and many residents, a California state agency is set to vote on Thursday on a proposal to allow the city to be blanketed in self-driving taxis at all hours. But the vote at the meeting that begins at 11 a.m. PDT (1800 GMT) comes amid vigorous opposition from transportation and safety agencies in San Francisco. The CPUC has twice delayed the vote, in part because of the mounting opposition. Outfitted with spinning sensors, Waymo and Cruise vehicles are an arresting sight around San Francisco, particularly to visitors unaccustomed to cars with no human driver behind the wheel.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Cruise, Waymo, Greg Bensinger, Jamie Freed Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, San Francisco, Motors, California Public Utilities Commission, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, San

REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstAug 10 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday will weigh lifting a Louisiana judge's order limiting the Biden administration's ability to communicate with social media companies to urge them to moderate information it deems harmful or misleading. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is set to hear arguments in the administration's appeal of the judge's ruling, which found that the government wrongly pushed social media firms to suppress disfavored political views. The Biden administration quickly appealed, and the 5th Circuit temporarily put the judge's ruling on hold while it heard the case. The administration denies forcing social media companies to take down any posts. The panel that will hear the Biden administration's appeal includes three judges who were all appointed by Republican presidents, U.S.

Persons: Joe Biden, Jonathan Ernst, Terry Doughty's, Doughty, Donald Trump, Trump, lockdowns, Biden, Edith Brown Clement, Jennifer Walker Elrod, Don Willett, Brendan Pierson, Nate Raymond, Aurora Ellis Organizations: REUTERS, Biden, Circuit, District, Democratic, Meta, Inc, YouTube, Twitter, X Corp, Trump, Department of Health, Human Services, Federal Bureau of, 5th Circuit, Republican, Thomson Locations: Arcosa, Belen , New Mexico, U.S, Louisiana, New Orleans, Missouri, Monroe, New York

☆ UK retailer John Lewis boosts AI capability with Google deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 9 (Reuters) - British retailer John Lewis Partnership has agreed a five-year deal with Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google Cloud, enabling it to harness the latest artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technology. The employee-owned partnership, which runs John Lewis department stores and the Waitrose supermarket chain, said on Wednesday the new agreement, which builds on a decade-long relationship with Google Cloud, was worth 100 million pounds ($127 million). Under the expanded agreement, more of the partnership's technology will migrate to Google Cloud. Google Cloud agreed a similar deal with European home improvement retailer Kingfisher(KGF.L) last November. Zak Mian, the John Lewis Partnership's chief transformation and technology officer, said an example was customers using an image scanning feature in their John Lewis App to show its home design stylists a room they're looking to furnish.

Persons: John Lewis, Zak Mian, John Lewis Partnership's, Prerna Bedi, James Davey, Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Sachin Ravikumar Organizations: John, John Lewis Partnership, Google, Waitrose, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru, London

The logo of Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoCompanies Alphabet Inc FollowWASHINGTON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Google asked a U.S. appeals court in New York on Tuesday to pause a decision to return an antitrust lawsuit filed by the state of Texas back to federal court in Texas. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in June granted the state's request to send the lawsuit back to federal court in Texas. The lawsuit alleges that Google, a unit of Alphabet (GOOGL.O), abused its dominance in advertising technology. The federal court in Texas has a reputation for moving quickly.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Diane Bartz, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Google, Chelsea, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, The U.S, Litigation, U.S, Circuit, Appeals, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, New York, Texas, The, Washington

☆ San Francisco drives tech; will it drive away robot taxis?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/3] A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company?s headquarters in San Francisco where it does most of its testing, in California, U.S., September 26, 2018. Futuristic test vehicles from Cruise and Waymo are a common sight in some parts of San Francisco. The vote comes at a critical time for San Francisco, which is grappling with thousands of tech job losses, firms leaving the city, and COVID-era work-from-home policies that have contributed to a hollowed out downtown. loadingRamón Iglesias, another San Francisco resident, said that though he’d seen the videos and some erratic behavior from the cars, he supports the expansion and worries any further obstacles could drive tech companies away. “We have a very strong Luddite segment here in San Francisco and you see places like Las Vegas and Miami go out of their way to embrace tech,” said Iglesias, a data scientist.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Waymo, ”, Kyle Vogt, X, ” Cruise, San Francisco, Cruise, Julia Ilina, Mike Smith, Ramón Iglesias, he’d, Iglesias, “, London Breed, Greg Bensinger, Peter Henderson, Diane Craft Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Motors, San, San Francisco County Transportation Authority, Cruise, California Public Utilities Commission, Las, Ford, Tesla, Francisco, FIRST, ”, London, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, Francisco, San, San Francisco County, State, dazzled, Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles

Google (GOOGL.O) had asked for summary judgment on all the government's claims in the case, which is to go to trial next month. Google said Friday it appreciated the court's "careful consideration and decision to dismiss claims regarding the design of Google Search" in the case brought by the state attorneys general. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong praised the decision to allow the states Google search antitrust suit to proceed to trial. Mehta noted Google LLC operates the largest U.S. internet general search engine whose "brand name has become so ubiquitous that dictionaries recognize it as a verb." He noted Google in 2020 had nearly 90% market share and advertisers spend over $80 billion annually alone to reach general search users.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Judge Amit Mehta, Google's, Mehta, William Tong, Tong, Trump, Judge Mehta, Diane Bartz, David Shepardson, Mark Porter, Diane Craft Organizations: Google, Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Justice Department, Big Tech, Microsoft Corp, Apple, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Verizon, Mozilla, Justice, Department, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, WASHINGTON, U.S, Washington, Connecticut, Virginia

REUTERS/Heather Somerville/File PhotoAug 3 (Reuters) - Cruise, General Motors' (GM.N) robotaxi unit, said on Thursday it had signed the driverless car industry's first labor union agreements, a significant milestone as unions and robotaxi firms have historically been at odds. The company is partnering with two local San Francisco union chapters that represent electrical workers and janitors, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 6 and Service Employees International Union Local 87. Reuters could not definitively determine if these are the driverless car industry’s first union agreements. Cruise, which offers limited service in San Francisco with a fleet of Chevrolet Bolts fitted with driverless technology, has accumulated over 3 million driverless miles, the company said. Reporting by Anna Tong in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Heather Somerville, ”, John Doherty, Cruise, Anna Tong, Leslie Adler Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, General Motors, San, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Employees International Union Local, Reuters, United Auto Workers, Detroit Three, GM, Chevrolet Bolts, California’s Public Utilities Commission, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, IBEW

☆ Meta releases AudioCraft AI tool to create music from text
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File PhotoAug 2 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O) on Wednesday introduced its open-source AI tool called AudioCraft that will help users to create music and audio based on text prompts. The AI tool is bundled with three models, AudioGen, EnCodec and MusicGen, and works for music, sound, compression and generation, Meta said. Earlier this year, Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) introduced its own experimental audio generating AI tool called MusicLM. Reporting by Tanya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yves Herman, Meta, MusicGen, Tanya Jain, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, Wednesday, Artists, Inc, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Bengaluru

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Alphabet, Microsoft, PacWest, Snap and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Alphabet — The Google parent popped more than 6% after topping Wall Street's second-quarter earnings expectations, fueled by growth in its cloud-computing segment. Microsoft, however, did beat Wall Street's estimates, reporting earnings of $2.69 per share on $56.19 billion in revenue. Snap topped second-quarter expectations, reporting a narrower-than-expected loss of 2 cent a share on $1.07 billion in revenue. Wells Fargo also said that its board approved a previously announced dividend hike to 35 cents from 30 cents per share. The company topped earnings but fell short on revenue expectations, reporting adjusted earnings per share of 63 cents on $29.92 billion in revenue.

Persons: Ruth Porat, Refinitiv, Wells Fargo, popper, —, Sarah Min, Yun Li, Hakyung Kim, Jesse Pound Organizations: Google, Microsoft, Boeing, Texas, — Texas, Teladoc Health, Dish, Bloomberg News, Fisher, Pacific Locations: Mountain View , California, Banc, California

☆ Waymo to focus on ride-hailing services, pushes back autonomous trucking efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 26 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Waymo is focusing on its ride-hailing service, Waymo One, while pushing back its efforts to develop commercial autonomous trucking technology, the self-driving unit said on Wednesday. The company said it is seeing significant growth and demand for ride-hailing services in San Francisco, Phoenix and Los Angeles, and is focusing on achieving commercial success in the business. Waymo said it will continue its collaboration with strategic partner Daimler Truck North America to take its autonomous trucking platform forward. The unit's Waymo Driver technology is used in a variety of use cases, from ride-hailing to trucking. "We continue to see a significant future commercial opportunity for our trucking solution alongside other commercial applications of the Waymo Driver," Waymo said.

Persons: Waymo, Akash Sriram, Pooja Desai Organizations: Daimler Truck North, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Daimler Truck North America, Bengaluru

A person familiar with the matter said he was Rajaratnam, who was sentenced in 2011 to 11 years in prison and was released early in 2019. Starting in 2018, Tidwell began receiving undisclosed benefits from Rajaratnam and a close friend and business associate of Rajaratnam, according to charging papers and the person familiar with the matter. Later, after Rajaratnam was released from prison, Tidwell in 2020 received a $50,000 loan from the onetime inmate's friend to buy a house. Prosecutors said he lied on a bank loan application about the source of that money. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by David Bario and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Raj Rajaratnam, William Tidwell, Rajaratnam, Prosecutors, Goldman Sachs, Tidwell, Samidh Guha, Rajaratnam's, Brad Bailey, Nate Raymond, David Bario, Chris Reese Organizations: eBay, Galleon Group, Federal Medical Center Devens, Google, Thomson Locations: BOSTON, Massachusetts, Boston, Ayer , Massachusetts, York

☆ Anthropic CEO to testify at US Senate hearing on AI regulation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic's CEO Dario Amodei will testify on July 25 at a U.S. Senate hearing on artificial intelligence as lawmakers consider potential regulations for the fast-growing technology, the Senate panel scheduling the hearing said on Tuesday. "It’s our obligation to address AI’s potential threats and risks before they become real," said Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, the subcommittee chair. "We are on the verge of a new era, with major consequences for workers, consumer privacy, and our society." President Joe Biden met with the CEOs of top artificial intelligence companies in May, including Amodei, and made clear they must ensure their products are safe before they are deployed. The report would help push federal financial regulators to adopt and adapt to AI changes disrupting the industry, Schumer's office said.

Persons: Dario Amodei, Amodei, Yoshua Bengio, Stuart Russell, Richard Blumenthal, Josh Hawley, Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, David Shepardson, Leslie Adler, Chris Reese Organizations: U.S, Senate, Privacy, Technology, Google, Democratic, Republican, Thomson

☆ Wall St ends up, extends recent gains on cooling US inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Wednesday's CPI report showed U.S. consumer prices registered their smallest annual increase in more than two years. The reports have helped to support the view the Federal Reserve will stop hiking rates after an expected 25 basis points rate increase later this month. Technology-related shares provided the most support to the S&P 500, and an index of tech-focused shares including megacaps (.NYFANG) gained 2.7% and registered a record high close. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 7, 2023. The S&P 500 posted 51 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 135 new highs and 39 new lows.

Persons: Mona Mahajan, Edward Jones, Brendan McDermid, JPMorgan Chase, Alan Lancz, Alan B, Bard, Caroline Valetkevitch, Johann M Cherian, Sinead Carew, Shashwat Chauhan, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Maju Samuel, Deepa Babington Organizations: Dow, Nasdaq, Federal Reserve, PPI, . Technology, Dow Jones, Nvidia, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, JPMorgan, Lancz, Associates Inc, Air Lines, PepsiCo, Google, Inc, U.S, NYSE, Thomson Locations: U.S, Philadelphia, New York City, Toledo , Ohio, Europe, Brazil, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Wall St ends up, extends recent gains after producer prices data
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Wednesday's CPI report showed U.S. consumer prices registered their smallest annual increase in more than two years. The reports have helped to support the view the Federal Reserve will stop hiking rates after an expected 25 basis points rate increase later this month. "PPI is another confirmation this week that inflation continues to trend in the right direction even as we see better overall labor market and consumer data. According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 37.73 points, or 0.84%, to end at 4,509.89 points, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) gained 219.35 points, or 1.58%, to 14,138.31. Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) shares gained after it lifted its full-year profit outlook following stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings on a relentless post-pandemic travel boom.

Persons: Mona Mahajan, Edward Jones, JPMorgan Chase, Alan Lancz, Alan B, Bard, Caroline Valetkevitch, Johann M Cherian, Sinead Carew, Shashwat Chauhan, Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Maju Samuel, Deepa Babington Organizations: Delta Air Lines, Federal Reserve, PPI, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Nvidia, JPMorgan, Lancz, Associates Inc, Air Lines, PepsiCo, Google, Inc, Thomson Locations: Philadelphia, Toledo , Ohio, Europe, Brazil, Bengaluru, New York

Alphabet shares were outperforming the broader market, with the S&P 500 (.SPX) up 0.6%, boosted by data showing signs of cooling inflation. Clearly they've been able to reassure European regulators about those issues, which just paves the way for further advantage really," said Hewson. Alphabet shares, which have seen a huge boost from investor excitement around generative artificial intelligence since February, are up around 41% so far this year. Microsoft shares are up 42% so far in 2023. Also on Thursday, TD Cowen raised its price target for Alphabet shares to $140 from $130 citing expectations of better growth in its search business.

Persons: Bard, watchdogs, Danni Hewson, AJ Bell, they've, Hewson, Art Hogan, Riley, TD Cowen, Bansari Mayur, Sinéad Carew, Conor Humphries Organizations: Inc, European Union, Google, Microsoft Corp, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Europe, Brazil, Bengaluru, New York

July 13 (Reuters) - A group of Republican U.S. state attorney generals on Thursday warned the country's largest companies that certain workforce diversity policies could be illegal in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision effectively striking down affirmative action in higher education. The attorney generals urged the companies to abandon race-based quotas or preferences in hiring, promotion and contracting and threatened legal action "sooner rather than later" if they do not. "Companies that engage in racial discrimination should and will face serious legal consequences," the attorney generals wrote. They were joined by the attorney generals of Indiana, South Carolina and Missouri, among others. But in Thursday's letter, the attorney generals said well-intentioned race discrimination is still illegal.

Persons: Kris Kobach, Jonathan Skrmetti, Harvard University's, Neil Gorsuch, George Floyd, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Alistair Bell Organizations: Republican, U.S, Companies, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Uber Technologies Corp, Harvard, University of North, Federal, Thomson Locations: Republican U.S, U.S ., Kansas, Tennessee, Indiana , South Carolina, Missouri, Albany , New York

☆ Google delays release of fully custom phone chip until 2025, The Information reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 6 (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google has delayed the release of a fully custom chip for its Pixel smartphones until 2025, The Information reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Google originally planned to release the chip, internally called Redondo, next year to replace the semicustom chips it currently designs with Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), the report said. The tech giant will also switch from Samsung to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) (2330.TW) for making the chips, called Tensors, according to The Information. Google will stick with Samsung for another year and wait until 2025 to introduce a fully custom design chip, internally code-named Laguna, according to The Information. The Laguna chip will be based on TSMC's 3-nanometer manufacturing process, currently the world's most advanced chipmaking process, the report added.

Persons: Chavi Mehta, Shilpi Majumdar Organizations: Google, Samsung Electronics, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Apple, Nvidia, Thomson Locations: Redondo, Laguna, Bengaluru

July 6 (Reuters) - A federal judge's order restricting Biden administration officials from contacting social media companies about moderating their content will face tough legal challenges on appeal, experts said. The Biden administration on Wednesday filed a notice with the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. THREAT OF HARMThe Biden administration has argued that there was no threat of harm because the lawsuit challenged communications that ended more than a year ago. It also said that while it urged social media companies to stop the spread of dangerous misinformation, the companies themselves - including Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), YouTube owner Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Twitter Inc - ultimately made their own decisions. Burt Neuborne, a professor at New York University School of Law, was more skeptical of the free speech claims.

Persons: Terry Doughty, Biden, Jonathan Turley, Doughty's, Doughty, Jameel Jaffer, Jaffer, Mark MacCarthy, Burt Neuborne, I'm, You'd, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Brendan Pierson, Andrew Goudsward, Kanishka Singh, Alexia Garamfalvi, Leslie Adler Organizations: Biden, U.S, District, New, Circuit, Appeals, George Washington University Law School, Department of Health, Human Services, Facebook, Inc, Twitter Inc, Meta, Columbia University, Brookings Institution, New York University School of Law, Republican, Democrat, Thomson Locations: Louisiana, New Orleans, Missouri, U.S, New York, Washington

☆ Exclusive: Video-sharing website BitChute seeks to raise $10 million in new funding round
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Helen Coster | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I’m not really raising the money just because we need the money," Wernick said in an interview. Wernick said BitChute was pursuing a combination of high net-worth individuals and venture capital funds. He has an equity stake in BitChute and is also an investor in Parler, Gab, Airbnb (ABNB.O) and Uber (UBER.N). Its investor presentation said BitChute had 218 million unique visitors in 2022, down 15.8% from 2021, with a projection of 247 million unique visitors this year. Their longer-term goal is to “decentralize” BitChute, so that it is blockchain-based and users can decide whether to have content moderation.

Persons: Jeffrey Wernick, I’m, Wernick, BitChute, Patrick Dai, Matthew Branton, cofounders Ray Vahey, Rich Jones, ’, Helen Coster, Krystal Hu, Jane Merriman Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Inc, YouTube, Thomson Locations: BitChute, Parler, New York

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